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 · 7 May 2003
Military Family Peace-of-Mind Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Defense from publicly releasing the name or any other personally identifying information of any member of the armed forces who while on active duty or performing inactive duty for training is killed or injured, whose duty status becomes unknown, or who is otherwise considered a casualty, until 24 hours has elapsed after notification of the next-of-kin of such member.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to: (1) restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from the individual's primary insurance amount under such title and the portion of the monthly periodic payment attributable to noncovered service performed after 1956 exceeds $2,000; and (2) provide for a graduated implementation of such provision by specified percentages with respect to incremental amounts above such threshold, up to 100 percent for combined amounts over $3,000.
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 · 29 April 2003
International Civil Rights Center and Museum Study Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study and report to specified congressional committees on the suitability and feasibility of designating the International Civil Rights Center and Museum located in Greensboro, North Carolina, as a National Park System unit.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2003
Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 - Declares the sense of Congress that: (1) the Government of Syria should immediately and unconditionally halt support for terrorism, permanently and openly declare its total renunciation of all forms of terrorism, and close all terrorist offices and facilities in Syria, including the offices of Hamas, Hizballah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command; (2) the Government of Syria should take other specified steps to withdraw its armed forces from Lebanon, halt development of certain weapons, halt illegal imports and transshipments of Iraqi oil and illegal sales and supplies of weapons and military-related equipment to Iraq; (3) the Government of Lebanon should deploy the Lebanese armed forces to all areas of Lebanon, including South Lebanon, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 520 (September 17, 1982) (Security Council Resolution 520); (4) the Governments of Lebanon and Syria should enter into serious unconditional bilateral negotiations with the Government of Israel in order to realize a full and permanent peace; (5) the United States should continue to provide humanitarian and educational assistance to the people of Lebanon only through appropriate private, nongovernmental organizations and appropriate international organizations, until such time as the Government of Lebanon asserts sovereignty and control over all of its territory and borders and achieves full political independence; and (6) being in violation of several key United Nations Security Council resolutions and pursuing policies which undermine international peace and security, Syria should not have been permitted to join the United Nations Security Council or serve as the Security Council's President, and should be removed from the Security Council. Declares that it is U.S. policy: (1) Syria will be held responsible for attacks committed by Hizballah and other terrorist groups with offices or other facilities in Syria, or bases in areas of Lebanon occupied by Syria; (2) the United States shall impede Syria's ability to support acts of international terrorism and efforts to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction; (3) the Secretary of State will continue to list Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism until it ends support for terrorism, including its support of Hizballah and other terrorist groups in Lebanon and its hosting of terrorist groups in Damascus, and comes into full compliance with U.S. law relating to terrorism and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 (September 28, 2001); (4) efforts against Hizballah will be expanded given the recognition that Hizballah is equally or more capable than al Qaeda; (5) the full restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity is in the U.S. national security interest; (6) Syria is in violation of Security Council Resolution 520 through its continued occupation of Lebanese territory and its encroachment upon its political independence; (7) Syria's obligation to withdraw from Lebanon is not conditioned upon progress in the Israeli-Syrian or Israeli-Lebanese peace process but derives from Syria's obligation under Security Council Resolution 520; (8) Syria's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs threaten the security of the Middle East and U.S. national security interests; (9) Syria is in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 (August 6, 1990) and subsequent relevant resolutions through its continued purchase of oil from Iraq and shipments of weapons and other military equipment to Iraq; (10) Syria will be held accountable for any harm to Coalition armed forces of Operation Iraqi Freedom caused by shipments of military supplies from Syria to Iraq; and (11) the United States will not provide any assistance to Syria and will oppose multilateral assistance for Syria until Syria withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon, halts the development and deployment of weapons of mass destruction and medium and long range surface to surface ballistic missiles, and complies with Security Council Resolution 661 and subsequent relevant resolutions. Sets forth the following penalties against Syria until the President determines and certifies to Congress that Syria meets the requirements of this Act. Directs the President to prohibit the export to Syria of any item, including the issuance of an export license, on the United States Munitions List or Commerce Control List of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations. Requires the President, at the same time, to impose two or more of the following sanctions: (1) prohibit the export to Syria of U.S. products (other than food and medicine); (2) prohibit U.S. businesses from investing or operating in Syria; (3) restrict Syrian diplomats in Washington, D.C., and at the United Nations in New York City, to travel only within a 25-mile radius of Washington, D.C., or the United Nations headquarters building, respectively; (4) prohibit aircraft of any air carrier owned or controlled by Syria to take off from, land in, or overfly the United States; (5) reduce U.S. diplomatic contacts with Syria (other than those required to protect U.S. interests or carry out the purposes of this Act); and (6) block transactions in any property in which the Government of Syria has any interest, by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Authorizes the President to waive such sanctions for one or more six-month periods if the President determines that it is in the vital national security interest of the United States to do so and reports his reasons to Congress. Authorizes the President to provide development assistance to Syria and Lebanon under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 if he certifies to Congress that: (1) Syria meets the requirements of this Act; (2) substantial progress has been made both in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace agreement between Israel and Syria and in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon; and (3) the Government of Syria is strictly respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon through the Lebanese army throughout Lebanon, as required under Security Council Resolution 520. Requires annual reports to the appropriate congressional committees on Syria's progress in complying with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2003
Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to replace provisions regarding the purchase of prison-made products by Federal departments with provisions establishing a Government-wide procurement policy relating to purchases from Federal Prison Industries (FPI), which shall generally require the use of competitive procedures. Requires that an analysis of the probable impact of a proposed expansion of sales within the Federal market by FPI on private sector firms and their non-inmate workers be made whenever FPI proposes to authorize the sale of a new specific product or service or to expand production of a current product or service. Authorizes FPI to enter into a contract with a Federal contractor to produce products as a subcontractor or supplier in the performance of a Federal procurement contract. Establishes within the Bureau of Prisons: (1) the Enhanced In-Prison Educational and Vocational Assessment and Training Program; and (2) the Cognitive Abilities Assessment Demonstration Program. Directs: (1) the Chief Operating Officer of FPI to develop proposals to have FPI donate products and services to eligible entities that provide goods or services to low-income individuals who would likely otherwise have difficulty purchasing such products or services; (2) the Director of the Bureau to afford to inmates opportunities to participate in programs and activities designed to help prepare such inmates to obtain employment upon release; (3) the Attorney General to establish the Federal Reentry Center Demonstration Project; and (4) the Comptroller General to undertake to have an independent study conducted on the effects of eliminating FPI's mandatory source authority.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Guardsmen and Reservists Financial Relief Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the ten percent penalty on early distributions from tax-exempt retirement plans, withdrawals made by military reservists or national guardsmen called to active duty for a period in excess of 179 days or for an indefinite period. Permits reimbursement of such withdrawals within two years after the end of the active duty period. Applies the provisions of this Act to individuals ordered or called to active duty after September 11, 2001, and before September 12, 2005, for retirement plan distributions made after September 11, 2001.
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
Fallen Heroes Immigrant Spouse Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to waive the two-year marriage requirement for an alien spouse to self-petition for immediate relative status in the case of a spouse of a citizen who dies while on active service in the armed forces. Prohibits any fees relating to posthumous citizenship for aliens killed while on active duty service during periods of military hostilities.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Job Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the foreign sales corporation/extraterritorial income (FSC/ETI) exclusion, with an exemption for certain binding contracts in effect before the date of enactment of this Act. Permits a foreign corporation that elected to be treated as a domestic corporation to revoke such election and be treated as a domestic corporation transferring its property to a foreign corporation with no gain recognized on such transfer. Provides: (1) a transitional 2004 through 2008 sliding-scale deduction for an FSC/ETI beneficiary based on the corporation's 2001 FSC/ETI benefit; and (2) special rules for 2003 and for fiscal year taxpayers. Defines "FSC/ETI benefit." Allows a deduction for income attributable to U.S. production activities equal to ten percent of qualified production activities. Provides a 2006 through 2009 phase-in period. Defines "qualified production activities" as: (1) the portion of the modified taxable income attributable to domestic activities; and (2) the domestic/foreign fraction. Sets forth related provisions with respect to: (1) determination of income attributable to domestic production activities; (2) domestic production gross receipts; (3) qualifying production property; (4) domestic/foreign fraction; and (5) special rules.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit making a telephone call or initiating a communication with a telecommunications device in interstate or foreign commerce to knowingly misinform the relative of a member of the armed forces that such member is deceased, injured, or missing due to an event associated with his or her military service.
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
Agriculture Education Freedom Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual any gain from the sale of any animal raised and sold by such individual as part of his or her participation in the 4-H program under the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture, the Future Farmers of America, any tax-exempt similar organization, or any program of a tax-exempt educational organization.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Child Custody Protection Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit transporting a minor across a State line to obtain an abortion and thereby abridging the right of a parent under a law in force in the State where the minor resides requiring parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision. Makes an exception if the abortion was necessary to save the life of the minor. Specifies that neither the minor transported nor her parent may be prosecuted or sued for a violation of this Act. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution for, or to a civil action based on, such a violation that the defendant reasonably believed that before the minor obtained the abortion, the parental consent or notification or judicial authorization that would have been required had the abortion been performed in the State where the minor resides, took place. Authorizes any parent who suffers harm from a violation to obtain appropriate relief in a civil action. Defines "parent" to include a guardian, legal custodian, or person standing in loco parentis who has care and control of the minor, and with whom the minor regularly resides, who is designated by such law as a person to whom notification, or from whom consent, is required.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act - Repeals, as of the later of October 1, 2003, or the date of enactment of this Act, certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age. Provides for the recoupment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Constitutional Amendment - Requires that any bill, resolution, or other legislative measure changing the internal revenue laws shall require for final adoption in each House the concurrence of two-thirds of the Members of that House voting and present, unless the bill is determined at the time of adoption not to increase the internal revenue by more than a de minimis amount. States that for purposes of determining any increase, there shall be excluded any increase resulting from the lowering of an effective rate of any tax. Requires journal entry of any vote. Permits the waiver of such requirement, for up to two years, if there is a declaration of war or if the United States is engaged in a military conflict which causes an imminent and serious threat to national security, and is so declared by a joint resolution which becomes law.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Declares the sense of Congress about historic locations specifically set apart for religious purposes (holy sites). Declares that: (1) holy sites around the world, particularly in the Israeli and Palestinian region, should be protected from desecration and any other violation; (2) the freedom of access of members of the various religions to the holy sites sacred to them should not be hindered; (3) to assure the safety of American citizens, the holy sites currently under the sovereignty of the State of Israel should remain under Israeli protection, and that all holy sites in the region remain open to visitors of all faiths; (4) the Department of State should continue to warn and protect Americans overseas at holy sites and regions of historical and religious significance; and (5) we should condemn all violence directed against holy sites.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income all compensation received for active service as a member of the United States armed forces, not including pensions and retirement pay. (Terminates the current limited exclusion from gross income of combat pay.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2003
Constitutional Amendment - States that people retain the right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including schools. States that the United States and the States shall not establish any official religion nor require any person to join in prayer or religious activity.
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 · 8 April 2003
Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make a variety of changes with regard to rural health care and such matters as: (1) urban and rural standardized payment amounts under the Medicare inpatient hospital prospective payment system (PPS); (2) disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustment for rural hospitals; (3) adjustment to the Medicare inpatient hospital PPS wage index to revise the labor-related share of such index; (4) treatment of certain sole community hospitals to limit the decline in payment under the PPS for hospital outpatient department services; (5) the critical access hospital program; and (6) permanent treatment of certain physician pathology services under Medicare. Amends the Public Health Service Act to give the Secretary the authority to make and guarantee loans from the loan fund to any rural entity for projects for capital improvements. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for a five-year extension of the authorization for appropriations for certain Medicare rural grants.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2003
Amends Federal provisions relating to the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to change from October 1, 2008, to October 1, 2003, the effective date on or after which no reduction may be made in the retired pay of an SBP participant for any month after the later of: (1) the 360th month for which such pay was so reduced; and (2) the month during which the participant attains 70 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
Chief Martin Congressional Gold Medal Act - 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 Chief Phillip Martin in recognition of his leadership of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians for over 45 years and for his contributions to the American Indian community, particularly to the native and non-native communities of Mississippi.
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
American LIFE Fund for the Medical Treatment of the Uninsured in Honor of the Victims of September 11th, 2001, Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an individual to designate a portion of any tax overpayment for the Health Coverage for the Uninsured Trust Fund, which shall use such funds to provide injury and catastrophic illness protection to individuals without health coverage. Establishes in the Treasury the Health Coverage for the Uninsured Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
Quality Cancer Care Preservation Act - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise the payment amount for covered drugs and biologicals furnished during a calendar quarter that are not paid on a cost or prospective payment basis. Changes such amount from 95 percent of the average wholesale price to 120 percent of the average sales price of the drug or biological for the second preceding calendar quarter. Requires drug manufacturers to report average sales prices each calendar quarter for covered drugs and biologicals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) revise the practice expense relative value units for drug administration services (including chemotherapy administration services) in accordance with this Act to determine the units to be used in determining the fee schedule amounts paid for drug administration services under the Medicare program; (2) recognize and make payments under Medicare for chemotherapy support services furnished incident to physicians' services; (3) recognize and establish a payment amount for the service of cancer therapy management to account for the greater pre-service and post-service work associated with visits and consultations conducted by physicians treating cancer patients compared to typical visits and consultations; and (4) develop a revised methodology for determining the payment amounts for services that are paid under the Medicare fee schedule and that do not have physician work relative value units, including radiation oncology services. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide that if the Secretary requires direct supervision of a service by a physician, that supervision requirement may be fulfilled by one or more physicians other than the physician who ordered the service.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2003
Designates the visitors' center in Organ Pipe National Monument as the Kris Eggle Memorial Visitors' Center. Dedicates such center to Eggle (a park ranger who was murdered in the line of duty along the U.S-Mexico border) and to promote awareness of the risks taken each day by all public land management law enforcement officers. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to post interpretive signs at the center and at the trail-head of the Baker Mine-Milton Mine Loop that describe the important role of public law enforcement officers in protecting park visitors, refer to the tragic loss of Eggle and to the dedication of the trail and visitors' center by Congress, and include a copy of this Act and Eggle's image.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2003
Phase III Implementation Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, beginning with the 2004 crop, to determine and announce the national estimate for each type of flue-cured and burley tobacco that the Secretary estimates will be utilized during the marketing year. Requires each domestic manufacturer of cigarettes to submit to the Secretary a statement of the quantity of flue-cured tobacco and burley tobacco that the manufacturer intends to purchase on U.S. auction markets or from licensed tobacco producers during the next marketing year. Subjects a manufacturer to penalties for failure to submit such information, or for under purchasing. Sets forth flue-cured and burley: (1) reserve supply levels; and (2) the national tobacco marketing factor. Directs the Secretary: (1) to issue to each historic tobacco producer a tobacco production license to ensure production sufficient to satisfy the national estimate; and (2) if a license is surrendered or revoked, transfer the license and the corresponding tobacco production history to beginning tobacco producers or licensed tobacco producers in the same county, same State, or in counties in other States in which licensed producers are operating. Limits license use, sale, lease or transfer. Authorizes a producer to surrender a tobacco production license at any time. Directs the Secretary to revoke a license for production or risk-sharing failure. Directs the Secretary to provide licensed tobacco producers with tobacco type and permitted quantity notification. Sets forth production level criteria beginning with the 2005 marketing year. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to terminate the flue-cured and burley tobacco programs beginning with the 2004 crop year. Directs the Secretary to conduct producer referenda to determine continuation of the program established by this Act. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to: (1) provide that for the 2004 and subsequent flue-cured and burley tobacco crops for which tobacco production licenses are in effect or have not been disapproved by producer referenda, the support level shall be the level in cents per pound equal to the cost of production; and (2) revise the definition of "quota tobacco."
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2003
Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to exclude from its definition of "investment company" any collective trust fund maintained by a bank consisting solely of certain church pension plans, companies, or accounts specified in the Internal Revenue Code. Amends the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to exempt such church pension plans, companies, or accounts from regulation under such Acts, including registration requirements. (Thus exempts such church pension plans, companies, or accounts from Federal jurisdiction for securities fraud, manipulation, transparency, and disclosure requirements).
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2003
Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to increase the imprisonment penalty for animal fighting violations from one year to two years. Makes it unlawful to sell, buy, transport, or deliver in interstate or foreign commerce a knife, gaff, or other sharp instrument used in a bird-fighting venture. Revises enforcement provisions. Permits euthanasia for an animal in extreme pain. Includes the Internet or any technology as interstate instrumentality.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of members of the Armed Forces any "qualified bonus." Defines the term "qualified bonus" to mean an enlistment, accession, reenlistment, retention, or other bonus paid to a member of the Armed Forces of the United States in exchange for the agreement of the member to accept a commission as an officer, extend an active service commitment as an officer, enlist, reenlist, or extend an enlistment as an enlisted member in an active or reserve component, or enter into a reserve affiliation agreement.
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 · 31 March 2003
Constitutional Amendment - States that no person born in the United States shall be a citizen of the United States, or of any State, on account of birth in the United States unless the mother or father of the person is a citizen of the United States, or is lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, at the time of the birth.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2003
Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act of 2003 - Sets forth a statutory framework under which a substitute check is the legal equivalent of an original check for all purposes, if the substitute check: (1) accurately represents all of the information on the front and back of the original check as of the time the original check was truncated; and (2) bears the legend: "This is a legal copy of your check. You can use it the same way you would use the original check." Prescribes implementation guidelines, including: (1) substitute check warranties; (2) indemnity procedures; (3) expedited recredit claims for consumers and for banks; (4) procedures for claims; (5) measure of damages; (6) statute of limitations; and (7) consumer education materials.
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
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a taxpayer who owns and operates a shipyard to elect to use the completed contract accounting method with respect to an qualified naval construction contract (more than 24 months in duration).
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2003
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 4832 East Highway 27 in Iron Station, North Carolina, as the General Charles Gabriel Post Office.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2003
Mobilized Reserve Family Health Care Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit to cover the cost of insurance coverage under TRICARE for a member (and family) of the National Guard or a reserve component of a U.S. Armed Force who has been called or ordered to active duty for a period in excess of 30 days, or for an indefinite period, during such period of duty. Permits a deduction (for both itemizers and nonitemizers), applicable to such period of duty, for insurance costs in addition to the TRICARE costs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2003
Condemns the Earth Liberation Front and its adoption of terrorist tactics that destroy private property and endanger the lives of private property owners, government officials, law enforcement, and firefighters. Urges the Attorney General and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to: (1) seek to investigate and punish the actions of the Earth Liberation Front and its supporters; (2) pursue Earth Liberation Front as a terrorist organization and work closely with State and local law enforcement to combat it and its destruction of private property; and (3) continue to exhaust all resources in the fight against all forms of terrorism, foreign and domestic.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2003
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Visitor Center Act - Authorizes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to design and construct a visitor center for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Directs the Commission on Fine Arts to approve a final design for the center within one year. Requires the center to be operated and maintained by the Secretary of the Interior subject to the Secretary entering into an operation and maintenance agreement with the Memorial Fund. Prohibits the use of any Federal funds for the planning, design, construction, operation, or maintenance of such center.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2003
Student Athlete Protection Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to include as unlawful sports gambling a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based, directly or indirectly, on one or more: (1) competitive games in which high school or college athletes participate; (2) performances of high school or college athletes in competitive games; or (3) competitive games at the Summer or Winter Olympics.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2003
Commends the bravery and professionalism of members of the U.S. armed forces and its coalition partners. Extends sympathies to the families of such members who are killed, wounded, missing in action, or taken prisoners of war in Iraq. Condemns the failure of Iraqi authorities to treat prisoners of war in strict conformity with Geneva Convention. Demands that Iraqi authorities: (1) abide by the principles and obligations of such Convention; and (2) permit the Red Cross to visit any and all American and any other prisoners of war at the earliest possible time. Joins the President in warning all Iraqi authorities that any individual who mistreats such prisoners of war shall be considered a war criminal and prosecuted to the fullest extent of U.S. and international law. Expresses support for the President in: (1) committing the U.S. Government to the repatriation of all prisoners of war at the earliest possible moment; and (2) seeking the fullest possible accounting, at the earliest possible time, of all members of the U.S. armed forces who are in a missing status as a result of operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2003
Condemns the attacks on U.S. citizens by Palestinian terrorists and demands that the Palestinian Authority work with Israel to protect all innocent individuals, regardless of citizenship, from terrorist atrocities. Offers condolences to the families and loved ones of U.S. citizens who were killed by such attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2003
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Land Exchange Act of 2002 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to exchange the Ravensford tract, currently in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, for the Yellow Face tract adjacent to the Waterrock Knob Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Requires the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (Eastern Band) to deed the Yellow Face tract to the United States. Declares the Ravensford tract, upon completion of the exchange, including all improvements and appurtenances, to be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Eastern Band as part of the Cherokee Indian Reservation.
![Official portrait of Rep. Jones, Walter B., Jr. [R-NC-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/j000255_200.jpg)