United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2004
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 555 West 180th Street in New York, New York, as the "Sergeant Riayan A. Tejada Post Office".
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2004
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend the authorization of appropriations for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for firms. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to delegate all of the Secretary's functions regarding TAA for firms, except those relating to certain small business firms, to the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2004
Amends Federal defense procurement provisions to prohibit funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense (DOD) from being used to enter into a contract to procure an item pursuant to an exception from the requirement that items procured for DOD be procured from a domestic source unless: (1) a notification of the intent to apply such exception is submitted to Congress and posted on the FedBizOpps.gov website maintained by the General Services Administration; and (2) 15 days have elapsed since such notification was submitted and published. Adds the materials and components of clothing to the list of items covered by the domestic source requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2004
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Tinnitus Awareness Week. Encourages interested groups and affected persons to promote public awareness of tinnitus, the dangers of loud noise, and the importance of hearing protection for all individuals. Commits to continuing congressional support of innovative hearing health research through the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplantation Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) allow pancreata procured for use in islet cell transplantation or research to be counted for certification purposes for qualified organ procurement organization grants; and (2) require the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee to include in its annual report an assessment of the Federal activities and programs related to pancreatic islet cell transplantation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
End Racial Profiling Act of 2004 - Prohibits any law enforcement agent or agency from engaging in racial profiling. Authorizes the United States or an individual injured by racial profiling to bring a civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief in State court or U.S. district court. Makes proof that the routine or spontaneous investigatory activities of law enforcement agents in a jurisdiction have had a disparate impact on racial, ethnic, or religious minorities prima facie evidence of a violation. Authorizes the court to allow a prevailing plaintiff attorney's fees under specified circumstances. Directs Federal law enforcement agencies to: (1) cease practices that encourage racial profiling; and (2) maintain policies and procedures to eliminate racial profiling, including the collection of data on routine investigatory activities, procedures for responding meaningfully to complaints alleging racial profiling, and procedures to discipline agents who engage in racial profiling. Requires that an application by a State, local , or Indian tribal government for funding under the Byrne, Cops on the Beat, or Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program include a certification that such government: (1) maintains adequate policies and procedures designed to eliminate racial profiling; and (2) has ceased any practices that encourage racial profiling. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to States and specified entities to develop and implement best practice devices and systems to ensure the racially neutral administration of justice.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Early Treatment for HIV Act of 2004 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of providing Medicaid coverage for certain low-income HIV-infected individuals. Provides States taking advantage of this option with an enhanced Federal Medicaid match.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Extended Deployment Pay Increase Act of 2004 - Entitles a member of the armed forces who completes a period of 180 days of continuous duty on deployment away from the member's permanent station (or home of record, in the case of a reserve member) to an increase in basic pay of $1,000 for each month thereafter during which the member continues such deployment. Provides for retroactive application of such entitlement for duty performed in connection with a deployment commenced or completed before the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2004
Microenterprise Results and Accountability Act of 2004 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal existing microenterprise development grant authority and reestablish and revise it as a separate title, title VI - Microenterprise Development Assistance, which shall be administered by an Office of Microenterprise Development (established by this Act) within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2004
Expresses the sense of Congress that negotiations on access to critical segments of the U.S. automobile market should not take place on a piecemeal basis, but only as part of: (1) negotiations that include all major automobile producing nations; and (2) comprehensive negotiations that address both tariff and nontariff barriers specific to the automobile industry, with progress on eliminating tariff barriers explicitly linked to concrete progress on eliminating nontariff barriers.
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 · 4 February 2004
Expresses support for the goals of National Manufacturing Week. Congratulates manufacturers and their employees for their contributions to growth, innovation, and the Nation's future. Recognizes that the manufacturing sector is facing serious, new challenges which affect prospects for growth of the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2004
Commends the engineers, scientists, and technicians of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Cornell University for their years of effort leading up to the successful entry, descent, landing, and operation of the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit on the Martian surface on January 3, 2004. Recognizes the importance of the exploration of space. Honors the achievements of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and Cornell University in expanding our comprehension of the universe and fulfilling the human need to explore and understand.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) carry out a national education and information campaign to promote stroke prevention and increase the number of stroke patients who seek immediate treatment; and (2) maintain the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry and Clearinghouse by collecting specific data points and benchmarks for stroke care analysis, and compiling and disseminating information on State, local, and private care system achievements and problems. Defines "stroke" as an attack in which blood flow to the brain is interrupted, or in which a blood vessel or aneurysm in the brain breaks or ruptures. Includes stroke and traumatic injury prevention, diagnosis, and treatment within the grant program for emergency medicine residency training. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to make grants to qualified entities for health care professionals education programs in the use of diagnostic approaches, technologies, and therapies for stroke and traumatic injury prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Gives preference to areas with a significant incidence of stroke or traumatic injuries. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, to make up to seven grants to States and to consortia of public and private entities in any non-grantee State to conduct a five-year pilot project (not to extend beyond FY 2009) to improve and coordinate stroke-related health care through telehealth networks.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Bullying Prevention for School Safety and Crime Reduction Act of 2003 - Amends: (1) the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to cover bullying (as well as drug and violence) prevention; and (2) the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize (with respect to juvenile accountability block grants) establishing and maintaining accountability-based programs that are designed to enhance school safety, which may include research-based bullying prevention programs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Resolves that: (1) the House of Representatives (House) does not support the lowering of standards or the weakening of the rules of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) prohibiting obscene and indecent broadcasts to allow network or other communications to use language that is indecent or vulgar; (2) the FCC has a responsibility to utilize its enforcement authority to maintain those rules; and (3) the House will not allow the FCC to permit intrusion upon the family's ability to raise their children in an environment that is not inundated with indecent or profane language on our public airwaves.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Applauds the courage and vision of Israelis and Palestinians who are working together to conceive plans for peace. Urges Israeli and Palestinian leaders to capitalize on the opportunity offered by these peace initiatives. Urges the President to encourage efforts to move away from violent military stalemate toward Israeli-Palestinian peace.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide, as a general rule, for the exclusion from unrelated business taxable income gain or loss from the qualified sale, exchange, or other disposition of any qualifying brownfield property by an eligible taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2003
School Nutrition Enhancement Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to phase out reduced price lunches and breakfasts by phasing in increases in income eligibility for free lunches and breakfasts by specified increments from 130 percent of the Office of Management and Budget nonfarm income poverty guidelines for July 1, 2003, to 185 percent of such guidelines for July 1, 2008, and every subsequent school year.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2003
Raheen Tyson Heighter Life Insurance for America's Troops Act - Amends the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance Program for active-duty military personnel to allow premium deductions from basic pay only for coverage in excess of $100,000 (thereby effectively requiring the Government to provide the cost of the first $100,000 of such coverage).
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 · 28 October 2003
Urges the President to present the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Pope John Paul II to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of the inauguration of his ministry as Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pastor of the Catholic Church.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2003
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide to a child of a Vietnam veteran who is suffering from spina bifida the same vocational training and rehabilitation services currently authorized for veterans with service-connected disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2003
Calls for the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to: (1) stop interfering in the exercise of religious and political freedoms within the United States, such as the right to practice Falun Gong; (2) cease using diplomatic missions in the United States to spread falsehoods about Falun Gong; (3) release prisoners of conscience; (4) end the harassment, detention, physical abuse, and imprisonment of individuals who are exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of religion, of expression, and of association as stated in the PRC Constitution; and (5) demonstrate its willingness to abide by international standards of such freedoms by ceasing to restrict them. Calls on the President to take such actions as: (1) issuing a formal protest about repeated Chinese Government human rights violations to the Chinese Foreign Ministry; and (2) working more closely with Chinese human rights activists to identify Chinese authorities who have been personally responsible for acts of violence and persecution in China. Urges the Attorney General to investigate reports that Chinese consular officials in the United States have committed illegal acts while attempting to intimidate or inappropriately influence Falun Gong practitioners or local elected officials, and determine an appropriate legal response. Calls on local government officials in the United States to recognize and support organizations and individuals that share the goals of the local community, including Falun Gong practitioners, and report to Congress, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State any incidents of pressure or harassment by Chinese agents.
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 · 8 October 2003
Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 one dollar coins which shall be emblematic of the warrior ethos of the United States Marine Corps. Requires all surcharges from the sale of the coins to be paid to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation for construction of the Marine Corps Heritage Center.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Workers Assistance Extension Act - Amends the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (TEUCA) to extend the TEUCA program through June 30, 2004, with a phase-out period through September 30, 2004. (The TEUCA program provides: (1) an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits (TEUC) to jobless workers who have exhausted their regular unemployment benefits; and (2) another additional 13 weeks of benefits (TEUC-X), for a total of 26 additional weeks, for such workers in high unemployment States.)
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Honors Sargent Shriver for his dedication and service to the United States, his service in the Navy, and his lifetime of work acting as an ambassador for the poor and powerless citizens of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2003
Keeping Families Together Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to States to establish systems of individualized mental health treatment and family support services for children who are in custody or in danger of entering the custody of the state for the purpose of receiving mental health services. Requires eligible States to: (1) have laws or policies in effect that ensure that children receive appropriate mental health services so that parents do not have to relinquish legal custody of such children; (2) provide matching funds; (3) establish infrastructure for interagency cooperation and cross system financing; and (4) expand public health insurance programs to cover these services after the grant expires. Establishes a Federal interagency task force to examine mental health issues in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and the role of their agencies in promoting access by children and youth to mental health services. Amends the Social Security Act to permit the use of the Medicaid home and community-based services waiver to provide mental health services to children and youths as an alternative to care in inpatient psychiatric hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2003
Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003 - Rape Kits and DNA Evidence Backlog Elimination Act of 2003 - Amends: (1) the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to reauthorize the Act; (2) the DNA Identification Act of 1994 (Identification Act) to expand the scope of DNA samples to be included in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS); and (3) the Violence Against Women Act to authorize grants to increase the availability of legal assistance to victims of dating violence. DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2003 - Amends the Identification Act to require that CODIS include only information on DNA identification records and analyses that are prepared by laboratories that: (1) have been accredited by a nationally recognized nonprofit professional association of forensic scientists within two years; and (2) undergo external audits at least every two years that demonstrate compliance with specified standards. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants for: (1) DNA training and education; (2) sexual assault forensic examination programs; (3) research and development; (4) using DNA technology to identify missing persons; and (5) tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions. Expands and reauthorizes the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grant Program. Innocence Protection Act of 2003 - Sets forth conditions under which a Federal prisoner may obtain post-conviction DNA testing of specific evidence. Directs the Attorney General to award grants to States to improve the quality of legal representation in State capital cases.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2003
Benjamin Franklin Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one dollar coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Benjamin Franklin (not more than 250,000 bearing his image as a young statesman and not more than 250,000 with his image as an older numismatist). Directs that all sales include a $10 per coin surcharge, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission, to be used to educate people about Franklin's legacy.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2003
Directs the Secretary of Defense to expand the Central Command Rest and Recuperation Leave program (for certain military personnel serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom) to provide travel and transportation allowances to each participant for travel from an original airport of debarkation to the permanent duty station or home of such member.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2003
Calls on the Government of Japan to formally acknowledge and apologize for its World War II war crimes and for Japanese companies that used prisoners of war as slave labor during World War II to compensate those former prisoners (or their survivors) for their labor and for any brutality the companies inflicted.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2003
Health and Education Access for Students with Diabetes Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit a State or public or private entity from receiving funds under ESEA title IV part A, also known as the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, unless it has a policy in effect against hindering or restricting a student from engaging in diabetes treatment prescribed or recommended by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2003
Diabetes Self-Management Training Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the recognition of certified diabetes educators as Medicare providers for purposes of diabetes outpatient self-management training services. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on: (1) the barriers, if any, that exist in rural areas to successfully becoming a recognized diabetes education program, including the difficulty of rural health care professionals in becoming certified diabetes educators; and (2) whether individuals with diabetes who live in rural areas have barriers to accessing diabetes self-management training.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2003
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to designate Department of Agriculture employees to serve as disaster liaisons to State and local Department Service Centers to coordinate assistance with other designated disaster agencies in a federally declared disaster area. Defines "federally declared disaster area" for such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2003
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility (the Nyack Post Office) located at 48 South Broadway, Nyack, New York, as the Edward O'Grady, Waverly Brown, Peter Paige Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2003
Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, upon completion of specified agricultural work and residency requirements, to adjust the status of a qualifying alien agricultural worker (and spouse and minor children) to that of a: (1) lawfully admitted temporary nonimmigrant; and (2) permanent resident nonimmigrant. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) adjustment of status applications, including penalties for false statements; (2) waiver of numerical limitations and certain grounds for inadmissibility; (3) temporary stay of removal and work authorization; (4) administrative and judicial review; and (5) dissemination of program information. Amends the Social Security Act to provide for the correction of such aliens' social security records. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to set forth registry application requirements for H-2A employers and employer associations, including assurances: (1) that the job opportunity is temporary or seasonal, and is not the result of a labor dispute, (2) that attempts have been made to hire U.S. workers; and (3) respecting required wages and benefits, and compliance with labor laws. Sets forth employment requirements with respect to: (1) wages; (2) housing; and (3) transportation reimbursement. Establishes the Commission on Agricultural Wage Standards under the H-2A program. Revises provisions respecting the admission and extension of stay of temporary H-2A workers. Provides special rules for alien sheepherders. Sets forth worker protection and labor standards enforcement provisions for such aliens.