United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) a commemorative postage stamp should be issued by the United States Postal Service on the subject of autism awareness; and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a postage stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Social Security Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) pension offset provisions applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to Old-Age and Survivors insurance benefit payments; and (2) windfall elimination provisions with respect to computation of the primary insurance amount of an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Fair Care for the Uninsured Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a tax credit in an amount equal to the amount paid for qualified health insurance, subject to stated limitations. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to the provider of an individual's qualified health insurance equal to such individual's qualified health insurance credit advance amount (the Secretary's estimate of the amount of credit allowable) with respect to such provider. Requires each health insurer, health maintenance organization, and health service organization to participate in a health insurance safety net which shall assure the availability of health insurance to uninsurable individuals. Funds such safety nets through assessments against such insurers and organizations. Permits such insurers and organizations to add the costs of such assessments to the costs of its insurance or coverage. Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow health benefits coverage through individual membership associations (IMAs). Sets forth IMA requirements, including that the IMA be an organization operated under the direction of an association and that IMA health benefits coverage only be provided through contracts with health insurance issuers. Requires IMAs to include a minimum of two health insurance coverage options.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Removal Assistance Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to provide grants to States and municipalities to upgrade municipal wastewater treatment plants of a specified capacity and located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed with nutrient removal technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2003 - Makes changes to the health care liability system, including compensation for injured patients and other issues arising out of health care law suits. Requires a suit to be brought within three years of the date of injury or one year after the claimant discovers or should have discovered the injury, whichever occurs first. Specifies exceptions when a suit may be brought later than three years after the date of injury. Sets forth requirements and permissible recovery amounts for compensating patient injury, including: (1) the full amount of economic loss without limitation; (2) noneconomic damages as specified; and (3) a fair share rule. Requires the court to supervise payment-of-damage arrangements, limiting contingency fees. Permits the introduction of evidence of collateral source benefits, except that this section shall not apply to provisions of the Social Security Act pertaining to State plans for medical assistance and Medicare as secondary payer. Limits the availability of punitive damages, requiring clear and convincing evidence of malicious intent to injure or a deliberate failure to avoid substantially certain, unnecessary injury. Prohibits their award for products that comply with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards, except if the manufacturer or distributor of a particular medical product or the supplier of a component or raw material of such a product causes harm by failing to comply with a specific requirement of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Authorizes periodic payment of future damages to claimants. Excludes suits for vaccine-related death or injury from the requirements of this Act if otherwise covered under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Preempts State law unless such law imposes greater protections for health care providers and organizations from liability, loss, or damages. Expresses the sense of Congress that a health insurer should be liable for damages for harm caused when it makes a decision as to what care is medically necessary and appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Recognizes the historical significance of February 19, 1942, the date Executive Order 9066 was signed by President Roosevelt, restricting the freedom of Japanese Americans, German Americans, and Italian Americans, and legal resident aliens through required identification cards, travel restrictions, seizure of personal property, and internment. Supports recognizing those events on a National Day of Remembrance.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2003
Steel Industry National Historic Site Act - Establishes the Steel Industry National Historic Site in Pennsylvania as a unit of the National Park System. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire by donation specified property for inclusion within such Site. Requires the Secretary to prepare and submit to specified congressional committees a general management plan for the Site.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2003
Authorizes the President to award a gold medal to each of the seven crew members who perished aboard the space shuttle Columbia: Rick D. Husband; Michael P. Anderson; Laurel Clark; David M. Brown; William C. McCool; Kapana Chawla; and Ilan Ramon.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Back to Work Incentive Act of 2003 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Labor to allot grants to States to allocate funds to local areas to establish personal reemployment accounts for individuals identified as likely to exhaust their unemployment compensation. Provides for such accounts to: (1) accelerate reemployment; (2) promote retention in employment; and (3) give individuals more flexibility, choice, and control in obtaining intensive reemployment, training, and supportive services (as well as assistance in purchasing or leasing an automobile when necessary to allow the recipient to accept a long-term employment offer). Allows such services to be purchased through a one-stop delivery system or other providers. Permits certain amounts in accounts to be used for income support. Provides for reemployment bonuses. Requires States to establish a uniform statewide amount, up to $3,000, for each individual account. Limits the time in which amounts in an account may be used to not more than one year after the account's establishment. Prohibits the establishment of any such account beginning two years after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for additional amounts of student loan forgiveness for certain teachers of: (1) mathematics and science in secondary schools; and (2) special education in elementary and secondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Amends the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 to revise the special pay adjustments for (percentage differentials payable to) Federal law enforcement officers in specified consolidated metropolitan statistical areas. Includes Capitol Police as law enforcement officers under such Act. Eliminates the limitation on the aggregate of basic pay and premium pay with respect to availability pay for Federal criminal investigators.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Instructional Materials Accessibility Act of 2003 - Directs Secretary of Education to: (1) develop and publish instructional materials accessibility standards for the national electronic file format to be used by publishers of instructional materials in the preparation of electronic files suitable for efficient conversion into specialized formats; (2) establish a National Instructional Materials Accessibility Advisory Committee to provide technical expertise and guidance in creating such national electronic file format; (3) periodically review and amend such standards to reflect technological advances or changes; and (4) establish a National Instructional Materials Access Center. Requires State educational agencies, as a condition for receiving Federal financial assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to develop and implement statewide plans and make contracts with publishers to ensure that instructional materials for classroom use in elementary and secondary schools are made available in specialized formats to individuals who are blind or have other print disabilities at the same time such materials are provided to individuals without such disabilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to provide or improve their capacity to prepare or obtain instructional materials in specialized formats, including the national electronic format. Provides for enforcement of rights of children and parents under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2003
Social Security Benefits Tax Relief Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 85 percent (second tier) taxation of Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits. Appropriates, from the general fund, to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund amounts equal to the reduction in revenue lost because of the repeal. Requires an annual report concerning the funds transferred from the general fund to the Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2003
National AMBER Alert Network Act of 2003 - Requires the Attorney General to assign an AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice to act as the national Coordinator of the AMBER Alert communications network regarding abducted children. Requires the coordinator to: (1) seek to eliminate gaps in the network; (2) work with States to encourage the development of additional network elements and to ensure regional coordination; and (3) act as the nationwide point of contact for network development and for regional coordination of alerts on abducted children through the network. Directs the Coordinator to: (1) notify and consult with the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning each child abduction for which an AMBER Alert is issued; and (2) establish minimum standards for the issuance of alerts and for the extent of their dissemination (limited to the geographic areas most likely to facilitate the recovery of the abducted child). Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of notification or communications systems along highways for alerts and other information for the recovery of abducted children. Includes among permissible activities the development or enhancement of electronic message boards, and the placement of additional signage, along highways. Directs the Attorney General to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of programs and activities for the support of AMBER Alert communications plans.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2003
Koby Mandell Act of 2003 - Directs the President to establish within the Department of Justice an office which shall assume responsibility for administration of the Rewards for Justice program and its website to ensure that rewards are offered to capture all terrorists involved in harming American citizens overseas, regardless of the terrorists' country of origin or residence. Directs the office to take specified steps, including: (1) establishing a program which will update American victims of overseas terrorism or their families on the status of efforts to capture the terrorists; (2) undertaking a comprehensive assessment to determine the reasons for the absence of indictments of terrorists residing in some regions; (3) monitoring public actions pertaining to terrorists by governments and regimes overseas, such as naming schools, streets, or other public institutions or sites after terrorists who have harmed American citizens; (4) initiating negotiations to secure financial compensation for American citizens (or their families) who were harmed by terrorist acts overseas by an organization that subsequently became part of a governing regime with which the U.S. Government maintains diplomatic or official contacts; and (5) coordinating with other Government agencies to seek the transfer to the United States of terrorists released from incarceration abroad who are eligible for further prosecution in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2003
Abandoned Mine Land Area Redevelopment Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit for holders of qualified abandoned mine land area redevelopment bonds, as specified. Sets forth rules and formulae concerning the annual credit (including limits and carryover), the applicable credit rate, bond issuance and redemption, the amount of bonds designated, and a national volume cap. Includes the credit in gross income, to be treated as interest income. Permits the credit to be stripped (owner of bond different from person entitled to the credit). Treats the allowed credit as a payment of estimated tax. Permits the credit to be transferred. Limits the program to ten years from the issuance of the first qualified abandoned mine land area redevelopment bond.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2003
Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act - Shields the manufacturer, distributor, or seller of a food or non-alcoholic beverage product intended for human consumption from civil liability, relating to consumption of such products, in Federal or State court, unless the plaintiff proves that the product was not in compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements at the time of sale.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2003
Solid Waste International Transportation Act of 2003- Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize States to enact laws prohibiting or limiting the receipt and disposal of municipal solid waste generated outside the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2003
National AMBER Alert Network Act of 2003 - Requires the Attorney General to assign an AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice to act as the national Coordinator of the AMBER Alert communications network regarding abducted children. Requires the coordinator to: (1) seek to eliminate gaps in the network; (2) work with States to encourage the development of additional network elements and to ensure regional coordination; and (3) act as the nationwide point of contact for network development and for regional coordination of alerts on abducted children through the network. Directs the Coordinator to: (1) notify and consult with the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning each child abduction for which an AMBER Alert is issued; and (2) establish minimum standards for the issuance of alerts and for the extent of their dissemination (limited to the geographic areas most likely to facilitate the recovery of the abducted child). Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of notification or communications systems along highways for alerts and other information for the recovery of abducted children. Includes among permissible activities the development or enhancement of electronic message boards, and the placement of additional signage, along highways. Directs the Attorney General to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of programs and activities for the support of AMBER Alert communications plans.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2003 - Permits retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation. Repeals provisions providing for special compensation for certain severely disabled military retirees and certain combat-related disabled uniformed services retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand activities addressing inflammatory bowel disease, emphasizing genetic, animal model, and clinical research. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a national program of prevention and epidemiology concerning such disease, addressing its prevalence and public and professional awareness. Directs the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science to study public and private insurance standards for coverage of inflammatory bowel therapies. Directs the General Accounting Office to study problems inflammatory bowel disease patients have applying for disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Housing Bond and Credit Modernization and Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the required use of certain principal repayments on mortgage subsidy bond financings to redeem bonds; (2) modify the purchase price limitation under mortgage subsidy bond rules based on median family income; and (3) define the term "area median gross income" for low-income housing credit projects.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Treatment of Children's Deformities Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to set standards requiring that group and individual health insurance and group health plans provide coverage for treatment of a minor child's congenital or developmental deformity or disorder due to trauma, infection, tumor, or disease.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize qualified law enforcement officers (including certain qualified retired officers) carrying the photographic identification issued by their governmental agency, notwithstanding State or local laws, to carry a concealed firearm. Provides that such authorization shall not supersede State laws that: (1) permit private entities to prohibit the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit the possession of firearms on State or local government property. Excludes from the definition of "firearm" any machine gun, firearm silencer, or destructive device.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Amends the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 to make as one of its purposes that in implementation of this Act at least 50 percent of all microenterprise assistance be targeted to the very poor, that is, those persons living either in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty line or on less than the equivalent of one dollar per day. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1964 to authorize the President to provide assistance to increase the availability of financial services (not just credit) to microenterprise households lacking full access to credit, including through: (1) loans and guarantees to microfinance institutions to expand the availability of savings and credit to poor and low-income households; (2) training programs to enable such institutions to better meet the financial services needs of their clients; and (3) training programs to enable clients to make better use of credit, increase their financial literacy, and to better manage their enterprises to improve their quality of life. Declares that, in order to maximize the sustainable development impact of microenterprise development grant assistance authorized under the Act, the Administrator of the agency primarily responsible for administering such assistance shall establish a monitoring system that, among other things, adopts the widespread use of proven and effective poverty assessment tools to identify the poorest of the poor and ensure that they receive needed microenterprise credits, loans, and assistance. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to develop and certify no fewer than two low-cost methods for measuring the poverty levels of the current or prospective clients of microenterprise organizations for purposes of the provision of microenterprise development grant assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 - Amends the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) and the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA, which is subchapter B of MLSA) to extend authorizations of appropriations and revise programs under such Acts. Prohibits projects which are determined to be obscene from receiving funds under MLSA. Amends MLSA to establish the National Museum and Library Services Board, within the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). (Eliminates a National Museum Services Board.) Requires the IMLS Director to: (1) ensure coordination with certain activities under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), and other Federal activities; and (2) conduct and publish analyses of museum and library services impact. Revises requirements for annual national awards to outstanding libraries and museums that have made significant contributions in service to their communities. Includes specified entities under the term museum, for MLSA purposes. Revises museum services activities. Entitles subchapter C of MLSA as the Museum Services Act. Amends LSTA to provide for: (1) an increased portion for administrative costs; (2) an increased alternative minimum allotment to States under certain conditions; (3) State plans once every five years, as determined by the IMLS Director; (4) additional uses of grants to States for library programs; and (5) recruitment of library and information science personnel under the program of national leadership grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Repeals requirements under the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Act relating to Commission responsibilities to: (1) advise the IMLS Director; and (2) meet with the National Museum Services Board, which is eliminated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to permanently ban: (1) taxes on Internet access; and (2) multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 - Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to revise requirements for: (1) national clearinghouse dissemination of information on child abuse programs, including community-based programs; (2) related research and assistance activities; (3) grants for additional demonstration projects, including enhanced linkage between child protective service agencies and public health, mental health, and developmental disabilities agencies; (4) additional discretionary grants; and (5) development and operation grants to the States. Repeals the authority for existing grants to: (1) the Community-based Family Resource programs; (2) the Family Support Center programs; (3) the Emergency Child Abuse Prevention Services grant program; and (4) programs under the Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries act of 1986. Includes parents with disabilities within the eligibility and performance guidelines governing community-based grants for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the implementation of programs that increase the number of older foster care children placed in adoptive families, with a special emphasis on child-specific recruitment strategies, including a grants program to eliminate barriers to placing children for adoption across jurisdictional boundaries. Amends the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act of 1988 to prohibit the Secretary from making a grant unless the grantee agrees to give priority to abandoned infants and young children who: (1) are infected with, or have been perinatally exposed to, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or have a life-threatening illness or other special medical need; or (2) have been perinatally exposed to a dangerous drug.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Renames the Technology Assessment Act of 1972 as the Office of Technology Assessment Reestablishment Act of 2003. Authorizes appropriations for the Office of Technology Assessment for FY 2004 through 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to require the disregard of State paid annuities for blind veterans and their spouses in determining SSI benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2002
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage of certain self-administered intramuscular and subcutaneous drugs under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2002
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a new program that subjects, beginning on October 1, 2002, each medical device manufacturer to a medical device fee for certain applications, reports, application supplements, and submissions sent to the Food and Drug Administration for evaluation. Grants exceptions. Restricts the medical device user fees collected to being used to defray increases in the costs of the resources allocated for the review of device applications. Exempts certain entities submitting premarket reports from being subject to a fee. Directs the Secretary to accredit persons who are not Federal employees to conduct the inspections required under the Act for establishments that manufacture, prepare, propagate, compound, or process class II or class III devices. Considers it a violation of the Act for an accredited inspector to: (1) breach the standards of accreditation of this section; (2) pose a threat to public health; or (3) fail to act in accordance with this section. Requires the Secretary to establish within the Office of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs an Office to perform various functions, including to ensure the timely premarket review of combination products. Directs the Secretary to provide guidance on ensuring safety of pediatric devices and providing protections for pediatric subjects in clinical investigations into the safety and effectiveness of such devices. Requires reprocessed single-use devices to carry prominently on the label a statement identifying the product as such, along with the name of the person responsible for reprocessing and the manufacturer.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2002
Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2002 - Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to modify guidelines governing: (1) national clearinghouse dissemination of information on child abuse programs, including community-based programs; (2) related research and assistance activities; (3) grants for additional demonstration projects, including enhanced linkage between child protective service agencies and public health, mental health, and developmental disabilities agencies; (4) additional discretionary grants; and (5) development and operation grants to the States. Repeals the authority for existing grants to: (1) the Community-based Family Resource programs; (2) the Family Support Center programs; (3) the Emergency Child Abuse Prevention Services grant program; and (4) programs under the Temporary Child Care for Children with Disabilities and Crisis Nurseries act of 1986. Includes parents with disabilities within the eligibility and performance guidelines governing community-based grants for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to provide for the implementation of programs that increase the number of older foster care children placed in adoptive families, with a special emphasis on child-specific recruitment strategies, including a grants program to eliminate barriers to placing children for adoption across jurisdictional boundaries. Amends the Abandoned Infants Assistance Act of 1988 to prohibit the Secretary from making a grant unless the grantee agrees to give priority to abandoned infants and young children who: (1) are infected with, or have been perinatally exposed to, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or have a life-threatening illness or other special medical need; or (2) have been perinatally exposed to a dangerous drug.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2002
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to establish and appoint the members of a Marine Protected Areas Advisory Committee in accordance with the Department of Commerce MPA Advisory Committee Supplement 1 Charter of the MPA Federal Advisory Committee, December 18, 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2002
Renames title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting discrimination in education based on sex) the "Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act".
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2002
Amends basic annuity computation provisions under the Federal Employees' Retirement System to provide that the percentage otherwise applicable for a computation that includes, in the aggregate, at least two months of credit for any period of receiving disability compensation benefits shall be increased by one percentage point.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2002
Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to make "patient safety work product" privileged information. Defines "patient safety work product" as a record concerning patient information either reported to a patient safety organization by a health care provider (doctor, hospital, etc.) or created by a patient safety organization. Defines a "patient safety organization" as an organization, certified under this Act, that collects such information with the goal of improving patient safety and the quality of health care delivery. Imposes a civil penalty on providers who violate the privileged status of patient safety work product. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and maintain a database to receive relevant nonidentifiable patient safety work product, consistent, if practicable, with the administrative simplification provisions of the Social Security Act. Permits the Secretary to provide to patient safety organizations and to States technical assistance with reporting systems for health care errors. Directs the Secretary to establish a process for the Secretary or another approved Federal or State governmental organization to certify patient safety organizations. Requires the Secretary to develop or adopt voluntary national standards promoting the interoperability of information technology systems involved with health care delivery. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to practitioners for electronic prescription programs, with a matching requirement of not less than 50 percent of the costs. Directs the Secretary to make grants to hospitals and other health care providers for information technologies, and to provide technical assistance to applicants and grantees. Sets forth a matching requirement for the grants of not less than 50 percent of the costs. Requires the Secretary to issue and periodically revise regulations requiring the manufacturer of any drug or biological product that is subject to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration, or the packager or labeler of such a product, to include a unique product identifier on the packaging.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2002
Grants the consent of the Congress to the SMART Research and Development Compact (to promote the contribution of the Mid-Atlantic region to the Nation's research and development in science and technology and to create an organization for strengthening the Mid-Atlantic region for tomorrow) if it is entered into by the States of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2002
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that each State should examine its existing statutes, practices, and procedures governing special elections so that, in the event of a catastrophe, vacancies in the House of Representatives may be filled in a timely fashion.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2002
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act - Permits the Director of the National Institutes of Health (the "Director" of NIH), acting through the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to expand and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to research on paralysis. Allows the Director to award grants to public or nonprofit entities to fund Christopher Reeve Paralysis Research Consortia for paralysis research. Permits the Director to solicit public input regarding paralysis research programs. Allows the Director, acting through the Director of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the National Center for Rehabilitation Research and in collaboration with other agencies, to expand and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to research with implications for enhancing daily function for persons with paralysis. Permits the Director to make grants to multicenter networks of clinical sites that will collaborate on rehabilitation intervention protocols. Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to study the unique health challenges associated with paralysis and other physical disabilities to improve the quality of life and long-term health status of individuals with such conditions. Allows the Secretary to undertake direct research and to make grants. Provides for the formation of a national paralysis and physical disability quality of life plan, a hospital-based paralysis registry, and a Comprehensive Paralysis and Other Physical Disability Quality of Life Program. Allows the Secretary to convene a working group for coordinating paralysis research, public health, and rehabilitation training at the Federal level.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and communities should work together to prevent the victimization of children; and (2) communities, schools, and parents should learn more about the steps that may be taken to safeguard children and teach them the skills they need to be safe. Recognizes the booklet, "Personal Safety for Children," as one of the tools available to help parents and teachers talk with children about personal safety.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2002
Declares the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should complete action in the 107th Congress on the Pension Security Act of 2002 and present it to the President for his signature before adjournment.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2002
Supports the goals and ideas of a day of tribute to all firefighters who have died in the line of duty. Recognizes the important mission of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in assisting family members to overcome the loss of their fallen heroes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2002
Aquatic Invasive Species Research Act - Requires the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop and conduct a marine and fresh-water research program to support efforts to detect, prevent, and eradicate invasive species in the Aquatic Ecosystem. Requires the program to: (1) develop standardized protocols for conducting ecological and pathway surveys of nonnative aquatic species; (2) create baseline ecological information of the aquatic ecosystem and pathways; (3) designate the number and location of survey sites required; (4) conduct laboratory and field-based marine and fresh-water research experiments on a range of taxonomic groups to identify the relationship between the introduction and establishment of nonnative aquatic species; and (5) analyze the data collected. Directs the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to convene a workshop with appropriate researchers. Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to: (1) require that ecological and ballast water discharge surveys examine other potential modes of introducing nonnative aquatic species by ship into the Aquatic Ecosystem, including hull fouling; (2) rename the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse as the National Pathway and Ecological Surveys Database; (3) expand the purview of the database to include ballast water management, delivery practices of ships entering United States ports and their compliance with existing regulations; and (3) make the database widely available to the public. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish marine and fresh-water research, development, and demonstration programs with respect to environmental soundness screening and dispersal barrier research. Reauthorizes the ship pathway technology demonstration program. Requires the Coast Guard and the EPA to develop a research program to support implementation of standards to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by ships into the Aquatic Ecosystem. Requires the National Science Foundation to establish a grant program for institutions of higher education to carry our research programs in systematics and taxonomy.
![Official portrait of Rep. Greenwood, James C. [R-PA-8]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000439_200.jpg)