United States · United States Congress · 23 September 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 Monsignor Ignatius McDermott (founder of Haymarket Center, the largest drug abuse treatment center in Chicago) in recognition of his contribution to the drug treatment community and his accomplishments as a priest and humanitarian.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2003
Youth Worker Protection Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to revise provisions relating to child labor and to set forth new requirements relating to the employment of minors. Establishes FLSA requirements for employment of minors, including those for: (1) work permits; (2) working-hour restrictions for minors in specified age groups, and in relation to school attendance; (3) notification of serious work-related injuries; (4) data compilation, retention, and reporting by State agencies; (5) prohibition of youth peddling; (6) civil actions for bodily injury, illness, or death; (7) public disclosure of violations; and (8) civil penalties. Revises FLSA child labor provisions to: (1) set the same minimum age requirements for children in agricultural employment as for those in nonagricultural employment; (2) impose a uniform minimum age for employment in all hazardous occupations; (3) eliminate the Secretary of Labor's authority to issue waivers with respect to certain hand harvest labor by children; (4) eliminate an exception for scrap paper balers and paper box compactors; and (5) declare that youth peddling affects commerce (and thus is subject to Federal regulation). Directs the Secretary of Labor to promulgate: (1) a rule relating to particularly hazardous occupations for children between the ages of 16 and 18, based on a specified report and recommendations of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); and (2) a rule prohibiting employment of minors in seafood processing or in jobs requiring them to handle or dispose of oil or other liquids from fryers. Requires the Secretary to review: (1) restricted occupation and hazardous occupation orders, at least once every five years; and (2) health and safety data on employment of minors in activities involving certain repetitive motions, or lifting, or working alone or late at night in retail establishments with public contact and cash handling, or entertainment industry work detrimental to them, and report with appropriate rules to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2003
Iraq Security and Stabilization Fund Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide, in the case of any taxable year beginning in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010, for the adjustment of the highest income tax rate to result in an increase in revenues into the Treasury for all taxable years beginning in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 equal to $87 billion.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Congratulates the Washington Freedom for winning the 2003 Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) title. Requests that the President invite them to a White House ceremony for national championship teams. Expresses disappointment with the suspension of WUSA operations and expresses support for its revival.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Directs the President to establish separate campaign medals to recognize service by members of the armed forces in Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Extension Act of 2003 - Amends the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 to extend the deadline for filing a claim to December 31, 2004.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2003
Clarifications to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act - Amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to state that formal pleadings in a civil action shall not be considered the kind of communication (initial or otherwise) required for a validation of debt notice. Prescribes an alternative version of the initial communication debt collectors are required to give consumers, incorporating the three statements currently specified. States that collection activities and communications may continue during the 30 days following a debt collector's initial notice to the debtor. States that, if the consumer's attorney at law fails to respond to a communication from a debt collector within 30 days (currently, a reasonable period of time) after receiving a communication from the collector, such collector may communicate directly with the consumer. Limits to one the number of additional communications a debt collector may make to a consumer after the consumer has notified the collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay the debt or wishes the collector to cease further communication. Limits the content of any such additional communication to one of the three purposes already specified by the Act. Revises notice of debt guidelines to require one of the debt collector's mandatory statements to specify that a consumer's dispute of the validity of a debt be submitted in writing in order to preclude an assumption by the collector that the debt is valid.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Requires the payment of a one-time bonus of $1,500 to each active-duty and reserve member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard who served or serves for any period of time in a combat zone designated in connection with Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Requests the President to transmit to the House of Representatives the report prepared for the Joint Chiefs of Staff entitled "Operation Iraqi Freedom Strategic Lessons Learned" and documents in his possession on the reconstruction and security of post-war Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2003
Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to Syracuse University to establish an endowment fund to support a Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute. Requires the University, to be eligible for such grant, to designate the global affairs institute within the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs as the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2003
Increases from $6,000 to $12,000 the death gratuity paid upon the active-duty death of a member of the armed forces. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude any such death gratuity from gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2003
Honors Bob Hope for his legendary career as an entertainer, his decades of dedicated service to the men and women of the armed forces, and his many philanthropic and humanitarian acts. Expresses condolences on his passing to his wife, children, and grandchildren.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2003
Family Building Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan, and defense health care plan provisions to require health plans to provide benefits for treatment of infertility in accord with specified standards.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2003
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 315 Empire Boulevard in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, as the James E. Davis Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2003
National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to establish an electronic system for practitioner monitoring of the dispensing of any schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance to patients. Directs dispensers to report the information required under this Act to the Secretary, with specified exceptions. Directs the Secretary to specify the electronic format for information reporting. Allows the Secretary to provide monitoring system information to practitioners and specified government personnel under certain circumstances. States that this Act shall not preclude any authority from securing information as otherwise authorized by law. Directs the Secretary to make reasonable efforts to implement a real-time electronic system. Specifies the circumstances under which monitoring system information may be subsequently transmitted. Assesses civil monetary penalties for the failure to communicate information requested by the Secretary and for the unauthorized disclosure of information transmitted by the Secretary. Allows a State to have its own prescription monitoring system so long as such system provides the Federal program with the required information.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2003
District of Columbia and United States Territories Circulating Quarter Dollar Program Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to issue during 2009 redesigned quarter dollars commemorating the District of Columbia and the U.S. Territories.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2003
Directs the President to convene a Commission to Educate our Nation's Teachers and Students on Financial Literacy Skills to examine, identify, and report to the President, the congressional leadership, and the chief executive officers of the States on government policies that promote economic and financial literacy.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Grants U.S. district courts original jurisdiction over any civil action for damages for personal injury or death that: (1) arose from the deportation of persons to Nazi concentration camps between January 1, 1942, and December 31, 1944; and (2) is brought by or on behalf of such person against a railroad that owned or operated the trains on which the persons were deported and that was organized as a separate legal entity. Provides that: (1) no law limiting the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts shall preclude any such action; and (2) no such action shall be barred because a statute of limitations has expired. Makes this Act applicable to any action pending on or commenced after January 1, 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents (LPRs) from filing more than one application for a K fiance(e) visa in any one-year period. Amends the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997 to prohibit international marriage brokers from releasing a foreign national client's personal contact information until the broker has informed the foreign national of the rights of domestic violence victims in the United States and received a signed consent to the release. Requires brokers to obtain specified background information from citizen or LPR clients and to forward such information to foreign nationals. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes States to bring civil actions for such violations in the U.S. district courts. Requires petitioners for fiance(e) visas to undergo criminal history background checks. Modifies consular processing procedures for fiance(e) visa applications to require specified disclosures to alien applicants. Amends the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 to require an evaluation of the role of international marriage brokers in facilitating trafficking. Requires a citizen or LPR client to provide to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, as part of a fiance(e) visa petition, the information that such clients are required to submit to brokers under this Act. Prohibits a fiance(e) visa holder's awareness of the criminal background of a citizen or LPR client from being used as evidence that the marriage was not entered into in good faith.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Holocaust Education Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to educational organizations to carry out educational programs about the Holocaust.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
States' Right To Innovate in Health Care Act of 2003 - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXII (State Comprehensive Health Care and Cost Containment Demonstration Projects) to allow up to ten States to receive from the Secretary of Health and Human Services a planning grant and a demonstration grant to achieve a cost-effective delivery system of universal, comprehensive health care with simplified administration.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for a phased elimination of the nontherapeutic use in food-producing animals of critical antimicrobial animal drugs. Defines "critical antimicrobial animal drug" and "nontherapeutic use." Requires manufacturers of a critical antimicrobial animal drug or an animal feed for food-producing animals containing such a drug to report annual sales information.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
United States Employee Ownership Bank Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the United States Employee Ownership Bank in order to foster increased employee ownership and participation in company decision-making throughout the United States. Lists among the Bank's duties providing loans to enable employees to purchase a business through an employee stock ownership plan or eligible worker-owned cooperative that is at least 51 percent employee-owned. States that such loans are subordinated to the interests of all other creditors, loan guarantees, and technical assistance programs. Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to provide that in assessing and taking into account the record of a financial institution, the appropriate Federal financial supervisory agency may consider as a factor capital investments, loans, loan participation, technical assistance, financial advice, grants, and other ventures undertaken by the institution to support or enable manufacturing employees to establish employee stock ownership plans or eligible worker owned cooperatives that are at least 51 percent employee-owned plans or cooperatives.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Global Democracy Promotion Act of 2003 - Declares that foreign nongovernmental organizations: (1) shall not be ineligible for assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 solely on the basis of health or medical services (including counseling and referral services) provided by them with non-U.S. Government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided, and would not violate U.S. Federal law if provided in the United States; and (2) shall not be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. Government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Bringing America Home Act - Recognizes housing as a basic human right, and declares Congress' goal to end homelessness in the Unites States. Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to establish the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which shall be used to fund specified housing and related programs. Authorizes appropriations for specified housing and related programs. Federal Homelessness to Housing Mutual Mortgage Association Act - Establishes the Federal Homelessness to Housing Mutual Mortgage Association (Hollie May), which shall provide housing and homeownership opportunities for the homeless in cooperative housing associations. Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to: (1) provide for the use of surplus Federal property to assist the homeless; and (2) revise and consolidate specified homeless assistance programs. Establishes in the Treasury the Emergency Rent Relief Fund. Exempts work performed in public housing from consideration as income under specified housing programs. Sets forth conditions for postal delivery service for the homeless. Authorizes grants for public housing police forces. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish a temporary ex-offender low-income housing credit; (2) limit mortgage interest deductions; and (3) repeal the exclusion of gain on a principal residence sale. Expresses the sense of Congress against local ordinances that disadvantage the homeless. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) every person in the United States should have access to affordable and comprehensive medical care; and (2) Medicaid should be expanded. Authorizes appropriations for specified health and homeless programs. Amends the Public Health Service Act, with respect to substance abuse, mental health services, and the homeless, to: (1) require the establishment of Federal plans on addiction, mental illness, HIV/AIDS, and homelessness; (2) provide grants for treatment; (3) revise the projects for assistance in transition from homelessness (PATH) program; (4) revise the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990. Expresses the sense of the Congress regarding the right to a living wage or similar benefits. Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to authorize grants for a homebuild program for affordable housing construction and apprenticeship. Authorizes a Department of Labor apprenticeship program for working people experiencing homelessness. Sets forth day laborer and temporary worker employment and related provisions. Amends the Social Security Act to: (1) require supplemental security income (SSI) and old age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) outreach programs for the homeless; and (2) increase SSI asset limits, and provide presumptive eligibility for persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) to deem a food misbranded if it contains or was produced with a genetically engineered material unless its labeling contains statements meeting specified requirements. Requires the periodic testing of such foods transferred along a chain of distribution to assure accuracy of labels, subject to specified exceptions. Excludes, in all three Acts, food: (1) served in restaurants; or (2) prepared primarily in a retail establishment, ready for human consumption, but not offered for sale for immediate consumption in the establishment. Excludes, for the FDCA, a medical food as defined in the Orphan Drug Act. Subjects violators to civil monetary penalties, exempting recipients who accept a guarantee of the absence of genetically engineered material in good faith or producers whose food inadvertently becomes contaminated by genetically engineered material. Authorizes citizen suits as specified.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Requests the President to issue a proclamation commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Constantino Brumidi, who painted and decorated the interior of the U.S. Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Directs the Architect of the Capitol to enter into a contract for the design and construction of a monument, which shall be placed on permanent display in the Capitol Visitor Center, commemorating the contributions of minority women to women's suffrage and to the participation of women in U.S. public life. Requires the monument to depict African, Hispanic, Asian Pacific, Jewish, and Native American women. Requires use of an advisory committee to make recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2003
Community Protection and Response Act of 2003 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Act) to include a terrorist attack, dispersion of radioactive or other contaminants, dispersion of hazardous substances, or other catastrophic event as a "major disaster" eligible for relief under the Act. Includes as a "private nonprofit facility" for purposes of damages coverage in a major disaster private for-profit telecommunications, phone services, and utilities when losses occur during a homeland security event and are not covered by insurance. Authorizes the President, at the request of a State governor, to declare that a major disaster constitutes a homeland security event and is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capacity of the affected State and local government. Provides specified Federal assistance under the Act upon such a declaration, including reimbursement and grant assistance for lost compensation, sustained losses, and required repairs. Includes as critical services under the Act education systems, providers of counseling, and providers of assistance to the homeless. Removes the $5 million limit on community disaster loans provided under the Act. Requires or provides for: (1) standards for reporting information concerning disasters involving homeland security events; (2) a special commission to review air quality following a homeland security event; (3) guidelines concerning health risks associated with the release of materials following a homeland security event and associated monitoring and analysis; and (4) grants for data collection during public health emergencies, research on assisting victims, advance preparation for public health emergencies, and disaster relief for local educational agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2003
Fighting Abuse of Inhalants Act of 2003 - Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994 to include prevention of the abuse of inhalants under its programs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2003
Expresses support for designation of "Hire a Veteran Week." Encourages the President to issue a proclamation calling upon employers, labor organizations, veterans service organizations, and Federal, State, and local governmental agencies to lend their support to increase employment of men and women who have served in the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2003
Workers with Disabilities Opportunity Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to remove the limitation on the period of Medicare (SSA title XVIII part A) Hospital Insurance program eligibility for disabled workers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2003
Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as of October 2, 2004, to give a higher priority in the provision of hospital care and medical services under the veterans' patient enrollment system to veterans who are eligible for treatment as a low-income family under the United States Housing Act of 1937 for the area in which the veterans reside, regardless of whether such veterans are otherwise treated as single person families or families under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2003
Honors the life and dedicated service of former Congressman Dalip Singh Saund of California. Remembers his achievements as the only Indian American to serve in Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2003
Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from taking any action proposed under the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services initiative of the Department of Veterans Affairs: (1) unless the Secretary has notified Congress of the intention to take such action; and (2) until the later of the expiration of a 60-day period, or 30 days of continuous congressional session, after such notification.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2003
Breastfeeding Promotion Act - Pregnancy Discrimination Act Amendments of 2003 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include lactation (breastfeeding, including expression of milk) as protected conduct under such Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow a limited credit to employers for expenses incurred in enabling employed nursing mothers to breastfeed. Safe and Effective Breast Pumps Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) put into effect a performance standard for breast pumps irrespective of the class to which the breast pumps have been classified under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and (2) issue a compliance policy guide which will assure that women who want to breastfeed a child are given full and complete information respecting breast pumps. Expands the IRC definition of medical care to include qualified breastfeeding equipment and services.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2003
Access to Books for Children Act - ABC Act - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to local agencies to provide vouchers to women participating in the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) for the purchase of educational books for their infants and children. Limits to one $5 voucher the maximum amount any one woman may receive, regardless of the number of her infants or children. Makes specified amounts from the Department of Education available for such book voucher program. Authorizes additional amounts to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture to administer such program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2003
John Marshall Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury: (1) to mint and issue not more than 400,000 silver one dollar coins emblematic of Chief Justice John Marshall and his contributions to the United States in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of his birth; and (2) in cooperation with the Legacy Fund of the Library of Congress, to develop and implement a marketing program to promote and sell the coins. Directs that all sales of coins minted under this Act include a ten dollar per coin surcharge, to be paid by the Secretary to the Supreme Court Historical Society for purposes of: (1) supporting historical research about the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and related topics; (2) supporting fellowship programs, internships, and docents at the Supreme Court; and (3) collecting and preserving related antiques, artifacts, and other historical items.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2003
Contractors Accountability Act of 2003 - Directs the Administrator of General Services to establish and maintain a database of information regarding integrity and performance of Federal contracts and assistance recipients for use by Federal procurement award officials and Federal officials having authority to debar or suspend persons from Federal contracts or assistance. Includes within required database information all judicial and administrative proceedings against such contractors or assistance recipients. Requires such information to be available to all Federal agencies and the public. Requires Federal agency suspension and debarment regulations to be amended to provide that an entity shall be presumed to be nonresponsible with respect to the award of a Federal contract or assistance if the entity has rendered against it twice within any three-year period a judgment or conviction for the same offense, if each conviction constitutes a cause for Federal debarment. Requires entities to disclose in contract or assistance solicitations, bids, or offers all debarments or suspensions, judicial and administrative proceedings against the entity, and agreements that the entity is performing to avoid suspension or debarment within the last five years. Requires the Interagency Committee on Debarment and Suspension to take certain actions with respect to Federal suspension or debarment proceedings. Allows: (1) Federal agencies, commissions, or organizations not currently participating in the Federal suspension and debarment system to do so; and (2) payments received under administrative agreements to avoid suspension or debarment to be used for costs associated with the database.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2003
Calls upon the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp to promote public awareness of Down syndrome.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2003
Nuclear Security Act of 2003 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to instruct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to: (1) establish a nuclear security force composed of NRC employees to provide for the security of all sensitive nuclear facilities against design basis threat; and (2) develop and implement a security plan containing specified elements for each sensitive nuclear facility to ensure the security of all sensitive nuclear facilities against such threat. Authorizes a holder of a license for a sensitive nuclear facility to petition the Commission for additional requirements in the security plan for such facility. Requires the NRC to establish a hiring and training program for the nuclear security force. Establishes the Nuclear Security Fund for use by the Commission to administer the security programs for sensitive nuclear facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2003
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Night Out. Requests that the President: (1) focus appropriate attention on neighborhood crime prevention, community policing, and reduction of school crime by delivering speeches, convening meetings, and directing the administration to make crime reduction an important priority; and (2) coordinate the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the USA Freedom Corps, the Citizen Corps, the National Senior Service Corps, and AmeriCorps to participate by supporting local efforts, neighborhood watches, and local officials, including law enforcement personnel, to provide homeland security and combat terrorism in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2003
Urges the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish troops of occupation as a further step for the reunification of the Republic of Cyprus. Calls upon the Administration of the United States to advocate for the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus. Expresses the strong support of Congress for the recent decision by the European Parliament to demand the removal of the Turkish occupation forces from the northern one-third of the Republic of Cyprus.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 2003 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from: (1) excluding or restricting benefits for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services; (2) denying eligibility based on use or potential use of such items or services; (3) providing monetary payments or rebates to a covered individual to encourage acceptance of less than the minimum protections available; (4) penalizing, reducing, or limiting a professional's reimbursement because the professional prescribed such drugs or devices or provided such services; or (5) providing incentives to a professional to induce the professional to withhold drugs, devices, or services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
National Cancer Act of 2003 - Provides for a comprehensive Federal effort relating to treatments for and the prevention of cancer. Amends the Public Health Service Act to fund prevention, detection, and treatment programs of the National Cancer Institute, including translational cancer research (research needed to transform scientific discoveries into approaches and products to treat and cure cancer). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a research grant program to fund projects that seek to develop cancer treatments that target cancer cells. Addresses issues of cancer care, including: (1) clinical trial participation; (2) workforce needs; (3) cancer survivorship; (4) cancer care guidelines; (5) the supply of researchers; (6) a colorectal cancer screening demonstration program; and (7) an Institute of Medicine study on whether to provide medical coverage under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to certain cancer patients. Directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to submit to Congress a plan outlining steps to accelerate the process for reviewing and approving new cancer drugs and treatments. Requires health insurance plans covered by the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide: (1) coverage for clinical trials; (2) coverage of cancer screening, including tobacco and nutrition counseling and genetic testing; and (3) patient access to benefit information. Addresses issues of managing physicians and quality of care for cancer patients covered by such plans, including designating a lead managing physician. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to make grants for: (1) model programs to provide services for cancer and chronic diseases to individuals of health disparity populations; and (2) patient navigators for managing such care of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2003
Air Line Pension Act of 2003 - Sets forth special funding requirements for certain pension plans maintained by commercial passenger air carriers (plans), notwithstanding any contrary provisions of the Internal Revenue Code or of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Provides for such plans, if they have a funded percentage of less than 80 percent as of January 1, 2003, the following: (1) modifications of funding rules, including funded percentage, assumed interest rate for determining current liability, and estimation of current liability; (2) a moratorium on the deficit reduction contribution, under specified conditions; (3) a one-time amortization of 2008 unfunded current liability; and (4) recognition of a waiver in the deficit reduction contribution. Provides for such plans, if they are maintained for benefit of the carrier's employees pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement and if they terminated during calendar year 2003, the following: (1) restoration by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to the plan's pre-termination status and transfer of control of plan assets and liabilities to the employer, unless the collective bargaining agreement provides that the plan should not be restored; (2) exclusion of any expected increase in current liability due to benefits accruing during each plan year; (3) amortization of unfunded amounts under the restoration payment schedule; (4) inapplicability of certain contribution requirements to a restored plan until a plan year beginning on the initial post-restoration valuation date, with modified required annual payments; and (5) resetting of funding standard account balances. Limits PBGC liability with respect to certain plans under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2003
Great Lakes Restoration Financing Act of 2003 - Establishes the Great Lakes Advisory Board to: (1) develop a biennial comprehensive Great Lakes management plan; (2) coordinate Great Lakes restoration efforts; and (3) implement a public awareness campaign. Establishes a scientific working group to evaluate the scientific integrity of the Great Lakes restoration effort and assist the Board in its decisionmaking. Requires the management plan to be submitted to the President, appropriate congressional committees, the governor of each Great Lakes State, and the Great Lakes mayors. Includes as possible Great Lakes ecosystem goals: (1) the cleanup of toxic hot spots; (2) the elimination of invasive species; (3) pollution decrease; (4) the restoration and conservation of wetlands and critical coastal habitat; (5) the elimination of dead zones caused by hypoxia and harmful algal bloom; (6) the sustainable use and management of Great Lakes water resources; and (7) public participation in Great Lakes restoration. Requires each Great Lakes State to have in effect a State Great Lakes Management Plan, approved by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and updated every two years, in order to be eligible for assistance apportionments authorized under this Act. Provides apportioned funding to Great Lakes States for restoration activities. Authorizes the Administrator to appoint a special master to direct the remediation of an area of concern.
![Official portrait of Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. [D-NY-12]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_ny_12_maloney_carolyn_200.jpg)