United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2005
Citizenship Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit automatic citizenship at birth to a child born in the United States who: (1) was born in wedlock to a parent either of whom is a U.S. citizen or national, or is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence who maintains such residence; or (2) was born out of wedlock to a mother who is a U.S. citizen or national, or is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence who maintains such residence. Defines "born in wedlock" to exclude common law marriages.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2005
Recognizes the Virginia Fire Chief's Association on the occasion of its 75th anniversary and commends it for sponsoring annually the Mid-Atlantic Expo and Symposium.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2005
Notch Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act with respect to the benefit computation formula for individuals affected by the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977 who reached age 65 after 1979 and before 1989. Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55 percent to five percent keyed to the year an individual became eligible for such benefits between 1979 and 1989. Provides for an election to receive such payments in a lump sum.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2005 -Sets forth provisions regulating lawsuits for health care liability claims concerning the provision of health care goods or services or any medical product affecting interstate commerce. Sets a statute of limitations of three years after the date of manifestation of injury or one year after the claimant discovers the injury, with certain exceptions. Provides that nothing in this Act limits recovery of the full amount of available economic damages. Limits noneconomic damages to $250,000. Makes each party liable only for the amount of damages directly proportional to such party's percentage of responsibility. Allows the court to restrict the payment of attorney contingency fees. Limits the fees to a decreasing percentage based on the increasing value of the amount awarded. Prescribes qualifications for expert witnesses. Allows the introduction of collateral source benefits and the amount paid to secure such benefits as evidence. Prohibits a provider of such benefits from recovering any amount from an award in a health care lawsuit involving injury or wrongful death. Authorizes the award of punitive damages only where: (1) it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that a person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant or deliberately failed to avoid unnecessary injury the claimant was substantially certain to suffer; and (2) compensatory damages are awarded. Limits punitive damages to the greater of two times the amount of economic damages or $250,000. Limits the liability of manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and providers of medical products that comply with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards. Provides for periodic payments of future damage awards.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member of the Armed Forces entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member. Directs the Secretary to reimburse such eligible persons for pharmacy benefits received from a pharmacy that is not a TRICARE (Department of Defense managed health care plan) network pharmacy in the same manner as the Secretary would reimburse such person for such benefits received from a TRICARE network pharmacy. Requires such persons, in order to receive such reimbursement, to submit a certification from their physician stating that the person does not have access to a TRICARE network pharmacy due to physical or medical constraints. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive the monthly part B premium (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) with respect to: (1) an individual who is entitled to military retired or retainer pay based upon service that began before December 7, 1956; and (2) the spouse, widow, or widower of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to extend the Act through FY2013. Revises requirements regarding the merchantable material contracting pilot program. Requires counties participating in county projects to submit a specified notification for each project for which the participating county obligated county funds. Provides for the review of such notifications.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Graduation for All Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to establish a program that will provide grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish reading and writing programs to improve overall reading and writing performance among middle and high school students. Limits eligibility for subgrants to LEAs in a State that are among those that have the lowest graduation rates for public secondary school students. Includes among required uses of LEA subgrant funds: (1) hiring and inservice training of literacy coaches; (2) counseling for at-risk students; and (3) professional development for educators that addresses literacy needs of certain student groups. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include public secondary school graduation rates for all students under requirements for: (1) accountability for adequate yearly progress; and (2) annual State report cards. Amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act to require annual reports on the number participants who are 16, 17, or 18 years of age in certain programs and services, disaggregated by certain attributes.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Right to Life Act - Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being. Defines "human being" (and "human person") to encompass all stages of life, including but not limited to the moment of fertilization or cloning.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2005
National Right-to-Work Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that is a union security agreement, to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2005
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to the requirement that every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the United States be marked conspicuously, legibly, indelibly, and permanently in a manner to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the article's country of origin. Prohibits any exception to such marking requirement for imported home furniture.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2005
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. Expresses the sense of Congress that the coins should 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's award of the Nobel Peace Prize.) Requires payment of $10 surcharges from the coin sales to the Theodore Roosevelt Association, to be used exclusively for educational programs at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, including a visitor's center.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Little Rock Central High School Desegregation 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue coins commemorating the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Requires the design of such coins to be emblematic of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School and its contribution to civil rights in America. Specifies the sale price of such coins and applicable surcharges. Requires surcharges collected from sales to be used equally for: (1) the Jefferson National Parks Association for support of the activities and mission of Little Rock Central High National Historic Site; and (2) site improvements.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Pharmaceutical Market Access Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate regulations permitting pharmacists, pharmacies, wholesalers, and individuals to import qualifying drugs from certain countries into the United States. Sets forth registration requirements for exporters. Requires the Secretary to: (1) educate consumers with regard to the availability of qualifying drugs for import for personal use; (2) inspect the facilities and records of importers and registered exporters to ensure compliance with this Act; and (3) establish a registration fee program to collect an annual fee from registered exporters. Deems a prescription drug to be misbranded unless the packaging of such drug complies with the requirements for counterfeit-resistant technologies. Prohibits: (1) failing to register in accordance with this Act; and (2) importing or offering to import a prescription drug in violation of a suspension order. Declares that selling or importing a patented drug in the United States that was first sold abroad by or under authority of the owner or licensee of the patent is not patent infringement. Prohibits drug manufacturers from discriminating against a person that engages in the importation of a prescription drug, including by charging higher prices or denying supplies of the drug. Allows the Secretary to suspend or terminate the registration of an exporter for failing to maintain substantial compliance with all registration conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require an abortion provider, before beginning any abortion of a pain-capable unborn child (defined as an unborn child who has reached a probable stage of development of 20 weeks after fertilization), to: (1) make a specified statement to the pregnant woman that Congress has determined that there is substantial evidence that the process will cause the unborn child pain, and that the mother has the option of having pain-reducing drugs administered directly to the child; (2) provide to the woman an Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure (unless she waives receipt) or information on accessing such brochure on the Internet; (3) provide to the woman an Unborn Child Pain Awareness Decision Form; and (4) obtain on the form the woman's signature and her explicit request for or refusal of the administration of drugs to the child. Creates an exception for certified medical emergencies. Establishes penalties for willfully failing to comply with this Act, including civil penalties, medical license suspension, or both. Authorizes: (1) specified officials to bring suit in Federal court; and (2) private rights of action by a parent or guardian of a woman who is an unemancipated minor. Requires each State and State medical licensing authority to promulgate procedures for the revocation or suspension of a provider's license upon a court finding that the provider has violated this Act. Subjects a State that fails to implement such procedures to loss of Medicaid funding.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that military retired pay should not be reduced because a military retiree is also eligible for veterans' disability compensation awarded for a service-connected disability. Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (currently, only a disability rated at 50 percent or more). Repeals provisions phasing in the full concurrent receipt of such pay through December 31, 2013. Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a National Tartan Day should be established to recognize Scottish-Americans' outstanding achievements and their contributions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2005
Iran Freedom Support Act - States that: (1) U.S. sanctions, controls, and regulations relating to weapons of mass destruction with respect to Iran shall remain in effect until the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that Iran has permanently and verifiably dismantled its weapons of mass destruction programs and has committed to combating such weapons' proliferation; and (2) such certification shall have no effect on other sanctions relating to Iranian support of international terrorism. Amends the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to: (1) eliminate mandatory sanction provisions respecting Libya; (2) impose mandatory sanctions on a person or entity that aids Iran acquire or develop weapons of mass destruction or destabilizing types and numbers of conventional weapons; (3) revise multilateral regime reporting requirements, including provisions respecting sanctions on individuals aiding Iranian petroleum development; (4) enlarge the scope of sanctionable entities; and (5) eliminate the sunset provision. Authorizes the President to provide financial and political assistance to eligible foreign and domestic individuals and groups that support democracy in Iran and that are opposed to the Government of Iran. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should appoint a special assistant on Iranian matters; (2) contacts should be expanded with democratic Iranian opposition groups; and (3) the President should designate at least one such eligible group within 90 days of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Redesignates the: (1) Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps; and (2) Secretary of the Navy as the Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps. Makes similar redesignations with respect to Department Assistant Secretaries and the General Counsel.
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
Social Security Fairness Act of 2005 - 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 OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination provisions with respect to computation of the primary insurance amount of an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Amends Federal aviation law to prohibit the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, solely by reason of a person's age if the person has not attained his or her Social Security retirement age, from: (1) denying, deferring as to, or failing to renew for any such person an airman or medical certificate for the operation of a commercial aircraft; (2) imposing restrictions or limitations on an airman or medical certificate following initial or periodic competency or medical testing which has the same age discriminatory effect on the person; or (3) requiring an air carrier to terminate the employment of, or not to employ, or to take any other action having the same age discriminatory effect on, such person as a pilot of an aircraft. Declares that such requirements shall not provide the basis for a claim of seniority made under any labor bargaining agreement in effect between the pilots and an air carrier by any pilot seeking re-employment by an air carrier following the pilot's previous termination or cessation of employment.
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 · 23 September 2004
Constitutional Amendment - Marriage Protection Amendment - Declares that marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Prohibits the Constitution or any State constitution from being construed to require that marital status or its legal incidents be conferred upon any union other than that of a man and a woman.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2004
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit premature distributions from certain tax-exempt retirement plans without penalty to individuals residing or holding real property within an area declared by the President as a disaster area due to a natural disaster at least part of which occurred in 2004, if such distributions are made within six months after the disaster declaration.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2004
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at United States Route 1 in Ridgeway, North Carolina, as the "Eva Holtzman Post Office."
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 · 25 June 2004
Medicare Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner Services Coverage Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of authorized clinical pharmacist practitioner (CPP) services involving toxicology, therapeutics, clinical pharmacokinetics, pharmacoeconomics, and other life sciences for the direct care of patients, which would otherwise be covered if furnished by a physician, or as an incident to a physician's professional service. Requires such services to be performed under State law or regulation in a collaborative practice agreement. Requires Medicare beneficiaries to pay 20 percent coinsurance. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop, and report to Congress on, CPP fee schedules meeting specified requirements for services furnished by January 1, 2007. Requires CPP's to be reimbursed at 85 percent of applicable physicians' rates as of January 1, 2005, until such fee schedules are implemented.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2004
Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005 - Makes appropriations for FY 2005 for the Department of the Interior for: (1) the Bureau of Land Management; (2) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; (3) the National Park Service; (4) the U.S. Geological Survey; (5) the Minerals Management Service; (6) the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; (7) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; (8) departmental offices for insular affairs; (9) departmental management (including transfer of funds); (10) the Office of the Solicitor; (11) the Office of Inspector General; (12) the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians; and (13) natural resource damage assessment and restoration. Makes appropriations for FY 2005 for: (1) the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service; (2) the Department of Energy for specified activities, including fossil energy research and development activities and energy conservation activities; and (3) the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service. Makes appropriations for FY 2005 for specified related agencies, including: (1) the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; (2) the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; (3) the Smithsonian Institution; (4) the National Gallery of Art; (5) the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; (6) the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; (7) the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities; (8) the National Endowment for the Arts; (9) the National Endowment for the Humanities; (10) the Commission of Fine Arts; (11) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; (12) the National Capital Planning Commission; (13) the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; and (14) the Presidio Trust.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2004
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1115 South Clinton Avenue in Dunn, North Carolina, as the "General William Carey Lee Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2004
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 122 West Elwood Avenue in Raeford, North Carolina, as the "Bobby Marshall Gentry Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2004
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to make unlawful the importation, sale for importation, or sale within the United States after importation, of articles falsely labeled or advertised as meeting a Federal Government or industry standard for performance or safety.
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 · 25 March 2004
Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 - Amends, and repeals, specified agricultural Acts to eliminate tobacco quota and price support programs. Provides for: (1) transitional payments (funded by appropriations made by this Act) to tobacco quota holders and active producers of quota tobacco; (2) geographic restrictions on tobacco expansion through penalties for tobacco grown outside traditional tobacco counties; and (3) county committee resolution of payment disputes.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2004
Declares that Congress: (1) congratulates the Citizens Savings Bank & Trust of Nashville, Tennessee, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the bank, for its dedication and service to the people of Tennessee; (2) recognizes the vital role the Nation's minority-owned banks have played in providing financial services and resources to minority individuals and businesses, particularly in communities that have been underserved by other institutions; and (3) honors the Nation's minority-owned banks for their historic and continuing contributions to the economic and social well-being of the communities they serve.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2004
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2004 - 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 2005; (2) 40 percent for months after September 2005 and before October 2008; (3) 45 percent for months after September 2008 and before October 2014; and (4) 55 percent for months after September 2014 . 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 2005; and (2) retired pay reductions for supplemental survivor annuities. Provides a one-year open enrollment period for SBP participation, commencing October 1, 2005, 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 · 28 January 2004
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 223 South Main Street in Roxboro, North Carolina, as the Oscar Scott Woody Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that, if the violator of the terms and conditions of any Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license, permit, or certificate is either a broadcast station licensee or permittee or an applicant for a broadcast license, permit, or certificate, and such violator is determined by the FCC to have broadcast obscene, indecent, or profane language, the amount of forfeiture penalty shall not exceed $275,000 for each violation or day of such violation, to a maximum of $3 million for any single act or failure to act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
Commends the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons field hockey team for winning the 2003 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Field Hockey Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2003
Declares the sense of the House of Representatives that the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, in coordination with the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, should establish a program to foster private assistance by the people of the United States to Iraqi schools and hospitals through adopt-a-school and adopt-a-hospital initiatives. Calls for: (1) mechanisms to establish inventories of specific material and financial educational and medical needs which are made known to schools, education professionals, students, hospitals, and health care professionals in the United States; and (2) avenues for the donation, collection, and transfer of supplies and funds directly to Iraqi schools and hospitals. Calls for online peer-to-peer consultation between education and health care professionals in Iraq and the United States, as well as student-to-student communication.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member. Directs the Secretary to reimburse such eligible persons for pharmacy benefits received from a pharmacy that is not a TRICARE (Department of Defense managed health care plan) network pharmacy in the same manner as the Secretary would reimburse such person for such benefits received from a TRICARE network pharmacy. Requires such persons, in order to receive such reimbursement, to submit a certification from their physician stating that the person does not have access to a TRICARE network pharmacy due to physical or medical constraints. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive the monthly part B premium (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) with respect to: (1) an individual who is entitled to military retired or retainer pay based upon service that began before December 7, 1956; and (2) the spouse, widow, or widower of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2003
Recognizes the fifth anniversary of the signing of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Urges a renewed commitment to eliminating violations of the internationally recognized right to freedom of religion and to protecting fundamental human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2003
Fallen Patriots Tax Relief Act - Doubles, from $6,000 to $12,000, the military death gratuity payment and amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that the full payment shall be tax exempt.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2003
Authorizes the President to award congressional gold medals posthumously, to their next of kin, on behalf of Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs, and Levi Pearson, in recognition of their contributions to the Nation as pioneers in South Carolina in the effort to desegregate public schools that led directly to the landmark desegregation case of Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka et al. Directs that amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals be deposited in the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2003
Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2003 - Defines "specialty crop" as all agricultural crops, except wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice, peanuts, sugar, and tobacco. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to States to enhance specialty crop competitiveness. Bases grant amounts on specialty crop production value. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to increase fruit or vegetable producer operating loan limits. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to provide for marketing order specialty crop food safety programs. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State or local educational agencies for school garden programs that permit children to learn about specialty crops' dietary importance. Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to: (1) increase maximum orchardist assistance under the tree assistance program; and (2) increase and extend specialty crop technical assistance. Directs the Secretary to use specified funds to provide restitution to licensed specialty crop shippers for economic losses resulting from the preparation of false inspection certificates by Department of Agriculture graders at Hunts Point Terminal Market, Bronx, New York. Authorizes appropriations for the maintenance of the Agricultural Marketing Service inspection training center in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Directs the United States Trade Representative to establish at least one position in the Office of the United States Trade Representative for specialty crop trade matters. Directs: (1) the General Accounting Office to conduct a study on why and to what extent U.S. specialty crops have not benefited from the Uruguay Round; and (2) the Secretary to prepare a foreign market access strategy plan aimed at increasing such exports. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Export Petition Division to process petitions for reducing sanitary and phytosanitary export barriers; and (2) in the Department an office to develop and protect intellectual property rights in plants and plant materials. Provides for a Foreign Agricultural Service study of supplier credit guarantee program modifications in order to increase specialty crop exports. Directs the Secretary to transfer the Office of Pest Management Policy of the Department from the Agricultural Research Service to the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture for administrative and funding purposes. Provides for additional research initiatives respecting: (1) methyl bromide alternatives; (2) specialty crop clean air benefits; (3) produce quality improvement; (4) new crop protection tools and integrated pest management; (5) foreign invasive pests and diseases; and (6) national specialty crop development initiative grants. Establishes in the Treasury the Invasive Pest and Disease Response Fund to support emergency eradication and research activities of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in response to economic and health threats posed by invasive pests and agricultural disease. Directs the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to provide for independent scientific advice and peer review with regard to specialty crop import and export requests, including risk and mitigation assessments. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a food safety education program to reduce contamination from: (1) microbial pathogens; and (2) unsanitary handling practices. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to remove the income limitation from the environmental quality incentives program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2003
Mobile Machinery Tax Fairness Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the treatment of certain mobile machinery as a highway vehicle, thereby exempting such machinery from federal highway excise taxes.
![Official portrait of Rep. Taylor, Charles H. [R-NC-11]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000067_200.jpg)