United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2003
Community Economic Development Expertise Enhancement Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to increase the capacity and expertise of qualifying community-based economic development organizations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct an assessment of such organizations' capability needs; and (2) establish the Advisory Council on Community Economic Development. Directs the President to include with each annual budget request a report regarding Federal financial support for community economic development.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2003
Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act - Designates specified National Forest System and Bureau of Land Management district lands in Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, and Napa Counties in California as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Requires that such lands be administered by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture, whoever has current administrative jurisdiction. Provides for the adjustment of the boundaries of certain of the lands to allow and encourage mechanical fire-suppression activities near wildfire risk areas. Designates specified Bureau of Land Management district lands in California as potential wilderness areas. Requires that the Secretary of the Interior manage such lands as wilderness and carry out ecological restoration activities. Designates specified segments of the Black Butte River in Mendocino County, California as a wild and scenic river. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a fire management plan and a report on the cultural and historic resources of Black Butte River. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture for: (1) the establishment of a program to provide grants for creating wilderness-related jobs and for developing visitors centers, brochures, and kiosks; (2) the development of trails and other facilities to promote wilderness recreation; (3) the support of law enforcement activities; and (4) the support of firefighting activities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2003
California Missions Preservation Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make matching grants to the California Missions Foundation to support its efforts to restore and repair the California missions, and to preserve associated artworks and artifacts.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2003
Homeland Emergency Response Operations Act or HERO Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from granting any extension beyond December 31, 2006, for the reassignment of the frequencies assigned for public safety services. Directs the FCC to complete assignment of the electromagnetic spectrum between 764 and 776 megahertz and between 794 and 806 megahertz for public safety services and to permit operations by public safety services on those frequencies no later than January 1, 2007.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2003
Broad-Based Stock Option Plan Transparency Act of 2003 - Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require companies to include within certain mandatory reports details regarding stock option plans, stock purchase plans, and other arrangements involving employee acquisition of an equity interest in the company, including: (1) a discussion of the dilutive effect of stock option plans (written in accordance with the Plain English Handbook published by the Office of Investor Education and Assistance of the Commission); (2) expanded disclosure of the dilutive effect of employee stock options on the company's earnings per share number; (3) prominent placement and increased comparability of all stock option related information; and (4) a summary of stock options granted to the five most highly compensated executive officers, including outstanding stock options of those officers. Directs the SEC to examine and report to specified congressional committees on the effectiveness of the enhanced disclosures required by this Act in increasing transparency to current and potential investors. Prohibits the Commission, between enactment of this Act and submission of such report, from recognizing as generally accepted accounting principles any new accounting standards regarding the treatment of stock options. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to analyze and report to specified congressional committees on broad-based employee stock option plans, particularly in the high technology and any other high growth industries.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2003
Amends Federal postal law to extend the U.S. Postal Service's authority to issue special postage stamps to help provide funding for breast cancer research through December 31, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2003
Honors and recognizes: (1) the 350th anniversary of the American Jewish community; and (2) the Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History (formed by the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, the American Jewish Historical Society, and the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives) and its efforts to plan, coordinate, and execute commemorative events. Expresses support for designation of American Jewish History Month.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2003
Designates the United States Postal Service facility located at 7554 Pacific Avenue in Stockton, California, as the Norman Shumway Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Department of Veterans Affairs Claims Backlog Reduction Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) identify the current backlog of veterans' claims for benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs and to categorize those claims; and (2) identify claims that need further development and refer them to a geographically appropriate County Veterans Service Office. Allows veterans' claims to be submitted to County Veterans Service Officers (in lieu of the Department) and authorizes the Officers to fully develop such claims. Requires appropriate information sharing between the Department's Benefits Delivery Network and the Offices. Requires funding provided by this Act to be allocated to States based on their respective populations of veterans and allocates such funds to the appropriate Office. Prohibits Federal funding from exceeding 50 percent of the costs of Office operations. Allows funding to be used to establish Officer programs in States that do not have one.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Assuring Honesty and Accountability Act of 2003 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to extend through FY 2008 the discretionary spending limits (spending caps) for defense and nondefense categories in new budget authority and outlays. Retains (eliminates the expiration of) pay-as-you-go. Retains (eliminates the expiration of) specified budget enforcement mechanisms. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 concerning legislation which: (1) evades specified budget enforcement mechanisms; (2) provides direct spending (to be included in the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis (scoring); and (3) is unreported by committee (for purposes of budget point of order rules). Limits the adjustment required to the discretionary spending limits in new budget authority for FY 2004 when new budget authority for operations of the Department of Homeland Security or grants to States and localities for homeland security is enacted. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a homeland security needs assessment. Requires reports on legislation which provide new budget, spending, or credit authority or otherwise provide an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures to include a projection by CBO of the cost of debt servicing (interest). Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to address issues of emergency spending through: (1) establishing criteria and guidelines; (2) the inclusion of a reserve fund in the President's Budget; and (3) requiring a separate House vote on an emergency designation. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives concerning: (1) budget compliance statements (permitting inclusion of budgetary implications); and (2) justification for budget act waivers (inclusion required for bill consideration).
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Domestic Violence Screening, Treatment, and Prevention Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish, under specified conditions, family violence research and education centers to conduct research and disseminate information concerning family violence; and (2) establish an advisory board to recommend the research agenda for such centers. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to and enter into contracts with public and nonprofit private entities capable of conducting such research. Requires the Secretary to award grants to entities that currently work in the field of family violence and health care to enable them to develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate family violence education and training curricula, programs, and strategies. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, to award grants for up to four years to State and local governmental and nonprofit entities that currently work in the field of family violence and health care to be used to develop strategies to improve the response of State and local health care systems to domestic violence and to promote education and awareness. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to declare that State health benefits provided may cover domestic violence identification and treatment services. Amends Federal civil service law to require the Office of Personnel Management to require all contracted carriers of health coverage for Federal employees to include coverage for domestic violence identification and treatment services. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to require: (1) the Secretary, with respect to maternal and child health services block grant funds, to provide preference to State applicants who include training of providers in how to identify and treat the effects of family violence; and (2) States to set aside a reasonable portion of such funds to provide for domestic violence identification and treatment. Requires the Secretary to allot funds to States to provide for a separate program for domestic violence identification and treatment. Amends the PHSA to authorize the Secretary to award grants to federally-qualified health centers to improve the identification and treatment of domestic violence.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to prescribe guidelines for a Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard under which retail electric suppliers submit renewable energy credits to the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to: (1) encourage federally-owned utilities, municipally-owned utilities, and rural electric cooperatives that sell electric energy to electric consumers for purposes other than resale to participate in the renewable portfolio standard program; and (2) establish, not later than December 31, 2005, a State renewable energy account program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Access to Cancer Therapies Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend Medicare coverage to all oral drugs prescribed for use as an anticancer agent for a medically accepted indication.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
No Taxation Without Representation Act of 2003 - Provides for full voting representation in Congress for the residents of the District of Columbia, including two Senators and as many Representatives as a similarly populous State would be entitled to under the law. Treats the District of Columbia as a State. Prescribes a procedure for the first elections under this Act. Entitles the District to one Representative until the taking effect of the next reapportionment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
American Dream Downpayment Act - Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to participating jurisdictions for downpayment assistance to low-income, first-time home buyers; and (2) make the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 inapplicable to such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act respecting naturalization through service in the armed forces to: (1) reduce the required service from three years to two years; and (2) prohibit the imposition of a naturalization fee. Provides for overseas naturalization proceedings for members of the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2003
Constitutional Amendment - States that: (1) equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex; (2) Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article; and (3) this amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2003
Holocaust Victims Insurance Relief Act of 2003 - Directs the Archivist of the United States to establish and maintain a Holocaust Insurance Registry of information on holders, issuers, and related liable entities of Holocaust-era insurance policies that were: (1) in effect after January 30, 1933, and before December 31, 1945; and (2) issued to a policyholder domiciled in any area of Europe that was occupied or controlled by Nazi Germany or any ally or sympathizer during such period. Requires: (1) insurers to file such information in an electronic format with the Secretary of Commerce by a specified deadline; (2) the Secretary to assess a civil penalty for each day of insurer noncompliance; and (3) the Secretary to notify each State's commissioner of insurance of the identity of any insurer that has failed to file either such information or to satisfy such civil penalty. Declares that nothing in this Act preempts the right of any State to adopt or enforce any State law requiring an insurer to disclose information regarding insurance policies that may have been confiscated or stolen from victims of Nazi persecution. Expresses the sense of Congress that if any litigation challenging such a State law is dismissed because the State's commissioner of insurance chooses to rely on this Act and therefore no longer seeks to enforce the State law, each party should bear its own legal fees and costs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) proposed changes to Title IX athletics policies contradict the spirit of athletic equality and gender equity; (2) current Title IX athletics policies, the Department of Education's 1979 Policy Interpretation as clarified in the 1996 Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy Guidance, should remain unchanged and be enforced vigorously to eliminate the continuing discrimination against women and girls in athletics; and (3) if the Department of Education changes Title IX athletics policies, Congress should restore the intent of Title IX through policies that preserve the right to equal opportunities in athletics.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2003
Yellowstone Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement the final rule to phase out snowplane use in Grand Teton National Park and snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park, the John. D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, and Grand Teton National Park. Prohibits the Secretary from modifying or superseding any provisions of that final rule.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2003 - Establishes the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the Treasury to promote the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable and safe low-income housing through grants to States and local jurisdictions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to authorize funding to reach the Federal Government's goal of providing 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure to assist States and local educational agencies with the excess costs of educating children with disabilities. Authorizes appropriations for IDEA part B programs of assistance for education of all children with disabilities, in specified amounts for FY 2004 through 2007, and as necessary thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act - Designates the following lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System): (1) Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem; (2) Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; (3) Greater Salmon/Selway ecosystem; (4) Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk ecosystem; (5) Islands in the Sky Wilderness; and (6) Blackfeet Wilderness. Designates: (1) specified wild land areas as Biological Connecting Corridors to protect the life flow of the Northern Rockies Bioregion; (2) the inventoried roadless areas identified as part of the Corridors as components of the System; and (3) certain biological connecting corridors as special corridor management areas. Establishes the Hells Canyon/Chief Joseph National Park and Preserve as a National Park System unit. Repeals Federal law provisions that establish the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) implement a program of ecosystem restoration in the Preserve; and (2) study the feasibility of creating a Flathead National Park and Preserve in the area generally known as the Glacier View Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Establishes the National Wildland Restoration and Recovery System and the National Wildland Recovery Corps. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to assure nonexclusive access to the specified areas and corridors designated by this Act by Native Americans for traditional cultural and religious purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2003
American History and Civics Education Act of 2003 - Directs the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to award competitive grants to nonprofit educational institutions to establish: (1) Presidential Academies for Teaching of American History and Civics to offer workshops for teachers of American history and civics; and (2) Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics to offer workshops for outstanding students of American history and civics. Directs the NEA Chairperson to award a grant to an organization for the creation of a national alliance of elementary school and secondary school teachers of American history and civics.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2003
Debbie Smith Act of 2003 - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) survey Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement jurisdictions to assess the amount of DNA evidence from sexual assault crimes that has not been subjected to testing and analysis; (2) review national, State, local, and tribal government protocols on the collection and processing of DNA evidence at crime scenes; and (3) make grants for sexual assault examiner programs, examiner training and certification, acquisition or improvement of forensic equipment, and other training. Amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to: (1) ensure that DNA testing and analysis of samples from rape kits and non-suspect cases are carried out in a timely manner; (2) reauthorize grants; (3) make local governments eligible for grants; (4) direct the Attorney General to give priority to a State or local governmental unit that has a significant rape kit or non-suspect case backlog; and (5) expand the scope of DNA samples subject to privacy protections. Amends: (1) the Federal criminal code and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to authorize "John Doe" DNA indictments for sexual abuse (allows describing a person as an unknown individual who has a particular DNA profile if the identity of the accused or defendant is unknown); and (2) the DNA Identification Act of 1994 to authorize appropriations to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to carry out a redesign of the Combined DNA Index System.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2003
Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit certain employee group health plans or related insurances providing both medical-surgical and mental health benefits from imposing mental health treatment limitations or financial requirements unless comparable limitations and requirements are imposed upon medical-surgical benefits. States that the foregoing shall not be construed as requiring a group health plan (or related insurances) to: (1) provide any mental health benefits; (2) prevent the medical management of mental health benefits; or (3) require the provision of specific mental health services, except to the extent that failure to provide such services would result in a disparity between the coverage of mental health and medical-surgical benefits. Exempts specified small employers from such requirements. Requires that, in the case of a group health plan that offers a participant or beneficiary two or more benefit package options, the coverage requirements shall be applied separately with respect to each such option. Provides that, in the case of a plan or insurance providing in-network mental health benefits, out-of-network mental health benefits need not be provided at parity to medical-surgical benefits, as long as in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and the plan or insurance provides reasonable access to in-network providers and facilities. Requires a General Accounting Office study of such requirements' effects upon health insurance costs, access, and quality and a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2003
Training for Realtime Writers Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to eligible entities to promote training and placement of individuals, including individuals who have completed a court reporting training program, as realtime writers to meet requirements for closed captioning in video programming. Sets forth priorities to be given in the award of such grants. Limits grants to a two-year period and a maximum amount of $1.5 million.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2003
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2003 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the Federal minimum wage to: (1) $5.90 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after enactment of this Act; and (2) $6.65 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day. Makes Federal minimum wage requirements applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Sets forth a transition period during which a specified minimum wage there shall be gradually increased to equal the Federal minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2003
Amends the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003, to repeal the provision permitting a farm to be certified as organic with respect to livestock produced on such farm if it uses non-organically produced feed under certain cost-based circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2003
Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that a public safety officer who dies as the direct and proximate result of a heart attack or stroke suffered while on duty or within 24 hours after participating in a training exercise or responding to an emergency situation shall be presumed to have died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty, for purposes of survivor benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2003
Zero Gravity, Zero Tax Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income: (1) space-related income; and (2) gain on the sale or exchange of any stock of a qualified space corporation. Establishes a space company investment credit for the purchase of qualified stock in a qualified space company.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
Renewing the Dream Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a community homeownership tax credit based upon an applicable percentage of each qualified residence's eligible basis. Makes such credit available to residences located: (1) in a census tract with a median gross income not exceeding 80 percent of the greater area or statewide median gross income; (2) in a rural area; (3) on an Indian reservation; or (4) in an area of chronic economic distress. Prohibits a buyer's income from exceeding 80 percent (70 percent for families of less than three) of the area gross median income and requires owner occupancy. Specifies that the aggregate homeownership credit dollar amount which a homeownership credit agency (an "agency") may disburse is the portion of the "State homeownership credit ceiling" (the "ceiling") allocated to such agency. Allows "unused homeownership credit carryovers" to be allocated among qualified States. Sets aside at up to 90 percent least ten percent of a State's ceiling for certain housing projects in which a qualified nonprofit organization owns an interest and materially participates in the given project's development and operation throughout the credit period. Requires allocation of credit to residences to be in accordance with a "qualified allocation plan" of the agency issuing credit. Lists certain specified criteria such a plan must include and specifies that the plan must be approved by the governmental unit of which such agency is a part.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
Clean, Learn, Educate, Abolish, Neutralize, and Undermine Production (CLEAN-UP) of Methamphetamines Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to carry out environmental cleanup and remediation programs involving specified lands that are contaminated with hazardous substances associated with illegal methamphetamine manufacture. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate as hazardous certain byproducts of the methamphetamine production process and expand penalties against laboratory operators; (2) the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration to list byproducts likely to cause long-term environmental harm; (3) the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to provide grants to State and local law enforcement for specified training and equipment acquisition; (4) the EPA Administrator to study the impact of methamphetamine laboratory operation on the environment; and (5) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study contamination issues. Amends: (1) the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize grants for educational programs; (2) the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to provide treatment; (3) the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include among permissible grant projects under the "cops on the beat" program hiring personnel and purchasing equipment; and (4) the Controlled Substances Act to set penalties for promoting, for commercial purposes, an entertainment event where the promoter knows that a controlled substance will be used or distributed in violation of specified law. Urges the President to seek commitments from the Canadian Government regarding the availability of pseudoephedrine.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include permanent partners (as defined by this Act) within the scope of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of NIH and the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute with respect to postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide for projects for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis and their families. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
Prescription Drug Price Reduction Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to repeal the condition on the permission to pharmacists and wholesalers to import prescription drugs from Canada into the United States that the Secretary first demonstrate to Congress the safety of such products and the financial benefit to consumers of permitting their importation. (Thus allows the importation of such drugs to proceed without fulfillment of prerequisites.) Repeals termination of the importation program. Directs the Secretary to promulgate a final rule for carrying out the provisions on covered products within a year of the enactment of this Act, with the effective date for such final rule to be no later than 30 days after the date of promulgation. Classifies an imported covered product as misbranded unless it bears labeling that identifies: (1) the country of origin; (2) the name and address of the importer; and (3) the name and address of the person who exported the product to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
First Responders Expedited Assistance Act of 2003 - Makes appropriations to the Secretary of Homeland Security for grants by the Office for Domestic Preparedness of the Department of Homeland Security.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
Morris K. Udall Arctic Wilderness Act - Designates specified lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
Smallpox Vaccine Compensation and Safety Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue grants to State and local governments for various uses related to covered countermeasures against smallpox (countermeasures), including to provide for their administration. Requires States receiving grants to: (1) establish education programs regarding countermeasures; and (2) offer screening and testing for conditions that increase health risks from countermeasures. Declares that it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an individual because of a refusal to receive a countermeasure or because of an adverse reaction to a countermeasure. Directs the Secretary to supply vaccinia immune globulin to anyone receiving vaccinia vaccine if such vaccine is declared a countermeasure. Requires the Secretary to pay States the costs incurred for medical assistance to health care workers and first responders who suffer adverse reactions from a countermeasure, provided such individuals have not received other specified compensation. States that this section constitutes budget authority in advance of appropriations Acts. Amends the Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to require continued coverage of benefits for countermeasure side effects by group health plans maintained by States and subunits of States at the level of such coverage as of September 10, 2001. Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a National Smallpox Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, under which compensation may be paid for injury or death related to countermeasures on or after November 25, 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
Calls for full funding of first responder programs, including the additional resources that are required to assist States and local communities and first responders in making the Nation's homeland defense as strong as possible.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2003
Calls on executive branch officials and Members of Congress to raise the issue of anti-Semitism in their bilateral contacts with other countries and at multilateral fora, including meetings of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the July 2003 Twelfth Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Calls on participating OSCE States to: (1) condemn anti-Semitism, racial and ethnic hatred, xenophobia, and discrimination, as well as persecution on religious grounds whenever it occurs; (2) ensure effective local and national law enforcement against criminal acts stemming from anti-Semitism, xenophobia, or racial or ethnic hatred, including thorough investigation and prosecution of such acts; (3) promote the creation of educational efforts throughout the region to counter anti-Semitic stereotypes and attitudes among younger people, increase Holocaust awareness programs, and help identify the necessary resources to accomplish this goal; (4) play a leading role in combating anti-Semitism and ensure that the resolution adopted at the 2002 meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Berlin is followed up by a series of concrete actions at the national level; and (5) organize a separately designated human dimension event on anti-Semitism as early as possible in 2003, consistent with the Porto Ministerial Declaration adopted by the OSCE at the Tenth Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in December 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2003
Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code by determining that acquiring corporations in"corporate expatriation transactions" shall be considered domestic corporations. Defines a "corporate expatriation transaction" as, with certain exceptions, one in which a "nominally foreign corporation" acquires substantially all of the properties held by a domestic corporation and in which, immediately after the transaction, more than 80 percent of the stock of the acquiring corporation is held by former shareholders of the domestic corporation. Lowers the 80 percent threshold to 50 percent when the acquiring "nominally foreign corporation" lacks substantial business activities in the foreign country in which it was created and organized compared to the total activities of the "expanded affiliated group" and the stock is publicly traded, with the principal market of trading being the United States. Defines the terms "nominally foreign corporation" and "expanded affiliated group." Applies similar rules to partnership transactions. Establishes that a series of related transactions relevant to the Act shall be handled as a single transaction.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2003
United States Independent Film and Television Production Incentive Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish an annual tax credit for 25 percent of up to the first $25,000 of qualified wages paid or incurred per qualified U.S. independent film and television production. Increases the credit to 35 percent if the production is located in an area eligible for designation as a low-income community or eligible for designation by the Delta Regional Authority as a distressed county or isolated area of distress.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2003
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. 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 · 11 February 2003
Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2003 - Deems certain service performed before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts as active military service for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Repeals certain provisions discounting such service as qualifying service.
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 · 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
Investment in America Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the credit for increasing research activities. Increases the alternative incremental credit rates. Provides an alternative credit for qualified research expenses.
![Official portrait of Rep. Harman, Jane [D-CA-36]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000213_200.jpg)