United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 one dollar coins which shall be emblematic of the warrior ethos of the United States Marine Corps. Requires all surcharges from the sale of the coins to be paid to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation for construction of the Marine Corps Heritage Center.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 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 Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in recognition of his contributions to maintaining the security of the Euro-Atlantic region.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Honors Sargent Shriver for his dedication and service to the United States, his service in the Navy, and his lifetime of work acting as an ambassador for the poor and powerless citizens of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2003
Benjamin Franklin Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one dollar coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Benjamin Franklin (not more than 250,000 bearing his image as a young statesman and not more than 250,000 with his image as an older numismatist). Directs that all sales include a $10 per coin surcharge, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission, to be used to educate people about Franklin's legacy.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2003
District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends the District of Columbia Code to provide that the D.C. Council's regulatory authority regarding firearms, explosives, and weapons in the District shall not be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise permitted to possess firearms under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by Federal law nor regulated by the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Amends the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the definition of a machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.) Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on registration of pistols (handguns); (3) prohibition on possession of handgun ammunition; (4) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked; (5) related firearm registration requirements such as applicant qualifications and filing deadline. Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm. Amends Federal law to eliminate criminal penalties for carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Pension Funding Equity Act of 2003 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to temporarily replace (for plan years 2004 and 2005) the 30-year Treasury rate with a rate based on long-term corporate bonds for certain pension plan funding requirements. Expresses the sense of the Congress that it must ensure the financial health of the defined benefit pension system by working to promptly implement: (1) a permanent replacement for the pension discount rate used for defined benefit pension plan calculations; and (2) comprehensive funding reforms aimed at achieving accurate and sound pension funding.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Celia Cruz Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 300,000 one dollar silver coins and 500,000 half dollar clad coins emblematic of Celia Cruz (known as the "Queen of Salsa") and her legacy. Establishes surcharges of ten dollars per coin for the dollar coin and three dollars per coin for the half dollar coin, which shall be paid to the Celia Cruz Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2003
International Studies in Higher Education Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise provisions and reauthorize appropriations for title VI International Education Programs, including: (1) international and foreign language studies; (2) business and international education programs; and (3) the Institute for International Public Policy. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to use up to one percent of title VI funds for evaluation, outreach, and dissemination. Establishes an independent International Education Advisory Board to advise Congress and the Secretary on title VI programs in relation to national needs with respect to homeland security, international education, international affairs, and foreign language training. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) U.S. Government agency recruiter access to students and student recruiting information; and (2) safety in programs of student travel and study abroad.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2003
Graduate Opportunities in Higher Education Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise requirements and reauthorize appropriations for the following Graduate and Postsecondary Improvement Programs under title VII: (1) the Jacob K. Javits fellowship program; (2) the program of graduate assistance in areas of national need; (3) the Thurgood Marshall legal educational opportunity program; (4) the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education; and (5) demonstration projects to ensure that students with disabilities receive a quality higher education. Eliminates the Urban Community Service program and certain continuation awards.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Expanding Opportunities in Higher Education Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and reauthorize various programs and provisions. Repeals HEA provisions, under the definition of institution of higher education, that: (1) currently require for-profit institutions of higher education to derive at least ten percent of their revenue from funds that do not come from HEA title IV student assistance programs (the 90/10 rule); and (2) currently restrict distance education in terms of the relative number of courses an institution may offer by telecommunications, and relative number of students enrolled in such courses, for purposes of student assistance program eligibility (the 50 percent rule). (Retains such rule for correspondence courses not offered by telecommunications.) Revises HEA title III (Institutional Aid) to extend authorizations of appropriations for: (1) part A grants for American Indian tribally controlled colleges and universities, and for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions; (2) part B grants for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU); (3) endowment challenge grants for institutions; (4) HBCU capital financing; and (5) the minority science and engineering improvement program. Revises HEA title V (Developing Institutions) to extend the authorization of appropriations for grants to Hispanic-serving institutions. Revises HEA title IV (Student Assistance) to treat as independent students those currently serving on active duty in the Armed Forces for other than training purposes (thus including active duty members of the National Guard and Reserves). Revises requirements, and extends authorizations of appropriations for, the following title IV programs: (1) Federal TRIO support services programs for disadvantaged students; (2) GEAR UP early intervention and college awareness programs for low-income students; and (3) HEP/CAMP special programs for students whose families are engaged in migrant and seasonal farmwork. Directs the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to study and report on the feasibility of simplifying the need analysis methodology for all for Federal student financial assistance programs and the process of applying for such assistance. Requires the Secretary of Education to initiate a redesign of the free application for Federal student aid (FAFSA). Revises requirements for a simplified needs test. Amends the Education of the Deaf Act of 1986 to extend the authorization of appropriations in general, as well as for monitoring and evaluation, and for Federal endowment programs for Gallaudet University and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). Extends authorizations of appropriations for programs under the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978, the Navajo Community College Act, and the United States Institute of Peace Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2003
Exempts from the requirement to pay subsistence charges while hospitalized in a military facility an officer or former officer, or an enlisted member or former enlisted member not entitled to retired or retainer pay or equivalent pay, who is hospitalized in a military facility because of an injury incurred: (1) as a direct result of armed conflict; (2) while engaged in hazardous service; (3) in the performance of duty under conditions simulating war; or (4) through an instrumentality of war.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Right-to-Ride Livestock on Federal Lands Act of 2003 - Amends Public Law 91-383 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to preserve and facilitate the continued use and access of pack and saddle stock animals on parts of National Park System lands where there is a historical tradition of such use. Directs that as a general rule, all trails, routes, and areas used by such animals shall remain open and accessible for such use. Allows the Secretary of the Interior to implement a proposed reduction in the use and access of pack and saddle stock animals on such lands only after complying with the full review process required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Makes the same amendments to other laws regarding other public lands as follows: (1) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, with respect to Bureau of Land Management lands; (2) the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, with respect to National Wildlife Refuge System lands; and (3) the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, with respect to National Forest System lands (with the Secretary directed to act in this case being the Secretary of Agriculture). Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to issue final rules to define the meaning of a historical tradition of use of pack and saddle stock animals on Federal lands for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Financial Aid Simplification Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to study and report to specified congressional committees on the feasibility of simplifying the need analysis methodology for all Federal student financial assistance programs and the process of applying for such assistance through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Requires the Secretary of Education within one year after the report's submission to initiate a redesign of the FAFSA Revises eligibility requirements for filing of a simplified FAFSA to allow, as an alternative to not being required to file an income tax return, that the student's parents or the student (and the student's wife, if any) received benefits under a means-tested Federal benefit program. Directs the Secretary to make special efforts, in conjunction with State efforts, to: (1) notify students and their parents who qualify for a free lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, the Food Stamps program, or other such programs of their potential eligibility for a maximum Pell Grant; and (2) disseminate such informational materials as necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2003
Water Supply, Reliability, and Environmental Improvement Act - Establishes within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior the Office of the Federal Water Resources Coordinator to be responsible for coordinating activities of the Federal agencies that are signatories to Attachment 3 of the Federal programmatic Record of Decision dated August 28, 2000, addressing water desalination, impaired ground water, brine removal, and water reuse projects and activities authorized under this Act. Directs the Secretary, through the Coordinator, to undertake a competitive grant program to: (1) investigate and identify opportunities for studying, planning, and designing water resources activities; and (2) construct demonstration and permanent facilities or implement other programs, projects, and activities. Authorizes the Federal agencies to participate in the CALFED Bay-Delta Program in accordance with the Objectives and Solution Principles set forth in the Decision. Authorizes the Secretary and the agency heads to carry out Program activities in the following categories if such activities have been subject to environmental review and approval under Federal and State law and have been certified by the Secretary to be consistent with the Decision: water storage; conveyance; water use efficiency; water transfers; the Environmental Water account; integrated regional water management plans; ecosystem restoration; watersheds; water quality; levee stability; monitoring and analysis; program management, oversight, and coordination; and diversification of water supplies. Prohibits the Federal share of the cost of implementing the Program from exceeding 33.3 percent Authorizes appropriations for activities to address issues surrounding the Salton Sea. Directs the Secretary to establish an office in Sacramento, California, and authorizes the Secretary to establish other offices in the capitol of any Reclamation State (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, or Texas) requesting such an office, for the use of all Federal and State agencies that are likely to be involved in issuing permits and conducting environmental reviews for water supply, water supply capital improvement projects, levee maintenance, and delivery systems. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program for the construction of rural water systems in the Reclamation States in cooperation with other Federal agencies with rural water programs and non-Federal project entities.
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 · 15 July 2003
Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act of 2003 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to exempt employers from a 15-day deadline for notifying the Secretary of Labor of their intent to contest OSHA citations, notices of uncorrected violations, and proposed penalties, if their failure to meet such deadline results from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act of 2003 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to increase the membership of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission from three to five.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act of 2003 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) to revise judicial review provisions to require deference to be given to conclusions of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), if reasonable, with respect to all questions of law relating to citations issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) against businesses for violations of the OSH Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act of 2003 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to provide for the award of attorney's fees and costs to certain small employers when they prevail in specified administrative or court proceedings. Requires such awards to prevailing employers if they had not more than 100 employees and a net worth of not more than $1.5 million at the respective time of: (1) the initiation of the administrative proceedings (adversary adjudication); or (2) the filing of the action addressed in the court proceedings (judicial review of action). Provides for such awards without regard to whether the position of the Secretary of Labor or the Federal Government was substantially justified or whether special circumstances make an award unjust.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2003
National Uniformity for Food Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to prohibit any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect as to any food in interstate commerce any requirement for food that is not identical to specified FDCA provisions. Prohibits any State or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect any notification requirement for a food that provides for a warning concerning the food's safety that is not identical to FDCA provisions. Allows current State notification or food safety requirements to continue for 180 days after the enactment of this Act, during which such State may petition for an exemption or a new national standard. Allows a State to petition for an exemption and for a national standard regarding any requirement under the FDCA, as amended by this Act, or the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act relating to food regulation. Allows a State to establish a requirement that would otherwise violate FDCA provisions relating to national uniform nutrition labeling or this paragraph if the requirement is needed to address an imminent hazard to health that is likely to result in serious adverse health consequences and if other requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Recognizes the university campuses affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, and other faith-based campuses. Supports the goals and ideas of Christian Higher Education Month.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2003
DC Parental Choice Incentive Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to eligible entities to provide students from low-income families in the District of Columbia (DC) with scholarships to enable them to attend the DC private elementary or secondary school of their choice. Requires priority to be given to applications from eligible entities which will most effectively: (1) give priority to eligible students who attend an elementary or secondary school identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under specified provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; (2) target resources to students and families that lack the financial resources to take advantage of available educational options; (3) provide students and families with the widest range of educational options; and (4) serve students of varying age and grade levels. Makes DC public educational entities, or nonprofit organizations and consortia, eligible to apply for such grants. Allows award of a single grant or multiple grants for up to five years. Allows scholarship payments to parents in varying amounts according to need, up to $7,500, to cover costs of tuition, fees, and transportation expenses. Requires scholarships to be considered assistance to the student, not to the school, and to be treated as parental income. Allows a parent to choose, and a school to offer, a single-sex school, class, or activity. Allows religiously affiliated schools to participate in the program and use funds made available under this Act: (1) for religious education purposes; and (2) to employ persons of the same religion. Allows such a school to: (1) take sex into account consistent with its religious tenets or beliefs; (2) have religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols in the school, religious terms in its name, and religious references in its mission statements and other chartering or governing documents; and (3) select its board members on a religious basis. Requires each school that chooses to participate in the program to accept participating eligible students: (1) on a first-come, first-served basis; or (2) if the school cannot accommodate all such students that seek admission, through a random selection process.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2003 - Declares that the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 shall not apply to Title V: Estate, Gift, and Generation-skipping Transfer Tax Provisions of such Act. (Makes the repeal of estate and generation-skipping taxes under the Internal Revenue Code, and certain reductions of the gift tax, permanent.)
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2003 - Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to revise requirements for health care programs and services for Indians, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations. Provides for enrollment of qualified Indians in the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA), as well as Medicare under SSA title XVIII and Medicaid under SSA title XIX (as under current law). Replaces the Urban Health Programs Branch with an Office for Urban Indian Health. Directs the Secretary, acting through the IHS and Indian tribes and tribal organizations, to consolidate certain existing programs into a new program of comprehensive behavioral health, prevention, treatment, and aftercare for Indian tribes. Establishes the National Bi-Partisan Indian Health Care Entitlement Commission to: (1) establish a Study Committee to study the extent of Indian health services needs; (2) review and analyze the Study Committee's report; and (3) make recommendations to Congress for providing health services for Indians as an entitlement. Reauthorizes the Indian Health Care Improvement Act through FY 2015. Amends SSA titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), and XXI (SCHIP) to conform with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
School Readiness Act of 2003 - Amends the Head Start Act to revise provisions and reauthorize appropriations for Head Start programs. Includes outreach to homeless families among activities for which quality improvement funds are to be used. Directs (currently authorizes) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to assist collaboration among State early childhood education activities under Head Start and other activities carried out in and by the State to benefit low-income children and families, and by Head Start agencies with other State and local planning, resource, and referral agencies. Includes community-based or faith-based organizations among the entities that may be designated as Head Start agencies. Requires Head Start grantees to establish and demonstrate they have met their own goals for: (1) educational instruction in prereading, premathematical, and language skills; and (2) providing health, educational, nutritional, social, and other services. Revises the additional educational performance standards included as program quality standards, and performance measures for program monitoring. Exempts military housing from being counted as family income in determining a child's eligibility to enroll in a Head Start program. Requires all Head Start teachers hired in center-based programs after enactment of this Act, within three years after such enactment, to: (1) have an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced degree in early childhood education; (2) have such a degree in a field related to early childhood education, with experience in teaching preschool children; or (3) be enrolled in study program for an associate degree in early childhood education, to be completed within three years of their hiring. Requires Head Start teachers who have received financial assistance under the Act to teach in a Head Start Center for an amount of time equal to the time period in which they received financial assistance. Allows qualifying States to participate in State demonstration programs in which their allocation of Federal Head Start funding would be administered by those States through grants to coordinate Head Start with State early education programs. (Current law provides direct Federal funds to local grantees.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Ready to Teach Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise provisions and reauthorize appropriations for title II (Teacher Quality Enhancement): (1) part A, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants for States and Partnerships; and (2) part B, Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology.
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 · 21 May 2003
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Prohibits the Constitution or any State constitution, or State or Federal law from being construed to require that marital status or its legal incidents be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.
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 · 13 May 2003
Commends: (1) President Bush, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and U.S. Central Command commander General Franks for their planning and execution of successful military campaigns in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; (2) the members of the U.S. armed forces who participated in such operations; and (3) Department of Defense civilian employees, civilian contractors, and defense contractor personnel whose skills made possible the equipping of the armed forcesr. Expresses: (1) the Nation's gratitude to the 21 allies in Operation Enduring Freedom and to the 49 coalition members in Operation Iraqi Freedom; and (2) sympathy and condolences to the families and friends of the members of U.S. and coalition forces who have been injured, wounded, or killed during those operations. Calls upon communities across the Nation to prepare appropriate ceremonies to honor and welcome home the members of the armed forces participating in such operations and to recognize their contributions to U.S. homeland security and to the Global War on Terrorism. Recommits the United States to ensuring the safety of the U.S. homeland, to preventing weapons of mass destruction from reaching the hands of terrorists, and to helping the people of Iraq and Afghanistan build free democratic societies.
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 · 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 · 29 April 2003
Commends the charter school movement and charter schools, administrators, teachers, parents, and students across the Nation for their ongoing contributions to education and improving and strengthening the Nation's public school system. Supports the fourth annual National Charter Schools Week. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should issue a proclamation calling on the people of the Nation to conduct appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities to demonstrate support for charter schools during this week-long celebration in communities throughout the Nation.
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
Truth in Employment Act of 2003 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide that nothing in specified prohibitions against unfair labor practices by employers shall be construed as requiring an employer to employ any person who seeks or has sought employment with the employer in furtherance of other employment or agency status.
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 · 8 April 2003
Apprenticeship Enhancement Act of 2003 - Amends the National Apprenticeship Act to direct the Secretary of Labor to ensure that applications relating to apprenticeship programs are processed in a fair and timely manner. Allows aggrieved applicants to file petitions for judicial review of final determinations by the Secretary or applicable designee.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify qualified leasehold improvement property (defined as certain improvements made to an interior portion of nonresidential real property) as ten-year property for depreciation purposes under the Accelerated Cost Recovery System.
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.
![Official portrait of Rep. McKeon, Howard P. "Buck" [R-CA-25]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000508_200.jpg)