United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2003
Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code by determining that acquiring corporations in"corporate expatriation transactions" shall be considered domestic corporations. Defines a "corporate expatriation transaction" as, with certain exceptions, one in which a "nominally foreign corporation" acquires substantially all of the properties held by a domestic corporation and in which, immediately after the transaction, more than 80 percent of the stock of the acquiring corporation is held by former shareholders of the domestic corporation. Lowers the 80 percent threshold to 50 percent when the acquiring "nominally foreign corporation" lacks substantial business activities in the foreign country in which it was created and organized compared to the total activities of the "expanded affiliated group" and the stock is publicly traded, with the principal market of trading being the United States. Defines the terms "nominally foreign corporation" and "expanded affiliated group." Applies similar rules to partnership transactions. Establishes that a series of related transactions relevant to the Act shall be handled as a single transaction.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2003
Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to place limitations on mandatory overtime for nurses, protect nurses against retaliation in any manner with respect to any aspect of employment, and provide for civil money penalties for violations of such provisions. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on standards to establish for the maximum number of hours that a nurse may work without compromising the safety of their patients. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to study and report to Congress on the extent to which federally operated medical facilities have in effect practices and policies with respect to overtime requirements for nurses that are inconsistent with the overtime requirements added by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2003
Mammogram Availability Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, that provides coverage for diagnostic mammographies for any woman 40 years old or older to provide coverage for annual screening mammographies for such a woman. Prohibits related enrollment and renewal discrimination, monetary incentives to women, and penalties or incentives to providers. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those requirements and prohibitions to coverage offered by an issuer in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2003
Tohono O'odham Citizenship Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to recognize persons listed on the official membership roll of the Tohono O'odham Nation, a federally recognized American Indian nation located in Arizona, as U.S. citizens as of the date such listing occurs. Provides that the valid membership credential issued to such listed persons shall be considered, for all purposes subject to Federal law, equivalent to: (1) a certificate of citizenship; and (2) a State-issued birth certificate.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2003
Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act (IMPACT Act) - Amends the Public Health Service Act to address issues of overweight and obesity. Modifies an existing grant program funding the training of health profession personnel to include the treatment of overweight and obesity among categories to which the Secretary of Health and Human Services is directed to give special consideration. Creates a grant program to fund the training of health professionals to: (1) treat and prevent obesity; and (2) aid people who are overweight. Creates grant programs at the local level to promote increased physical activity and improved nutrition. Targets partnerships with businesses, schools, senior centers, day care facilities and other institutions. Expands an existing coordinated school health program to include grants for the development of programs which focus on healthy lifestyle, including balanced diet and physical activity. Permits the use of preventive health and health services block grants for community education programs which promote healthy eating and exercise habits. Directs the Secretary to consider geographic diversity in issuing such grants and to ensure that such grants focus on physical activity and food-based research. Creates a Medicare demonstration project to reduce obesity and other chronic disease risks in older Americans. Makes grants available to local healthcare delivery systems for overweight and obesity treatment and prevention demonstration programs. Makes grants available for a national campaign to change children's health behaviors. Promoting Healthy Eating Behaviors in Youth Act - Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to award competitive grants to States, political subdivisions of States, and other entities for the implementation of State and community-based intervention programs to promote good nutrition, including in children and adolescents. Sets forth a sunset date for such grants of five years after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2003
Commends Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson for urging private health insurance companies to encourage Americans to lead active lifestyles. Expresses the sense of Congress that private health insurance companies should: (1) do more to encourage Americans to lead healthier and more active lifestyles; (2) provide discounted premiums to those who exercise regularly; and (3) encourage frequent screening for diseases that are easily treatable in their early stages. Applauds private health insurance companies that are already taking such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2003
Expresses the sense of Congress that national and community organizations and health care providers should be applauded for promoting awareness about viral hepatitis. Calls on the Federal Government to: (1) raise awareness about the importance of prevention of viral hepatitis, counseling, and treatment; (2) increase funding for prevention education, other prevention measures (such as vaccination), and research; (3) increase efforts to find more effective treatments and cures; and (4) consider ways to improve access to high-quality health care services for early detection and treatment. Calls on the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand basic, clinical, and genetic research regarding viral hepatitis. Urges the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to give priority consideration to establishing a national viral hepatitis round table with Federal representatives and those of private, nonprofit organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2003
Racial Equity and Fair Treatment Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States and county applicants to pay the Federal share of the costs of improving the administration of support programs for low-income families with children. Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to revise requirements for assessments and work activities for TANF recipients. Requires: (1) interpretation and translation services in certain cases for TANF recipients; (2) an expedited process for discrimination complaints; (3) provision of notice of rights of TANF recipients; (3) training of TANF program personnel in respecting such rights; (4) standardized sanction process; and (5) opportunity for TANF applicants or recipients to appeal adverse decisions. Modifies penalties against individuals for violating mandatory work requirements, creating additional exceptions, including those for child care and discrimination. Prohibits States from diverting potential TANF applicants. Bans States from penalizing the entire family for the misconduct of one family member. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to repeal provisions for denial of assistance and benefits for certain drug-related convictions. Makes various changes under the TANF program concerning: (1) the five-year time limit on assistance; and (2) treatment of aliens. Permits participation in English-as-a-second language programs as a work activity. Prescribes requirements encouraging racial equality.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2003
United States National Health Insurance Act (or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act) - Establishes the United States National Health Insurance (USNHI ) Program (the Program), providing all individuals residing in the United States (including in U.S. territories) with health care. States benefits the Program shall offer, including: (1) primary care and prevention; (2) prescription drugs; (3) emergency care; and (4) mental health services. Prohibits institutions from participating as health providers in the Program unless they are a public or nonprofit institution, and provides for conversions of investor-owned providers with compensation for real property and equipment. Allows health maintenance organizations to participate in the Program under specified conditions. Permits patients to freedom of choice of participating physicians and other clinicians, hospitals, and inpatient care facilities. Prohibits a private health insurer from selling health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act. Declares that the Program shall establish a prescription drug formulary system, which shall encourage best practices in prescribing and shall be updated frequently. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to appoint a Director for the Program, who in turn shall appoint a director for an Office of Quality Control. Requires the director of the Office of Quality Control to conduct an annual review on the adequacy of medically needed services. Establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access, which shall advise the Secretary and the Director to ensure quality, access, and affordability. Provides for the eventual integration of the health programs of the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Indian Health Service into the Program. Declares that this Act shall take effect on January 1, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2003
Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2003 - Deems certain service performed before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts as active military service for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Repeals certain provisions discounting such service as qualifying service.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2003
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal provisions which make persons convicted of drug offenses ineligible to receive student financial assistance for a certain period.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) a commemorative postage stamp should be issued by the United States Postal Service on the subject of autism awareness; and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a postage stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Social Security Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) pension offset provisions applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to Old-Age and Survivors insurance benefit payments; and (2) windfall elimination provisions with respect to computation of the primary insurance amount of an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Provides for the permanent resident status adjustment of certain nationals of Montserrat previously granted temporary protected status in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2003 - Adjusts the basic Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity amount for surviving spouses, age 62 and older, of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent (current law), for months before October 2004; (2) 40 percent for months during FY 2005; (3) 45 percent for months during FY 2006; (4) 50 percent for months during FY 2007; and (5) 55 percent for months after FY 2007. Adjusts similarly percentage amounts with respect to survivors of reserve personnel and survivors of persons who die while on active duty. Provides a corresponding phased elimination of the SBP supplemental annuity authorized to be provided to such surviving spouses. Requires periodic recomputation of: (1) annuity amounts beginning in October 2004; and (2) retired pay reductions for supplemental survivor annuities. Provides a one-year open enrollment period for SBP participation, commencing October 1, 2004, for those currently not participating, those electing to increase current coverage, and those wishing to participate in the supplemental SBP. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to require appropriate premiums for SBP participation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Debt Cancellation for the New Millennium Act - Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to urge the President to commence immediately efforts within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, as well as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other appropriate multilateral development institutions, to accomplish certain modifications in the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, including requiring that: (1) the amount of debt relief provided by the IMF and the World Bank under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative for a HIPC be sufficient to completely cancel 100 percent of the HIPC's debt owed to such institutions; (2) no provision of debt relief under the Initiative be conditioned on any country's implementing a structural adjustment or stabilization program of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility of the IMF or any other such program operated solely or jointly by the IMF or the World Bank; (3) all HIPCs that are working in good faith to develop and implement their Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) pursuant to the Initiative not be required to make service payments on their debts (ensuring that the savings from such debt relief will be invested in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, health care, education, and poverty reduction programs); and (4) the eligibility requirements of the Initiative be revised to make Bangladesh, Haiti, and Nigeria eligible. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide, upon request, for technical assistance to HIPCs regarding compliance with the conditions for debt relief pursuant to the Initiative, including the development and implementation of their PSRPs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Veterans' Prescription Drug and Surviving Spouses Assistance Act of 2003 - Suspends, for five years, the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the required copayment for medication furnished to veterans on an outpatient basis for the treatment of non-service-connected disabilities. Increases the maximum annual rates of pensions for surviving spouses of war veterans. Amends the Social Security Act to exclude the amount of such rate increases from a surviving spouse's income for purposes of Medicaid (title XIX) eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Child Poverty Reduction Act -Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to: (1) make it an additional purpose of TANF to reduce poverty of families with children in the United States; and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make a child poverty reduction bonus grant to any State whose child poverty rate for a completed calendar year is less than the rate the State achieved during the preceding calendar year.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Chance to Succeed Act of 2003 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to include as a work activity satisfactory participation in services to address barriers designed to improve future employment opportunities, including substance abuse treatment, physical rehabilitation, and mental health, mental retardation and developmental disabilities services. Requires the assessment for each assistance recipient to determine whether the recipient has any barriers to employment or program compliance. Prohibits a State to which a TANF grant is made from imposing a sanction against an individual or family on the basis of noncompliance with a program requirement: (1) unless the State satisfies specified notice and review requirements; or (2) if the individual whose conduct is the basis of the sanction is in the uncompleted process of being screened or assessed for a mental health problem, disability, substance abuse problem, or sexual or domestic violence situation, or if the services outlined in the service plan developed for the individual or family were not offered, available, and accessible to the individual or family at the time of the noncompliance. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed as prohibiting a State in compliance with the requirements of this Act from imposing a sanction for noncompliance with work requirements against an individual or family who opts to not take full advantage of the opportunity for assessment or the services and supports made available to ensure that the individual or family can comply with program requirements if such an individual or family is not complying with the State's work requirements. Requires each State receiving a State family assistance grant to establish an advisory panel to review the efficacy of each TANF-funded program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Authorizes the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the victims of the Ukrainian famine-genocide of 1932-1933. Prohibits the U.S. Government from paying any expense for the establishment of the memorial or its maintenance.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Dave Thomas Adoption Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow for penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans if used to pay adoption expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Requires the Architect of the Capitol to enter into a contract to revise the statue commemorating women's suffrage located in the rotunda of the United States Capitol (known as the Portrait Monument) to include a likeness of Sojourner Truth.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2003
Calls for: (1) recognition of private organizations and health care providers for promoting awareness of and research on scleroderma; (2) greater awareness of the symptoms of scleroderma and contributions to the fight against it; (3) the Government to promote awareness, to adequately fund scleroderma research projects, and to continue to consider ways to improve the quality of health care services for scleroderma patients; (4) the National Institutes of Health to continue to play a leadership role in the fight against scleroderma; and (5) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to give priority to establishing a national epidemiological study to better track and gather information about scleroderma.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2003
Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area Act of 2003 - Establishes the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area in New Jersey. Designates the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, Inc. as the Area's management entity. Directs the Association to submit, and to assist local governments, regional planning organizations, and nonprofit entities in implementing, an area management plan which includes strategies for conservation, funding, management, and development of the Area. Bars the Association from using Federal funds received under this Act to acquire real property, but permits the Association to use any other source of funding, including other Federal funding, intended for the acquisition of real property. Limits Federal funding to 50 percent of any assistance provided. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to: (1) the Area to develop and implement the management plan; and (2) State or local government or nonprofit organizations for treatment of historical objects or structures eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Authorizes the Superintendent of Morristown National Historical Park to provide operational assistance supporting implementation of the management plan to public and private organizations within the Area, including the Association.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2003
Authorizes the President to award a gold medal to each of the seven crew members who perished aboard the space shuttle Columbia: Rick D. Husband; Michael P. Anderson; Laurel Clark; David M. Brown; William C. McCool; Kapana Chawla; and Ilan Ramon.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Abandoned Hardrock Mines Reclamation Act - Requires any person producing hardrock minerals from a mine within an unpatented mining claim, or a mine on land that was patented under the general mining laws, to pay the Secretary of the Interior a percentage-based reclamation fee for deposit into the Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund. Establishes in the Treasury an interest-bearing Abandoned Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund administered by the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to use the Fund for reclamation and restoration of eligible areas, and approved State reclamation programs and Federal remediation activities. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue an abandoned or inactive mined land waste remediation permit to a remediating party for discharges associated with remediation activity at abandoned or inactive mined land under certain conditions. Prescribes guidelines for issuance of permits and application requirements. Authorizes the Administrator to delegate to the States the authority for issuance and review of reclamation permits. Authorizes enforcement actions against parties who fail to comply with permit conditions. Sunsets the authority to issue an abandoned or inactive mined land waste remediation permits.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide for: (1) increases in widow's and widower's insurance benefits by reason of delayed retirement; and (2) the treatment of delayed retirement in cases of simultaneous entitlement to OASDI benefits and widow's or widower's insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 2003 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act with respect to determining entitlement to and the amount of any monthly benefit, including any lump-sum death payment, payable under OASDI on the basis of the wages and self-employment income of any individual. Deems such an individual to have been paid a wage (according to a specified formula) during each month during which the individual was engaged for at least 80 hours in providing care to a dependent relative without monetary compensation for up to five years of such service. Makes this Act inapplicable in the case of any monthly benefit or lump-sum death payment if a larger benefit or payment would be payable without its application.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide for full benefits for disabled widows and widowers without regard to age or any previous reduction in OASDI benefits. Declares that there shall be no reduction in the widow's or widower's insurance benefit of an individual for any month in which such individual is under a disability.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Requires the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to designate New Jersey Task Force 1 as part of the National Urban Search and Rescue System.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code respecting the Hope Scholarship Credit to: (1) extend coverage to fees, books, supplies, and equipment, and exempt such expenses from information reporting requirements; and (2) not reduce such Credit by Federal Pell Grant and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Amends the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 to revise the special pay adjustments for (percentage differentials payable to) Federal law enforcement officers in specified consolidated metropolitan statistical areas. Includes Capitol Police as law enforcement officers under such Act. Eliminates the limitation on the aggregate of basic pay and premium pay with respect to availability pay for Federal criminal investigators.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the two-year waiting period for divorced spouse's benefits following a divorce.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the seven-year restriction on eligibility for widow's and widower's insurance benefits based on disability.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Housing Preservation Matching Grant Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make matching grants to States (including the District of Columbia and U.S. commonwealths, territories, and possessions) for low-income housing preservation. Sets forth requirements for projects: (1) with Department of Housing and Urban Development-insured mortgages; (2) with section 8 assistance; or (3) purchased by the residents.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2003
Provides that, when the legislatures of an additional three States ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, the House of Representatives shall take any legislative action necessary to verify the ratification of such Amendment as a part of the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2003
Africa Famine Relief Act of 2003 - Authorizes emergency appropriations to the emergency assistance program under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to provide humanitarian assistance for sub-Saharan Africa. Urges the President to establish a task force responsible for designing a comprehensive strategy to deal with the immediate needs of the humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa and addressing the long-term causes of food insecurity in the region, including corruption within certain governments of sub-Saharan Africa. Directs the President to instruct the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, the World Food Programme, international organizations, and other appropriate international organizations to use the U.S. vote to support additional food aid and other humanitarian assistance for sub-Saharan Africa. Authorizes emergency appropriations for: (1) international disaster assistance for relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction assistance for sub-Saharan Africa; and (2) the award of grants to eligible administrative organizations to award subgrants to nongovernmental organizations to expand activities to prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV by providing treatment, medical care, and support services to HIV-infected parents and their children.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2003
Calls for the United States to: (1) support the independence of Kosova and the establishment of Kosova as a sovereign and democratic state in which human rights are respected as the only way to lasting peace and stability in the Balkans; (2) recognize the danger that delay in the resolution of Kosova's final status poses for the political and economic viability of Kosova and the future of Southeast Europe; (3) work in conjunction with the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and other multilateral organizations to facilitate an orderly transition to the independence of Kosova; and (4) provide its share of assistance, trade, and other programs to support the government of an independent Kosova and to encourage the further development of democracy and a free market economic system.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Attorney General of the United States should undertake to protect and expand equality of opportunity for qualified minorities, disabled persons, and women at every opportunity; (2) Affirmative action is a powerful, effective, and necessary tool for achieving such equal opportunity without quotas and should be utilized in the public and private sectors to increase diversity and correct patterns of past and current discrimination; and (3) the President should incorporate Affirmative action into the employment, contracting, granting, educational, and program activities of the United States and all its subcontractors and grantees.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2003 - Permits retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation. Repeals provisions providing for special compensation for certain severely disabled military retirees and certain combat-related disabled uniformed services retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand activities addressing inflammatory bowel disease, emphasizing genetic, animal model, and clinical research. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a national program of prevention and epidemiology concerning such disease, addressing its prevalence and public and professional awareness. Directs the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science to study public and private insurance standards for coverage of inflammatory bowel therapies. Directs the General Accounting Office to study problems inflammatory bowel disease patients have applying for disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Child Support Enforcement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (relating to the deduction for bad debts) to allow a custodial parent to claim unpaid child support payments as a deduction. Bars a delinquent debtor from filing an amended return in any subsequent year to reflect the subsequent payment of unpaid child support. Includes unpaid child support in the gross income of the delinquent debtor. Prohibits any discrepancy between the tax returns of a custodial parent and a delinquent debtor concerning whether a child support payment has been made from serving as a basis for selecting an individual's tax return for general audit.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Gun Show Background Check Act of 2003 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require registration of gun show promoters and to set forth the responsibilities of promoters, licensees, and other transferors. Provides that if any part of a firearm transaction takes place at a gun show, each licensed importer, manufacturer, and dealer who transfers one or more firearms to a person who is not licensed shall, within ten days after the transfer, submit a report of the transfer to the Secretary of the Treasury. Sets forth penalties for violations. Grants the Secretary authority to enter the place of business of any gun show promoter and any place where a gun show is held, during business hours and without a showing of reasonable cause or a warrant, for purposes of examining records and the inventory of licensees conducting business to determine compliance with this Act. Increases penalties for: (1) serious record-keeping violations by licensees; and (2) violations of criminal background check requirements. Modifies provisions regarding the national instant criminal background check system and the destruction of records in cases where receipt of a firearm would not violate the Brady Act or State law to provide for such destruction as soon as possible, consistent with the Attorney General's responsibility to ensure privacy and security of the system and to prevent system fraud and abuse, but in no event later than 90 days after the licensee first contacts the system.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Treatment of Children's Deformities Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to set standards requiring that group and individual health insurance and group health plans provide coverage for treatment of a minor child's congenital or developmental deformity or disorder due to trauma, infection, tumor, or disease.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Student Bill of Rights - Directs the Secretary of Education to make annual determinations as to whether each State's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. Requires such education to enable students to: (1) acquire knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship; (2) meet challenging academic achievement standards; and (3) compete and succeed in a global economy. Requires each system to do so through: (1) providing specified fundamentals of educational opportunity to students at each public elementary and secondary school; (2) providing educational services in school districts that receive funds for disadvantaged students that are, taken as a whole, at least comparable to educational services provided in school districts not receiving such funds; and (3) complying with any final Federal or State court order in any matter concerning the adequacy or equitableness of the system. Requires withholding of specified portions of its Federal funding for administrative expenses if a system: (1) fails to meet a yearly interim goal; (2) does not remedy, after two school years, a failure to provide comparable educational services to schools that receive funds for disadvantaged children; or (3) does not comply with a court order. Allows students or parents aggrieved by violations of this Act to bring civil actions for enforcement in Federal district courts. Directs the Commissioner of Education Statistics to study the effects of educational disparities on economic growth and on national defense.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Veterans Equal Treatment Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) discontinue the funding allocation formula for the Department of Veterans Affairs medical care system known as the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation system at the end of the fiscal year in which this Act is enacted; and (2) develop a new formula for the allocation of funds to the national service regions, known as Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs), that takes into account specified requirements, including additional costs incurred by a VISN because the age of veterans, or the number of veterans requiring complex care, in that VISN exceeds the median for all VISNs. Authorizes additional appropriations to be allocated to VISNs that have experienced funding reductions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Amends the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 to make as one of its purposes that in implementation of this Act at least 50 percent of all microenterprise assistance be targeted to the very poor, that is, those persons living either in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty line or on less than the equivalent of one dollar per day. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1964 to authorize the President to provide assistance to increase the availability of financial services (not just credit) to microenterprise households lacking full access to credit, including through: (1) loans and guarantees to microfinance institutions to expand the availability of savings and credit to poor and low-income households; (2) training programs to enable such institutions to better meet the financial services needs of their clients; and (3) training programs to enable clients to make better use of credit, increase their financial literacy, and to better manage their enterprises to improve their quality of life. Declares that, in order to maximize the sustainable development impact of microenterprise development grant assistance authorized under the Act, the Administrator of the agency primarily responsible for administering such assistance shall establish a monitoring system that, among other things, adopts the widespread use of proven and effective poverty assessment tools to identify the poorest of the poor and ensure that they receive needed microenterprise credits, loans, and assistance. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to develop and certify no fewer than two low-cost methods for measuring the poverty levels of the current or prospective clients of microenterprise organizations for purposes of the provision of microenterprise development grant assistance.
![Official portrait of Rep. Payne, Donald M. [D-NJ-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000149_200.jpg)