United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, and the Revised Statutes of the United States, to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition: (1) activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates; and (2) the right, power, or ability of any financial holding company to engage in any activity, or acquire or retain the shares of any company engaged in an activity authorized for financial holding companies on December 6, 2001 ("grandfather clause").
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Servicemembers Anti-Predatory Lending Protection Act - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to set forth terms for consumer credit extended to a servicemember or servicemember's dependent, including terms of interest with respect to the extension of such credit. Prohibits a creditor from imposing an annual percentage rate greater than 36 percent with respect to the consumer credit extended. Sets forth mandatory loan disclosures, including: (1) a statement of the annual percentage rate applicable to the extension of credit; and (2) a clear description of the payment obligations. Prohibits a creditor from automatically renewing, repaying, refinancing, or consolidating any consumer credit with the proceeds of other credit extended to a servicemember or a servicemember's dependent by the same creditor without: (1) executing new loan documentation signed by the servicemember; and (2) providing the mandatory loan disclosures. Preempts any State or Federal law, rule, or regulation, including any State usury law, to the extent that it is inconsistent with this Act. States that this Act does not preempt any such law, rule, or regulation that provides additional protection. Prescribes criminal penalties for violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Citizens' Self-Defense Act of 2005 - Declares that a person not prohibited under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act from receiving a firearm shall have the right to obtain firearms for security and to use firearms in defense of: (1) self or family against a reasonably perceived threat of imminent and unlawful infliction of serious bodily injury; (2) self or family in the course of the commission by another person of a violent felony against the person or a member of the person's family; and (3) the person's home in the course of the commission of a felony by another person. Authorizes persons whose rights under this Act have been violated to bring an action in U.S. district court against the United States, any State, or any person for damages, injunctive relief, and such other relief as the court deems appropriate. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the award of attorney's fees; and (2) the statute of limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Clean, Learn, Educate, Abolish, Neutralize, and Undermine Production (CLEAN-UP) of Methamphetamines Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to carry out environmental cleanup and remediation programs involving specified lands that are contaminated with hazardous substances associated with illegal methamphetamine manufacture. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate as hazardous certain byproducts of the methamphetamine production process and expand penalties against laboratory operators; (2) the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration to list byproducts likely to cause long-term environmental harm; (3) the Secretary of Labor, acting through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, to provide grants to State and local law enforcement for specified training and equipment acquisition; (4) the EPA Administrator to study the impact of methamphetamine laboratory operation on the environment; and (5) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study contamination issues. Amends: (1) the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize grants for educational programs; (2) the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to provide treatment; and (3) the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include among permissible grant projects under the "cops on the beat" program hiring personnel and purchasing equipment. Urges the President to seek commitments from the Canadian Government regarding the availability of pseudoephedrine.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the tax credit for biodiesel used as fuel to include a credit for the production of agri-biodiesel fuel equal to 10 cents for each gallon produced. Limits: (1) the amount of qualified agri-biodiesel production of a producer to 15 million gallons for any taxable year; and (2) eligible producers to those with a productive capacity not exceeding 60 million gallons. Revises the small ethanol producer tax credit to: (1) expand the eligibility of small ethanol producers for the credit; (2) exclude the credit from the definition of passive activity credit; and (3) exclude credit amounts from inclusion in gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2004
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency financial assistance to agricultural producers who have incurred qualifying 2003 or 2004 crop losses due to weather or related conditions. Permits producers with qualifying losses in both years to elect to receive payments in either, but not both, of such years. Makes producers ineligible for crop disaster assistance if they did not: (1) get Federal crop insurance for insurable commodities; and (2) file required paperwork and pay related fees for noninsurable commodities. Sets forth: (1) waiver provisions; and (2) payment limitations, including reductions for amounts received under the Florida Disaster Programs. Directs the Secretary to provide payments to livestock producers who have incurred 2003 or 2004 losses in an emergency-designated county, with discretionary set-asides for the American Indian livestock program. Permits producers with qualifying losses in both years to elect to receive payments in either, but not both, of such years. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance to commercial orchardists and tree farmers who have suffered losses during the December 1, 2003 through December 31, 2004 period. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance to emergency conservation program participants. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to limit Commodity Credit Corporation amounts available for the conservation security program for FY 2005 through 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2004
Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency financial assistance to agricultural producers who have incurred qualifying 2003 or 2004 crop losses due to weather or related conditions. Permits producers with qualifying losses in both years to elect to receive payments in either, but not both, of such years. Makes producers ineligible for crop disaster assistance if they did not: (1) get Federal crop insurance for insurable commodities; and (2) file required paperwork and pay related fees for noninsurable commodities. Sets forth waiver provisions. Reduces payments for amounts received under a specified crop loss program announced in 2004. Directs the Secretary to provide payments to livestock producers who have incurred 2003 or 2004 losses in an emergency-designated county, with discretionary set-asides for the American Indian livestock program. Permits producers with qualifying losses in both years to elect to receive payments in either, but not both, of such years. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance under the tree assistance program to tree farmers who have suffered losses during the 2003-2004 winter.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2004
Northern Marianas Delegate Act - Prescribes a procedure for election to the House of Representatives as a nonvoting Delegate of the Resident Representative to the United States authorized under the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2004
Montana National Forests Boundary Adjustment Act of 2004 - Modifies the boundaries of the Helena, Lolo, and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests (the Forests) in Montana as depicted on specified maps. Requires such maps to be on file and available for public inspection in the offices of the Chief of the Forest Service and Regional Forester. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make technical corrections to the map. Requires land acquired within the boundaries of the Forests for National Forest System (NFS) purposes to be managed in accordance with the Weeks Law and laws applicable to the NFS. States that the boundaries of the Forests as modified under this Act shall, for purposes of certain fund allocation provisions of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (LWCFA), be considered the boundaries of such Forests as of January 1, 1965 (the effective date of the LWCFA).
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2004
Montana Water Contracts Extension Act of 2004 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to extend specified water contracts in Montana (between the United States and the City of Helena, the Helena Valley Irrigation District, the Toston Irrigation District, the Clark Canyon Water Supply Company, Inc., and the East Bench Irrigation District) until the earlier of: (1) the expiration of the two-year period beginning on the date on which the contract would expire but for this Act; or (2) the date on which a new long-term water contract is executed by the parties to the contract.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2004
Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail Designation Act of 2004 - Designates the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, a trail from Missoula, Montana to the Pacific Ocean, to provide for the public appreciation, understanding, and enjoyment of the nationally significant natural and cultural features of the Ice Age Floods, and to promote efforts to interpret and educate along the pathways of the floods. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to administer the Trail. Allows the Secretary to establish and operate a Trail management office within the vicinity of the Trail. Requires the Secretary to establish and maintain a trail advisory committee to assist the Trail manager and staff with the operation of the Trail. Requires the Secretary to prepare a Cooperative Management and Interpretation Plan for the Trail to: (1) describe strategies for the coordinated development of the Trail; (2) identify potential partnering opportunities to develop interpretative facilities and educational programs; (3) confirm and expand upon the inventory of floods' features contained in a specified National Park Service study; and (4) review and modify the map of the Trail. Allows the Secretary to acquire not more than 25 acres of land for public information and administrative purposes to facilitate the geographic diversity of the Trail.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2004
Aviation Biometric Technology Utilization Act - Amends Federal transportation law to change from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue guidance for the use of biometrics or other technology that positively verifies the identity of each airport employee and law enforcement officer who enters a secure area of an airport. Prescribes minimum requirements for such guidance. Directs the Under Secretary to establish: (1) a law enforcement officer travel credential that incorporates biometrics and is uniform across all Federal, State, and local government law enforcement agencies; (2) a process by which the travel credential will be used to verify the identity of a Federal, State, or local government law enforcement officer seeking to carry a weapon on board an aircraft, without unnecessarily disclosing to the public that the individual is a law enforcement officer; and (3) related procedures. Requires the Under Secretary to begin issuance of the travel credential to each Federal, State, and local government law enforcement officer authorized to carry a weapon on board an aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2004
NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to mint and issue: (1) ten dollar gold coins; (2) five dollar gold coins; (3) one dollar silver coins; and (4) half-dollar silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA and JPL. Directs each Federal agency and U.S. instrumentality that has in its possession any craft or any part of a craft that flew in space to: (1) retrieve any gold, silver, copper, and other precious metal that may be used in the production of any coins under this Act from such craft or part; and (2) deposit such metals with the Director of the United States Mint. Requires that all sales of coins minted under this Act include a surcharge of : (1) $75 per coin for the ten dollar coin; (2) $35 per coin for the five dollar coin; (3) $10 per coin for the one dollar coin; and (4) $3 for the half-dollar coin, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for the purposes of providing financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2004
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the actions of terrorists will never cause the date of any Presidential election to be postponed; and (2) no single individual or agency should be given the authority to postpone the date of such an election.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2004
Women's Business Sustainability Extension Act of 2004 - Amends the Small Business Act (SBA) to set forth FY 2004 funding priorities for the women's business center program. Authorizes the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to reallocate unused sustainability grant funds as supplemental grants to women's business centers. Authorizes the Administrator to access and use client contact information of women's business centers solely to conduct internal program evaluations and financial and programmatic audits. Requires women's business centers to notify each client of such access and use. Requires the Administrator to include program evaluation findings in annual reports to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2004
Agricultural Business Security Tax Credit Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a retailer of agricultural products or a manufacturer, formulator, or distributor of food-use pesticides a business tax credit for up to 50 percent of the cost of protecting certain hazardous chemicals or food-use pesticides from unauthorized access. Sets an annual limit on such credit of $2 million and a per facility limitation of $50,000 (reduced by credits received for the five prior taxable years).
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2004
Terrorism Insurance Backstop Extension Act of 2004 - Amends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 to define: (1) the term "Program Year 4" as the period from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006; and (2) the term "Program Year 5" as the period from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007 (thereby extending the terrorism risk insurance program from 2005 through 2007). Sets a deadline for the Secretary of the Treasury to make a final determination regarding: (1) the availability of group life insurance to both insurers and consumers; and (2) whether certain provisions of the Act shall be applied to providers of group life insurance. Sunsets the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program after December 31, 2007.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2004
Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to base the counter-cyclical payment rate for the 2003 crop year for producers whose farming operations are in certain disaster areas on the total of the partial payments, rather than the final payment rate, for that crop year.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2004
President Ronald Reagan $10 Bill Act - Amends the Federal Reserve Act to require the face of $10 Federal reserve notes printed after December 31, 2004, to bear the likeness of President Ronald Wilson Reagan.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2004
Air Tanker Emergency Release Act of 2004 - Requires, upon a qualifying owner's request, the temporary reinstatement of an aerial firefighting contract for a large air tanker that was canceled on May 10, 2004, by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2004
Fort Peck Lake Protection Act - Prohibits: (1) the Secretary of the Army from releasing water from Fort Peck Dam if the water level of Fort Peck Lake, Montana, is 20 feet or more below the reservoir's full pool; and (2) the outflow from any release from exceeding the volume of water flowing into the lake.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2004
United Nations Oil-for-Food Accountability Act of 2004 - Requires the withholding of certain FY 2005 and 2006 U.S. contributions to the United Nations (UN) until the President certifies that the UN is cooperating in the investigation of the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2004
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the increased upper limit amounts for the ten percent income tax rate bracket for individual taxpayers ($14,000 for married taxpayers filing joint tax returns and surviving spouses, $10,000 for heads of household, and $7,000 for unmarried individuals and married individuals filing separately). Allows an inflation adjustment to such amounts for married taxpayers filing joint tax returns, surviving spouses, and heads of household for taxable years beginning after 2003 based on the difference from the Consumer Price Index for 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2004
Critical Access to Clinical Lab Services Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide that clinical diagnostic laboratory services furnished by a critical access hospital shall be treated as being furnished as part of outpatient critical access services without regard to whether: (1) the individual for whom the services are furnished is physically present in the critical access hospital at the time the specimen is collected; (2) such individual is registered as an outpatient on the records of, and receives such services directly from, the critical access hospital; or (3) payment is available for such services under the fee schedule established for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2004
States that Congress recognizes: (1) the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands; and (2) the Republic of the Marshall Islands as a staunch ally of the United States, committed to principles of democracy and freedom for the Pacific region and throughout the world.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2004
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend: (1) the increased standard deduction for married taxpayers filing joint returns or for surviving spouses (twice the deduction for single taxpayers); and (2) the increase in the taxable income level for qualifying married taxpayers filing joint returns or surviving spouses for the 15-percent tax bracket. Provides that the general terminating date under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (December 31, 2010) shall not apply to the extensions provided by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2004
American Bald Eagle Recovery and National Emblem Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in celebration of the recovery of the bald eagle, in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the placement of the bald eagle on the endangered species list under such Act, to mint and issue not more than: (1) 100,000 $5 gold coins; (2) 500,000 $1 silver coins; and (3) 750,000 half dollar coins. Directs that the design of the coins be emblematic of the bald eagle and its history, natural biology, and national symbolism. Requires that sales of the coins include a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin, $10 for the $1 coin, and $3 for the half dollar coin, which shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the American Eagle Foundation of Tennessee to: (1) establish an interest-bearing endowment called the American Eagle Fund as a permanent source of support for the care, monitoring, maintenance, and recovery of the bald eagle and its habitat in the United States; (2) make annual grants to Federal, State, and private eagle restoration, protection, and enhancement projects; (3) administer the Fund in an annual amount not to exceed the lesser of ten percent of the annual income of the Fund or $250,000; and (4) provide financial support for capital projects and for continuation and expansion of the Foundation's efforts to educate the American people about the bald eagle.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2004
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Reauthorization Act of 2004 - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to modify provisions regarding firefighter assistance to make the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration (currently, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency) responsible for such assistance. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to volunteer emergency medical service squads and to provide assistance for firefighter safety research and development. Includes within authorized uses of grants the funding of such squads that are not affiliated with a fire department, hospital, or for-profit entity. Makes specified funds available for research to improve firefighter health and life safety. Grants priority for certain earmarked funds to organizations that focus on prevention of injuries to high risk groups from fire, as well as research programs that demonstrate the potential to improve firefighter safety. Allows the Administrator to provide assistance only if the applicant agrees to match with an equal amount of non-Federal funds 20 (currently 30) percent of the assistance received for any fiscal year. Modifies grant recipient limitations. Directs the Administrator to: (1) convene an annual meeting of non-Federal fire service experts to recommend criteria for awarding grants and necessary administrative changes; (2) publish each year in the Federal Register guidelines that describe the grant application process and award criteria; (3) appoint fire service personnel to conduct peer review of applications; and (4) re-conduct a study to define the current role and activities associated with fire services.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2004
Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to apply "non-ambulatory" to cattle, sheep, goat, swine, horse, mule, or other equine that, at the time of examination and inspection, is unable to rise from a recumbent position or unable to walk for any reason, including nerve paralysis, metabolic conditions, or central nervous condition disorder, unless the reason for such inability is fatigue or one or more broken or fractured appendages, severed tendons, or ligaments, or dislocated joints. Considers as adulterated cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules, and other equines found at inspection: (1) to be non-ambulatory; (2) to test positive for central nervous disorders; (3) to exhibit signs of bovine spongiform encephalopathy; or (4) to be dead.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2004
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit certain amendments, waivers, or other modifications to mortgages held by a Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC) or a Grantor Trust without disqualifying such mortgages as REMIC or Grantor Trust mortgages. Permits amendments, waivers, or modifications that do not: (1) extend the final maturity date of a mortgage; (2) increase the outstanding balance of the mortgage; (3) result in the release of an interest in real property securing the mortgage; or (4) result in an instrument or property right which is not debt for Federal income tax purposes. Exempts such amendments, waivers, or modifications from the penalty for prohibited transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2004
Exempts certain information obtained through the livestock identification system from Freedom of Information Act disclosure. States that such information: (1) shall not be released, nor considered to be in the public domain; and (2) shall be considered privileged and confidential commercial information. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to release such information if: (1) related to disease or pest threats to livestock; (2) related to certain actions by the Secretary; and (3) needed for public health and public safety purposes. Directs the Secretary to release such information to: (1) a requesting livestock owner; (2) the Attorney General for law enforcement purposes; (3) the Secretary of Homeland Security for national security purposes; (4) a court of competent jurisdiction; and (5) a foreign government if necessary to trace livestock threatened by disease or pest.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2004
Congratulates the American Dental Association for establishing and continuing its sponsorship of the Give Kids a Smile program. Emphasizes the need to improve access to dental care for children. Thanks the thousands of dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, and others who volunteered their time to provide dental education, screening, and care to an estimated one million children during this year's Give Kids a Smile program. Thanks Crest Healthy Smiles 2010, Sullivan-Schein Dental, DEXIS Digital X-ray Systems, and Ivoclar Vivadent Inc. for their support of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Declares that Congress: (1) supports Israel's construction of a security fence to prevent Palestinian terrorist attacks; and (2) condemns the United Nations General Assembly's decision to request the International Court of Justice to render an opinion on the legality of the fence.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2004
States that Congress recognizes: (1) as an historic achievement of friendship more than five decades of strategic partnership between the United States and the people of the Marshall Islands in pursuit of international peace and security; and (2) the importance of the nuclear weapon test code-named Bravo at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands on March 1, 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2004
Family Budget Protection Act of 2004 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to eliminate the May 15 deadline for consideration of annual appropriations measures. Requires annual joint (currently, concurrent) budget resolutions signed by the President. Provides for an amendment to change the statutory limit on the public debt. Requires consideration of budget-related legislation before the budget resolution becomes law. Sets forth provisions regarding the establishment of a reserve fund for emergencies. Requires: (1) biennial (currently, annual) budget resolutions; (2) biennial appropriations Acts; and (3) biennial Government strategic and performance plans. Provides spending caps on the growth of entitlements and mandatory budget outlays. Excludes benefits payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA), Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, and benefits payable under part A of title XVIII (relating to part A Medicare hospital insurance benefits) of SSA and part C of such title (relating to the Medicare Advantage program) from required reductions under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, along with specified Government accounts and activities. Provides other exceptions, limitations, and special rules with respect to sequestration exemptions. Directs the Chairman to maintain the Family Budget Protection Mandatory Account and the Family Budget Protection Discretionary Account. Freezes at current levels spending authority for each unearned entitlement, high-cost discretionary spending program, and authorized and unauthorized discretionary spending programs. Establishes the Commission to Eliminate Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. Provides for accrual funding of the: (1) Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (2) Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System; and (3) Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System. Establishes in the Treasury: (1) the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Retirement Fund; (2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Retirement System; and (3) the Coast Guard Military Retirement Fund. Changes the name of the Department of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund to Uniformed Services Health Care Fund (thus, providing health care programs for all uniformed service retirees, under certain conditions). (Currently, such programs are for Department of Defense Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.) Decreases the limit on the public debt from $6.4 trillion to $4.393 trillion. Prohibits consideration of extraneous appropriations in omnibus appropriations measures.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2004
National Farm Animal Identification and Records Act - Amends the Animal Health Protection Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an electronic nationwide livestock identification system to enhance the Department of Agriculture's response to outbreaks of livestock disease. Requires that such system: (1) be capable of tracing, within 48 hours, livestock from birth to slaughter; (2) provide for access by States and inclusion of State information; and (3) apply to all livestock born or imported into the United Sates, and to interstate and intrastate commerce. Exempts, with specified exceptions, system information from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act or other release into the public domain. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide producer participation assistance; and (2) appoint an international panel of scientific experts to review the Department's response to an outbreak of livestock disease.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2004
Zero Downpayment Act of 2004 - Amends the National Housing Act to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to insure zero-downpayment mortgages for one-family residences.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2004
Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended by the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 to require implementation of certain country of origin labeling requirements by September 30, 2004, rather than September 30, 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2004
Medicare's Equitable Drugs for Seniors Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to repeal provisions prohibiting the Secretary of Health and Human Services from: (1) interfering with the negotiations between drug manufacturers and pharmacies and prescription drug plan sponsors; and (2) requiring a particular formulary to institute a price structure for the reimbursement of covered Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) drugs. Grants the Secretary instead, in order to ensure that beneficiaries enrolled under prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans pay the lowest possible price, authority similar to that of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other Federal agencies and departments that purchase prescription drugs in bulk to negotiate contracts with manufacturers of covered Medicare part D drugs, consistent with the requirements and in furtherance of the goals of providing quality care and containing costs under such part.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
Ronald Reagan Dime Act - Amends Federal law governing coins and currency to require dime coins issued after a certain date to bear the likeness of President Ronald Reagan.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2003
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users - Reauthorizes the Federal-aid surface transportation program through FY 2009. Reauthorizes appropriations from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for: (1) specified highway (including highway safety) programs; (2) research and technology; (3) motor carrier safety; and (4) transportation research. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a National Commission on Future Revenue Sources to Support the HTF. Establishes: (1) a National Commission on the Future of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate Defense Highways; and (2) a Commission on Intelligent Transportation Systems Procurement Policy. Requires States with an urbanized area population of over 200,000 to obligate specified funds for congestion relief. Federal Public Transportation Act of 2004 - Sets forth revised provisions governing public transportation funding and the Secretary's authority to make specified grants, including grants for capital projects, planning, and transit and for commercial driver's license program improvements. Directs the Secretary to establish programs involving: (1) long-term bridge performance; (2) innovative highway safety technologies; (3) freight planning capacity building; (4) freight transportation research; (5) future strategic highway research; (6) surface transportation congestion solutions research; and (7) commercial remote sensing products and spatial information technologies. Intelligent Transportation Systems Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary to conduct an ongoing intelligent system transportation program to research, develop, and operationally test and advance nationwide deployment of intelligent transportation systems as a component of the U.S. surface transportation systems. Incorporates Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration planning provisions. Reauthorizes the hazardous materials transportation program. Makes the guaranteed funding levels provided under this Act dependent on identifying additional budgetary resources.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2003
Deplores the development by Iran of a nuclear weapons program and the failure of the Government of Iran to report material, facilities, and activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in contravention of its obligations under the safeguards convention it signed in connection with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (Treaty). Concurs with the conclusion of the Department of State that Iran is pursuing a program to develop nuclear weapons. Calls on the President to use all appropriate means to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, with particular attention to the needs of the IAEA for information and access, including information concerning gas centrifuges and the conduct of uranium conversion experiments. Calls on Russia to suspend all nuclear cooperation with Iran until Iran fully complies with a specified IAEA resolution, with particular attention to spent fuel. Calls on the IAEA to declare Iran in violation of the Treaty. Calls on the United Nations Security Council to consider immediately the passage of a Security Council resolution or the taking of other actions that may be necessary to impose diplomatic and economic sanctions against Iran if it fails to meet its obligations to the IAEA. Calls on the Government of Iran to cease all efforts to acquire nuclear fuel cycle capabilities and to end the enrichment and processing of uranium until it is able to provide specific, verifiable assurances that it is not engaged in a clandestine nuclear weapons program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2003
Rural Health Training Incentive Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the Office of Rural Health Policy, to award matching grants to five accredited schools of medicine or accredited schools of nursing to enable each school to conduct a demonstration program to encourage more health professionals to practice in rural areas. Requires at least one grant for a demonstration program for: (1) physicians in family medicine that includes a regional consortium with three or more family medicine residency programs that each have a residency rural training program and are located in three or more States; and (2) nurses, including registered nurses, nurse anesthetists, and nurse practitioners.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003
Establishes the Federal Interagency Task Force to Promote the Benefits, Safety, and Potential Uses of Agricultural Biotechnology to improve interagency cooperation and to develop and disseminate accurate written scientific information on the benefits, safety, and potential uses of agricultural biotechnology. Terminates the Task Force ten years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2003
Nonprofit Athletic Organization Protection Act of 2003 - Exempts a nonprofit athletic organization from liability for harm caused by an act or omission in the adoption of rules for sanctioned or approved athletic competitions or practices if: (1) the organization was acting within the scope of its duties; (2) the organization was properly licensed, certified, or authorized for the competition or practice; and (3) the harm was not caused by the organization's willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, or reckless misconduct. Makes exceptions where State law: (1) requires such an organization to adhere to risk management procedures, including mandatory training; (2) makes the organization liable for the acts or omissions of its employees, agents, and volunteers to the same extent as an employer is liable for its employees; and (3) makes a limitation of liability inapplicable if the civil action was brought by an officer of a State or local government .
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2003
Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to permit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to register a Canadian pesticide that: (1) has not been previously disapproved; (2) is identical or substantially similar in composition to a comparable domestic pesticide already registered; and (3) is registered in Canada by the registrant (or affiliate) of the comparable domestic pesticide. Requires the Administrator to obtain the confidential statement of formula for the pesticide to determine if it is in fact identical or substantially similar to a comparable domestic pesticide. Stipulates that any Canadian pesticide the Administrator registers must bear an approved label which completely covers the original Canadian label. Prohibits actions in Federal court against: (1) the Administrator acting as a registering agency for damages resulting from the use of a product registered under this Act; or (2) registrants for damages resulting from adulteration or compositional alterations of such a product if the registrant could not reasonably have knowledge of such adulteration or alterations.
![Official portrait of Rep. Rehberg, Denny [R-MT-At Large]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/112_rp_mt_0_rehberg_denny_200.jpg)