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United States · Official source
1,969 records where Rep. Garrett, Scott [R-NJ-5] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable income tax credit of up to $500 for the purchase of a qualified hearing aid for an individual who is either: (1) age 55 or older; or (2) is claimed as a dependent of the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Recognizes the 100th anniversary of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2003
Stop Terrorist Entry Program Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit immigrant or nonimmigrant (excluding diplomatic or immediate family aliens) visa issuance to a alien who is a national or a resident of a country that is a state sponsor of terrorism, with discretionary waivers for: (1) emergency medical needs; or (2) asylum or refugee admissions. Defines "state sponsor of terrorism."
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2003
Right to Life Act - States that Congress declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being. Defines "human person" and "human being" as including each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including, but not limited to, the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2003
Amends Federal law concerning the Coastal Heritage Trail Route in New Jersey to reauthorize appropriations for the route. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a strategic plan that describes opportunities to increase participation in the planning, development, and administration of the route and organizational options for sustaining the route. Allows funds appropriated for the route to be used for grants.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2003
Social Security Solvency Act of 2003 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to create a new Individual Retirement Security Program (Program). Establishes in the Treasury an Interim Investment Fund (IIF) governed by the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund. Authorizes a participating individual and spouse, upon the attainment of a minimum deposit balance of $2,500 in the IIF, to designate one or more personal retirement savings accounts, to which the Secretary of the Treasury shall make deposits from the IIF with respect to the individual according to prescribed formulae. Mandates that the Board divide the IIF into three accounts for investment in common stock and corporate bonds. Requires the Secretary to deposit into the IIF, from amounts otherwise available in the general fund of the Treasury, a total amount equal, in the aggregate, to 100 percent of the redirected social security taxes for such calendar year of each covered individual for such calendar year. Requires a reduction in Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance appropriations, according to a certain formula. Provides for adjustments to primary OASDI insurance amounts of such covered individuals with designated accounts in the IIF. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax deduction in the case of an electing personal retirement savings account participant in an amount equal to 50 percent (up to $2,000) of the amount the individual contributed during the taxable year to a personal retirement savings account; (2) exclude from gross income any amount deposited in a personal retirement savings account; (3) include distributions in gross income as if they were social security benefits; and (4) establish an Individual Retirement Security Program refundable credit. Amends SSA title II to provide for: (1) transfers of budget surpluses to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund; (2) revisions in social security benefits, such as a gradual increase in retirement age and early retirement age; and (3) reimbursement of Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund for certain costs of disability insurance benefits. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to study and report to the Congress on the most appropriate and feasible means of providing for individuals to opt out of OASDI coverage. Amends the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 to make permanent its pension and individual retirement arrangement provisions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for accelerated phase-in of scheduled increases in individual retirement account and pension plan contribution limits, and to revise requirements for long-term care insurance contracts and dependent care and other matters affecting seniors.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2003
Clarifications to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act - Amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to state that formal pleadings in a civil action shall not be considered the kind of communication (initial or otherwise) required for a validation of debt notice. Prescribes an alternative version of the initial communication debt collectors are required to give consumers, incorporating the three statements currently specified. States that collection activities and communications may continue during the 30 days following a debt collector's initial notice to the debtor. States that, if the consumer's attorney at law fails to respond to a communication from a debt collector within 30 days (currently, a reasonable period of time) after receiving a communication from the collector, such collector may communicate directly with the consumer. Limits to one the number of additional communications a debt collector may make to a consumer after the consumer has notified the collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay the debt or wishes the collector to cease further communication. Limits the content of any such additional communication to one of the three purposes already specified by the Act. Revises notice of debt guidelines to require one of the debt collector's mandatory statements to specify that a consumer's dispute of the validity of a debt be submitted in writing in order to preclude an assumption by the collector that the debt is valid.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
State Accountability and Identity Fraud Elimination Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to withhold specified Federal highway funds in increasing percentages starting in FY 2006 from any State that has enacted a law that allows the issuance of an identification card or a driver's license to an alien who is not legally authorized to be in the United States. Provides that funds withheld from apportionment to any State: (1) on or before September 30, 2005, shall remain available until the end of the third fiscal year following the fiscal year for which the funds are authorized to be appropriated; and (2) after September 30, 2007, shall not be available for apportionment to the State.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Terrorist Penalties Enhancement Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to require any person who, in the course of committing a terrorist offense, engages in conduct that results in the death of a person, to be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or life. Includes "terrorist offenses resulting in death" among the aggravating factors for homicide which are used in determining whether a death sentence is justified. Denies Federal benefits to any individual who is convicted of a Federal crime of terrorism, for any term of years or for life.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the tax rate on distilled spirits.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Expresses the sense of Congress that television and radio stations should recognize veterans through a public service announcement or a moment of silence on November 11 at 11 a.m. each year and that the day should be used as an occasion to educate children about the contributions of veterans in defending freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2003
USA Jobs Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise L-1 nonimmigrant visa provisions (intracompany transfers). Prohibits the admission of an L-1 worker unless the employer files an application with the Secretary of Labor stating that the employer will: (1) not place the worker with another employer; (2) make the L-1 application available for public examination and compilation by the Secretary; (3) provide wage comparability; and (4) not displace U.S. workers during the period of 180 days before and after the L-1 hiring. Requires an employer, prior to petitioning for admission of a specialized knowledge L-1 worker, to file an application with the Secretary stating that good faith steps have been taken to recruit U.S. workers for the job for which the L-1 worker is sought. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to consult annually with the Secretary respecting the use and effect of blanket L-1 petitions. Increases the L-1 prior employment abroad requirement. Reduces the period of L-1 admission. Establishes an L-1 employer petition fee. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to initiate an L-1 employer investigation. Revises H-1B nonimmigrant visa provisions (temporary workers) to: (1) subject all H-1B employers (currently H-1B dependent employers) to such provisions; (2) lengthen U.S. worker displacement protection; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor to initiate an H-1B employer investigation. Directs the General Accounting Office to investigate the implementation and impact of amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2003
Cord Blood Stem Cell Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to enter into contracts with qualified cord blood stem cell banks to assist in the establishment, provision, and maintenance of a National Network of Cord Blood Stem Cell Banks. Lists the purposes of qualifying donor banks and requirements qualifying donor banks must meet. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to establish as part of the Network a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Registry. Sets forth the functions of the Registry, which shall include: (1) operating a system for identifying, acquiring, and distributing donated units or cord blood; and (2) maintaining a database with certain information, including the clinical outcomes of all transplantations related to the Network.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2003
Amends the Public Health Service Act to remove language requiring, subject to certain provisions, health insurance issuers that offer health insurance coverage in the small group market in a State to accept every small employer that applies for such coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend, for two years, special depreciation allowances for certain property acquired after September 10, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2003
Internet Tobacco Sales Enforcement Act - Amends the Jenkins Act to require each person who engages in an interstate sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco or in an interstate distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to comply with all the excise, sales, and use tax laws applicable to the sale or other transfer of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco in the State and place in which the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco are delivered. Prohibits the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco from being delivered to the buyer unless in advance of the delivery the excise tax has been paid and any required stamps or other indicia that such tax has been paid are properly affixed or applied, with an exception. Authorizes a State Attorney General to bring a civil action to obtain any appropriate relief, including money damages where appropriate, against any person who violates such prohibition or who knowingly assists or participates in such a violation. Expresses the sense of Congress that any State Attorney General who commences such a civil action should inform the U.S. Attorney General who should make information about the case publicly available. Authorizes civil penalties for violations. Eliminates the $1,000 criminal penalty limitation. Declares that the Act does not limit the remedies provided by State or Federal law with respect to alleged violations relating to a sale or distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco in connection with an interstate sale or distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2003
Small Business Liability Reform Act of 2003 - Allows punitive damages to be awarded against a small business only if the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that conduct carried out by the defendant with a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of others was the proximate cause of the harm that is the subject of the action. Limits such punitive damages to the lesser of three times the amount awarded for economic and noneconomic losses, or $250,000. Makes such limitation inapplicable if the court finds that the defendant acted with specific intent to cause the type of harm for which the action is brought. Provides liability limitation exceptions. States that in any civil action against a small business: (1) each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to the percentage of responsibility of that defendant for the harm caused to the plaintiff; and (2) the court shall render a separate judgment against each defendant describing such percentage of responsibility. Excepts from such liability limitations specified misconduct of a defendant. Mandates that, in any product liability action covered by this Act, a product seller other than a manufacturer shall be liable to a claimant only if such claimant establishes that: (1) the product that caused the harm was sold, rented, or leased by the seller, the seller failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the product, and such failure was the proximate cause of harm to the plaintiff; (2) the seller made an express warranty applicable to such product, the product failed to conform to the warranty, and such failure caused the harm to the plaintiff; or (3) the product seller engaged in intentional wrongdoing, and such wrongdoing caused the harm to the plaintiff.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2003
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that neither the U.S. Constitution nor any State constitution shall be construed to protect child pornography (defined as visual depictions by any technological means of minor persons, whether actual or virtual, engaged in explicit sexual activity).
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2003
Calls upon the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp to promote public awareness of Down syndrome.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
Government Accountability and Streamlining Act of 2003 - Requires the Comptroller General, to the extent practicable, to prepare for public bills and joint resolutions (measures) reported by congressional subcommittees or committees, and submit to such subcommittees or committees, determinations of whether: (1) new Federal entities, programs, or functions are authorized by the measure; and (2) an existing entity or program carries out functions that are similar to those authorized by the measure and such existing entity or program may more effectively and efficiently perform the functions and carry out the purposes of the measure than the proposed entity or program. Requires such statements to accompany reports on legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2003 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that parents who choose private home education should be encouraged within the framework provided by the Constitution. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) with respect to: (1) student aid eligibility of home-schooled students who have satisfied certain secondary education standards; and (2) institutional aid eligibility of the higher education institutions that such students attend. Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide, if a parent does not consent to an initial evaluation or special education or related services for a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall not be required to convene an individualized education program (IEP) meeting or develop an IEP for such child. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses (the Coverdell Education Savings Account) to include home schools if they are treated as a home school or private school under State law. Amends the part of the General Education Provisions Act known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit release of certain information on and educational records of students in non-public education, including any student educated at home or in a private school in accordance with State law, without written parental consent. Amends HEA to include students at home schools, whether treated as a home school or a private school under State law, among those prospective secondary school graduates eligible to apply for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program for higher education. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to direct the Secretary of Labor to extend the hours and periods of permissible employment of employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years who are privately educated at a home school, whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under State Law, beyond those hours and periods applicable to employees of such ages who are educated in traditional public schools. (Thus allows home-school students to be employed during the traditional school day.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2003
Terminates a provision that requires the Secretary of Transportation to ensure that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors on the construction work performed on Federal-aid highway projects are paid prevailing rate wages. Permits a State to enact a law to provide for continued enforcement of the requirements of such provision in that State.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2003
Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2003 or the CLEAR Act of 2003 - States that: (1) State and local law enforcement personnel are fully authorized to investigate, apprehend, or remove aliens in the United States (including interstate transportation of such aliens to detention centers) in the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws; and (2) a State that does not have a statute permitting enforcement of Federal immigration laws within two years of enactment of this Act shall not receive certain Federal incarceration assistance. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to illegal aliens to: (1) establish criminal penalties and forfeiture for aliens unlawfully present in the United States; (2) increase specified criminal and civil penalties for illegal entry and failure to depart violations; and (3) provide for payment of funds from certain civil penalties to State and local law enforcement agencies for apprehension of such aliens. Provides for the listing of immigration violators in the National Crime Information Center database. Requires States and localities to provide the Department of Homeland Security with specified information about apprehended illegal aliens. Eliminates certain Federal incarceration assistance for noncompliance. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to local police agencies for equipment and facilities related to housing and processing illegal aliens. Amends the Act to provide for Federal custody and State or local compensation of State or locally apprehended illegal aliens. Establishes a process for State and local claims against the Federal Government for failure to cooperate in enforcing immigration laws. Directs the Secretary or the Attorney General to establish immigration-related training for State and local personnel. Provides: (1) personal liability immunity for Federal, State, or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties; and (2) civil rights money damage immunity for Federal, State, or local agencies enforcing immigration laws unless their personnel violated criminal law in such enforcement. States that the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security shall continue to operate the Institutional Removal Program, which shall be expanded to all States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Amends the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 to make permanent the taxation of dividends received by individuals at capital gains rates.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Congratulates the New Jersey Devils hockey team for winning the 2003 Stanley Cup championship.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2003
Medicare for the 21st Century Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to add a new part D (Voluntary Medicare Outpatient Prescription Drug Discount and Security Program). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Medicare Outpatient Prescription Drug Discount and Security Program under which an eligible beneficiary who voluntarily enrolls in such program is provided: (1) access to negotiated prices through an eligible entity with a contract under the program that has been selected by the beneficiary; (2) catastrophic coverage under the program; and (3) a prescription drug account and a public contribution into such account. Provides that, in estimating the benefits and administrative costs which will be payable from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund for a year for purposes of determining the monthly premium rate under Medicare part B (Federal Supplemental Medical Insurance), the Secretary shall exclude an estimate of any benefits and administrative costs attributable to application of the new part D program. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to provide for verification of eligibility for benefits under the new part D program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2003
Small Business Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction, of up to 50 percent of net profit, for contributions to a Small Business Protection Account.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2003
DC Parental Choice Incentive Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to eligible entities to provide students from low-income families in the District of Columbia (DC) with scholarships to enable them to attend the DC private elementary or secondary school of their choice. Requires priority to be given to applications from eligible entities which will most effectively: (1) give priority to eligible students who attend an elementary or secondary school identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under specified provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (2) target resources to students and families that lack the financial resources to take advantage of available educational options; (3) provide students and families with the widest range of educational options; and (4) serve students of varying age and grade levels. Makes DC public educational entities, or nonprofit organizations and consortia, eligible to apply for such grants. Allows award of a single grant or multiple grants for up to five years. Allows scholarship payments to parents in varying amounts according to need, up to $7,500, to cover costs of tuition, fees, and transportation expenses. Requires scholarships to be considered assistance to the student, not to the school, and to be treated as parental income. Allows a parent to choose, and a school to offer, a single-sex school, class, or activity. Allows religiously affiliated schools to participate in the program and use funds made available under this Act: (1) for religious education purposes; and (2) to employ persons of the same religion. Allows such a school to: (1) take sex into account consistent with its religious tenets or beliefs; (2) have religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols in the school, religious terms in its name, and religious references in its mission statements and other chartering or governing documents; and (3) select its board members on a religious basis. Requires each school that chooses to participate in the program to accept participating eligible students: (1) on a first-come, first-served basis; or (2) if the school cannot accommodate all such students that seek admission, through a random selection process.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review Act of 2003 (JCARR Act) - Amends Federal law to establish the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review. Prescribes a procedure for expedited consideration by the House of Representatives of a joint resolution reported by such committee disapproving an agency rule.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2003
United States-Cuba Trademark Protection Act of 2003 - Requires the President to direct the Secretary of State to obtain assurances that the Republic of Cuba will: (1) adhere to specified international agreements for the protection of intellectual property; (2) implement the Joint Recommendation Concerning Provisions on the Protection of Well-Known Marks; and (3) subscribe to dispute resolution procedures approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Repeals provisions of the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 prohibiting certain transactions, payments, or U.S. court recognition with respect to confiscated marks, trade names, or commercial names. Requires the Director of the Patent and Trademark Office to establish an electronic and publicly accessible registry of U.S. trademarks and well-known marks in Cuba. Amends the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to authorize: (1) specified transactions and proceedings regarding blocked foreign domain and trade names by any person who is not a designated national; (2) the transfer or receipt of any trademark, trade name, or domain name subject to U.S. law in which a designated national has an interest, as well as related proceedings; and (3) the payment of fees to foreign governments for research with respect to blocked foreign trademarks, trade names, and domain names, and related enforcement. Makes conforming amendments to the Trademark Act of 1946. Gives U.S. courts authority to validate any assertion by a designated national of rights in any mark or trade name based on common law rights or registration under specified provisions of the Trademark Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Parent's Right to Know Act of 2003 - Prohibits making available any funds appropriated for carrying out title X of the Public Health Service Act (Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs) to any family planning project under specified provisions of that title if any service provider in the project knowingly provides contraceptive drugs or devices to a minor, unless: (1) the minor is emancipated; (2) by court direction; (3) the provider has given actual written notice to the custodial parent or guardian five days in advance; or (4) the minor has written consent of a custodial parent or guardian.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Permanent Marriage Tax Elimination Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to accelerate the permanent elimination of the marriage tax penalty in the standard deduction and 15 percent income bracket for married taxpayers filing jointly and surviving spouses. (Eliminates phased-in increase provisions.) .
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2003 - Declares that the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 shall not apply to Title V: Estate, Gift, and Generation-skipping Transfer Tax Provisions of such Act. (Makes the repeal of estate and generation-skipping taxes under the Internal Revenue Code, and certain reductions of the gift tax, permanent.)
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Mutual Funds Integrity and Fee Transparency Act of 2003 - Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require mutual funds to disclose specified costs in their periodic reports to shareholders. States that a disclosure shall not be considered to be made in an appropriate disclosure document if it is made exclusively in a prospectus or statement of additional information. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to require each investment adviser to a registered investment company to report at least annually to such company's board of directors regarding specified payments, services and research services. Imposes a fiduciary duty upon company boards of directors to: (1) supervise and determine that an investment adviser's direction of the company's brokerage transactions serves the best interests of company shareholders; (2) supervise revenue sharing arrangements to ensure compliance with this Act; and (3) determine that revenue sharing arrangements serve the best interests of company shareholders. Reduces from sixty percent to one-third the number of "interested persons" who may serve as board members of a registered company. Prohibits an "interested person" from serving as chairman of the board of a registered company. Revises accountant selection criteria to: (1) mandate accountant selection by the audit committee of a registered company; (2) confer direct responsibility upon the audit committee for appointment, compensation, and oversight of the independent public accountant employed to prepare or issue the audit report; (3) require such independent public accountant to report directly to the audit committee; and (4) require each audit committee member to be a member of the board of directors, and to otherwise be independent. Directs the SEC to study and report to specified congressional committees on the use of soft dollar arrangements by investment advisers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Children's Hope Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a credit ($100, $200 for joint return) which is dependent on enactment of State qualified scholarship tax credits and which is allowed against the Federal income tax for charitable contributions to education investment organizations (as defined by this Act) that provide qualifying assistance for elementary and secondary education. Excludes from gross income amounts received from an education investment organization for qualified elementary and secondary education expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Seniors Financial Security Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the tax on social security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the current required beginning date for distributions from individual retirement plans and distributions of elective deferrals under qualified cash or deferred arrangements and make the required beginning date the date of the death of the employee.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Higher Education for Freedom Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to eligible institutions to prepare elementary, middle, and secondary school history teachers and to strengthen postsecondary programs in fields related to the founding of the United States, free institutions, and Western civilization.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2003
Social Security Earnings Limit Repeal Act of 2003 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained age 62 may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Children's Hope Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a credit ($100, $200 for joint return) which is dependent on enactment of State qualified scholarship tax credits and which is allowed against the Federal income tax for charitable contributions to education investment organizations (as defined by this Act) that provide qualifying assistance for elementary and secondary education.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise the definitions under Medicare regulations of "rehabilitation hospital" and "rehabilitation unit" for purposes of determining the applicable payment methodology under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Requires the Secretary, in determining whether a rehabilitation hospital or unit is eligible for reimbursement for services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries under the prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient rehabilitation facilities, to modify the list of treatment categories otherwise applicable (commonly referred to as the "75 Percent Rule") to include all rehabilitation impairment categories (except miscellaneous) established by the Secretary for purposes of such prospective payment system. (The "75 Percent Rule" requires that a rehabilitation hospital or unit show that during its most recent 12-month cost reporting period it served an inpatient population of whom at least 75 percent required intensive rehabilitative services for treatment of one or more of specified conditions.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Prohibits the Constitution or any State constitution, or State or Federal law from being construed to require that marital status or its legal incidents be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2003
Redesignates the U.S. Postal Service facility (known as the North Hackensack Station Post Office) located at 650 Kinderkamack Road in River Edge, New Jersey, as the New Bridge Landing Post Office.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2003
Bail Bond Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit a judicial officer from declaring forfeited a bail bond for violation of specified collateral release conditions other than failing to appear in court. Makes forfeiture of a bail bond for violation of such collateral release conditions unavailable as a sanction. Amends rule 46 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to provide that if the defendant fails to appear physically before the court (currently, if there is a breach of condition of a bond), the district court shall declare a forfeiture of the bail.
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 · 13 May 2003
Supports and commends the contribution of pregnancy resource centers, their staffs and volunteers. Encourages government agencies at all levels to assist such centers and decries any attempts to prevent their use.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Displaced Worker Assistance Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income qualified severance payments of up to $15,000 with respect to any employment separation reduced by the aggregate of prior excluded amounts. Limits exclusions to payments received in the year of separation or in one of the two succeeding taxable years.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Ten Commandments Defense Act of 2003 - Declares the following : (1) that the power to display the Ten Commandments on or within property owned or administered by the several States or their political subdivisions is among the powers reserved to the States respectively (under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution); (2) that the expression of religious faith by individual persons on or within property owned or administered by the several States or their political subdivisions is among the rights secured (under the First Amendment) against laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion made or enforced by the Federal Government; and (3) that the expression of religious faith by individual persons on or within property owned or administered by the several States or their political subdivisions is among the liberties of which no State shall deprive any person without due process of law made in pursuance of powers reserved to the States respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2003
Pledge Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal judicial code to deny jurisdiction to any court established by Act of Congress to hear or determine any claim that the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance violates the first amendment of the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2003 or Laci and Conner's Law - Provides that: (1) whoever engages in conduct that violates specified provisions of the Federal criminal code, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, or specified articles the Uniform Code of Military Justice (conduct constituting certain Federal violent crimes) and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury to, a child who is in utero, shall be guilty of a separate offense; and (2) the punishment for that separate offense shall be the same as that provided under Federal law for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother. Specifies that a violation of such provisions does not require proof that: (1) the person engaging in the conduct had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant; or (2) the defendant (or accused) intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child. Prohibits imposition of the death penalty for an offense under this Act. Bars prosecution under this Act: (1) of any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman, or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law; (2) for conduct relating to any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or (3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child.