United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2003
Medicare Patient Access to Drugs for Rare Diseases Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the methodology by which payment for orphan drugs and biologicals is made under the Medicare prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on payment for orphan drugs and biologicals and blood clotting factors for individuals with hemophilia in the OPD setting, including recommendations for either continuing or discontinuing the exclusion of such drugs and biologicals from payment under Medicare. Provides for a moratorium on decreases in payment rates for orphan drugs and biologicals and blood clotting factors for certain individuals with hemophilia.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that if a taxpayer is a member of an affiliated group of corporations which files a consolidated return, the tax attributes concerning reduction of tax attributes and exclusion from gross income by reason of discharge of indebtedness shall be the aggregate tax attributes of such group.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2003
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (posthumously) and his widow, Coretta Scott King, in recognition of their service to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Permits use of the rotunda of the Capitol on October 16, 2003, for a ceremony to commemorate the unveiling of the statue of Sakakawea provided by the State of North Dakota for display in Statuary Hall.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2003
Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Delivery Program) (VPDBDP) under which each individual who is entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplemental Medical Insurance) is entitled to obtain qualified prescription drug coverage. Authorizes the individual to elect to enroll: (1) in a MedicareAdvantage (MA) plan (replacing the current Medicare+Choice plans under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice)); or (2) if a fee-for-service enrollee not in an MA plan, in a Medicare Prescription Drug (MPD) plan. Makes separate provision for: (1) enrollees in a MedicareAdvantage medical savings account (MSA) plan; and (2) enrollees in MedicareAdvantage private fee-for-service plans. Makes the Administrator of the Center for Medicare Choices (CMC), established under this Act, responsible for administration of the VPDBDP. Outlines standard coverage benefit packages for FY 2006. Includes for the standard package an annual deductible of $ 275 , and requires insurers to cover 50 percent of enrollees drug costs up to the initial coverage limit of $ 4,500 . Requires enrollees to cover all costs over $ 4,500 until out-of-pocket expenses reach $3,700 (catastrophic threshhold), after which an enrollee would be responsible only for a ten-percent co-pay . Prescribes a formula for adjustment of such deductible and annual limits for inflation. Establishes a bidding process for negotiating the terms and conditions of MPD plan sponsors. Provides for full premium subsidy and reduction of cost-sharing for individuals with incomes below 135 percent of the Federal poverty level. Establishes a Prescription Drug Account in the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Sets out a new Medicare prescription drug discount card and assistance program under the Medicare program. Directs the Secretary to develop or adopt standards for electronic prescribing transactions. Directs the Secretary to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services the CMC, which shall be separate from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including an Office of Beneficiary Assistance (containing a Medicare Ombudsman) and a Medicare Competitive Policy Advisory Board. Revises Medicare requirements with regard to: (1) part A concerning rural health care, inpatient hospital services, skilled nursing facility services, hospices, and the Federal rate for hospitals in Puerto Rico; (2) part B concerning physicians services and other specified services, as well as demonstration projects for coverage of chiropractic services, Medicare health care quality, Medicare complex clinical case management payment, and Medicare fee-for-service care coordination; and (3) part A and B concerning home health services, as well as a demonstration program for substitute adult day care services. Revises requirements with respect to regulatory procedures, the Medicare appeals process, contracting with Medicare administrative contractors, provider education, a Medicare Provider Ombudsman, beneficiary outreach demonstration programs, prepayment review, recovery of overpayments, enforcement, and establishment of a Consumer Ombudsman Account in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) with regard to: (1) the 30-month of Food and Drug Administration approval for any new drug in certain circumstances; and (2) forfeiture of the 180-day marketing exclusivity period by the first new drug applicant to a subsequent applicant. Amends the FFDCA to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate regulations permitting pharmacists, wholesalers, and individuals to import prescription drugs from Canada into the United States, subject to specified conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2003
United States Agricultural Products Market Access Act of 2003 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to direct the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to identify those foreign countries that: (1) deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. agricultural products or apply standards for the importation of U.S. agricultural products that are not related to public health concerns or cannot be substantiated by reliable analytical methods; and (2) are determined by the USTR to be priority foreign countries. Limits the identification of priority foreign countries to those that engage in the most onerous or egregious acts which have the greatest adverse impact on the relevant U.S. products. Provides that if available information indicates that such action is appropriate, the USTR may at any time: (1) revoke the identification of any foreign country as a priority foreign country; or (2) identify any foreign country as a priority foreign country. Provides funding for additional staff for the Office of the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Agricultural Affairs and Office of the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Monitoring and Enforcement. Requires the U.S. Trade Representative to initiate an investigation (without waiting for a petition by an interested person) regarding any act, policy, or practice of a priority foreign country identified under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Expresses appreciation to the people and Government of Canada for their long history of friendship and cooperation with the people and Government of the United States. Congratulates Canada as it celebrates its annual Canada Day.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2003
Anti-Spam Act of 2003 - Prohibits a person from initiating in interstate commerce any commercial electronic mail (commercial email) message unless the message contains: (1) identification as commercial email; (2) notice of an opt-out opportunity, along with an email address or other mechanism for doing so; and (3) a valid physical street address of the sender. Prohibits the transmission of commercial email: (1) after valid objection; (2) with false or misleading header information or subject headings; (3) from illegally harvested email addresses, including addresses generated by automated means; or (4) without warning labels on commercial email containing sexually oriented material. Provides a right of enforcement action for: (1) providers of Internet access service; (2) States on behalf of any of their residents; and (3) the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Amends the Federal criminal code to provide criminal penalties for: (1) falsifying the identity of a commercial email sender; (2) failing to place warning labels on commercial email containing sexually oriented material; (3) repeat offenses and bulk email violations; and (4) illegal harvesting of email addresses. Provides for enforcement of such penalties through actions by Internet service providers, the FTC and the Attorney General, and State attorneys general. Requires the FTC to report to Congress regarding the need to protect the rights of users of email to avoid receiving unsolicited commercial email.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2003
United States-Cuba Trademark Protection Act of 2003 - Requires the President to direct the Secretary of State to obtain assurances that the Republic of Cuba will: (1) adhere to specified international agreements for the protection of intellectual property; (2) implement the Joint Recommendation Concerning Provisions on the Protection of Well-Known Marks; and (3) subscribe to dispute resolution procedures approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Repeals provisions of the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 prohibiting certain transactions, payments, or U.S. court recognition with respect to confiscated marks, trade names, or commercial names. Requires the Director of the Patent and Trademark Office to establish an electronic and publicly accessible registry of U.S. trademarks and well-known marks in Cuba. Amends the Cuban Assets Control Regulations to authorize: (1) specified transactions and proceedings regarding blocked foreign domain and trade names by any person who is not a designated national; (2) the transfer or receipt of any trademark, trade name, or domain name subject to U.S. law in which a designated national has an interest, as well as related proceedings; and (3) the payment of fees to foreign governments for research with respect to blocked foreign trademarks, trade names, and domain names, and related enforcement. Makes conforming amendments to the Trademark Act of 1946. Gives U.S. courts authority to validate any assertion by a designated national of rights in any mark or trade name based on common law rights or registration under specified provisions of the Trademark Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
United States Consensus Council Act of 2003 - Establishes the United States Consensus Council to develop and conduct processes to build consensus on national policy issues. Authorizes the Council to: (1) enter into formal relationships with other institutions; (2) identify particular public policy issues for which the Council's expertise would be useful in building a consensus; (3) coordinate with, make referrals to, and receive referrals from other conflict or dispute resolution instrumentalities, including the United States Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution or the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; and (4) develop and apply criteria for determining whether the Council will enter into a consensus-building process on a particular issue. Vests Council powers in a Board of Directors. Prohibits any Director from being a Federal officer or employee, including a Member of Congress. Provides for a Council President appointed by the Board. Prohibits the Council from engaging in lobbying activities or being a client.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Secure Annuity Income for Life Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income a percentage of lifetime annuity payments from a qualified trust to a qualified distributee. Provides for recapture and taxation of payments that are modified (other than by death or disability) so as to not qualify as lifetime annuity payments. Applies such exclusion to: (1) section 403(a) plans (employee annuities); (2) section 403(b) plans (public schools and certain tax exempt organizations); (3) section 408 plans (individual retirement accounts); and (4) section 457 plans (deferred compensation plans for State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations). Defines: (1) "lifetime annuity payment"; and (2) "qualified distributee."
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2003
Theodore Roosevelt Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than: (1) 500,000 $1 coins with the image of Theodore Roosevelt as a Rough Rider on one side and an eagle design on the other side; and (2) 500,000 $1 coins with the image of Roosevelt on horseback on one side and a flaming sword of righteousness on the other side. Calls for the coins to be struck at the U.S. Mint at West Point, New York. Authorizes the Secretary to issue such minted coins beginning on January 1, 2006, and to initiate coin sales before such date (2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt receiving the Nobel Peace Prize). Requires surcharges from the sale of the coins to be paid to the Theodore Roosevelt Association to be used exclusively for educational programs at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, including for construction and maintenance of a visitor's center.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2003
Taxpayer Abuse Prevention Resolution of 2003 - Expresses the sense of Congress that Federal tax collection services should not be paid for on the basis of a commission or as a percentage of taxes collected.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act of 2003 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for FY 2005 130 percent of the amount obligated during FY 2003. Adjusts the amount provided for fiscal years after FY 2005 based on the number of enrolled veterans and the number of other persons eligible but not enrolled who are provided care, multiplied by the per capital baseline amount for FY 2003, as increased by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Prohibits the availability of such funds for: (1) construction, acquisition, or alteration of veterans' medical facilities (other than for repairs provided for before the date of enactment of this Act); or (2) grants for the construction of State home facilities for the furnishing of veterans' domiciliary, nursing home, and hospital care.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Rural Provider Equity Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), the Public Health Service Act, and other Federal law with respect to rural health care, especially: (1) physician reimbursement; (2) rural health clinics and community health centers; (3) home health services and hospice care; (4) air and ground ambulance services; (5) mental health care accessibility; and (6) rural health services research. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income any loan payments under the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Community Savings and Investment Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish a separate tax rate for a qualified community lender; and (2) permit the exclusion from gross income of distressed community banking income.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Working Taxpayer Fairness Restoration Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the refundability of the child tax credit, to accelerate the increase to the 15 percent rate. Limits, to fair market value immediately following a transaction, the importation of net built-in loss by a corporation. Prohibits an allocation of any decrease in the adjusted basis of partnership property to stock in a corporation which is a partner in the partnership. Repeals part V (Financial Asset Securitization Investment Trusts) of subchapter M (Regulated Investment Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts). Expands the definition of a disqualified debt instrument with respect to deduction disallowance on certain debt instruments of corporations. Expands the authority to disallow deductions, credits, or other allowances under provisions disallowing such benefits due to acquisitions made to evade or avoid income tax. Amends provisions affecting passive foreign investment companies to state that the term "qualified portion" (of a shareholder's holding period) does not include any period if there is only a remote likelihood of an inclusion in gross income under subpart F (Controlled Foreign Income). Adds to the definition of the term "real estate investment trust" by stating that such term includes a corporation, trust, or association which is not a controlled entity. Directs the Secretary to establish a program requiring the payment of user fees, until September 30, 2013, for: (1) requests to the Internal Revenue Service for ruling letters, opinion letters, and determination letters; and (2) other similar requests.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2003
Linking Educators and Developing Entrepreneurs for Reaching Success (LEADERS) Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to support business incubation at institutions of higher education that award associate or baccalaureate degrees. Directs the Secretary to make competitive, matching awards to: (1) a non-profit entity that manages or provides technical assistance to a degree-granting institution's affiliated incubator (or to the institution that manages in the absence of such an entity), for helping acquire or renovate space for incubators, and for developing curricula, providing services, or providing programming for entrepreneurs housed in an incubator; and (2) a degree-granting institution or a nonprofit local government or community development organization, for feasibility studies to determine the need for or siting of incubators. Requires the Secretary to reserve certain amounts for research regarding best practices for incubator programs, including the development of a benchmarking system based on uniform measures, and for dissemination of information regarding such practices. Authorizes contracts for such purposes with organizations with expertise in business incubation practices.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2003
Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities Act of 2003 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to revise the program for trade adjustment assistance for communities negatively impacted by trade. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) establish a Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities Program at the Department of Commerce; (2) provide for a coordinated Federal response to economic dislocation in communities negatively impacted by trade; and (3) make a determination if a community is negatively impacted by a trade and certify such community for assistance. Allows communities negatively impacted by trade to develop strategic plans for community economic adjustment and diversification. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to communities that devise such strategic plans and to give preference to rural communities. Directs the Secretary to certify certain communities that were negatively impacted by trade on or after January 1, 1998, for adjustment assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2003
Loan Forgiveness for Head Start Teachers Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend to certain Head Start teachers student loan forgiveness under both the Federal Family Education Loan program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2003
Medicaid Nursing Incentive Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to eliminate the State option to include nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, and physician assistants as primary care case managers. Specifies as primary care case managers any nurse practitioner, certified nurse-midwife, or physician assistant that provides primary care case management services under a primary care case management contract. Revises the coverage of certain nurse practitioner services under the Medicaid fee-for-service program to remove the specification of certified pediatric nurse practitioner and certified family nurse practitioner in order to extend such coverage to services furnished by any certified nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist. Includes certified nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists in the mix of service providers which Medicaid managed care organizations are required to maintain.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2003
Working Families Tax Credit Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) accelerate and increase the refundability of the child tax credit to the 15 percent rate; and (2) include combat pay (otherwise excludable from gross income) as earned income for purposes of determining such refundability. Increases the earned income credit phaseout amount on a joint return by $3,000. Revises tax shelter provisions to, among other things: (1) define economic substance; (2) impose a penalty for the failure to include in a return information concerning a reportable transaction, a reportable transaction understatement (including imposing the penalty for certain understatements which were based on unreasonable legal or factual assumptions), a noneconomic substance transaction understatement, and interests in foreign financial accounts; (3) modify rules concerning the failure to furnish information regarding reportable transactions and the penalty for such failure, the failure to maintain lists of investors in potentially abusive tax shelters and the penalty for such failure, the authority to seek an injunction to enjoin promoters of abusive tax shelters; and (4) deny a deduction of interest on underpayments attributable to nondisclosed reportable transactions and noneconomic substance transactions. Amends other provisions to, among other things: (1) place a limit on the transfer or importation by a corporation of built-in losses; (2) provide for the partnership treatment of certain contributed property with a built-in loss; (3) repeal part V (Financial Asset Securitization Investment Trusts) of subchapter M (Regulated Investment Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts); and (4) modify rules concerning the disallowance of a deduction on certain debt instruments of corporations, passive foreign investment companies, and the reduction in a corporate shareholder's basis in stock by the nontaxed portion of extraordinary dividends. Revises corporate expatriation provisions to treat acquiring corporations in "corporate expatriation transactions" as 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 · 22 May 2003
Assistant United States Attorneys Retirement Benefit Equity Act of 2003 - Makes applicable to Assistant United States Attorneys the provisions of the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System that apply to Federal law enforcement officers. Directs the Department of Justice to provide notice to incumbent Assistant U.S. Attorneys as to their election rights under this Act and the effects of making or not making a timely election under this Act. Allows such incumbents to elect the option to be treated either: (1) in accordance with the amendments made by this Act; or (2) as if this Act had never been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include life insurance companies as an "includible corporation" for purposes of filing consolidated tax returns. Permits an affiliated group which includes at least one domestic insurance company that elects to file a consolidated return rather than pay tax under certain life insurance provisions to use a phased-in percentage of insurance company net operating loss in determining its own taxable income. (Permits unused loss carryover.) Provides for: (1) subsidiary stock basis adjustment; and (2) waiver of the five-year reconsolidation waiting period for certain formerly includible corporations which became nonincludible as a result of becoming a subsidiary of a nonincludible life insurance company.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit rural mail carriers to treat qualified vehicle expenses in excess of reimbursements as miscellaneous itemized deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
New Homestead Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Education to repay a specified percentage (up to $2,000 per year) of certain education loans to an individual who completes a degree and both resides and is employed in a qualifying county outside a metropolitan statistical area which for 20 years has a net out-migration of inhabitants of at least ten percent of the county population. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for a specified portion of the purchase price of a qualified residence in such a rural county. Allows a capital loss deduction with respect to sale or exchange of principal residence in certain rural areas. Provides for the creation of tax-exempt individual homestead accounts, which shall receive matching Federal contributions according to a specified formula, whose tax-free distributions after five years are used for qualified higher education or medical expenses, first-time homebuyer or business capitalization costs, or rollovers. Establishes a rural investment tax credit of 70 percent of the present value of new buildings (including rehabilitation projects) or 30 percent of the present value of existing buildings. Establishes a qualified rural investment small business investment credit of 30 percent of qualified expenditures. Provides for accelerated depreciation of property in rural investment projects. New Homestead Venture Capital Fund Act - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to provide for establishment of new homestead venture capital funds, owned by private investors, which shall generate and provide equity capital to rural businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
Professional Employer Organization Workers Benefits Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish provisions concerning certified professional employer organizations, including: (1) defining such organizations; (2) employment taxes and such organizations; and (3) employee benefits of such organizations.
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 · 14 May 2003
Pension Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to revise and add protections for participants and beneficiaries under employee pension plans (plans). Revises information disclosure provisions to require both defined benefit plans and defined contribution (401(k) and related) plans to give participants periodic statements on earned benefits. Requires notice of excessive stock holdings (more than ten percent in employer stock) and the risks of such excess. Requires a corporate insider or plan fiduciary who sells a specified minimum amount of employer stock holdings to report such sale to participants. Revises enforcement requirements. Requires the accounting standard for an issuer of a single-employer defined benefit plan to be modified to prevent the plan's investment gains from being treated as income to such issuer (and prohibits the Security and Exchange Commission from recognizing such standard before such modification). Requires that participants and their beneficiaries be allowed to diversify their plan investments (by divesting employer stock and reinvesting elsewhere) after three years of the participant's service as an employee. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees their recommendations relating to treatment of non-publicly traded stock for purposes of such participants control over assets in their plan accounts. Requires that employees and employers have equal representation and voting rights in the joint trusteeship of individual account plans under which some or all of the assets are derived from employee contributions. Sets forth increased accountability requirements, including bonding or insurance adequate to protect interest of participants and beneficiaries, liability for breach of fiduciary duty, and preservation of rights or claims. Establishes an Office of Pension Participant Advocacy, with a Pension Participation Advocate, in the Department of Labor. Directs the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to contract to study and report on the insurance system for individual account plans. Establishes an excise tax on failure of pension plans to provide notice of transaction restriction periods. Requires plan investment advisors to meet certain standards of independence or provide access to independent advice for employees. Provides that employers are not liable for such advice if they prudently select and monitor such advisors. Provides for expanded tax-deferred treatment of qualified retirement planning services for employees. Sets forth requirements for parity in employee benefits. Requires inclusion in gross income of the funded executive deferred compensation (protected in bankruptcy) if a corporation funds its defined contribution plan with employer stock (not protected in bankruptcy). Makes inapplicable, in the case of pension surpluses and assets, the executive performance-based compensation exception to the limitation on deductible compensation. Provides protection for long-service employees during conversions to hybrid defined benefit plans. Requires that employees with ten years of service be allowed to choose whether to receive benefits promised under a traditional plan or under a new cash balance plan. Provides for treatment of corporate insiders, including special rules for executive perks and retirement benefits. Applies the golden parachute excise tax to deferred compensation which is paid by a corporation after a major decline in stock value or when the corporation declares bankruptcy. Requires adequate disclosure regarding executive compensation packages to employees and to unions during collective bargaining. Revises Federal bankruptcy law to provide additional protections for employees of bankrupt employers. Provides for avoidance of certain transfers, and for alternate prosecution of action. Limits retention bonuses, severance pay, and certain other payments. Revises priorities for payment of claims to raise from $4,000 to $10,000 the maximum individual limit on allowed unsecured claims for wages, salaries, or commissions, including leave pay, or certain sales commissions, earned within 90 days before petition filing or business cessation. Subjects to deductible limits the corporate tax deduction for reinvested dividends of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Makes permanent the Saver's Tax Credit, which is a tax credit for elective deferrals and individual retirement account (IRA) contributions by certain individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2003
Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a deduction (increasing percentages with full deductibility as of 2008) for eligible long-term care insurance premiums for a taxpayer, spouse, and dependents and (2) long-term care insurance to be offered under cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements. Allows an income-adjusted (limited) credit for eligible individuals with long-term care needs. Sets forth specified requirements for qualifying long-term care insurance contracts. Treats an exchange of qualified long-term care insurance contracts as a disposition of property for which no gain or loss is recognized.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2003
Recognizes the importance of veterans to the United States. Expresses support for the goals of Veterans Educate Today's Students Day (programs that educate children about the service of veterans and the sacrifices made by them and their families).
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Encouraging Work Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the work opportunity credit permanent. Modifies such credit by: (1) repealing the requirement that a "qualified ex-felon" be a member of a low-income (as specified) family; (2) increasing the maximum age for eligibility of food stamp recipients to 40 years; (3) redefining the term "vocational rehabilitation referral"; (4) adding "long-term family assistance recipients" (as defined) to the definition of "targeted groups"; and (5) increasing the maximum allowable credit for employment of long-term family assistance recipients. Repeals the separate welfare-to-work credit.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection Act - Bans the importation into the United States of any archaeological or cultural material of Iraq that was removed from Iraq after the issuance of Executive Order 12722 of August 2, 1990, unless the Government of Iraq certifies that the exportation of such material from Iraq was not in violation of Iraqi law. Requires U.S. custom officers to detain such material until it can be certified as legally exported from Iraq. Subjects to seizure and forfeiture any Iraqi archaeological or cultural material that is illegally imported into the United States or that cannot be certified as legally exported from Iraq. Requires the return to Iraq of any archaeological or cultural material forfeited under this Act. Defines "country of origin" for purposes of applying U.S. tariff and customs laws to certain archaeological materials. Amends the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act to: (1) redefine an object of archaeological interest as one that is at least 100 years old (currently, at least 250 years old); (2) limit the period during which import restrictions under the Act may be placed on the archaeological or ethnological material of any country to ten years (subject to extensions by the President for emergency conditions) after the date such restrictions are published in the Federal Register; and (3) extend from five to ten years the effective period of bilateral or multilateral agreements for import restrictions on archaeological or ethnological materials.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Health Care Tax Credit Enhancement for Workers and Steel Security Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the trade adjustment assistance-related health care tax credit to: (1) decrease age eligibility for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation pension recipients; (2) eliminate the three-month coverage requirement concerning State-based coverage; and (3) revise covered month eligibility for the spouse of an individual entitled to Medicare. States that the steel import licensing and monitoring program established by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce shall remain in effect until not later than March 6, 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Physician Pathology Services Continuity Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with regard to a laboratory-furnished technical component of certain physician pathology services, to treat such component as a service for which payment shall be made to the laboratory, and not as an inpatient hospital or hospital outpatient service for which payment is made to the hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Communications Commission should: (1) not weaken any current media ownership rules that protect people's access to diverse sources of information; (2) examine, and better inform the public regarding, the consequences of weakening such rules; and (3) allow for extensive public review and comment on proposed changes to such rules before issuing a final rule.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act , the Internal Revenue Code, and Medicare supplemental policy provisions to prohibit health plans and insurers, with respect to protected genetic information, from discriminating in enrollment, eligibility, contribution rates, and premium rates based on such information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate because of protected genetic information.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to expand, intensify, conduct, coordinate, and support research and other activities with respect to pre-diabetes and diabetes, particularly type 2, in minority populations. Directs that the activities shall include research on the causes and effects of health care access disparities and racial discrimination. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) expand the National Diabetes Education Program; and (2) through the Indian Health Service, conduct research on attention by health care professionals to the American Indian population with regard to diabetes. Directs the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee to develop a Federal plan to address diabetes mellitus within communities of color. Requires the Secretary to conduct and support programs to treat diabetes in minority populations, including, through the National Institute of Mental Health, to provide for comprehensive mental health services and treatment to certain individuals. Directs the Secretary, acting through the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, to make grants to expand Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program internships and mentoring opportunities for recruitment of minorities in diabetes-focused health fields. Provides for Federal and State loan repayment programs for health profession students of color. Requires the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to: (1) expand the Diabetes Control Program; and (2) fund education and community outreach on diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2003
States that the Internal Revenue Service shall not implement any system of earned income tax credit precertification for taxpayers who have not made prior improper claims unless such a system is specifically authorized by law.
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 · 30 April 2003
Real Estate Investment Trust Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise real estate investment trust (REIT) provisions respecting: (1) straight debt safe harbor; (2) limited rental exception; (3) customary services exception; (4) hedging instruments; (5) prohibited transaction safe harbor; (6) distributions attributable to gain from sales or exchanges of U.S. real property interests; and (7) rules of application for asset requirements and limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2003
Subchapter S Modernization Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise provisions concerning S corporations to, among other things: (1) allow certain members of a family to be treated as one shareholder of an S corporation; (2) prohibit treating qualified preferred stock as a second class of stock and treating a person as a shareholder by reason of holding such stock; (3) permit financial institutions to hold convertible (safe harbor) debt; (4) repeal the characterization of excessive passive investment income as a termination event; (5) permit certain losses on liquidation not exceeding ordinary income basis to be treated as ordinary losses; (6) permit the deductibility of interest expense incurred by an electing small business trust to acquire S corporation stock; (7) provide that shareholder basis is not increased by income derived from cancellation of S corporation's debt; (8) provide for the exclusion of investment securities income from the passive income test for bank S corporations; (9) provide relief from inadvertently invalid qualified subchapter S subsidiary elections and terminations on the same basis as is provided to invalid or terminated S corporation elections; and (10) provide for the elimination of all earnings and profits attributable to pre-1983 years.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation to Dr. Dorothy Height (President of the National Council of Negro Women) of a congressional gold medal in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Medicare Renal Dialysis Payment Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for an update in the renal dialysis composite rate.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Family Opportunity Act of 2003 or Dylan Lee James Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for them; and (2) provide for treatment of inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21 under waivers allowing for payment of part or all of the cost of home or community-based services. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to make appropriations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for special projects of regional and national significance for development and support of family-to-family health information centers. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility to certain Supplemental Security Income (SSA title XVI) beneficiaries under age 21.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Job Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the foreign sales corporation/extraterritorial income (FSC/ETI) exclusion, with an exemption for certain binding contracts in effect before the date of enactment of this Act. Permits a foreign corporation that elected to be treated as a domestic corporation to revoke such election and be treated as a domestic corporation transferring its property to a foreign corporation with no gain recognized on such transfer. Provides: (1) a transitional 2004 through 2008 sliding-scale deduction for an FSC/ETI beneficiary based on the corporation's 2001 FSC/ETI benefit; and (2) special rules for 2003 and for fiscal year taxpayers. Defines "FSC/ETI benefit." Allows a deduction for income attributable to U.S. production activities equal to ten percent of qualified production activities. Provides a 2006 through 2009 phase-in period. Defines "qualified production activities" as: (1) the portion of the modified taxable income attributable to domestic activities; and (2) the domestic/foreign fraction. Sets forth related provisions with respect to: (1) determination of income attributable to domestic production activities; (2) domestic production gross receipts; (3) qualifying production property; (4) domestic/foreign fraction; and (5) special rules.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Pension Preservation and Savings Expansion Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001, the Social Security Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Retirement Protection Act of 1994 to revise various pension and retirement provisions, including provisions affecting: (1) pension portability; (2) retirement plan participation and coverage; (3) IRAs; (4) defined benefit plans; (5) retirement plan contribution and distribution rules; (6) retirement plans of tax-exempt organizations and plans for government employees; (7) stock options; and (8) retiree health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Rail Line Relocation Act of 2003 - Amends Federal highway law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a capital grant program to provide financial assistance to States for up to 80 percent of the cost of local rail line relocation projects.
![Official portrait of Rep. Pomeroy, Earl [D-ND-At Large]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000422_200.jpg)