United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2004
American Bald Eagle Recovery and National Emblem Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in celebration of the recovery of the bald eagle, in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the placement of the bald eagle on the endangered species list under such Act, to mint and issue not more than: (1) 100,000 $5 gold coins; (2) 500,000 $1 silver coins; and (3) 750,000 half dollar coins. Directs that the design of the coins be emblematic of the bald eagle and its history, natural biology, and national symbolism. Requires that sales of the coins include a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin, $10 for the $1 coin, and $3 for the half dollar coin, which shall be promptly paid by the Secretary to the American Eagle Foundation of Tennessee to: (1) establish an interest-bearing endowment called the American Eagle Fund as a permanent source of support for the care, monitoring, maintenance, and recovery of the bald eagle and its habitat in the United States; (2) make annual grants to Federal, State, and private eagle restoration, protection, and enhancement projects; (3) administer the Fund in an annual amount not to exceed the lesser of ten percent of the annual income of the Fund or $250,000; and (4) provide financial support for capital projects and for continuation and expansion of the Foundation's efforts to educate the American people about the bald eagle.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2004
Samaritan Initiative Act of 2004 - Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to establish a program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under which a participating Federal agency shall make grants to eligible entities, including faith-based and community-based organizations, for permanent housing (provision of housing or rental assistance) and related treatment (including health and drug and alcohol treatment) and support services for chronically homeless persons. Requires: (1) a participating Federal agency to establish an interagency implementation and monitoring team; and (2) a grantee to establish a homeless management information system. Obligates specified authorizations of appropriations for: (1) HUD; (2) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); and (3) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Authorizes the participation of other Federal agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2004
Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 - Amends, and repeals, specified agricultural Acts to eliminate tobacco quota and price support programs. Provides for: (1) transitional payments (funded by appropriations made by this Act) to tobacco quota holders and active producers of quota tobacco; (2) geographic restrictions on tobacco expansion through penalties for tobacco grown outside traditional tobacco counties; and (3) county committee resolution of payment disputes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2004
Anti-Terrorism Protection of Mass Transportation and Railroad Carriers Act of 2004 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit specified attacks and acts of violence against mass transportation systems and against railroad carriers, including derailing a train, placing a biological agent or toxin in or near a mass transportation vehicle, setting fire to a terminal, committing an act with intent to cause serious bodily injury to a railroad employee, and conveying false information concerning an attempt to commit such a crime. Lists circumstances resulting in aggravated offenses. Sets penalties for violations. Authorizes: (1) the interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications in cases involving domestic or international terrorism and involving other specified offenses (such as violence at international airports, an attack on a Federal facility with a firearm, and conspiracy to harm persons or property overseas); and (2) the use of an emergency pen register or trap and trace device in cases involving domestic or international terrorism or conspiratorial activities threatening the national security interest. Modifies the definition of: (1) "Federal crime of terrorism" to include an offense that appears by its nature or context to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnaping; and (2) "international terrorism" to include listed actions that appear "by their nature or context" to be intended to intimidate, influence, or affect governmental conduct.
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
Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award: (1) grants for reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses and incidental nonmedical expenses incurred by individuals toward making living organ donations; (2) peer reviewed grants, or enter into contracts, for studies and demonstration projects to increase organ donation and recovery rates; (3) grants to States for organ donor awareness, public education and outreach activities, and programs designed to increase the number of organ donors within the State; and (4) matching grants to qualified organ procurement organizations and hospitals to establish programs coordinating organ donation activities to increase the rate of organ donations for such hospitals. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a public education program to increase awareness about organ donation and the need to provide for an adequate rate of donation; (2) support the development and dissemination of educational materials to inform health care professionals about organ, tissue, and eye donation issues; and (3) report on the ethical implications of proposals to increase cadaveric donation. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to: (1) develop scientific evidence supporting increased donation and improved recovery, preservation, and transportation of donated organs; and (2) support research and dissemination of findings to develop a uniform clinical vocabulary, apply technology to support organ procurement organizations, enhance the skills of the organ procurement workforce, and assess specific organ recovery, preservation, and transportation technologies. Authorizes the Secretary to establish mechanisms to evaluate the long-term effects associated with living organ donations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2004
States that Congress: (1) condemns the detention of Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and calls for his immediate and unconditional release; (2) condemns the violations of freedom of speech, religion, movement, association, and the lack of due process afforded to individuals in Vietnam; and (3) urges the Government of Vietnam to consider the implications of its actions for the broader relationship with the United States, including the United States-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should: (1) make the immediate release of Father Ly a top concern; (2) reiterate its deep concern regarding the violation of Father Ly's and other prisoners' human rights, and continue to urge the Government of Vietnam to comply with international standards for freedom and human rights; and (3) make it clear to the Government of Vietnam that the detention and human rights violations of Father Ly and other persons create obstacles to improved bilateral relations with the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2004
Transfers the functions of the United States Trade Representatives to the Secretary of Commerce with respect to: (1) identification of countries that deny adequate protection, or market access, for intellectual property rights; (2) enforcement of U.S. rights under trade agreements and response to certain foreign trade practices; and (3) the Uruguay Round Agreement Act regarding dispute settlement panels and procedures, related matters in the annual report to Congress on the World Trade Organization (WTO), access to the WTO dispute settlement process, specified actions for enforcement of U.S. rights under the Subsidies Agreement, and specified administrative actions following WTO panel reports.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Declares that Congress: (1) supports Israel's construction of a security fence to prevent Palestinian terrorist attacks; and (2) condemns the United Nations General Assembly's decision to request the International Court of Justice to render an opinion on the legality of the fence.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2004
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United State should continue to insist that the People's Republic of China adhere to fundamental human rights principles and allow its citizens full enjoyment of those rights. Declares that Congress urges the People's Republic of China to: (1) stop the persecution of all religious practitioners and safeguard fundamental human rights; (2) stop the forced return of North Korean refugees; (3) end its one-child per family policy and ensure that no government officials subject women to forced abortions or sterilizations; (4) hold an open investigation into the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square, release all prisoners held in connection with that event, and pay compensation to the families who lost their loved ones; (5) release from detention all prisoners of conscience, persons held because of their religious activities, and persons of humanitarian concern, including named individuals; (6) release the 11th Panchen Lama; (7) adhere to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the 1951 Convention Relating to Refugees and its 1967 Protocol; and (8) allow visits to China by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Religious Intolerance and Torture, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2004
Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to make beach nourishment projects that meet such standards as the Secretary of the Army may establish eligible for inclusion in mitigation plans and for hazard mitigation assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2004
Deficit Accountability Act of 2004 - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to provide that pay for Members of Congress may not be increased by any adjustment scheduled to take effect in a calendar year if the Office of Management and Budget determines there was a deficit in the preceding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2004
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2004 - Adjusts the basic Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity amount for surviving spouses, age 62 and older, of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent (current law), for months before October 2005; (2) 40 percent for months after September 2005 and before October 2008; (3) 45 percent for months after September 2008 and before October 2014; and (4) 55 percent for months after September 2014 . Adjusts similarly percentage amounts with respect to survivors of reserve personnel and survivors of persons who die while on active duty. Provides a corresponding phased elimination of the SBP supplemental annuity authorized to be provided to such surviving spouses. Requires periodic recomputation of: (1) annuity amounts beginning in October 2005; and (2) retired pay reductions for supplemental survivor annuities. Provides a one-year open enrollment period for SBP participation, commencing October 1, 2005, for those currently not participating, those electing to increase current coverage, and those wishing to participate in the supplemental SBP. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to require appropriate premiums for SBP participation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2004
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 223 South Main Street in Roxboro, North Carolina, as the Oscar Scott Woody Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that, if the violator of the terms and conditions of any Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license, permit, or certificate is either a broadcast station licensee or permittee or an applicant for a broadcast license, permit, or certificate, and such violator is determined by the FCC to have broadcast obscene, indecent, or profane language, the amount of forfeiture penalty shall not exceed $275,000 for each violation or day of such violation, to a maximum of $3 million for any single act or failure to act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
Commends the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons field hockey team for winning the 2003 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Field Hockey Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 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
Abortion Non-Discrimination Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Federal Government, and any State or local government that receives Federal financial assistance, from discriminating against any health care entity because (in addition to current prohibited reasons) the entity refuses to provide coverage of, or pay for, induced abortions. Expands the definition of "health care entity" to include (in addition to physicians) other health professionals, a hospital, a provider sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, and any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Illegal Transshipments Enforcement Act of 2003 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize the appropriate customs officer to destroy textile or apparel products that have been forfeited by reason of a violation of the customs laws. Revises the authority of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security to seize merchandise introduced or attempted to be introduced into the United States contrary to law if the importer has received written notices that previous importations of merchandise from the same supplier were found to have been marked in violation of country-of-origin marking requirements. (Current law limits such condition to identical merchandise from the same supplier marked in violation of such requirements.) Changes the monetary penalties for specified violations by customs brokers from $30,000 in total for a violation or violations to $100,000 for each violation. Amends the Federal criminal code to repeal the requirement of specific intent to convert to personal use from the prohibition against theft or fraudulent acquisition of goods or chattels in an interstate or foreign shipment of cargo. Adds to the list of vehicles or facilities involved any trailer, air cargo container, intermodal container, trailer, container freight station, warehouse, or freight consolidation facility. Increases from one to three years the prison term for any such felony involving less than $1,000. States that goods and chattel shall be construed to be moving as an interstate or foreign shipment at all points between the point of origin and the final destination (as evidenced by the waybill or other shipping document of the shipment), regardless of any temporary stop while awaiting transshipment or otherwise. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for such felonies and promulgate any appropriate amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
Stock Option Accounting Reform Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require an issuer of registered securities to show as an expense in its mandatory annual report the fair value of all stock purchase options granted to certain of its senior executive officers after December 31, 2004. Exempts small business issuers from such requirement. Amends the Securities Act of 1933 to require reporting of: (1) stock option expenses as a reduction of the total expense in the fiscal year in which they expire or are forfeited; and (2) as income any excess by which such reduction exceeds total option expenses for any fiscal year. Requires any accounting principle recognized as "generally accepted" by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the expensing of stock purchase options to comply with this Act. Denies recognition to any such accounting principle until the Secretaries of Commerce and of Labor complete a joint study on the economic impact of mandatory expensing of all employee stock options.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2003
Deplores the development by Iran of a nuclear weapons program and the failure of the Government of Iran to report material, facilities, and activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in contravention of its obligations under the safeguards convention it signed in connection with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (Treaty). Concurs with the conclusion of the Department of State that Iran is pursuing a program to develop nuclear weapons. Calls on the President to use all appropriate means to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, with particular attention to the needs of the IAEA for information and access, including information concerning gas centrifuges and the conduct of uranium conversion experiments. Calls on Russia to suspend all nuclear cooperation with Iran until Iran fully complies with a specified IAEA resolution, with particular attention to spent fuel. Calls on the IAEA to declare Iran in violation of the Treaty. Calls on the United Nations Security Council to consider immediately the passage of a Security Council resolution or the taking of other actions that may be necessary to impose diplomatic and economic sanctions against Iran if it fails to meet its obligations to the IAEA. Calls on the Government of Iran to cease all efforts to acquire nuclear fuel cycle capabilities and to end the enrichment and processing of uranium until it is able to provide specific, verifiable assurances that it is not engaged in a clandestine nuclear weapons program.
United States · United States Congress · 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 · 18 November 2003
Constitutional Preservation Resolution - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Supreme Court should base its decisions on the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and not on the law of any foreign country or international law or agreement not made under the authority of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2003
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and maintain the national 2004 marketing quota for Flue-cured and Burley tobacco at 2003 levels. Provides that: (1) A producer-owned cooperative marketing association may fully settle, without further cost to the association, a loan made for the 2004 crop of Flue-cured and Burley tobacco by forfeiting to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) the Flue-cured or Burley tobacco covered by the loan regardless of the condition of the tobacco; (2) any resultant CCC losses shall not be charged to the No Net Cost Tobacco Account; or affect certain related assessments; and (3) forfeited tobacco shall not be counted towards quotas, or sold for use in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member. Directs the Secretary to reimburse such eligible persons for pharmacy benefits received from a pharmacy that is not a TRICARE (Department of Defense managed health care plan) network pharmacy in the same manner as the Secretary would reimburse such person for such benefits received from a TRICARE network pharmacy. Requires such persons, in order to receive such reimbursement, to submit a certification from their physician stating that the person does not have access to a TRICARE network pharmacy due to physical or medical constraints. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive the monthly part B premium (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) with respect to: (1) an individual who is entitled to military retired or retainer pay based upon service that began before December 7, 1956; and (2) the spouse, widow, or widower of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 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
Nuclear Waste Financing Act of 2003 - Requires that, beginning in FY 2005, and through the end of FY 2010, the receipts, proceeds, and recoveries realized by the Secretary of Energy relating to contracts for transportation and disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel shall be credited to the Nuclear Waste Fund as offsetting collections. Prescribes implementation procedures, including adjustments to the levels of budgetary resources from offsetting collections and preservation of the corpus of the Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2003
Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize the production of methyl bromide in the same amount requested by the United States under the critical use exemption process of the Montreal Protocol, even if the parties to the protocol do not approve the entire amount. (Methyl bromide is a fumigant used to control insects, nematodes, weeds, and pathogens that has been defined under the Montreal Protocol of 1991 as a chemical that contributes to depletion of the ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol requires a phase out in production in the United States on a more accelerated schedule than that required of developing countries with which U.S. agriculture competes.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2003
Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to increase the limit of the total of contributions which may be made for hazard mitigation measures for a major disaster from 7.5 to 15 percent of the estimated aggregate amount of grants to be made (less any associated administrative costs) with respect to such disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2003
Commends the President for continued efforts to engage the Government of the People's Republic of China. Joins the President in encouraging the People's Republic of China to meet its commitments as a member of the World Trade Organization and the international community. States that the Chinese economy would benefit from a market-determined exchange rate to avoid market and trade distortions. Joins the President in continuing to encourage China's efforts to modernize its financial system which includes the establishment of a more flexible exchange rate and compliance with its trade agreement obligations. Urges the Administration to continue its efforts to facilitate moves towards a market-based valuation of the renminbi, relaxation of capital controls, and reform of its banking sector. Encourages U.S. government efforts to promote innovation, reduce costs, and level the international playing field in the manufacturing sector.
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 · 16 October 2003
Urges the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the United Nations, the European Union, and the Association of South East Asian Nations to work for: (1) unrestricted access to Laos by international election monitors and international human rights organizations; (2) the rights of opposition political parties and their candidates to run for public office and for all adult citizens of Laos to vote; (3) the right of the citizens to assemble, protest, and to organize; (4) the cessation of all acts of violence against the Hmong population; and (5) the release of those jailed in connection with the 1999 pro-democracy demonstrations.
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 · 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
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in recognition of his contributions to maintaining the security of the Euro-Atlantic region.
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 · 2 October 2003
Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2003 - Defines "specialty crop" as all agricultural crops, except wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice, peanuts, sugar, and tobacco. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to States to enhance specialty crop competitiveness. Bases grant amounts on specialty crop production value. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to increase fruit or vegetable producer operating loan limits. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to provide for marketing order specialty crop food safety programs. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State or local educational agencies for school garden programs that permit children to learn about specialty crops' dietary importance. Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to: (1) increase maximum orchardist assistance under the tree assistance program; and (2) increase and extend specialty crop technical assistance. Directs the Secretary to use specified funds to provide restitution to licensed specialty crop shippers for economic losses resulting from the preparation of false inspection certificates by Department of Agriculture graders at Hunts Point Terminal Market, Bronx, New York. Authorizes appropriations for the maintenance of the Agricultural Marketing Service inspection training center in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Directs the United States Trade Representative to establish at least one position in the Office of the United States Trade Representative for specialty crop trade matters. Directs: (1) the General Accounting Office to conduct a study on why and to what extent U.S. specialty crops have not benefited from the Uruguay Round; and (2) the Secretary to prepare a foreign market access strategy plan aimed at increasing such exports. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Export Petition Division to process petitions for reducing sanitary and phytosanitary export barriers; and (2) in the Department an office to develop and protect intellectual property rights in plants and plant materials. Provides for a Foreign Agricultural Service study of supplier credit guarantee program modifications in order to increase specialty crop exports. Directs the Secretary to transfer the Office of Pest Management Policy of the Department from the Agricultural Research Service to the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture for administrative and funding purposes. Provides for additional research initiatives respecting: (1) methyl bromide alternatives; (2) specialty crop clean air benefits; (3) produce quality improvement; (4) new crop protection tools and integrated pest management; (5) foreign invasive pests and diseases; and (6) national specialty crop development initiative grants. Establishes in the Treasury the Invasive Pest and Disease Response Fund to support emergency eradication and research activities of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in response to economic and health threats posed by invasive pests and agricultural disease. Directs the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to provide for independent scientific advice and peer review with regard to specialty crop import and export requests, including risk and mitigation assessments. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a food safety education program to reduce contamination from: (1) microbial pathogens; and (2) unsanitary handling practices. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to remove the income limitation from the environmental quality incentives program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2003
Mobile Machinery Tax Fairness Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the treatment of certain mobile machinery as a highway vehicle, thereby exempting such machinery from federal highway excise taxes.
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 · 25 September 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. Amends the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the definition of a 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. Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm. Amends Federal law to eliminate criminal penalties for 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 · 24 September 2003
Declares that the Federal Trade Commission is authorized under the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act to implement and enforce a national do-not-call registry. Ratifies the do-not-call registry provision of the Telemarketing Sales Rule which was promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission, effective March 31, 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2003
Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act - Requires a contact lens prescriber (a person permitted under State law to issue prescriptions for contact lenses) to provide a patient, or a person acting on behalf of such patient, with a copy of the contact lens prescription without any additional fee. Requires a seller of contact lenses to verify a prescription by direct communication with the prescriber. Declares that a contact lens prescription shall expire: (1) on the date specified by the law of the State involved, if that date is one year or more after the issue date of the prescription; or (2) not less than one year after the issue date of the prescription, if such State law specifies no date or a date that is less than one year after the date of the prescription. Permits an exception in either instance for a patient's ocular health. Prohibits: (1) advertising that lenses for which a prescription is required may be obtained without a prescription; and (2) a prescriber from issuing examination accuracy waivers. States that any violation of this Act shall be treated as a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Designates the Federal buildings located at 800 Independence Avenue and at 600 Independence Avenue, Southwest, Washington, D.C., as the Orville Wright Federal Building and Wilbur Wright Federal Building, respectively.
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