The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001230_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
7,201 records where Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2003
Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to convert the dairy forward pricing program from a pilot program to a permanent program.
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
Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act - Amends Federal law to protect specified disclosures by Federal employees or applicants without restriction as to time, place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure. Creates a rebuttable presumption regarding the performance of duty by employees with authority. Prohibits implementation or enforcement of nondisclosure documents absent a statement that the restrictions imposed are consistent with and do not supersede specified laws. Authorizes the Merit Systems Protection Board or any reviewing court to determine whether there was a violation of prohibited personnel practices in actions relating to security clearances and to provide specified relief. Authorizes the President to exclude agencies with certain intelligence functions from coverage under the whistleblower statute only if the exclusion decision, as it relates to a personnel action, is made before that personnel action. Includes compensatory damages in the list of authorized corrective actions the Board may impose. Authorizes the Board to impose a combination of discliplinary action and civil penalties. Permits representation by attorneys for the Office of the Special Counsel in specified civil actions. Authorizes the Office of Special Counsel to obtain judicial review of Board decisions. Allows petitions for review to be filed in any court of appeals of competent jurisdiction during the five-year period beginning on the effective date of this Act (restricted to the Federal Circuit thereafter). Lengthens the appeal period. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to clarify that the disclosure of independently obtained critical infrastructure information is a protected disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2003 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities (including employment agencies, labor organizations, and training programs). Prohibits related retaliation and coercion. Declares this Act inapplicable to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's domestic partner. Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from: (1) collecting statistics on sexual orientation from covered entities; and (2) compelling covered entities to collect such statistics. Prohibits: (1) quotas and preferential treatment; and (2) an order or consent decree for a violation of this Act that includes a quota or preferential treatment. Declares that this Act is inapplicable to: (1) religious organizations; (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Prohibits the imposition of affirmative action for a violation of this Act. Disallows State immunity. Makes the United States or a State liable for remedies to the same extent as under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2003
Child Nutrition Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to revise school lunch program requirements relating to fluid milk. Requires school lunches to offer students a variety of flavored and unflavored milk, as determined by the school. Allows schools or institutions participating in the program to offer a la carte fluid milk products to be sold in addition to and, at the school's option, adjacent to fluid milk offered as part of a reimbursable meal. Prohibits program participants from directly or indirectly restricting the sale or marketing of fluid milk products by the school or by a person approved by the school at any time or any place on the school premises or at any school-sponsored event. Establishes a program of increased reimbursement rates for school lunches under NSLA and for school breakfasts under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA), to be provided as an incentive to schools and institutions that increase consumption of fluid milk by children in their meals there. Establishes a program of grants to schools that implement healthy school environment programs with respect to the nutrition, including availability of healthy food choices, and the physical activity of the children there.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2003
NICS Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require: (1) the head of each Federal agency that has records relating to persons for whom receipt of a firearm would violate Federal or State law to provide that information to the Attorney General for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); (2) the agency, upon being made aware that the basis under which a record was made available no longer applies, to correct the record and notify the Attorney General; and (3) the Department of Homeland Security to make available to the Attorney General records relevant to a determination that a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm and information about a change in such person's status for removal from NICS, where appropriate. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to: (1) States and Indian tribal governments to establish or upgrade information and identification technologies for firearms eligibility determinations; and (2) States for use by the State court system to improve the automation and transmittal to Federal and State record repositories of criminal history dispositions, records relevant to determining whether a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, court orders, and mental health adjudications or commitments. Requires: (1) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to study and evaluate NICS operations and to report annually to Congress and to specified States regarding best practices; and (2) the Comptroller General to conduct an audit of the expenditure of all funds appropriated for criminal records improvement to determine how the funds were expended.
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 · 1 October 2003
States that the House of Representatives: (1) supports the goals of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, including the need for immigration reform; and (2) recognizes and honors the millions of immigrant workers in the United States who work hard, pay taxes, and contribute to our economy and our communities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Rest and Recuperation Leave program for members of the armed forces serving in combat zones in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom should cover all travel and transportation costs necessary to return members granted leave to their homes. (Currently, such program covers transportation to only an approved point of debarkation in the United States.)
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 · 25 September 2003
College Opportunity for All Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and reauthorize requirements relating to: (1) Pell Grants and other student aid amounts and access to higher education for all students; (2) support and educational opportunities for students at minority-serving institutions, including centers for teacher education; (3) postbaccalaureate opportunities at Hispanic-serving institutions; (4) TRIO and other outreach programs to disadvantaged students pursuing a postsecondary education; (5) support for working students through revision of student aid need analysis; (6) student loan forgiveness for certain public service employment; (7) relief to borrowers through elimination of origination fees and allowance of refinancing of consolidation loans; (8) simplification of the student aid process; (9) voluntary flexible agreements with guaranty agencies; and (10) allowance for State and other taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2003
Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act - Provides that each provision of law, regulation, or other policy directive listed in this Act and any amendments made by that provision, shall cease to have effect 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. Authorizes Congress, during such period and at the request of the President, to hold hearings to determine whether a particular section should be removed from the list with respect to the USA PATRIOT Act. Applies this Act to specified provisions in: (1) the USA PATRIOT Act; (2) the Aviation Security Act excluding permanent resident aliens from being baggage checkers; (3) the Homeland Security Act 2002; (4) certain immigration regulations; (5) the Federal Register relating to monitoring conversations between attorneys and clients; (6) the memorandum of Attorney General Ashcroft dated October 12, 2001, and relating to the disclosure of documents under the Freedom of Information Act; and (7) any regulations having the effect of changing the effect of Attorney General Dick Thornburg's Guidelines on General Crimes, Racketeering Enterprise and Domestic Security/Terrorism Investigations (particularly with respect to religious institution spying), approved March 21, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to award a grant to each State to carry out a program for making available throughout that State the 2-1-1 telephone service for information and referral on human services. Requires a participating State to ensure that at least 50 percent of the resources of the program funded by the grant will be derived from other sources. Requires a State seeking a grant to carry out its activities through a lead entity to be known as a 2-1-1 Collaborative. Requires grant amounts to be used solely to make available to a State 2-1-1 telephone service for community information and referral on human services, including telephone connections between families and individuals seeking services and the service providers. Requires grant recipients to: (1) abide by the Key Standards for 2-1-1 Centers; and (2) collaborate with human service organizations to provide an exhaustive database of services with which to provide information or referral to individuals utilizing the 2-1-1 service.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Congratulates the Washington Freedom for winning the 2003 Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) title. Requests that the President invite them to a White House ceremony for national championship teams. Expresses disappointment with the suspension of WUSA operations and expresses support for its revival.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Medicare Occupational Therapy Coverage Eligibility Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the need-based condition on eligibility for Medicare coverage of home health services with respect to occupational therapy (thus providing for eligibility for occupational therapy coverage of home health services without such condition).
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2003
Urges any trade and investment agreement that is negotiated by the executive branch with other foreign countries to comply with certain minimum standards regarding: (1) investor and investment policy; (2) certain services; (3) policies to support American workers and small, minority, and women-owned businesses; (4) environmental, labor, and other public interests; (5) U.S. trade laws; (6) food safety; (7) agriculture and food security; (8) transparency; (9) governmental authority; (10) access to medicines and seeds; and (11) special treatment for developing countries.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Student Testing Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise certain requirements regarding student assessments and adequate yearly progress which were added by the No Child Left Behind Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
States' Right To Innovate in Health Care Act of 2003 - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXII (State Comprehensive Health Care and Cost Containment Demonstration Projects) to allow up to ten States to receive from the Secretary of Health and Human Services a planning grant and a demonstration grant to achieve a cost-effective delivery system of universal, comprehensive health care with simplified administration.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Global Democracy Promotion Act of 2003 - Declares that foreign nongovernmental organizations: (1) shall not be ineligible for assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 solely on the basis of health or medical services (including counseling and referral services) provided by them with non-U.S. Government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided, and would not violate U.S. Federal law if provided in the United States; and (2) shall not be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. Government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2003 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) specify restrictions on the sale and display to the general public of social security account numbers (SSNs) (or any derivatives) by Federal, State, and local governments and bankruptcy case trustees; (2) prohibit the display of SSNs on checks issued for payment by such governments, or on driver's licenses or motor vehicle registrations issued by a State or local government; (3) prohibit the Federal, State, or local government display of SSNs (or any derivatives) on employee identification cards or tags (IDs); (4) prohibit access to the SSNs of other individuals by prisoners employed by Federal, State, or local governments; (5) prohibit the selling, purchasing, or displaying of SSNs (with certain exceptions), or the obtaining or use of any individual's SSN to locate or identify such individual with the intent to physically injure or harm such individual or to use the individual's ID for any illegal purpose by any person; and (6) require States to require independent verification of birth records provided in support of applications for SSNs. Subjects to the Fair Credit Reporting Act information regarding a consumer's SSN (and any derivative) (credit header information). Provides that any person who refuses to do business with an individual because the individual will not consent to that person's receipt of his or her SSN shall be considered to have committed an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, except in certain cases required under Federal law. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to: (1) undertake to make improvements to the enumeration at birth program for the issuance of social security account numbers to newborns; and (2) by regulation restrict the issuance of multiple replacement social security cards to any individual to minimize fraud. Establishes: (1) civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act; (2) criminal penalties for employees of the Social Security Administration who knowingly and fraudulently issue social security cards or social security account numbers; and (3) enhanced penalties in cases of terrorism, drug trafficking, crimes of violence, or prior offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Financial Aid Simplification Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to study and report to specified congressional committees on the feasibility of simplifying the need analysis methodology for all Federal student financial assistance programs and the process of applying for such assistance through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Requires the Secretary of Education within one year after the report's submission to initiate a redesign of the FAFSA Revises eligibility requirements for filing of a simplified FAFSA to allow, as an alternative to not being required to file an income tax return, that the student's parents or the student (and the student's wife, if any) received benefits under a means-tested Federal benefit program. Directs the Secretary to make special efforts, in conjunction with State efforts, to: (1) notify students and their parents who qualify for a free lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, the Food Stamps program, or other such programs of their potential eligibility for a maximum Pell Grant; and (2) disseminate such informational materials as necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare recognition of the services of respiratory therapists that are furnished as part-time or intermittent nursing care or physical therapy services under a plan of care for home health services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on the impact of paying for the services of respiratory therapists as a separate benefit under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of Medicare, and as an explicit component of the several benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) of Medicare.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that an appropriate week should be designated as National Alopecia Areata Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Directs the Architect of the Capitol to enter into a contract for the design and construction of a monument, which shall be placed on permanent display in the Capitol Visitor Center, commemorating the contributions of minority women to women's suffrage and to the participation of women in U.S. public life. Requires the monument to depict African, Hispanic, Asian Pacific, Jewish, and Native American women. Requires use of an advisory committee to make recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2003
Pediatric Research Equity Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require license applications for new drugs and biological products to assess such drug's or product's safety and effectiveness for relevant pediatric subpopulations, including dosage. Permits deferral of such assessments under specified circumstances. Permits full waiver of such assessments under certain conditions, including if: (1) studies are highly impractical or impossible; or (2) there is no meaningful therapeutic advantage or benefit in the pediatric population and the drug or biological product is not likely to be used in a substantial number of pediatric patients. Permits partial waivers at the request of an applicant for a specific pediatric subpopulation if any of the full waiver grounds apply to that subpopulation or reasonable attempts for a pediatric formulation for that subpopulation have failed. Requires labels to provide indication in cases in which a waiver has been granted due to evidence a product would be unsafe or ineffective in pediatric populations. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to specify a date for submission of pediatric assessments if: (1) the drug or biological product would represent a meaningful therapeutic benefit for pediatric patients for one or more claimed indications and the absence of adequate labeling could pose significant risks to pediatric patients; or (2) it is used for a number of pediatric patients for the labeled indications and the absence of adequate labeling could pose significant risks to pediatric patients. Sets forth criteria for full waiver and partial waivers of such requirement. Requires labels to provide indication in cases in which a waiver has been granted due to evidence a product would be unsafe or ineffective in pediatric populations. Requires the Secretary to issue a written request for related pediatric studies under the Public Health Service Act or under this Act before requiring an assessment for a drug. Directs the Secretary, after determining that there is no agreement to such a written request, to certify whether the Secretary has sufficient funds to conduct the study under the Public Health Service Act, taking into account prioritization of drugs for which pediatric studies are needed. States that if a person fails to submit an assessment under this Act, or a request for approval of a pediatric formulation, the relevant drug or biological product may be considered misbranded solely because of that failure and subject to enforcement action.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2003
Internet Tobacco Sales Enforcement Act - Amends the Jenkins Act to require each person who engages in an interstate sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco or in an interstate distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to comply with all the excise, sales, and use tax laws applicable to the sale or other transfer of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco in the State and place in which the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco are delivered. Prohibits the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco from being delivered to the buyer unless in advance of the delivery the excise tax has been paid and any required stamps or other indicia that such tax has been paid are properly affixed or applied, with an exception. Authorizes a State Attorney General to bring a civil action to obtain any appropriate relief, including money damages where appropriate, against any person who violates such prohibition or who knowingly assists or participates in such a violation. Expresses the sense of Congress that any State Attorney General who commences such a civil action should inform the U.S. Attorney General who should make information about the case publicly available. Authorizes civil penalties for violations. Eliminates the $1,000 criminal penalty limitation. Declares that the Act does not limit the remedies provided by State or Federal law with respect to alleged violations relating to a sale or distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco in connection with an interstate sale or distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2003
Dr. James Allen Disabled Veterans Equity Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay special disability compensation due to a veteran's loss of paired organs when the veteran has suffered impairment of vision compensable to a degree of ten percent or more (currently, blindness) in one eye as a result of a service-connected disability and impairment of vision (currently, blindness) in the other eye as a result of a non-service-connected disability not the result of the veteran's own willful misconduct.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2003
American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 one dollar silver coins in commemoration of disabled American veterans, which shall be emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. Requires: (1) all sales of the coins include a ten dollar per coin surcharge; and (2) the surcharges received to be paid to the Foundation to establish an endowment to support the construction of American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2003
Workers with Disabilities Opportunity Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to remove the limitation on the period of Medicare (SSA title XVIII part A) Hospital Insurance program eligibility for disabled workers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2003
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for direct access to qualified audiologists for Medicare beneficiaries and the inclusion of audiology services as a Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) covered medical service.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2003
Medicare Mental Health Copayment Equity Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for a gradual reduction of copayment rates for outpatient psychiatric services under the Medicare program (from 50 percent to the standard 20 percent) by 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2003
Calls upon the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp to promote public awareness of Down syndrome.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2003
Bruce Vento Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2003 - Amends the Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000 to extend the deadlines for naturalization applications and payment of fees.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 2003 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from: (1) excluding or restricting benefits for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services; (2) denying eligibility based on use or potential use of such items or services; (3) providing monetary payments or rebates to a covered individual to encourage acceptance of less than the minimum protections available; (4) penalizing, reducing, or limiting a professional's reimbursement because the professional prescribed such drugs or devices or provided such services; or (5) providing incentives to a professional to induce the professional to withhold drugs, devices, or services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act of 2003 - Requires a manufacturer of a motor vehicle sold or introduced into commerce in the United States to disclose to the vehicle owner, a repair facility, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the information necessary to diagnose, service, or repair the vehicle. Sets forth protections for trade secrets. States that manufacturer noncompliance with this Act constitutes an unfair method of competition and an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting commerce within the purview of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Authorizes a vehicle owner or repair facility to bring a civil action in Federal district court for violations of this Act without regard to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties. Instructs the FTC to prescribe a uniform methodology for manufacturer disclosure in writing, and on the Internet. Prohibits the FTC from prescribing rules that interfere with the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency regarding motor vehicle emissions control diagnostics systems.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2003
Great Lakes Restoration Financing Act of 2003 - Establishes the Great Lakes Advisory Board to: (1) develop a biennial comprehensive Great Lakes management plan; (2) coordinate Great Lakes restoration efforts; and (3) implement a public awareness campaign. Establishes a scientific working group to evaluate the scientific integrity of the Great Lakes restoration effort and assist the Board in its decisionmaking. Requires the management plan to be submitted to the President, appropriate congressional committees, the governor of each Great Lakes State, and the Great Lakes mayors. Includes as possible Great Lakes ecosystem goals: (1) the cleanup of toxic hot spots; (2) the elimination of invasive species; (3) pollution decrease; (4) the restoration and conservation of wetlands and critical coastal habitat; (5) the elimination of dead zones caused by hypoxia and harmful algal bloom; (6) the sustainable use and management of Great Lakes water resources; and (7) public participation in Great Lakes restoration. Requires each Great Lakes State to have in effect a State Great Lakes Management Plan, approved by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and updated every two years, in order to be eligible for assistance apportionments authorized under this Act. Provides apportioned funding to Great Lakes States for restoration activities. Authorizes the Administrator to appoint a special master to direct the remediation of an area of concern.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2003
Student Loan Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise student aid requirements for consolidation loans. Repeals a prohibition against refinancing consolidation loans. Allows borrowers to select lenders of consolidation loans. Requires lenders and institutions to provide certain information on consolidation loans to applicants. Revises interest rates on consolidated and reconsolidated loans.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2003
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (posthumously) and his widow, Coretta Scott King, in recognition of their service to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2003
Overtime Compensation Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to prohibit the Secretary of Labor from promulgating any regulation that has the effect of exempting from FLSA overtime compensation requirements (which limit maximum hours at regular compensation) any employee who is not otherwise exempted under regulations in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. Provides that such prohibition does not bar the Secretary from reducing the number of employees who are exempt from such overtime compensation requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Farm-To-Cafeteria Projects Act of 2003 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive grants to private nonprofit entities and educational institutions to establish and carry out Farm-to-Cafeteria projects to improve access to local foods in schools and institutions receiving funds under NSLA and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) (except the special supplemental program for women, infants, and children (WIC) which already has a WIC Farmers Market Nutrition program). Requires such projects to be designed to: (1) procure local foods from small and medium-sized farms to provide foods for school meals; (2) support nutrition education activities or curriculum planning incorporating school children's participation in farm and agriculture education projects; and (3) develop a sustained commitment to farm-to-cafeteria projects in the community by linking schools, agricultural producers, parents, and other community stakeholders.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Creates the Independent Commission on Intelligence about Iraq. Gives the Commission responsibility for: (1) evaluating executive branch intelligence collection, assessment, and representations concerning the threats posed by Iraq; (2) evaluating the effectiveness of collaborative arrangements between the United States and others in assessing such threats; (3) examining the extent to which Congress has imposed restrictions that have hampered the efforts of the intelligence community; (4) reviewing the work of other investigations; and (5) reporting its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to Congress and the President.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2003
Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2003 - Repeals death penalty provisions for a wide range of specified offenses under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Federal criminal code (the code), the Controlled Substances Act, and other statutes, including for murder relating to the smuggling of aliens, murder during a hostage-taking, and certain non-homicide-related offenses (espionage and treason). Repeals code procedures relating to imposition of the death sentence. Prohibits sentencing to death or putting to death any person for any violation of Federal law. Directs that any person sentenced to death before the date of this Act's enactment for any such violation serve a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2003
State Threat Alert Reimbursement (STAR) Act of 2003 - Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to reimburse a State for direct expenses and losses that exceed normal operating expenses incurred by State or local government entities in the course of duty during the effective period of an increased threat alert. Allows the Governor of any State to submit a request for reimbursement by not later than 90 days after the declaration of the elevated threat condition. Instructs the Secretary to provide for the submission of requests by use of the Internet. Requires the Secretary to notify the Select Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate before making any payment of greater than $20 million to a State under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2003
Recognizes the 100th anniversary of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2003
Pedestrian and Cyclist Equity Act of 2003 - Requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish and carry out a transportation and active living program to create, enhance, and promote, through changes in transportation, community design, and architectural policies and programs, community environments that improve opportunities for people to be physically active in their daily lives. Directs the Secretary to make grants to State, local, and regional agencies, including nonprofit organizations, for eligible activities. Authorizes the Secretary to consider initiatives that: (1) adopt community design, land use, and transportation policies to promote active living or remove barriers to physical activity; and (2) implement communications and marketing strategies to promote physical activity. Requires the Secretary to establish and carry out a safe routes to school program for the benefit of children in primary and middle schools. Directs the Secretary to: (1) make grants to a national nonprofit organization to operate a national safe routes to school clearinghouse; and (2) establish a national safe routes to school task force. Allows amounts apportioned to a State to be used for the planning, design, and construction of infrastructure-related projects (including sidewalk improvements) and for non-infrastructure-related activities (including public awareness campaigns) to encourage walking and bicycling to school. Requires the Secretary to establish and carry out a non-motorized transportation pilot program, including developing specified statistical information and assessing how changes promote livable community concepts, decreased traffic and energy usage, a cleaner environment, and healthier lifestyles.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Human Rights Information Act - Requires certain Federal agencies to identify, review, and organize all human rights records, for declassification and public disclosure, if the President determines bona fide a request for them by an individual or entity carrying an official mandate to investigate a pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. Prescribes guidelines under which the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel shall review agency determinations to postpone disclosure of any human rights record. Authorizes postponement of such public disclosures on specified grounds. Requires each Federal agency to identify, review, and organize all human rights records regarding activities occurring in Guatemala and Honduras for declassification and public disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Save Social Security First Act of 2003 - Repeals subtitles A (Repeal of Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes) and E (Carryover Basis at Death; Other Changes Taking Effect With Repeal) of title V (Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Provisions) of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Makes the sunset provisions of such Act inapplicable to the remainder of title V. Sets the unified estate credit at $3 million and the maximum estate rate at 50 percent. Appropriates, beginning in 2005, estate tax revenues to the Social Security trust funds.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Downed Animal Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations to provide for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory livestock by a covered entity, including a requirement that nonambulatory livestock be humanely euthanized. Provides that an entity shall: (1) not move nonambulatory livestock while such livestock is conscious; and (2) humanely euthanize such livestock. Prohibits an establishment covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act to pass nonambulatory livestock through inspection. Defines "covered entity," and "humanely euthanize."