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United States · Official source
4,936 records where Sen. Hollings, Ernest F. [D-SC] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2003
Expresses support for the designation of an appropriate month as National Brain Injury Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2003
Designates October 17, 2003, as National Mammography Day.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Homestead Preservation Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a program of low-interest loan (residential) mortgage assistance to eligible persons who are separated from their employment. Limits assistance to 12 months, and requires repayment within five years.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2003
Reducing Crime and Terrorism at America's Seaports Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) entry by false pretenses to a secure area of a seaport; (2) knowingly failing to obey an order to heave to by an authorized Federal officer; (3) forcibly interfering with an authorized law enforcement action or providing false information during a boarding; (4) willfully disabling a passenger vehicle; and (5) unlawfully and intentionally destroying any aid to maritime navigation maintained by the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation that endangers safe navigation. Sets penalties for knowingly and intentionally: (1) placing in U.S. waters a device or substance likely to destroy or damage a vessel or its cargo or likely to interfere with safe navigation or maritime commerce; (2) discharging or releasing into U.S. navigable water or adjoining shoreline any substance that would endanger human life, health, or welfare or the marine environment; (3) transporting aboard any vessel explosive, biological, chemical, or radioactive or nuclear material to be used to commit a Federal crime of terrorism. Sets penalties for: (1) transporting aboard any vessel a terrorist or terror suspect; (2) willfully causing destruction of a vessel or maritime facility; (3) imparting or conveying false information concerning an attempt made to commit certain criminal acts; and (4) knowingly carrying a weapon, explosive, incendiary device, or loaded firearm on a vessel or at a seaport. Requires the Attorney General to issue regulations to require the reporting of cargo theft. Expands the scope of a prohibition against theft of interstate or foreign shipments. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase penalties for noncompliance with manifest requirements.
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 · 30 July 2003
Tobacco Market Transition Act of 2003 - Amends, and repeals, specified agricultural Acts to eliminate tobacco quota and price support programs, including no net cost provisions. Adds a new subtitle, Subtitle E: Tobacco Assistance, to title III of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 which requires the Secretary of Agriculture to make transition payments to each tobacco quota holder (generally, an owner of a farm, as of July 1, 2002, for which a basic tobacco marketing or farm acreage allotment for quota tobacco was established for the 2002 tobacco marketing year under a marketing quota program). Requires the Secretary to make direct payments to a traditional producer of tobacco (a person that, for at least one of the 2000, 2001, or 2002 tobacco marketing years, was actively engaged in the production of tobacco marketed, or considered planted, under a marketing quota and shared in the risk of producing the tobacco). Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a permanent advisory board, the Tobacco Quality Board; (2) a permanent advisory board for each kind of tobacco, a Production Board; and (3) an acreage limitation program for each crop of each kind of tobacco. Directs the Secretary, during any consecutive 4-week period of a marketing year in which the world price for the crop of a kind of tobacco exceeds the average domestic price for such tobacco, to make market stability payments available to active producers of such tobacco. Directs the Secretary to make grants: (1) to eligible States for the Federal share of carrying out economic development initiatives in impacted counties (counties in which tobacco producers have sustained a reduction in gross receipts from the sale of tobacco for a base period); and (2) to colleges and universities in eligible States to conduct research to assist tobacco producers to diversify so as to reduce or eliminate reliance on tobacco production (or to promote alternative uses of tobacco or enhance the quality of tobacco produced), and to foster development of economically viable new agricultural technologies and enterprises for rural communities. Establishes in the Commodity Credit Corporation a revolving trust fund to carry out this subtitle. Deposits into the Fund an annual assessment (imposed by this Act) on each tobacco product manufacturer and tobacco product importer that sells tobacco products in domestic U.S. commerce. Sets forth tobacco stocks and no net cost transition provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2003
Calls for the President to designate the week of November 9-15, 2003, as National Veterans Awareness Week to emphasize educational programs for elementary and secondary school students regarding the contributions and sacrifices of veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2003
Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to: (1) extend through FY 2008 the authorization of appropriations for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the NTIA Technology Opportunities Program; and (2) require the NTIA to assess fees from Federal agencies for the costs of assigning spectrum or providing spectrum management functions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2003
Designates December 14, 2003, as National Children's Memorial Day.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
Disapproves the rule submitted by the Federal Communications Commission and received by Congress on July 10, 2003, relating to broadcast media ownership.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2003
Ocean Observation and Coastal Systems Act - Directs the President, through the National Ocean Research Leadership Council (NORLC), to establish and maintain an integrated ocean and coastal observing system (system) of marine monitoring, data communication and management, data analysis, and research to provide data and information for rapid and timely detection and prediction of changes occurring in the marine environment that impact the Nation's social, economic, and ecological systems. Establishes an Interagency Planning Office (IPO) within NORLC with various functions. Directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to report to NORLC and to maintain a Joint Operations Center (JOC) with specified authority. Sets forth system elements and requires subsystem linkages. Requires the system to integrate the capabilities of the Coast Services Center and the National Coastal Data Development Center of NOAA, and other appropriate centers. Requires the research and development program for the system to be conducted under the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) and consist of specified elements. Directs NOAA Administrator, through JOC, to work with representatives of entities in each region that provide ocean data and information to users to form regional associations to develop and operate observing systems in the coastal regions extending to the seaward boundary of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, including the Great Lakes. Directs NOAA, through IPO, to initiate pilot projects, including infrastructure capital projects, through NOPP. Provides for interagency funding, and authorizes appropriations, for the system under this Act to the following departments and agencies represented on the NORLC: (1) NOAA; (2) the National Science Foundation; (3) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; (4) the U.S. Coast Guard; (5) the Office of Naval Research; (6) the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy; and (7) other Federal agencies engaged in ocean and coastal-related activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2003
Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize appropriations for rail safety for FY 2004 through 2008. Requires railroad carriers and States to report to the Secretary of Transportation current information, with periodic updates, on previously unreported crossings (national crossing inventory). Directs the Secretary to develop and transmit to specified congressional committees a plan for a joint initiative with States and municipalities to systematically reduce the number of public and private highway-rail grade crossings by one percent per year in each of the succeeding ten years. Increases from $7,500 to $15,000 the maximum incentive payment a State may make to a local government upon its permanent closure of public at-grade railway-highway crossings. Directs the Secretary to develop and make available to State and local governments model State legislation providing for civil or criminal penalties, or both, for violations of highway-rail grade crossing signals. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 through 2008 to support Operation Lifesaver, Inc. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security to execute a memorandum of agreement governing the roles and responsibilities of their respective Departments in addressing railroad transportation security matters. Requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations and issue orders for every area of railroad safety, including security, supplementing laws, and regulations in effect on October 16, 1970. Changes from monthly to quarterly the mandatory reports to the Secretary a railroad carrier must file on accidents and incidents. Authorizes the Secretary to authorize his or her officers, employees, or agents for accident prevention and investigation purposes to intercept radio communications without the consent of sender or receiver. Limits the use of such an intercept in administrative or judicial proceedings to impeachment of certain related evidence presented by a non-Federal party. Directs the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee of the Federal Railroad Administration to convene a working group to consider and report to Congress on what legislative or other changes the Secretary deems necessary to address fatigue management for railroad employees. Directs the Secretary to: (1) prescribe a final rule addressing safety standards for positive train control (PTC) systems or other safety technologies that provide similar safety benefits; (2) report to specified congressional committees on the progress of on-going and completed projects to implement PTC or such other technologies; and (3) conduct and report to specified congressional committees on a safety survey of the structural integrity of railroad bridges and railroads' programs of inspection and maintenance of railroad bridges. Revises the authority of railroad police employed by a particular railroad carrier to allow them to enforce the laws of any jurisdiction in which any rail carrier owns property (currently, only jurisdictions in which the employing carrier owns property). Earmarks funds for the Federal Railroad Administration to perform a demonstration program to provide centralized training for its employees.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2003
Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2003 - Authorizes appropriations to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) for FY 2004 through 2008. Amends Federal transportation law to subject to U.S. Senate confirmation the President's designation of one of the STB members to serve as Chairman.
United States · United States Congress · 9 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 to 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 an American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2003
Insurance Consumer Protection Act of 2003 - Establishes within the Department of Commerce an Insurance Regulatory Commission to: (1) gather information on and investigate the insurance business; and (2) designate those classes of insurance that are generally unavailable or unaffordable in certain regions, or to certain groups or businesses, or for which there have been unusually great premium increases, or in the case of any class of liability insurance, for which reinsurance is generally unavailable or unaffordable, or for which there have been unusually great reinsurance premium increases. Requires the Commission to: (1) examine annually interstate insurers; and (2) collect and make available to the public periodic reports of interstate insurance licensees; and compile them in a data base. Prescribes guidelines for Federal licensing and standards governing interstate insurers. Grants the Commission oversight of: (1) State insurance rates; (2) interstate insurance rates; (3) sales and marketing practices of interstate insurers; and (4) accounting and auditing of the industry. Requires the Commission to establish: (1) an Office of Consumer Protection; (2) licensure standards for reinsurers; and (3) accounting standards for insurers and reinsurers. Requires the Commission to license reinsurance intermediary brokers or managers. Prescribes guidelines for the Commission to act as receiver and to supervise the liquidation for insurers or reinsurers. Establishes the National Insurance Guaranty Corporation as a non-profit Federal agency to provide: (1) a payment program for covered claims under certain life, health, and property and casualty insurance policies, and (2) a uniform national system of administration for the liquidation of insolvent member insurers. Establishes the National Insurance Guaranty Fund. Amends Federal criminal law to set forth criminal and civil penalties governing crimes by or affecting persons engaged in the business of insurance whose activities affect interstate commerce. Specifies the preemption of State law regarding activities authorized under this Act, except for laws requiring participation in a residual market insurance program, tax laws, and certain other kinds of State law.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 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 · 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
Ferry Transportation Enhancement Act - Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to authorize appropriations for FY 2004 through 2009 for construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities. Amends Federal highway law to make ferry maintenance (currently, only terminal) facilities eligible for Federal funding. Amends Federal transportation law to include ferries within the Federal clean fuels program. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish a Ferry Joint Program Office to coordinate Federal programs affecting ferry boat and facility construction, maintenance, and operation, and to promote ferry service as a component of the Nation's transportation system; (2) maintain a national ferry database containing ferry routes, vessels, passengers and vehicles carried, funding sources, and related information; and (3) make grants to an institution of higher education to establish a National Ferry Transportation Institute for research, development, training programs, etc. relating to U.S. ferry transportation systems.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2003
Congaree National Park Act of 2003 - Establishes Congaree National Park, which shall be composed of the Congaree Swamp National Monument and approximately 4,576 acres of adjacent land in South Carolina. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire land for inclusion in the Park by donation, purchase from a willing seller, transfer, or exchange. Limits the Park's total area to 30,000 acres. Requires the Secretary to: (1) submit a general management plan for the Park to specified congressional committees; and (2) permit sport fishing within the Park. Designates the Congaree Swamp National Monument Wilderness as the Congaree National Park Wilderness.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2003
Quality Cancer Care Preservation Act - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise the payment amount for covered drugs and biologicals furnished during a calendar quarter that are not paid on a cost or prospective payment basis. Changes such amount from 95 percent of the average wholesale price to 120 percent of the average sales price of the drug or biological for the second preceding calendar quarter. Requires drug manufacturers to report average sales prices each calendar quarter for covered drugs and biologicals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) revise the practice expense relative value units for drug administration services (including chemotherapy administration services) in accordance with this Act to determine the units to be used in determining the fee schedule amounts paid for drug administration services under the Medicare program; (2) recognize and make payments under Medicare for chemotherapy support services furnished incident to physicians' services; (3) recognize and establish a payment amount for the service of cancer therapy management to account for the greater pre-service and post-service work associated with visits and consultations conducted by physicians treating cancer patients compared to typical visits and consultations; and (4) develop a revised methodology for determining the payment amounts for services that are paid under the Medicare fee schedule and that do not have physician work relative value units, including radiation oncology services. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide that if the Secretary requires direct supervision of a service by a physician, that supervision requirement may be fulfilled by one or more physicians other than the physician who ordered the service.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Permits one additional advance refunding of certain tax-exempt bonds, of which the net proceeds are used to finance the costs of electric generation, transmission, or distribution assets owned by the issuer or by a consortium of State or local governments which includes the issuer. Sets certain conditions the bonds must meet to qualify for the advance refunding.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2003
Wrongful Death Accountability Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to revise requirements for citations and penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2003
Consumer Product Safety Commission Reauthorization Act of 2003 - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to extend through FY 2007 the authorization of appropriations for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Authorizes CPSC to hire and maintain a full-time equivalent staff of 471 persons in each of FY 2004 through 2007. Revises provisions relating to an Executive Director, a General Counsel, and certain Associate Executive Directors for various CPSC Offices.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2003
FCC Reauthorization Act of 2003 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize appropriations for the FCC for FY 2004 through 2007. Directs the FCC to conduct audits and investigations with regard to educational providers and libraries' compliance with Internet safety (blocking and filtering) policies required in order to receive discounted rates for telecommunications services. Directs the FCC to review its broadcast ownership rules every five (currently two) years. Increases: (1) civil penalties for the violation of broadcast license or regulatory requirements for broadcast and multichannel video providers, common telecommunications carriers, and others; and (2) the statute of limitations with respect to such violations. Allows the FCC to fix attorney's fees in FCC proceedings of recovery against common carriers. Mandates that Federal bankruptcy law shall not be applied in actions against broadcast licensees for license or regulatory violations. Prohibits FCC members or employees from receiving travel reimbursement payments from nongovernmental sponsors. Applies certain Federal post-employment restrictions to specified FCC positions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2003
Authorizes the President to present to Dr. Dorothy Height (President of the National Council of Negro Women) a congressional gold medal in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) at the 55th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission the United States should remain firmly opposed to commercial whaling, and take other specified related steps; (2) at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the United States should oppose all efforts to reopen international trade in whale meat or to downlist any whale population; and (3) the United States should make full use of all appropriate diplomatic mechanisms, relevant international laws and agreements, and other appropriate mechanisms to implement these goals. Urges the United States to take appropriate steps to convince foreign countries whose nationals are engaging in trade in whale meat or a taking which diminishes the effectiveness of the Convention to cease such trade or taking.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Federal Trade Commission Reauthorization Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to authorize appropriations for the Commission (FTC) through FY 2006. Authorizes the FTC to accept payment from a domestic or foreign law enforcement authority for expenses incurred in carrying out FTC activities; and (2) accept unconditional gifts, donations, bequests, and voluntary and uncompensated services if such acceptance would not create a conflict of interest. Authorizes the FTC: (1) to share material with a foreign law enforcement agency upon prior certification that the material will be maintained in confidence and used only for official law enforcement purposes; and (2) upon request from such an agency, to conduct an investigation and seek and accept appointment by a U.S. district court of FTC attorneys to assist foreign and international tribunals and litigants, if the requesting agency is investigating or enforcing possible prohibitions against fraudulent or unfair commercial conduct. Includes the FTC among the agencies for which the exchange of records of and reports on financial institutions is permitted under RFPA. Allows the FTC to designate FTC attorneys to assist the Department of Justice in connection with litigation in foreign courts in which the FTC has an interest. Makes remedies currently available to the FTC regarding unfair and deceptive acts applicable to such acts involving foreign commerce that cause injury within, or that involve material conduct occurring within, the United States. Allows the FTC to refer evidence involving foreign persons or corporations for criminal proceedings. Authorizes staff exchanges with, and expenditures for cooperative arrangements with, foreign government agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Federal Maritime Commission Authorization Act of 2003 - Authorizes appropriations to the Federal Maritime Commission for FY 2004 and 2005. Amends the Reorganization Plan No. 7 of 1961 to require the President's appointment of the Commission Chairman to be by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Directs the Commission to report to specified congressional committees on: (1) the status of any agreements, or ongoing discussions with, other Federal, State, or local government agencies concerning the sharing of ocean shipping information for the purpose of assisting law enforcement or anti-terrorism efforts; and (2) how the Commission and other Federal agencies could better utilize the Commission's ocean shipping information to improve port security.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2003
Oceans and Human Health Act - Provides for coordination and support of Federal interagency ocean science programs, including research and monitoring on the oceans' role in human health. Amends the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization, and Priorities Act of 1976 with respect to the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). Directs NSTC to: (1)coordinate and support a national research program on Oceans and Human Health (interagency OHH); and (2) establish a Committee on OHH. Directs the NSTC Chair, through the Committee on OHH, to submit to Congress a program implementation plan containing certain required program activities, including coordination with the National Ocean Research Leadership Council. Directs the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), as part of the interagency OHH, to establish an OHH Program to coordinate and implement NOAA research and activities related to OHH, including an advisory panel. Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance to: (1) one or more national centers of excellence to strengthen NOAA's OHH programs and activities; and (2) support distinguished scholars from academic institutions, industry, or State governments for collaborative work with NOAA scientists and facilities. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide grants for critical research and projects on OHH; and (2) establish an OHH traineeship program for scientists at the beginning of their careers. Directs the Secretary to design and implement a national public information and outreach program on potential ocean-related human health risks, including those associated with seafood. Directs the Secretary to assess health risks related to seafood, with comparisons based on harvesting and processing (domestic or imported; commercial or recreational) and on contamination originating from practices prior to and after sale.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2003
Medicare Beneficiary Access to Rehabilitation Facilities Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to prospective payment for inpatient rehabilitation services to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services by regulation to define the terms "rehabilitation hospital" and "rehabilitation unit" in a manner fully consistent with all the rehabilitation impairment categories (except miscellaneous) used to classify patients into case-mix groups. Requires the Secretary to update these regulations periodically to ensure that they remain fully consistent with the rehabilitation impairment categories used to classify patients into case-mix groups. Prohibits the Secretary from seeking to recoup any overpayment, take any enforcement action, or to impose any sanction or penalty, with respect to a rehabilitation hospital, or a converted rehabilitation unit insofar as such overpayment, enforcement action, sanction or penalty, is for failure to satisfy the requirement that 75 percent of the patients of the rehabilitation hospital or converted rehabilitation unit be in one or more of ten listed treatment categories (the 75 Percent Rule).
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2003
Commends the Francis Marion University Patriots for winning the 2003 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Men's Golf Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2003 - Prohibits road construction and road reconstruction in inventoried roadless areas of the National Forest System. Specifies exceptions, including because: (1) there is threat of a catastrophic event; (2) a natural resource restoration action is necessary; or (3) a Federal-aid highway project is in the public interest or is consistent with the purposes for which the land was reserved or acquired. Forbids timber from being cut, sold, or removed in an inventoried roadless area. Permits various exceptions, including for specified environmental reasons, if the responsible official determines that the cutting, sale, or removal of timber is expected to be infrequent. Declares that this Act does not: (1) revoke, suspend, or modify legal instruments and decisions concerning the use of NFS land made before January 12, 2001; (2) compel the amendment or revision of any land and resource management plan; or (3) apply to specified activities in the Tongass National Forest. States that the prohibitions and restrictions of this Act cannot be reconsidered, modified, or terminated under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Commends the Clemson University Tigers for winning the 2003 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men's Golf Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Designates the week of June 9, 2003, as National Oceans Week.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2003
Working Taxpayer Fairness Restoration Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the refundability of the child tax credit, to accelerate the increase to the 15 percent rate. Limits, to fair market value immediately following a transaction, the importation of net built-in loss by a corporation. Prohibits an allocation of any decrease in the adjusted basis of partnership property to stock in a corporation which is a partner in the partnership. Repeals part V (Financial Asset Securitization Investment Trusts) of subchapter M (Regulated Investment Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts). Expands the definition of a disqualified debt instrument with respect to deduction disallowance on certain debt instruments of corporations. Expands the authority to disallow deductions, credits, or other allowances under provisions disallowing such benefits due to acquisitions made to evade or avoid income tax. Amends provisions affecting passive foreign investment companies to state that the term "qualified portion" (of a shareholder's holding period) does not include any period if there is only a remote likelihood of an inclusion in gross income under subpart F (Controlled Foreign Income). Adds to the definition of the term "real estate investment trust" by stating that such term includes a corporation, trust, or association which is not a controlled entity. Directs the Secretary to establish a program requiring the payment of user fees, until September 30, 2013, for: (1) requests to the Internal Revenue Service for ruling letters, opinion letters, and determination letters; and (2) other similar requests.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2003
United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2003 - Re-establishes the position of United States Fire Administrator. Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize appropriations for the United States Fire Administration.
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 · 23 May 2003
Expresses the sense of the Senate that Social Security cost-of-living adjustments should not be reduced.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2003 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to: (1) study and describe the current state of science concerning the human health effects of exposure to asbestos and other durable fibers; and (2) make recommendations for uniform systems for asbestos exposure standards and protocols for detecting and measuring asbestos. Directs the Administrator to establish an Asbestos Policies Panel to study asbestos and other durable fibers. Directs the Administrator to study the status of the manufacture, processing, distribution, ownership, importation, and disposal of asbestos-containing products and contaminant-asbestos products. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations within one year which prohibit the manufacturing, processing, or distributing of asbestos-containing products, subject to limited exemption upon petition. Requires the disposal of asbestos-containing products within three years, except as specified. Requires the Administrator to establish a public awareness program concerning the dangers posed by these products and vermiculite insulation. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand research programs on diseases caused by asbestos exposure, particularly mesothelioma, asbestosis, and pleural injuries. Establishes and funds mesothelioma disease research and treatment centers.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
Highway Funding Equity Act of 2003 - Revises Federal highway funding minimum guarantee provisions. Requires the Secretary of Transportation, for each of FY 2004 through 2009, to allocate among the States amounts sufficient to ensure that the percentage for each State of the total apportionments for the fiscal year for the National Highway System (NHS), the high priority projects program, the Interstate maintenance program, the surface transportation program, metropolitan planning, the highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation program, the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program, the recreational trails program, the Appalachian development highway system, and the minimum guarantee equals or exceeds 95 percent of the ratio that the estimated tax payments to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (other than the Mass Transit Account) attributable to highway users in the State bears to such payments attributable to highway users in all States (with a specified exception for any State having a population density of less than 50 individuals per square mile). Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the programmatic distribution of NHS funds exceeding $2.8 billion; (2) the apportionment of the remainder of funds to the States; and (3) required adjustments where the sum of State percentages exceeds 100.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
National Cancer Act of 2003 - Provides a comprehensive Federal effort relating to treatments for and the prevention of cancer. Amends the Public Health Service Act to fund prevention, detection, and treatment programs of the National Cancer Institute, including translational cancer research (research needed to transform scientific discoveries into approaches and products to treat and cure cancer). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a research grant program to fund projects that seek to develop cancer treatments that target cancer cells. Addresses issues of cancer care, including: (1) clinical trial participation; (2) workforce needs; (3) cancer survivorship; (4) cancer care guidelines; (5) the supply of researchers; (6) a colorectal cancer screening demonstration program; and (7) an Institute of Medicine study on whether to provide medical coverage under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to certain cancer patients. Directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to submit to Congress a plan outlining steps to accelerate the process for reviewing and approving new cancer drugs and treatments. Requires health insurance plans covered by the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide: (1) coverage for clinical trials; (2) coverage of cancer screening, including tobacco and nutrition counseling and genetic testing; and (3) patient access to benefit information. Addresses issues of managing physicians and quality of care for cancer patients covered by such plans, including designating a lead managing physician. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to make grants for: (1) model programs to provide services for cancer and chronic diseases to individuals of health disparity populations; and (2) patient navigators for managing such care of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2003
Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2003 - Authorizes appointment of additional bankruptcy judgeships for specified States, including additional temporary bankruptcy judgeships for Puerto Rico, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Mississippi, and Georgia. Extends certain existing temporary bankruptcy judgeships in Alabama and. Tennessee. Converts the bankruptcy judgeship presently shared by the southern district and the middle district of Georgia to a bankruptcy judgeship for the middle district of Georgia. Converts to a permanent bankruptcy judgeship existing temporary bankruptcy judgeships for the districts of Delaware and Puerto Rico.
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
Access to Cancer Therapies Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend Medicare coverage to all oral drugs prescribed for use as an anticancer agent for a medically accepted indication.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Designates the week of August 10, 2003, as National Health Center Week.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Job Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the foreign sales corporation/extraterritorial income (FSC/ETI) exclusion, with an exemption for certain binding contracts in effect before the date of enactment of this Act. Permits a foreign corporation that elected to be treated as a domestic corporation to revoke such election and be treated as a domestic corporation transferring its property to a foreign corporation with no gain recognized on such transfer. Provides: (1) a transitional 2004 through 2008 sliding-scale deduction for an FSC/ETI beneficiary based on the corporation's 2001 FSC/ETI benefit; and (2) special rules for 2003 and for fiscal year taxpayers. Defines "FSC/ETI benefit." Allows a deduction for income attributable to U.S. production activities equal to ten percent of qualified production activities. Provides a 2006 through 2009 phase-in period. Defines "qualified production activities" as: (1) the portion of the modified taxable income attributable to domestic activities; and (2) the domestic/foreign fraction. Sets forth related provisions with respect to: (1) determination of income attributable to domestic production activities; (2) domestic production gross receipts; (3) qualifying production property; (4) domestic/foreign fraction; and (5) special rules.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2003
Over-the-Road Bus Security and Safety Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to private operators of over-the-road buses for specified system-wide security improvements to their operations, including the reimbursement of extraordinary security-related costs incurred since September 11, 2001. Requires: (1) an applicant private operator of over-the-road buses to submit to the Secretary a security improvements plan; and (2) an applicant for a grant for security improvements within a terminal owned and operated by an entity other than the applicant to demonstrate to the Secretary that the applicant has coordinated such improvements for the terminal with the entity. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees an assessment of the over-the-road bus security grant program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 - Amends the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) to replace the National Museum Services Board with a National Museum and Library Services Board, established in the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Requires the IMLS Director to: (1) ensure coordination with certain activities under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and other Federal activities; and (2) conduct and publish analyses of the impact of museum and library services. Revises requirements for annual national awards to outstanding libraries and museums that have made significant contributions in service to their communities. Entitles subchapter C of MLSA as the Museum Services Act. Amends the Library Services and Technology Act to provide for: (1) an increased portion for administrative costs; (2) an increased alternative minimum allotment to States under certain conditions; (3) State plans once every five years, as determined by the IMLS Director; (4) additional uses of grants to States for library programs; and (5) recruitment of library and information science personnel under the program of national leadership grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Amends the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Act with respect to contributions and membership. Amends the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act to increase maximum limits on liability amounts. Renames the Capital Children's Museum in Washington, D.C., the National Children's Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Sickle Cell Treatment Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to include primary and secondary preventative medical strategies, treatment, and services, including genetic counseling and testing, for individuals who have Sickle Cell Disease as medical assistance under the Medicaid program. Directs the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration to conduct a demonstration program for the development and establishment of systemic mechanisms, including a National Coordinating Center, to improve the prevention and treatment of Sickle Cell Disease.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Assure Access to Mammography Act of 2003 - Provides that, with respect to payment for a screening or diagnostic mammography furnished to a Medicare beneficiary, the amount of payment made to a hospital-based facility in which such screening or diagnostic mammography is performed during the applicable period is equal to 200 percent of the amount of payment that would otherwise apply under the Medicare fee schedule established under title XVIII of the Social Security Act with respect to the technical component of such screening or diagnostic mammography. Provides for not counting certain radiological residents against graduate medical education limitations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to enter into an arrangement with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study and report to the Secretary on Medicare reimbursement for gender-specific services. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to study and report to Congress on Medicare reimbursement for screening services.