United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2003
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 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 · 26 September 2003
Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies Act - Establishes the Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies to: (1) evaluate executive agencies and their programs; and (2) submit to Congress a plan recommending agencies and programs that should be realigned or eliminated and proposing implementing legislation. Directs the President to: (1) establish a systematic method for assessing the effectiveness and accountability of agency programs; and (2) submit to the Commission assessments of not less than half of the programs that use such method. Prohibits the implementation of such method until it has been reviewed and accepted by the Commission. Requires the Commission to consider submitted assessments in evaluating programs. Requires the President to identify common performance measures for programs having similar functions and provide the Commission with data on such measures.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2003
Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to revise registration and maintenance fee requirements for pesticides. (Fees collected are used to help defray the administrative costs of pesticide regulation.) Modifies certain timing requirements as they concern the submission of product-specific data and other regulatory action. Increases and then decreases the maximum amount of maintenance fees payable by registrants, including small businesses, through FY 2008, with the highest levels of fees occurring during FY 2005 and 2006. Extends the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) authority to collect maintenance, but not tolerance, fees through FY 2008. (Maintenance fees are assessed on already registered or reregistered pesticides; tolerance fees are assessed on pesticides used on food or animal feed which are subject to more stringent regulatory requirements.) Directs the Administrator of the EPA to assess and collect covered pesticide registration service fees for applications submitted from FY 2004 onward. (Registration fees would apply to new pesticide applications only.) Provides transitional requirements for pending applications. Sets forth the Administrator's responsibilities concerning the publication and revision of the schedule of registration service fees, including a mandatory increase by FY 2006. Permits the waiver or reduction of these fees for minor uses or small businesses. Provides for partial fee refunds when an application is withdrawn or at the Administrator's discretion. Establishes the Pesticide Registration Fund in the Treasury to collect registration fees. Limits the use of these funds to associated regulatory costs, except for limited earmarks for worker protection and the review of new inert ingredients. Makes these funds available only to the extent provided in advance through appropriations acts. Prohibits the assessment of registration fees in any year where the amount appropriated for the Office of Pesticide Programs of the EPA is less than the amount appropriated for that Office for FY 2002. Addresses several issues concerning decision time review periods, including the goal of reducing existing periods, schedule publication requirements, determining their start, and how they are impacted by waiver or reduction requests. Provides for judicial review if the Administrator fails to make a determination on an application before the expiration of the applicable decision time review period. Terminates the registration service fee after FY 2010, with a phase out occuring during the final two years.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2003
Good Samaritan Abandoned and Inactive Mine Remediation Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the head of an authorized State program to issue an abandoned or inactive mine remediation permit for the conduct of remediation activities on abandoned or inactive mine land from which there is or may be a discharge of pollutants to U.S. bodies of water. Requires those applying for a remediation permit to develop a remediation plan that includes: (1) reasonable efforts to identify the current owners of the mine in question; (2) the bodies of water affected; (3) proposed practices to mitigate adverse impacts on water quality; (4) a timetable; and (5) monitoring or other forms of assessment so that the success of the plan can be evaluated. Requires any profits from the sale of minerals taken from these mines during remediation to be deposited in a remediation fund. States that remediators are not to be considered owners or operators under specified environmental acts (thereby excluding them from liability for environmental clean up.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2003
Transportation Extension Act of 2003 - Extends Federal highway, highway safety, and transit programs for five months, and authorizes appropriations, through February 29, 2004. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) apportion funds made available for Federal-aid highway programs under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) to each State according to the ratio of the State's FY 2003 obligation authority to the FY 2003 obligation authority for all States; and (2) ensure that each State is apportioned funds for the Interstate maintenance program, the National Highway System program, the bridge program, the surface transportation program, the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program, the recreational trails program, the Appalachian development highway system program, and the minimum guarantee. Sets forth provisions: (1) for reducing future apportionments, and for recovering funds not apportioned, under a law reauthorizing the Federal-aid highway program that is enacted after enactment of this Act; (2) prohibiting States from obligating any Federal-aid highway program funds after February 29, 2004, until the date of enactment of a multi-year law reauthorizing such program; and (3) directing the Secretary of Transportation to restore certain funds that a State transferred for a project that was ineligible to receive the funds except by operation of this Act. Makes specified funds available from the Highway Trust Fund for administrative expenses of the Federal-aid highway program for FY 2004. Amends the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act to extend funding through February 29, 2004, for its National Outreach and Communications Program and to pay Coast Guard expenses for personnel and activities directly related to carrying out the National Recreational Boating Safety Program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Apprenticeship, Training, and Employment Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide small employers with a highly skilled trades training credit.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2003
Recognizes September 11 as both a day to remember those killed and a day for recommitment to our national purpose. Extends sympathies to the victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and their families and friends. Honors the heroic actions of first responders, law enforcement personnel, and others who aided the victims. Extends gratitude to the members of the armed forces who are defending the United States from future attack. Praises the people of the United States for donating time and money to support the victims and their families and friends. Expresses gratitude to the leaders and citizens of all nations who have assisted and continue to stand in solidarity with the United States against terrorism. Reaffirms that the Senate will honor the memory of those who lost their lives as a result of those attacks and will act to defend U.S. citizens in all future challenges.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2003
Religious Liberties Restoration Act - States that the following powers are reserved to the States or their political subdivisions on property owned or administered by them: (1) to display the Ten Commandments; (2) to recite the Pledge of Allegiance as: "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all "; and (3) to recite the national motto as "In God we trust". States that such powers are excepted from the jurisdiction of Federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2003
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2003 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that parents who choose private home education should be encouraged within the framework provided by the Constitution. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) with respect to: (1) student aid eligibility of home-schooled students who have satisfied certain secondary education standards; and (2) institutional aid eligibility of the higher education institutions that such students attend. Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide, if a parent does not consent to an initial evaluation or special education or related services for a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall not be required to convene an individualized education program (IEP) meeting or develop an IEP for such child. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses (the Coverdell Education Savings Account) to include home schools if they are treated as a home school or private school under State law. Amends the part of the General Education Provisions Act known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit release of certain information on and educational records of students in non-public education, including any student educated at home or in a private school in accordance with State law, without written parental consent. Amends HEA to include students at home schools, whether treated as a home school or a private school under State law, among those prospective secondary school graduates eligible to apply for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program for higher education. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to direct the Secretary of Labor to extend the hours and periods of permissible employment of employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years who are privately educated at a home school, whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under State Law, beyond those hours and periods applicable to employees of such ages who are educated in traditional public schools. (Thus allows home-school students to be employed during the traditional school day.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2003
Fair Care for the Uninsured Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a tax credit in an amount equal to the amount paid for qualified health insurance, subject to stated limitations. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to the provider of an individual's qualified health insurance equal to such individual's qualified health insurance credit advance amount with respect to such provider. Amends the Public Health Service Act, as inserted by the Trade Act of 2002, to extend funding for State high risk health insurance pools. Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow health benefits coverage through individual membership associations. Sets forth association requirements. Requires associations to include a minimum of two health insurance coverage options.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Salt Cedar Control Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a salt cedar and Russian olive assessment and demonstration program to assess the extent of infestation in the western United States and develop solutions for long-term management. Lists program requirements and control methods. Establishes a cost ceiling for each demonstration project and provides for Federal cost-sharing. Requires the Secretary to work cooperatively with other Federal, State, and local entities and Indian tribes in carrying out the program.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Chief Justice John Marshall Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 400,000 silver one dollar coins emblematic of Chief Justice John Marshall and his contributions to the United States in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of his birth. Directs that all sales of coins minted under this Act include a ten dollar per coin surcharge, to be paid by the Secretary to the Supreme Court Historical Society for purposes of: (1) historical research about the Supreme Court, the Constitution, and related topics; (2) supporting fellowship programs, internships, and docents at the Supreme Court; and (3) collecting and preserving related antiques, artifacts, and other historical items.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Congratulates Lance Armstrong and the United States Postal Service Team on their victory in the 2003 Tour de France. Commends the unwavering commitment to cancer awareness and survivorship demonstrated by Armstrong.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 50 percent income tax deduction for business meal and entertainment expenses and replace it with an increasing percentage from 68 percent in calendar 2001 up to 80 percent in calendar 2003 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2003
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the millions of innocent victims of the Soviet-engineered Ukraine Famine of 1932-33 should be solemnly remembered and honored on the 70th anniversary of the famine; (2) it condemns the callous disregard for human life, human rights, and manifestations of national identity that characterized the Stalinist policies that caused the Ukraine Famine; (3) it supports the efforts of the Government of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) to publicly acknowledge and call greater international attention to the Ukraine Famine; and (4) an independent, democratic Ukraine, in which respect for the dignity of human beings is the cornerstone, offers the best guarantee that atrocities such as the Ukraine Famine never beset the Ukrainian people again.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Requests the President to issue a proclamation commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Constantino Brumidi, who painted and decorated the interior of the U.S. Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2003
National Drought Preparedness Act of 2003 - Establishes in the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture the National Drought Council which shall develop a comprehensive National Drought Policy Action Plan. (Terminates the Council eight years after enactment of this Act.) Directs the Secretary to establish the National Office of Drought Preparedness to assist the Council. Establishes in the Treasury the Drought Assistance Fund, which shall provide financial assistance for drought preparedness plans and drought mitigation. Directs the Secretary to issue related implementing guidelines, including: special requirements applicable to interstate watersheds. Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse States for costs of prepositioning wildfire suppression resources.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends the District of Columbia Code to provide that the D.C. Council's regulatory authority regarding firearms, explosives, and weapons in the District shall not be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise permitted to possess firearms under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by Federal law nor regulated by the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Repeals the definition of machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.) Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on registration of pistols (handguns); (3) prohibition on possession of handgun ammunition; (4) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked; (5) related firearm registration requirements such as applicant qualifications and filing deadline. Eliminates criminal penalties for: (1) possessing an unregistered firearm; or (2) carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2003
Child Medication Safety Act of 2003 - Requires States, as a condition of receiving funds under any program or activity administered by the Secretary of Education, to develop and implement policies and procedures prohibiting school personnel from requiring a child, as a condition of attending school or receiving services, to obtain a prescription for a controlled substance in schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act. (Thus prohibits school personnel from coercing children to receive, or their parents to administer, psychotropic medication.) Provides that nothing in such requirement shall be construed to create a Federal prohibition against teachers and other school personnel consulting or sharing classroom-based observations with parents or guardians regarding a student's academic performance or behavior in the classroom or school, or regarding the need for evaluation for special education or related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Directs the Comptroller General to review and report on: (1) the variation among States in definitions of psychotropic medication as used in regard to State jurisdiction over public education; (2) the prescription rates of medications used in public schools to treat children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other disorders or illnesses; (3) which such medications are listed under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA); and (4) which such medications are not listed under CSA, including their properties and effects and whether they have been considered for CSA listing.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2003
Rural Universal Service Equity Act of 2003 - Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the need to reform the high cost support mechanism (with respect to universal telephone service) for rural, insular, and high cost areas. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in calculating Federal universal service support for eligible telecommunications carriers that serve such areas, to revise its support mechanism for high cost areas to provide support to each wire center in which the incumbent local exchange carrier's average cost per line exceeds the national average by such amount as the FCC determines appropriate for the purpose of ensuring the equitable distribution of universal service support throughout the United States. Requires: (1) the FCC to ensure that no State receives less Federal support than it would have received, up to ten percent of the total support distributed, under the FCC's previous support mechanism; and (2) the total amount of support for all States to be equal to the total support calculated under the support mechanism in existence before enactment of this Act. States that nothing in this Act shall affect the support provided to rural telephone companies.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2003
Freeing Alternatives for Speedy Transportation Act or FAST Act - Amends Federal highway law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish and implement an Interstate System FAST Lanes program under which the Secretary shall permit a State, or a public or private entity designated by a State, to collect fees to finance the expansion of a highway by constructing additional lanes on the Interstate System for the purpose of reducing traffic congestion. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study for a project with an estimated total cost of at least $50 million to determine: (1) if a toll facility for such project is feasible; and (2) if privatizing the construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility is financially advisable (while retaining legal and administrative control of the portion of the Interstate route).
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2003
Consumer Credit Score Disclosure Act of 2003 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to cite specified consumer credit scoring information that a consumer reporting agency must disclose upon consumer request in connection with an application for an extension of consumer credit secured by a dwelling, including a credit score: (1) derived from a model widely distributed to users of credit scores; or (2) that assists the consumer in understanding the credit scoring assessment of the consumer's credit behavior and predictions about future credit behavior. Requires any person that makes or arranges extensions of consumer credit that are to be secured by a dwelling, and that uses credit scores for that purpose, to provide the consumer with a copy of: (1) the information obtained from a consumer reporting agency or that was developed and used by that user of the credit score information; or (2) a copy of the information provided to the user by a third party that developed the credit score, plus a general description of credit scores, their use, and the sources and kinds of data used to generate credit scores. Declares void any contract provision that prohibits such mandated disclosures. Exempts from contractual liability any user of a credit score for making such a disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2003
Expresses the condolences of the Senate on the death of the Honorable J. Strom Thurmond, former Senator and President Pro Tempore Emeritus from South Carolina.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Chronic Wasting Disease Financial Assistance Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to chronic wasting disease in wild cervids (deer and elk), to make grants to State and tribal wildlife management agencies to develop and implement long term management strategies to address and respond to outbreaks of such disease.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2003
Reaffirms the policies and principles of the McCarran Amendment (which waived the sovereign immunity of the United States so that it could be joined in comprehensive State general adjudications of the rights to use water) that have been recognized by Supreme Court decisions. Recognizes that, as a matter of practice, the United States should adhere and defer to State water law. Commends Western States that maintain comprehensive systems for the quantification of rights to use water for all beneficial purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2003
Conservation Reserve Program Tax Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat conservation reserve program payments as real estate rentals and thus excluded from consideration in self-employment net earnings. Amends the Social Security Act to treat such payments similarly for purposes of old, age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2003
Enhanced Safety from Wildfire Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 with respect to fires that spread from forested Federal lands onto nonfederal lands and cause injuries or property loss. Assumes Federal responsibility for injuries or property loss resulting from such fires under the Federal Tort Claims Act and other Federal law pertaining to the United States as a defendant in District Court. Provides for exceptions in certain cases, including if: (1) the nonfederal land exceeds 6,400 acres and is being used for commercial timber production (unless the nonfederal land was being managed to achieve or maintain condition class 1 health status immediately before the fire); (2) the Federal land is a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System; or (3) the Federal land comprises less than 6,400 acres and is not contiguous to other Federal lands. States that Federal responsibility will apply in the case of injuries or property loss from a fire originating on National Forest System or Bureau of Land Management lands administered under the authorities of the O&C Sustained Yield Act of 1937 and that comprise less than 6,400 acres.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Protect the Pledge Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal judicial code to deny jurisdiction to any court established by Act of Congress to hear or determine any claim that the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2003
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise the definition of a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) under title V (Developing Institutions). Eliminates the requirement that an HSI provide assurances that at least 50 percent of its Hispanic students are low-income students in order to be eligible for certain grants.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Homeland Security Grant Enhancement Act of 2003 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish an Interagency Committee to Coordinate and Streamline Homeland Security Grant Programs. Provides that the Office for State and Local Government Coordination (OSLGC) within the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall be headed by a Director appointed by the President. Transfers administration of the firefighter assistance grant program and the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP) to OSLGC. Establishes a Homeland Security Information Clearinghouse within OSLGC. Authorizes the Secretary to award homeland security grants to States. Specifies the permissible and impermissible uses for grant funds. Requires State grant applications to include certification that the State has prepared a three-year homeland security plan. Requires the Secretary to use ten percent of the funds appropriated for the Homeland Security Grant Program for discretionary grants to high threat areas. Establishes a formula for awarding the remaining funds. Requires grant recipients to use 80 percent of grant funds for local entities and first responders and to provide non-Federal matching funds. Instructs the Secretary to assist States in establishing interim performance measures and subsequently to set, and ensure State compliance with, national performance standards. Provides penalties for a grant recipient's noncompliance with any grant program provision of this Act. Requires the Director of ODP to allow any State to request approval to reallocate previously received homeland security funds among the categories of equipment, training, exercises, and planning.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Expresses the sense of the Senate that a postage stamp should be issued to commemorate Anne Frank (victim of the Holocaust and author of "The Diary of Anne Frank").
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Directs the Chief Information Officer of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish and carry out a program to provide for the efficient use of geospatial information, which shall include: (1) providing such geospatial information as may be necessary to implement the critical infrastructure protection programs; (2) providing leadership in meeting the requirements of, and populating the databases used by, those responsible for planning, prevention, mitigation, assessment and response to emergencies, critical infrastructure and other DHS functions; and (3) assuring interoperability and preventing unnecessary duplication of geospatial information among all users. Includes among the Chief Information Officer's responsibilities: (1) managing DHS geospatial information needs and activities; (2) establishing standards to assure the interoperability of geospatial information pertaining to homeland security among all users of such information within DHS, other agencies, State and local government, and the private sector; (3) coordinating with and providing liaison to the Federal Geographic Data Committee and carrying out DHS's responsibilities pursuant to Office of Management and Budget Circular A-16 and Executive Order 12906; (4) providing grants to fund data creation and to execute information sharing agreements with State, local, and tribal governments; and (5) ensuring that DHS utilizes available commercial geospatial data and services by awarding contracts to entities in the private sector.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Tamarisk Control and Riparian Restoration Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to: (1) complete an assessment of the extent of tamarisk (an invasive plant species) invasion in the western United States and (2) establish the Tamarisk Assistance Program to provide cost-share grants to States for tamarisk control or eradication.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2003
Medicare Cost Contract Extension and Refinement Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) extend reasonable cost contracts under the Medicare program and the period during which cost contracts may expand service areas; (2) apply certain Medicare+Choice requirements under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice) to cost contracts to allow beneficiaries to be informed about the option of cost contracts, apply quality assurance requirements, prevent plans from discriminating against certain patients by offering lower premiums, and prohibit States from taxing cost contract premiums; and (3) permit dedicated group practice health maintenance organizations to participate in the Medicare cost contract program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2003
Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 - Prohibits the importation into the United States of any article that is a product of Burma (Myanmar) until the President determines and certifies to Congress that Burma has taken certain democratic and counternarcotics actions. Authorizes the President to waive such requirements. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to direct any U.S. financial institution holding funds of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Burma or the assets of individuals who hold senior positions in the SPDC or its political arm, the Union Solidarity Development Association, to report those assets to the Office of Foreign Assets Control and take such action as may be necessary to secure them. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive director to each appropriate international financial institution to oppose any extension of a loan or financial or technical assistance to Burma until the requirements of this Act are met. Authorizes the President to deny visas and entry into the United States to the former and present leadership of the SPDC or the Union Solidarity Development Association. Urges the Secretary of State to use all appropriate fora, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum and Asian Nations Regional Forum, to encourage other states to restrict financial resources to the SPDC and Burmese companies while offering support to Burma's democratic movement, including the National League for Democracy and Burma's ethnic groups. Authorizes the President to assist Burmese democracy activists dedicated to nonviolent opposition to the regime in their efforts to promote freedom, democracy, and human rights in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
YMCA Healthy Teen Act - Directs the Attorney General to award a grant to the YMCA of the USA to make subgrants to local YMCAs for programs to promote healthy living among teenage youth.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Encouraging Work Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the work opportunity credit permanent. Modifies such credit by: (1) repealing the requirement that a "qualified ex-felon" be a member of a low-income (as specified) family; (2) increasing the maximum age for eligibility of food stamp recipients to 40 years; (3) redefining the term "vocational rehabilitation referral"; (4) adding "long-term family assistance recipients" (as defined) to the definition of "targeted groups"; and (5) increasing the maximum allowable credit for employment of long-term family assistance recipients. Repeals the separate welfare-to-work credit.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2003
National Museum of African American History and Culture Act - (Sec. 4) Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution (SI) the National Museum of African American History and Culture, to be operated as a center for scholarship and a location for museum training, public education, exhibits, and collection and study of items and materials relating to the life, art, history, and culture of African Americans that encompass the period of slavery, the era of reconstruction, the Harlem renaissance, the civil rights movement, and other periods of the African American diaspora. (Sec. 5) Establishes the National Museum of African American History and Culture Council to: (1) advise and assist the SI Board of Regents on Museum planning, design, construction, operation, and budgets; and (2) have responsibility and authority with respect to the Museum's collections and work, subject to the Board of Regents' general policies. (Sec. 6) Requires the Secretary of SI to appoint a Director to manage the Museum. (Sec. 7) Establishes the Office of Education and Liaison Programs within the Museum to work with educational institutions and museums throughout the Nation. Requires the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to establish specified grant, scholarship, internship, and fellowship programs relating to African American museums. (Sec. 8) Directs the Board of Regents to select the Museum's site from one of four specified sites on or adjacent to the national mall. Requires the Board of Regents to pay costs of planning, design, and construction of the Museum on the chosen site as follows: 50 percent from Federal funds and 50 percent from non-Federal sources. (Sec. 9) Provides for Congressional Budget Act compliance by declaring that authority under this Act to enter into contracts or to make payments shall be effective in any fiscal year only to the extent provided in advance in an appropriations Act, except that mounts made available under section 11 of this Act shall remain available until expended. (Sec. 10) Directs the Council and the Board of Regents, in carrying out their duties under this Act, to consider the reports and plans submitted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission under the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-106). (Sec. 11) Authorizes appropriations in a specified amount for FY 2004, and in necessary amounts for subsequent fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
National War Permanent Tribute Historical Database Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to establish and maintain the National War Permanent Tribute Historical Database for identifying and cataloging the many thousands of permanent tributes that commemorate U.S. military conflicts and the service and sacrifice of U.S. armed forces. Requires the Database to be publicly accessible through the Internet or other means in a format that permits the public to submit information for the purpose of updating and expanding the Database. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress assessing the efficacy and desirability of establishing a permanent fund within the Treasury for the repair, restoration, and maintenance of the memorials identified and cataloged.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2003
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to eliminate a two-year wait-out period between grants under a program for Hispanic-serving institutions (thus permitting an eligible institution to apply for a subsequent five-year grant award immediately after the expiration of its most recent five-year award).
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2003
Amends Federal provisions relating to the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Fryingpan-Arkansas project, Colorado, to: (1) authorize appropriations for the nonreimbursable Federal share of costs of constructing the Arkansas Valley Conduit; (2) limit the non-federal share of such costs to 25 percent; and (3) allow up to 100 percent of the non-federal share to be in the form of in-kind contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2003
Preservation of Localism, Program Diversity, and Competition in Television Broadcast Service Act of 2003 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from permitting any license for a commercial television broadcast station to be granted, transferred, or assigned to any party if such action would result in that party owning, operating, controlling, or having a cognizable interest in stations which have an aggregate national audience reach exceeding 35 percent. Requires any party currently having licenses in excess of such limit to divest as necessary to comply with such limit within one year.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Chronic Wasting Disease support Act of 2003 - Defines "chronic wasting disease" as a transmissible disease of the nervous system afflicting deer and elk. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to develop a grant program to allocate funds to the State agency responsible for wildlife management to develop and implement long-term management strategies to address such disease. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a computer modeling program to predict the spread of chronic wasting disease in deer and elk. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (through the U.S. Geological Survey) and the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) to conduct surveillance and monitoring programs on Federal lands to identify: (1) the rate of infection in wild herds of deer and elk; (2) the cause and extent of the spread of the disease; and (3) areas promoting the disease. Directs the Secretary of Interior to develop and maintain a web site that displays surveillance and monitoring program data and modeling information. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) develop guidelines for the collection of animal tissue samples, and a protocol for assessing samples in the laboratory; (2) develop a program for the inspection of laboratories conducting chronic wasting disease tests; (3) provide for the upgrading of Federal laboratories approved to process such samples; and (4) expand and accelerate research on the disease through the Agricultural Research Service and Cooperative State Research grant program. Requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to enter a cooperative agreement for the purpose of coordinating actions and disbursing funds authorized under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2003 - Provides that: (1) any person who engages in conduct that violates specified provisions of the Federal criminal code, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, or specified articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (conduct constituting certain Federal violent crimes), and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury to, a child who is in utero, shall be guilty of a separate offense (but prohibits imposition of the death penalty for such offense); and (2) the punishment for that separate offense shall be the same as that provided under Federal law for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother. Directs that if the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall be punished as provided under the Federal criminal code for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being. Bars prosecution under this Act: (1) for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law in a medical emergency; (2) for conduct relating to any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or (3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) everyone in the United States should have a decent home; (2) Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives should demonstrate the importance of volunteerism; (3) Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, Habitat for Humanity, and contributing organizations, should sponsor and construct two homes in the Washington, D.C., metro area each as part of the "Congress Building America" program; and (4) these and other future occasions should be used to emphasize the importance of providing decent homes for all of the people in the United States.
![Official portrait of Sen. Allard, Wayne [R-CO]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/a000109_200.jpg)