United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2003
Fair Treatment and Due Process Protection Act of 2003 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require a State to which a family assistance grant is made to provide appropriate interpretation and translation services to individuals who lack English proficiency if the number or percentage of persons lacking English proficiency meets certain standards. Provides for a reduced family assistance grant as a penalty for States failing to provide such services. Requires a pre-sanction review process. Provides for a similar penalty for States not following such process. Revises data collection and reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct longitudinal studies of a representative sample of families that receive TANF assistance; and (2) ensure that public disclosure with respect to any information concerning TANF recipients or applicants is made in a manner that protects their privacy.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2003
Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to increase the imprisonment penalty for animal fighting violations from one year to two years. Makes it unlawful to sell, buy, transport, or deliver in interstate or foreign commerce a knife, gaff, or other sharp instrument used in a bird-fighting venture. Revises enforcement provisions. Permits euthanasia for an animal in extreme pain. Includes the Internet or any technology as interstate instrumentality.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2003
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to maintaining the security of all freedom-loving nations. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) strike such gold medal and to strike and sell duplicate bronze medals; and (2) deposit sums received from the sale of the bronze medals into the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2003
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a former member of the United States Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on March 26, 2003, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Moynihan.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2003
America's National Maritime Museum Designation Act - Amends the National Maritime Heritage Act of 1994 to: (1) revise the designation of museums composing the America's National Maritime Museum; and (2) designate specified new museums to be museums of the America's National Maritime Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2003
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 2003 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for certain educational costs. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; and (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other entities. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding termination of grants for hiring officers. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for local governmental units with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted for police officer retention.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2003
Commends and supports the efforts and leadership of the President, as Commander in Chief, in the conflict against Iraq. Commends, and expresses the gratitude of the Nation to all members of the United States Armed Forces (whether on active duty, in the National Guard, or in the Reserves) and the civilian employees who support their efforts, as well as the men and women of civilian national security agencies who are participating in the military operations in the Persian Gulf region, for their professional excellence, dedicated patriotism and exemplary bravery. Commends and expresses the gratitude of the Nation to the family members of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and civilians serving in operations against Iraq who have borne the burden of sacrifice and separation from their loved ones. Expresses the deep condolences of the Senate to the families of brave Americans who have lost their lives in this undertaking, over many years, against Iraq. Joins all Americans in remembering those who lost their lives during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in 1991, those still missing from that conflict, including Captain Scott Speicher, USN, and the thousands of Americans who have lost their lives in terrorist attacks over the years, and in the Global War on Terrorism. Expresses sincere gratitude to British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government for their courageous and steadfast support, as well as gratitude to other allied nations for their military support, logistical support, and other assistance in the campaign against Saddam Hussein's regime.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2003
Condemns the practice of execution by stoning as a gross violation of human rights, and appeals to the international community to end the practice. Requests the President to: (1) communicate this resolution formally to governments that permit this cruel punishment, and urge the termination of execution by stoning; and (2) direct the Secretary of State to work with the international community to promote adherence to international standards of human rights and repeal laws that permit execution by stoning.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2003
Child Care Quality Incentive Act of 2003 - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to revise requirements relating to child care payment rates. Requires States to conduct market rate surveys, at least once every two years, to determine their child care payment rates under the block grant program, including cost-of-living adjustments and consideration of variations in localities, children's ages, and types of services. Establishes a program of incentive grants to States and Indian tribes to improve the quality of, and access to, child care by increasing child care payment rates. Makes separate appropriations for such incentive grants in specified amounts for FY 2004 through FY 2008 (prohibiting use of block grant funds for such incentive grants). Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make an annual incentive grant payment to an eligible State only if the State has conducted a statistically valid survey of the market rates for child care services in the State within the two years before it submits an application containing information on such survey and the State's plans to increase its child care payment rates. Requires an eligible State that receives such a grant to make priority use of its funds to increase significantly (up to the 100th percentile of the market rate survey) the rate of reimbursement to providers for subsidized child care (with any remaining funds to be used to improve the quality of child care services). Requires a State matching contribution of at least 20 percent of incentive grant program activity costs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2003
Investment in America Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the credit for increasing research activities. Increases the alternative incremental credit rates. Provides an alternative credit for qualified research expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2003
Child Support Distribution Act of 2003 - Amends title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise requirements for: (1) denial of assistance to families that do not assign certain support rights to the State; and (2) the distribution of child support collected by States on behalf of children receiving certain welfare benefits. Reduces from $5,000 to $2,500 the amount of child support arrearage which shall trigger denial of a passport. Revises requirements for the use of the tax refund intercept program to collect past-due child support on behalf of non-minor children. Prohibits garnishment of certain compensation for a service-connected disability paid to a former member of the Armed Forces for: (1) alimony; or (2) child support less than 60 days in arrears. Permits no more than 50 percent of such compensation to be garnished to pay for such child support. Provides for mandatory review and adjustment of child support orders for families receiving TANF. Requires the Secretary to disclose new hire information to a State to assist in the administration of unemployment compensation programs. Provides for a payment rate increase to States for short term training of staff of State-licensed or State-approved child welfare agencies providing services.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2003
Commuter Benefits Equity Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase (to $190) and equalize the transportation and parking fringe benefits exclusion. Provides equal benefits to Federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 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. 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 and subject to enforcement action.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2003
Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay the applicable premium to continue in force during the duty period any qualified health benefits plan coverage of a member of the reserves who is called or ordered to active duty for more than 30 days during a war or national emergency. Prohibits the private health insurance issuer of such a member from declining coverage or re-enrollment, imposing re-enrollment exclusions, or increasing premiums during such benefits coverage continuation period.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2003
Access to Hospitals Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to repeal specified reductions after FY 2000 and thereby extend certain modifications to disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments provided under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000. Increases the Medicaid DSH allotment for the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2003
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2003 - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert; (3) the Grand Staircase and the Escalante Canyons; (4) Moab-LaSal Canyons; (5) Henry Mountains; (6) Glen Canyon; (7) San Juan-Anasazi; (8) Canyonlands Basin; (9) San Rafael Swell; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin. Sets forth administrative provisions regarding: (1) filing by the Secretary of the Interior of a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees; (2) the exchange of State-owned lands within such areas; (3) Federal reservation of water rights; (4) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness; (5) authorized livestock grazing; and (6) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2003
Brownfields Redevelopment Assistance Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to make grants for projects to alleviate or prevent conditions of excessive unemployment, underemployment, blight, and infrastructure deterioration associated with brownfield sites. Defines a "brownfield site," with exceptions, as real property the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. Defines eco-industrial development as development conducted in a manner in which businesses cooperate with each other and the local community to share resources efficiently (such as information, materials, water, energy infrastructure, and natural habitat) with the goals of economic gains, improved environmental quality, and equitable enhancement of human resources in businesses and local communities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2003
Constitutional Amendment - States that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Family Opportunity Act of 2003 or Dylan Lee James Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for them; and (2) provide for treatment of inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21 under waivers allowing for payment of part or all of the cost of home or community-based services. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to make appropriations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for special projects of regional and national significance for development and support of family-to-family health information centers. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility to certain Supplemental Security Income (SSA title XVI) beneficiaries under age 21.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
No Taxation Without Representation Act of 2003 - Provides for full voting representation in Congress for the residents of the District of Columbia, including two Senators and as many Representatives as a similarly populous State would be entitled to under the law. Treats the District of Columbia as a State. Prescribes a procedure for the first elections under this Act. Entitles the District to one Representative until the taking effect of the next reapportionment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2003
Direct Support Professional Recognition Resolution - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Government and the States should make it a priority to ensure a stable, quality direct support workforce for individuals with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities that advances national commitment to community integration for such individuals and personal security for them and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2003
Personnel Excellence for Children with Disabilities Act of 2003 - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to reauthorize and revise provisions for personnel preparation and professional development of special education teachers (SEs) and other educators. Revises and renames provisions for State program improvement grants as State Personnel and Professional Development Grants. Directs the Secretary of Education to allot such grants to State educational agencies to assist them, and their local educational agencies (LEAs) and their partners (including institutions of higher education and other entities), to support and improve their systems of personnel preparation and professional development for SEs in order to improve results for children with disabilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grant and contract awards to eligible entities (partnerships of LEAs and institutions of higher education with State-approved SE personnel programs, and additional entities) to develop professional development partnerships (PDPs) between such entities and elementary or secondary schools. Requires PDPs to use such grants to: (1) develop preservice teacher education for SEs; or (2) create or support professional development schools that provide specified services. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grant and contract awards to eligible entities (partnerships of LEAs and State-approved SE personnel preparation programs, and additional entities) to provide professional development, leadership training, and collaborative opportunities for general educators to ensure they have skills and knowledge to meet the needs of, and improve results for, children with disabilities. Revises requirements: (1) for personnel preparation to improve services and results for children with disabilities; and (2) to benefit children with high-incidence disabilities to include those with emotional or behavioral disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2003
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2003 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether State law provides specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the FLRA to issue regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in States that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the FLRA, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such FLRA regulations and authority through appropriate State courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes, or sickouts, work slowdowns, or other actions designed to compel agreement to a proposed contract which will measurably disrupt the delivery of emergency services. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2003
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give States the option to continue to operate under waivers between January 1, 2002, and September 30, 2008, with respect to provision of assistance under a State TANF plan.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2003
Housing Bond and Credit Modernization and Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the required use of certain principal repayments on mortgage subsidy bond financings to redeem bonds; (2) modify the purchase price limitation under mortgage subsidy bond rules based on median family income; and (3) define the term "area median gross income" for low-income housing credit projects.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2003
Freedom's Way National Heritage Area Act - Establishes the Freedom's Way National Heritage Area encompassing 36 communities in Massachusetts and six communities in New Hampshire that have made important and distinctive contributions to the national character of America.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2003
Emergency Communications and Competition Act of 2003 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assign licenses in the 12.2 -12.7 gigahertz band for the provision of fixed terrestrial communications services. Prohibits: (1) granting such a license if operations would interfere with direct broadcast satellite service; or (2) such licenses from being used for the provision of personal communications or terrestrial telephony service. Requires licensees to begin providing services within five years after the license is granted. Requires each licensee to: (1) disseminate Federal, State, and local Emergency Alert System warnings to all subscribers; (2) provide immediate access of its services for national security and emergency preparedness personnel; and (3) adhere to all FCC-established access requirements, including the carriage of local television station signals, access for political candidates, and public interest programming and services. Directs the FCC to: (1) establish boundaries for license recipients that conform to existing television markets; and (2) redesignate the Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service as the Terrestrial Direct Broadcast Service.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2003
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the Medicare outpatient rehabilitation therapy cap.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2003
Milk Import Tariff Equity Act - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to impose tariff-rate quotas (quantitative import limits) and provide various duty rates on certain casein, caseinates, milk protein concentrate, and other casein derivatives and glues imported into the United States (except imports from Mexico). Authorizes the President to: (1) enter into a trade agreement with a foreign country to grant new concessions as compensation in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions; and (2) proclaim any necessary modification or continuance of any existing duty, or continuance of existing duty-free or excise treatment, or any quantitative limitation. Sets forth certain limits on the reduction of duties on such products.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2003
Alzheimer's Disease Research, Prevention, and Care Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the purposes of the National Institute on Aging by making Alzheimer's disease research a priority. Requires the Director of the Institute to: (1) undertake an Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Initiative, including accelerating the discovery of new risk and protective factors, rapidly identifying therapies and preventive interventions, and implementing effective prevention and treatment strategies; (2) conduct and support cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's; and (3) conduct, or make grants to conduct, research concerning early detection and diagnosis, the relationship between Alzheimer's and vascular disease, and interventions designed to help caregivers. Authorizes the Director to establish a National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center to facilitate collaboration among Alzheimer's Disease Centers and Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 through FY 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants or cooperative agreements to an agency or organization capable of operating on a statewide basis to develop coordinated respite care programs. Defines "respite care" to mean planned or emergency care provided to a child or adult with a special need in order to provide temporary relief to the family caregiver of such child or adult. Instructs the Secretary to work cooperatively with existing Federal respite program officers to ensure coordination of services for family caregivers. Directs the Secretary to establish a review panel to make recommendations on applicants. Gives priority to applicants with the greatest likelihood of implementing or enhancing lifespan respite care statewide. Permits the use of funds for respite care services and training programs once a statewide program is in place and evaluated. Limits grants to five years. Requires funding to supplement, not supplant, existing government funds. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a National Resource Center on Lifespan Respite Care to maintain a national database and provide training, technical assistance, and information. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Firefighters Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to require the establishment of an office within the United States Fire Administration to administer the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Firefighter grant program under this Act. Authorizes the U.S. Fire Administrator to make direct four-year grants to State career, volunteer, and combination fire departments for staff increases in order to provide protection from terrorism and hazards. Specifies Federal grant contribution levels. Requires grantees to retain hired career firefighters for at least one year after grant termination. Terminates program authority ten years after enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) give preferential hiring to career firefighters where non-federal contributions exceed the minimums provided for by this Act; and (2) provide technical assistance to States, local governments, Indian tribes, and other public entities. Requires project evaluations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to designate a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System under the Wilderness Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act - Authorizes the President to present to the personal representative or next of kin of each individual who died on or after September 11, 2001, as a direct result of the act of terrorism within the United States on that date, a Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Congressional Medal in recognition of their sacrifice and to honor their deaths. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike: (1) three medals to honor victims of the attack at the World Trade Center (WTC), victims aboard United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania, and victims at the Pentagon; and (2) duplicate medals for presentation to each precinct house, firehouse, emergency response station, or other duty station or place of employment to which officers, emergency workers, and other employees of the U.S. Government and of State and local government agencies (including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) and others who responded to and perished as a direct result of the WTC attacks were assigned on September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Code Talkers Recognition Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the presentation of a congressional gold medal: (1) to persons, including specified individuals, who served as Sioux or Comanche Code Talkers during World War II; (2) honoring the Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I; and (3) to any other Native American member of the armed forces, identified by the Secretary of Defense, who served as a Code Talker in any foreign conflict in which the United States was involved during the 20th Century. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medals struck under this Act and to deposit the proceeds in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund to pay for the costs of the medals awarded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Medicare Improvements for Special Needs Beneficiaries Act of 2003 - Amends part C (Medicare+Choice) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) allow specialized Medicare+Choice plans for special needs beneficiaries to be any type of coordinated care plan; (2) provide for specialized Medicare+Choice plans for special needs beneficiaries; and (3) restrict enrollment for specialized Medicare+Choice plans to individuals within one or more classes of special needs beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2003 - Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish aquatic invasive species prevention requirements for vessels (including towed vessels) operating in U.S. waters. Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to promulgate regulations for ballast water management standards and certification procedures. Directs the Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force to establish a priority pathway management program that identifies those pathways that pose the highest risk for the introduction of aquatic invasive species unless further managed. Prohibits the importation of live aquatic organisms not in trade without specified screening and approval. Requires the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to construct and maintain a national dispersal barrier program to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in U.S. waterways. Provides for expansion of the Brown Tree Snake Control Program and Aquatic Nuisance Species Program information, education, and outreach activities. Requires the Task Force to establish a national subcommittee on nutria for its control. Requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and the U.S. Geological Survey (Administering Agencies) to develop and conduct a marine and freshwater research program to assess rates of, patterns of, and conditions surrounding introductions of nonnative aquatic species in aquatic ecosystems and efforts to prevent the introduction of, and detect and eradicate, such species. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a grant program to fund research, development, demonstration and verification of environmentally sound cost-effective technologies and methods to control and eradicate aquatic invasive species. Requires the Coast Guard and the EPA to develop a research program to support implementation of vessel pathway standards to prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species by vessels. Requires the National Science Foundation to establish a grant program for researchers at institutions of higher education and museums to carry out research in systematic and taxonomy. Requires the Invasive Species Council to coordinate with the Task Force to combat aquatic invasive species. Requires the Task Force to recommend to appropriate Federal agencies additions to the list of aquatic invasive species. Requires the Task Force, the Council, and the Secretary of State to ensure that international efforts to prevent, detect, monitor, assess, and control aquatic invasive species are coordinated with U.S. policies.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Condemns the selection of Libya to chair the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Commends the President for the principled position of the United States in objecting to and calling for a vote on Libya's chairmanship of the Commission. Calls on countries at various stages of democratization to: (1) demonstrate their commitment to human rights, democracy, peace and security; and (2) support efforts to reform the Commission. Calls on the President to instruct the Secretary of State to consult with the appropriate congressional committees regarding U.S. priorities and strategy for the 59th session of the Commission on Human Rights and its strategy and proposals for reform of the Commission. Calls on the President to issue an objection to the continued suspension of UN sanctions against Libya until the Government of Libya: (1) publicly accepts responsibility for the bombing of Pan American World Airways Flight 103; (2) provides appropriate compensation to the victims of the bombing; and (3) fully complies with all of the other requirements of the UN sanctions imposed as a result of Libya's orchestration of the bombing. Calls on the Secretary of State to engage UN Member States to support efforts to ensure that states that are gross violators of human rights, sponsors of terrorist activities, or subjects of United Nations sanctions are not elected to: (1) leadership positions in the UN General Assembly; or (2) membership or leadership positions on the UN Commission on Human Rights, the UN Security Council, or any other UN entity or affiliate.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Amends rule XLII (Employment Practices) of the Standing Rules of the Senate to prohibit employment discrimination in the Senate based on sexual orientation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2003
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the grave threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction demands that the United States develop a comprehensive and robust nonproliferation strategy that includes: (1) a broad international coalition; (2) prevention of theft or diversion of chemical weapons; (3) reinforcement of systems for export controls and interdiction; (4) talks with North Korea; (5) elimination of excess nuclear weapons in Russia and security of nuclear materials in Russia and the former Soviet states; (6) expansion of the Cooperative Threat Reduction program; (7) adequate funding for homeland security; and (8) the pursuit of transparency measures to enhance capabilities to detect nuclear weapons activity.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2003
American History and Civics Education Act of 2003 - Directs the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to award competitive grants to nonprofit educational institutions to establish: (1) Presidential Academies for Teaching of American History and Civics to offer workshops for teachers of American history and civics; and (2) Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics to offer workshops for outstanding students of American history and civics. Directs the NEH Chairperson to award a grant to an organization for the creation of a national alliance of elementary school and secondary school teachers of American history and civics.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2003
Safe School Food Act of 2003 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to revise and increase food safety requirements for the school lunch program under such Act and the school breakfast program under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (school meals programs). Revises requirements for State or local food safety inspections for school meals programs to increase their frequency to at least twice a year (currently once), and to require State audits and reports on such inspections. Requires school meals programs to include food safety requirements in their procurement contracts. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to require: (1) each vendor providing food to school meals programs to supply the Secretary with contact information on each school food supplier of that vendor; and (2) as appropriate, pathogen testing during production of foods purchased for school meals programs. Requires food safety planning by school meals programs, and provides training and technical assistance by the Department of Agriculture for such planning. Directs the Secretary to give appropriate persons an opportunity for voluntary actions to recall and collect food products served in school meals that may present a threat to the public, or, if such actions are not carried out in the required period and manner, require such persons to carry out specified actions, including immediate cessation of distribution of the food product to schools. Directs the Secretary to coordinate such actions with the Secretary of Health and Human Services in case of such actions with respect to food products regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee to help implement an information-sharing database or other method to provide State food safety coordinators and other appropriate persons with up-to-date information regarding food safety concerns relating to food manufacturing, processing, and packing facilities that produce any food purchased or acquired for school meals programs, including recalls by and enforcement actions against the facilities. Provides for designation of State food safety coordinators. Requires the Secretary to carry out certain procedures and take certain actions under the commodities distribution program to ensure the safety of commodities that are to be donated to school meals programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2003
Authorizes the President to award on behalf of Congress a gold medal to Joseph De Laine, Jr., to honor posthumously his father, Rev. Joseph Anthony De Laine (civil rights activist), for his contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2003
Training for Realtime Writers Act of 2003 - Directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to make competitive grants to eligible entities to promote training and placement of individuals, including individuals who have completed a court reporting training program, as realtime writers providing closed captioning in video programming. Sets forth priorities to be awarded in making grants. Limits grants to$1.5 million for a two-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2003
Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to terminate the authority for the establishment of a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., in the District of Columbia, on November 12, 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2003
Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2003
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand activities addressing inflammatory bowel disease, emphasizing genetic, animal model, and clinical research. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a national program of prevention and epidemiology concerning such disease, addressing its prevalence and public and professional awareness. Directs the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science to study public and private insurance standards for coverage of inflammatory bowel therapies. Directs the General Accounting Office to study problems inflammatory bowel disease patients have applying for disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2003
Senator Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2003 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit certain employee group health plans or related insurances providing both medical-surgical and mental health benefits from imposing mental health treatment limitations or financial requirements unless comparable limitations and requirements are imposed upon medical-surgical benefits. States that the foregoing shall not be construed as requiring a group health plan (or related insurances) to: (1) provide any mental health benefits; (2) prevent the medical management of mental health benefits; or (3) require the provision of specific mental health services, except to the extent that failure to provide such services would result in a disparity between the coverage of mental health and medical-surgical benefits. Exempts specified small employers from such requirements. Requires that, in the case of a group health plan that offers a participant or beneficiary two or more benefit package options, the coverage requirements shall be applied separately with respect to each such option. Provides that, in the case of a plan or insurance providing in-network mental health benefits, out-of-network mental health benefits need not be provided at parity to medical-surgical benefits, as long as in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and the plan or insurance provides reasonable access to in-network providers and facilities. Requires a General Accounting Office study of such requirements' effects upon health insurance costs, access, and quality and a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.
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