United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to provide for an extension of time for States to request payments for activities to improve administration of elections and for replacement of punch card or lever voting machines. Repeals the exemption of the Election Assistance Commission from certain Government contracting requirements (thus requiring the Commission to advertise for proposals for purchases and contracts for supplies or services). Revises audit capacity requirements to require the voting system to produce a voter-verified paper record suitable for a manual audit equivalent or superior to that of a paper ballot box system. Requires the voting system to provide a mechanism for voter-verification of results with respect to individuals with disabilities which separates the function of vote generation from the function of vote casting, but does not require the use of paper. Requires instruction of election officials in the rights of the disabled to vote with the assistance of an aide of their selection under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Requires the Commission to study and develop best practices to enhance accessibility and voter-verification mechanisms for disabled voters. Accelerates the deadline for compliance with voting systems standards from January 1, 2006, to the regularly scheduled November 2004 general Federal election. Requires each State and jurisdiction unable to meet such deadline to receive a paper voting system at Commission expense that shall be deemed compliant with such standards for use in the November 2004 general election. Requires Federal certification of technological security of voter registration lists. Directs the Commission to: (1) conduct manual mandatory surprise recounts of the voter-verified records of each election for Federal office (and, at State or local option, of elections for State and local office) in .5 percent of the jurisdictions in each State and .5 percent of the overseas jurisdictions in which voter-verified records are preserved in accordance with this Act immediately following each general election for Federal office; and (2) promptly publish the results of those recounts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial Act - Designates the memorial to former prisoners of war and members of the armed forces missing in action that is under construction at Riverside National Cemetery, California, as the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the space science learning center in Downey, California, should be designated as the Columbia Memorial Space Science Learning Center; and (2) the Federal Government, along with public and private organizations and persons, should continue to cooperate in the establishment of such center.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2003
Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2003 - Directs the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate programs for the conduct and support of research with respect to uterine fibroids. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate to the public information regarding uterine fibroids, including on: (1) the elevated risk for minority women; and (2) the availability of a range of treatment options. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to develop and disseminate to health care providers information on uterine fibroids, including on: (1) the elevated risk for minority women; and (2) and treatment options.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2003
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain in recognition of his contributions to maintaining the security of all freedom-loving nations. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to strike such medal and authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2003
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 · 15 May 2003
Project BioShield Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act regarding preparations for public health emergencies affecting national security, including a bioterrorist attack. Grants the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) certain authority with respect to the research and development of qualified countermeasures, including: (1) expedited procurement authority; (2) expedited peer authority; and (3) authority for personal services contracts. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, to maintain a stockpile of drugs, vaccines (including smallpox vaccine), and other supplies to provide for the emergency health security of the United States in the event of a bioterrorist attack or other public health emergency. Directs the Secretary to: (1) award grants to ensure that the stockpile contains an adequate amount of smallpox vaccine; and (2) assess, on an ongoing basis, the potential public health consequences from the use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear agents and determine the agents for which countermeasures are necessary. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow the Secretary to declare a national emergency under specified conditions and authorize the release of a drug or device intended for use in an emergency. Directs the Secretary to impose requirements on the authorization, including ensuring that health care professionals administering the product and persons to whom the product is administered are fully informed about the benefits and risks involved and other alternatives. Requires the Secretary to periodically review an authorization under this Act, and authorizes the Secretary to revoke such an authorization if circumstances so warrant. Allows the President, under specified circumstances in cases involving the Armed Forces, to waive the requirement that individuals be allowed to refuse administration of a countermeasure. Requires: (1) reports from the Secretary regarding authorities under this Act; (2) the Secretary to request the National Academy of Sciences to review biomedical countermeasure research and development activities under this Act; and (3) review by the General Accounting Office.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2003
Declares that the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans, including Arab-Americans, Muslim-Americans, South Asian-Americans, and Sikh-Americans, should be protected in light of the number of bias-motivated crimes against them in recent months. Condemns bigotry and acts of violence against such people and calls upon local, State, and Federal law enforcement authorities to prevent and investigate and prosecute such bias-motivated crimes.
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
Asthmatic Schoolchildren's Treatment and Health Management Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in making any asthma-related grant to a State educational agency or a local educational agency, to give preference to any such agencies in States that require schools to allow students to self-administer medication to treat that student's asthma or anaphylaxis. Expresses: (1) the sense of Congress regarding the strategies identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for addressing asthma within a coordinated school health program; and (2) the support of Congress for the goals and ideals of such strategies.
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.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Armed Forces Naturalization Act of 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 one year; and (2) prohibit the imposition of a naturalization fee. Provides for overseas naturalization proceedings for members of the armed forces. Amends the Act to retain, with specified filing deadlines, immediate relative status for the alien spouse, child, or parent of a person granted posthumous U.S. citizenship through death from injury or disease incurred while serving honorably on active military service during a period of hostilities. Permits self-petitions for immigrant status. Waives public charge grounds of inadmissibility. Prohibits the imposition of related fees. Treats the alien spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen who died from injury or disease incurred while serving honorably on active military service during a period of hostilities as a valid petitioner for immediate family status. Permits surviving child or parent self-petitions for immigrant status. Waives public charge grounds of inadmissibility. Replaces specified references to the "Attorney General" with the "Secretary of Homeland Security." Makes the provisions of this Act, except fee-related provisions, effective as if enacted on September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins, which shall be emblematic of the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia (the first permanent English settlement in America). Provides for a $35 per coin surcharge for the $5 dollar coins and $10 per coin for the $1 dollar coins. Directs that: (1) half of the surcharges be used to support programs to promote the understanding of the legacies of Jamestown (to be paid to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation); and (2) half be used to sustain the ongoing mission of preserving Jamestown, to enhance national and international educational programs relating to Jamestown, to improve infrastructure and archeological research activities relating to Jamestown, and conduct other programs to support the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown (to be distributed by the Secretary in equal shares to the Secretary of the Interior, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation).
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 - Permits the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System lands, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, to plan and conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects (fuels projects) on specified types of Federal lands. Directs the Secretary concerned to give priority to fuels projects that provide for the protection of communities and watersheds. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to make grants: (1) to improve the commercial value of forest biomass to produce electric energy, sensible heat, transportation fuels, or substitutes for petroleum-based products; and (2) to offset the cost of projects to add value to biomass. Amends the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 to permit the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Forest Service, to provide assistance to State foresters and officials for the purpose of expanding State forest capacities and activities to address watershed issues on non-Federal forested lands and potentially forested lands. Directs the Secretary concerned to establish an accelerated program to plan, conduct, and promote comprehensive and systematic information gathering on bark beetles. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the healthy forests reserve program within the Forest Service for the purpose of protecting, restoring, and enhancing degraded forest ecosystems to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered species as well as improve biodiversity and enhance carbon sequestration. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a comprehensive plan to inventory, monitor, characterize, assess, and identify forest stands and potential forest stands in specified locations. States that issues to be addressed shall include: (1) the early detection, identification, and assessment of environmental threats; and (2) the loss or degradation of forests.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2003
Authorizes the President to present a gold medal in recognition of Jackie Robinson's contributions to the Nation. Calls for designation of a national day recognizing Robinson's accomplishments.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation to Dr. Dorothy Height (President of the National Council of Negro Women) of a congressional gold medal in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Medicare Renal Dialysis Payment Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for an update in the renal dialysis composite rate.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Freeing Alternatives for Speedy Transportation (FAST) Act - Amends Federal highway law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish and implement an Interstate System FAST Lanes program under which the Secretary shall permit a State, or a public or private entity designated by the State, to collect fees to finance the expansion of a highway by constructing additional lanes on the Interstate System for the purpose of reducing traffic congestion. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study for a project with an estimated total cost of $50 million or more to determine: (1) if a toll facility for such project is feasible; and (2) if privatizing the construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility is financially advisable (while retaining legal and administrative control of the portion of the Interstate route).
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Health Care Parity for Legal Transportation and Recreational Activities Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan or health insurance issuer from denying benefits otherwise provided for the treatment of an injury solely because such injury resulted from the participation of the participant or beneficiary in a legal transportation and recreational activity such as motorcycling or skiing.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Men's Health Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services an office to be known as the Office of Men's Health. Requires a report.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the additional requirements for qualified veterans mortgage bonds to: (1) revise the definition of a qualified veteran to mean any veteran who served on active duty (removes the limitation of service before January 1, 1977) and who applied for financing before 30 years after leaving service (removes the additional proviso of, or before January 31, 1985); (2) revise the State veterans limit; and (3) permit a State to elect to carry forward any of such unused limitation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2003
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act, with respect to the granting of posthumous citizenship to a member of the armed forces who died from an active service-related injury or disease incurred during a period of military hostilities, to eliminate the prohibition on the provision of, and provide immigration status benefits to, the surviving spouse and children of such person. Makes the provisions of this Act applicable to grants of posthumous citizenship after September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2003
Sound Science for Endangered Species Act Planning Act of 2003 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) give greater weight to scientific and commercial data that is empirical or that has been field-tested or peer-reviewed in determining that a species is an endangered or threatened species; and (2) promulgate regulations that establish criteria for data to be used as the basis of such a determination. Prohibits the Secretary from determining that a species is endangered or threatened unless the determination is supported by field data. Requires the Secretary to include in the rule-making record of such a determination data collected by landowners. Requires the Secretary to publish a description of additional scientific and commercial data that would assist in the preparation of a recovery plan. Directs the Secretary to: (1) solicit recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and develop a list of qualified reviewers to participate in independent scientific review actions; and (2) appoint from such list three individuals who shall report on the scientific information and analyses on which final action is based. Requires the Secretary, when consulting with a Federal agency to determine whether agency action will jeopardize an endangered or threatened species or destroy the critical habitat of such species, to: (1) consider information provided by affected States; and (2) allow any person who has sought agency authorization or funding for an action to participate in related consultations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act of 2003 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to exclude from creditable wages and self-employment income any wages earned for services by aliens illegally performed in the United States and self-employment income derived from a trade or business illegally conducted in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
Universal Service Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in calculating Federal universal service support for eligible telecommunications carriers that serve rural, insular, and high cost areas, to revise its support mechanism for high cost areas to provide support to each wire center in which the incumbent local exchange carrier's average cost per line for such center exceeds 3.75 times the national average cost per line. Requires the FCC to provide support for each State equal to the greater of the amount calculated under the FCC's current support mechanism for high cost areas or the amount calculated above. Limits per State support and total support for all States. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the need to reform the high cost support mechanism for rural, insular, and high cost areas. States that nothing in this Act shall affect the support provided to rural telephone companies.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2003
Requires engine coolant or antifreeze sold after January 1, 2004, that is manufactured after July 1, 2003, and that contains more than ten percent ethylene glycol, to include denatonium benzoate at a minimum of 30 parts per million (or other equally effective aversive agent) as a bittering agent so as to render it unpalatable. Requires a manufacturer or packager of such product to maintain records of compliance with this Act. Declares that any manufacturer, distributor, recycler, or seller of an automotive product required by this Act to contain an aversive agent shall not be liable (except for willful or wanton misconduct) for personal injury, death, or property damage that results from compliance with this Act. Declares this Act inapplicable to: (1) the sale of a motor vehicle that contains engine coolant or antifreeze; or (2) wholesale containers of engine coolant or antifreeze containing 55 gallons or more of engine coolant or antifreeze.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2003
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to maintaining the security of all freedom-loving nations. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) strike such gold medal (and authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell duplicate bronze medals); and (2) deposit sums received from the sale of the bronze medals into the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2003
Don't Feed the Bears Act of 2003 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to enforce the National Parks System regulatory prohibitions against the feeding and baiting of wildlife on National Park System lands and in wildlife refuge areas, in particular the intentional feeding of bears for the purpose of enticing them to a particular area to be hunted (bear baiting). Requires the Secretary of the Interior with respect to lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to National Forest System lands, to adopt and enforce a regulation to prohibit individuals from intentionally feeding bears, including feeding for the purpose of bear baiting.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2003
Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2003 - Provides for coverage of qualified acupuncturist services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
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 · 26 March 2003
Directs the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USADI) and the Secretary of Defense, in entering into contracts with private entities to provide assistance for Iraq, including contracts to carry out commercial mobile wireless communication service for Iraq, to give preference, to the greatest extent practicable, to qualified American entities. Directs the USAID Administrator and the Secretary, in entering into such contracts to provide commercial mobile wireless communication service as assistance for Iraq, to require that code division multiple access (CDMA) technology be used for such service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2003
Expresses the sympathy of Congress to Craig and Cynthia Corrie and to their extended families, friends, and co-workers for the loss of Rachel Corrie in the Palestinian village of Rafah in the Gaza strip on March 16, 2003. Calls on the U.S. Government to undertake a full investigation into her death. Urges the U.S. Government and the Government of Israel to work together to determine the circumstances that led to her death and to ensure that an incident of this kind does not happen again.
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 · 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 · 19 March 2003
Secure and Fast Entry at the Border Act of 2003 or the SAFE Border Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize The Port Passenger Accelerated Service System (PortPASS) as a permanent land border inspection program. Directs the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers' Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) Pilot Program of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to issue permits for non-commercial vehicle border crossers that shall be valid for not less than two years. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Department of Homeland Security must ensure the permanence of PortPASS programs in the transition from the Department of Justice to the Department of Homeland Security; (2) all land PortPASS programs should utilize interoperable technology to offer program enrollees increased commuter access; and (3) the Secretary of Homeland Security should increase SENTRI staffing, and create a pre-inspection low-risk traveler commuter lane for pedestrian land border crossers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2003
Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to revise provisions concerning the reallocation of spectrum from governmental to commercial users. Mandates that any Federal entity that operates a Government station assigned within a specified band of frequencies and that incurs relocation costs due to reallocation to non-Federal use receive reimbursement from the Spectrum Relocation Fund established in this Act in lieu of any other authorized Federal payment. Requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to notify the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of estimated relocation costs at least six months prior to the commencement of any auction of eligible frequencies. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the FCC: (1) in designing competitive bidding under such auctions, to have as an objective the recovery of 110 percent of the estimated relocation costs; (2) prescribe methods by which the total cash proceeds from any auction equals at least 110 percent of such costs; and (3) prohibit the FCC from concluding any auction under which such goal is not reached. Authorizes the FCC to grant a license for the advance use of eligible frequencies pending an auction, on the condition that the licensee cannot cause harmful interference to the Federal entity until the entity's authorization has been terminated. Establishes the Fund. Exempts the Fund from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Provides the basis for loans or other extensions of credit made from the Telecommunications Development Fund (established under prior law).
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2003
Designates the Department of Energy (DOE) as the lead agency for purposes of coordinating all applicable Federal authorization and related environmental review of a proposed electricity transmission or distribution facility upon request of a current or prospective applicant for Federal authorization related to such a facility. Instructs DOE to establish prompt and binding intermediate milestones and ultimate deadlines for the review of and Federal authorization decisions relating to the proposed facility. Sets a one-year deadline for completion of all permit decisions and related environmental reviews regarding an application. Requires the Secretary of Energy to consult regularly with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and FERC-approved Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators on changes to the national grid that will improve reliability, relieve congestion, and enhance the capability of the grid to deliver electricity.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the deduction of premiums for mortgage insurance. Provides for the phaseout of such deduction based on income.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Fueling the U.S.A. Through Unlimited Reliable Energy (FUTURE) Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to undertake full scientific and technological cooperation in the international burning plasma project (ITER). Directs the Secretary to: (1) send an implementation plan to Congress for a domestic burning plasma experiment (FIRE) if at any time during the negotiations on the ITER project, the Secretary determines that construction and operation of the ITER project is unlikely or infeasible; and (2) transmit to Congress a plan for implementing a policy for developing the scientific, engineering, and commercial infrastructure necessary to ensure that the United States is competitive with other nations in providing fusion energy for its own needs and the needs of other nations, including by demonstrating electric power or hydrogen production for the U.S. energy grid utilizing fusion energy at the earliest date possible.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should renegotiate the Extradition Treaty between the United States of America and the United Mexican States (signed in Mexico City on May 4, 1978 (31UST5059)), so that the possibility of capital punishment or life imprisonment will not interfere with the timely extradition of criminal suspects from Mexico to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) Federal civilian and military retirees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis; and (2) a deduction (available to itemizers and nonitemizers) for TRICARE supplemental premiums and enrollment fees. Sets an implementation deadline of the first open enrollment period beginning not less than 90 days following enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2003
Cleveland National Forest Responsible Electricity Transmission Act - Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture (the "Secretaries") to issue the necessary grants, easements, permits, plan amendments, and other approvals to allow for the siting and construction of a high-voltage electricity transmission line in part of the Cleveland National Forest in California and adjacent lands (except any identified wilderness area) under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. Instructs the Secretaries to give a preference to any application or preapplication proposal for a transmission line right-of-way submitted before December 31, 2002, over all other applications and proposals for the same or similar right-of-way submitted on or after that date.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2003
Anti-Pyramid Promotional Scheme Act of 2003 - Directs the Federal Trade Commission to promulgate a rule declaring that it is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for any person to use any means or instrumentality of transportation or communication in interstate or foreign commerce in order to promote, offer, sell, or attempt to sell a participation or the right to participate in a pyramid promotional scheme. Provides for Federal and State enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2003
Asbestos Compensation Act of 2003 - Establishes in the Department of Justice the Office of Asbestos Compensation (OAC) with exclusive jurisdiction over proceedings to determine if a claimant is entitled to compensation for an asbestos claim and the amount of such compensation. Excludes any claim brought under any workers' compensation law or veterans' benefits program. Establishes within OAC: (1) an Asbestos Compensation Fund to make payments to claimants under this Act; and (2) an Office of Administrative Law Judges for expedited administrative adjudication of asbestos claims.. Requires the OAC to implement a legal assistance program to provide legal representation to claimants. Prescribes guidelines governing: (1) medical eligibility; (2) damages; (3) come back rights; (4) class actions; (5) core claims; (6) eligible medical categories; (7) fiscal and financial management of the Asbestos Compensation Fund; and (8) transitional civil actions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2003
Family Time Flexibility Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for compensatory time for all employees. Allows an employee to receive, in lieu of monetary overtime compensation, compensatory time off at a rate not less than one and one-half hours for each hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required under the Act.