United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2003
Radiation Detection for Dirty Bomb Material in Containers and Bulk Cargo Act of 2003 - Instructs the Secretary of Energy to implement a program to: (1) maintain and expand ongoing seaport and land radiation detection system projects; (2) use existing laboratory relationships and expertise in large-scale radiation monitoring systems; (3) evaluate radiation detection systems for use at seaports and places of entry by land in the United States; and (4) select at least one system for demonstration at a seaport and at a place of land entry. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct an evaluation of existing state-of-the-art systems that provide the highest degree of detection capability for radioactive sources hidden in sea freight containers or cargo crossing land borders; (2) emphasize the rapid development of existing technology and systems on completion of the evaluation; (3) develop standard procedures and protocols for detection and reporting of data collected from radiation collection systems; and (4) develop a national technical assistance program to share and propagate the experiences gained in conducting the program. Requires the Secretary to solicit the views of stakeholders, including the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee, local port authorities, the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, Inc., and the Health Physics Society; and (2) provide student internships to universities in States with significant seaports that focus on academic programs pertaining to radiation detection and radiation health physics.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2003
21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act - Directs the President to establish a National Nanotechnology Research Program. Requires such Program, through appropriate Federal agencies, councils, and the National Coordination Office, to: (1) establish goals, priorities, grand challenges (fundamental problems in science and engineering that will require the application of nanotechnology), and metrics for evaluating Federal nanotechnology research, development, and other activities; (2) invest in Federal research and development (R&D) programs in nanotechnology and related sciences to achieve those goals; and (3) provide for coordination of Federal nanotechnology activities. Requires the Program, through its participating agencies, to develop, fund, and manage Federal research programs concerning: (1) long-term basic nanoscience and engineering research; (2) essential grand challenges and interdisciplinary research and education teams; (3) interdisciplinary nanotechnology research centers; (4) research infrastructure and equipment; (5) the Center for Ethical, Societal, Educational, Legal, and Workforce Issues Related to Nanotechnology to be established by the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF); (6) technology transition; and (7) research areas identified by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) which are not being adequately addressed by the agencies' current research programs. Directs NSTC to: (1) oversee the planning, management, and coordination of the Program; (2) establish an Information Services and Applications Council; and (3) submit an annual report to Congress on the Program.. Directs the President to establish a National Nanotechnology Advisory Panel and a National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. Provides for the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a triennial evaluation of the Program. Requires the NSF Director to: (1) collect and disseminate studies on the societal, ethical, educational, and workforce implications of nanotechnology; and (2) collect data on the size of the anticipated nanotechnology workforce needed and assess the adequacy of the trained talent pool to fill such needs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2003
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 with respect to maximum individual amounts of Federal Pell Grant for academic years 2004-05 through 2009-10. (Current law provides $5,800 for 2003-04.) Increases such amount to $6,700 for 2004-05, and by increments in each of specified subsequent academic years, up to $11,600 for 2009-10. Requires a further increase in any such maximum Federal Pell Grant amount, by an amount sufficient to achieve a five percent increase in students' purchasing power relative to the cost of attendance at an institution of higher education, if the Secretary of Education determines that the amount authorized does not increase such purchasing power by at least five percent from one academic year to the next.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2003
Medicare Ambulance Payment Reform Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to payment for ambulance services to revise requirements for the establishment of a fee schedule. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a system for the coding of claims for ambulance services, including a code set specifying the medical condition of the individual transported by an ambulance and the appropriate level of transportation service.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2003
DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2003 - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) survey Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement jurisdictions to assess the amount of DNA evidence from sexual assault crimes that has not been subjected to testing and analysis; (2) review national, State, local, and tribal government protocols on the collection and processing of DNA evidence at crime scenes; and (3) make grants for sexual assault examiner programs, examiner training and certification, acquisition or improvement of forensic equipment, and other training. Amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to: (1) ensure that DNA testing and analysis of samples from rape kits and non-suspect cases are carried out in a timely manner; (2) reauthorize grants; (3) make local governments eligible for grants; (4) direct the Attorney General to give priority to a State or local governmental unit that has a significant rape kit or non-suspect case backlog; and (5) expand the scope of DNA samples subject to privacy protections. Amends: (1) the Federal criminal code and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to authorize "John Doe" DNA indictments for sexual abuse (allows describing a person as an unknown individual who has a particular DNA profile if the identity of the accused or defendant is unknown); and (2) the DNA Identification Act of 1994 to authorize appropriations to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to carry out a redesign of the Combined DNA Index System.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2003
Loan Forgiveness for Head Start Teachers Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend to certain Head Start teachers student loan forgiveness under both the Federal Family Education Loan program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2003
Authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in calculating the Federal cost for guaranteeing small business loans under the Small Business Act during FY 2003, to use the most recently approved subsidy cost model and methodology in conjunction with the program and economic assumptions, and historical data included in the FY 2003 budget. Requires the Small Business Administration, after written notification to Congress, to implement the validated, OMB-approved subsidy rate for FY 2003, using this model and methodology.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2003
Declares that, if the Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) for a State for FY 2003 is less than the FMAP for FY 2002, the FY 2002 FMAP shall be substituted for the State's FMAP for the third and fourth calendar quarters of FY 2003. Declares similarly that if a State's FY 2004 FMAP is less than the FY 2003 FMAP, the FY 2003 FMAP shall be substituted for each calendar quarter of FY 2004. Requires each eligible State for the third and fourth calendar quarters of FY 2003 and each calendar quarter of FY 2004 to have its FMAP increased by 2.45 percentage points. Mandates a specified Medicaid payment cap increase for territories. Prohibits application of the FMAP increases for a State under this Act with respect to: (1) disproportionate share hospital payments under Medicaid; and (2) payments under SSA titles IV and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP). Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services), for the purpose of providing State fiscal relief allotments to States and territories in accordance with a specified table, to make appropriations to be available for obligation by the State through June 30, 2005, and for expenditure by the State through September 30, 2005. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the most appropriate data and methodology to use to determine the Federal medical assistance percentage for purposes of programs authorized under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2003
Crane Conservation Act of 2003 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assistance for approved projects relating to the conservation of cranes, using amounts in the Crane Conservation Fund established by this Act. Allows a project proposal to be submitted by: (1) any wildlife management authority of a country that is located in the African, Asian, European, or North American range of a species of crane and carries out at least one activity that affects crane populations; (2) the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; and (3) any person or organization with demonstrated expertise in the conservation of cranes. Establishes the Crane Conservation Fund in the Multinational Species Conservation Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to convene an advisory group representing public and private organizations actively involved in the conservation of cranes to assist in carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2003
National AMBER Alert Network Act of 2003 - Requires the Attorney General to assign an AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice to act as the national Coordinator of the AMBER Alert communications network regarding abducted children. Requires the coordinator to: (1) seek to eliminate gaps in the network; (2) work with States to encourage the development of additional network elements and to ensure regional coordination; and (3) act as the nationwide point of contact for network development and for regional coordination of alerts on abducted children through the network. Directs the Coordinator to: (1) notify and consult with the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning each child abduction for which an AMBER Alert is issued; and (2) establish minimum standards for the issuance of alerts and for the extent of their dissemination (limited to the geographic areas most likely to facilitate the recovery of the abducted child). Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of notification or communications systems along highways for alerts and other information for the recovery of abducted children. Includes among permissible activities the development or enhancement of electronic message boards, and the placement of additional signage, along highways. Directs the Attorney General to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of programs and activities for the support of AMBER Alert communications plans.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2003
Expresses the sense of the Congress that there should continue to be parity between the adjustments in the compensation of members of the armed forces and the adjustments in the compensation of Federal civilian employees.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Community Choice in Real Estate Act of 2003 - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, and the Revised Statutes of the United States, to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Filipino Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 2003 - Authorizes: (1) payment of the full rate of compensation (currently, 50%) for the service-connected disability of members of the New Philippine Scouts (and their survivors) who served with U.S. armed forces during World War II and who now are U.S. citizens or lawfully reside in the United States; (2) full dependency and indemnity compensation for the surviving spouses of Filipino veterans who became U.S. citizens or lawfully resided in the United States; and (3) hospital and nursing home care and medical services for such veterans and new Philippine Scouts in the same manner as U.S. veterans. Limits the disability pension to $100 per month for such veterans who reside in the Philippines. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish care and services to veterans of World War II, Commonwealth Army veterans, and new Philippine Scouts for the treatment of service-connected disabilities and non-service connected disabilities of such veterans and scouts residing in the Philippines on an outpatient basis at the Manila VA Outpatient Clinic. Limits to $500,000 the amount to be expended during a fiscal year for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Veterans Health Care Funding Guarantee Act of 2003 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for FY 2005 120 percent of the amount obligated during FY 2002; and (2) adjust the amount provided after FY 2005 based on the number of enrolled veterans and the number of others eligible for and provided care and the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Repeals provisions which: (1) prohibit the appropriation, obligation, or use of funds for any Department of Veterans Affairs major medical facility project or lease unless such funds have been specifically authorized by law; (2) require the Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees a prospectus of a proposed medical facility involving an expenditure of more than $4 million or facility lease with an average annual rental of more than $600,000; and (3) require the Secretary to give Congress notice before obligating an amount of funds for a major medical facility project that would cause the total amount obligated to exceed the amount specified in the law for that project by more than 10 percent, and when proposing that funds be used for a purpose other than the purpose for which such funds were appropriated.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Constitutional Amendment - Grants victims of violent crime the rights: (1) to reasonable and timely notice of any public proceeding involving the crime and of any release or escape of the accused; (2) to not be excluded from such public proceeding and reasonably to be heard at public release, plea, sentencing, reprieve, and pardon proceedings; and (3) to adjudicative decisions that consider the victim's safety, interest in avoiding unreasonable delay, and just and timely claims to restitution from the offender. Prohibits any restriction of such rights except as dictated by a substantial interest in public safety or the administration of criminal justice, or by compelling necessity.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Directs the Secretary of Defense to permit any former member of the armed forces who is entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability rated total by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to travel on military aircraft to the same extent as retired members of the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise provisions concerning the timing of generic drug availability. Requires applicants (pharmaceutical companies) to register their patents with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within 30 days of approval (or issuance for subsequently issued patents). Makes failure to timely register a bar to civil actions for patent infringement. Requires applications for new drugs (NDA) or abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA) which rely upon investigations not conducted by or for the applicant and which concern a patent that claims both the drug and a method of use or more than one method of use to include a certification on a claim-by-claim basis that the patent is invalid or will not be infringed (known as a Paragraph IV filing/certification) by the new drug's (generic) manufacture and a statement regarding the method(s) of use claim. Prohibits (for subsequently issued patents) an extension of the 30 month stay of FDA approval for any new drug where an ANDA or NDA contains a Paragraph IV filing/certification and the patent holder indicates an intention to bring a patent infringement suit against the new (generic) drug's manufacturer. Makes failure to timely file a civil action for infringement a bar to later action. Requires the first generic applicant with a Paragraph IV filing to forfeit the 180 day marketing exclusivity period to a subsequent generic applicant if the first generic applicant engages in certain behaviors (forfeiture events) which delay or prevent the marketing of the generic drug. Revises notice requirements for Paragraph IV filings to include and protect certain proposed formulation, composition, or method of use information. Excludes an applicants's ability to pay damages from a court's consideration of whether or not to provide injunctive relief before the expiration of the 30 month stay of approval period.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Access to Affordable Health Care Act - Addresses health care access issues for small businesses, individuals and families, and rural and underserved areas. Addresses issues of the health care safety net, long-term care, the promotion of healthier lifestyles, and Medicare. Targets small businesses through tax credits for employee health insurance expenses and grants for health insurance purchasing groups, information dissemination, and access innovation. Targets individuals and families through health insurance cost credits and full premium deductibility for the self-employed. Renames the State Children's Health Insurance program as the FamilyCare program and revises the program, providing coverage for certain parents and optional coverage of legal immigrants and children through age 20 under the program and Medicaid. Revises restrictions, procedures, and allotments. Amends the Public Health Service Act to award State grants for the creation of high risk pools. Expresses the sense of the Senate that appropriations for consolidated health centers and the National Health Service Corps under the Public Health Service Act should be doubled over the next five fiscal years. Targets rural and underserved areas through revisions to the loan repayment and scholarship programs of the National Health Service Corps. Targets long-term care through Internal Revenue Code amendments concerning specified credits, deductions, and model provisions. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) make grants to States for community partnership healthy lifestyle activities and small business worksite wellness programs; (2) expand comprehensive school health education programs; and (3) establish Medicare demonstration projects providing bonus payments for high-quality, low-cost inpatient hospital or physician's services and clinical practitioners to hospitals serving beneficiaries in underserved areas.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Veterans and Military Personnel Fairness Act of 2003 - Removes, for months beginning on or after October 1, 2003, the requirement that qualifying offsetting legislation be enacted before a member or former member of the armed forces may be paid military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation concurrently without deduction. Repeals, as of such date, a special compensation program for certain severely disabled military retirees. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for FY 2005 120 percent of the amount obligated during FY 2003; and (2) adjust the amount provided after FY 2005 based on the number of enrolled veterans and the number of others eligible for and provided care and the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income as a qualified military benefit the amount of the death gratuity payable under chapter 75 of title 10 of the United States Code, effective with respect to deaths occurring after September 10, 2001. Authorizes a member of the uniformed services or the Foreign Service serving on "qualified official extended duty" to extend for ten years the five-year period utilized in determining full exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence. Exempts amounts received under the Homeowners Assistance Program from: (1) inclusion as gross income; and (2) consideration as wages for Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax purposes (including Medicare). Extends combat zone filing rules to contingency operations. Provides a deduction for itemizers and non-itemizers for unreimbursed overnight travel, meals, and lodging expenses of National Guard and Reserve members who must travel as part of their official duties. States that all property of a "covered expatriate" shall be treated as sold on the day before the "expatriation date" for its fair market value. Permits an individual to make an irrevocable decision to be taxed as a U.S. citizen with respect to all property otherwise covered by the expatriation provisions. Excludes certain U.S. real property interests from the provisions of this Act. Subjects retirement plans to the provisions of this Act. Includes in a recipient's gross income the value of property received by gift or bequest from a covered expatriate, with exceptions. Establishes IRS service user fee authority through September 30, 2012. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny a former citizen reentry into the United States for noncompliance with the provisions of this Act. (Current law denies reentry based upon tax-motivated expatriation.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2003 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the Federal minimum wage to: (1) $5.90 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after enactment of this Act; and (2) $6.65 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day. Makes Federal minimum wage requirements applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Sets forth a transition period during which a specified minimum wage there shall be gradually increased to equal the Federal minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide: (1) emergency financial assistance to agricultural producers (without regard to Federal crop insurance coverage) who have incurred qualifying 2001 and/or 2002 crop losses due to weather or related conditions; and (2) payments to livestock producers who have incurred 2001 and/or 2002 losses in an emergency-designated county, with set-asides for the American Indian livestock program.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Repeals provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 amending the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program under the Public Health Service Act. Repeals modifications to the definitions of manufacturer and vaccine-related injury or death and an added definition of vaccine. States that this Act shall be deemed to have taken effect as though enacted as part of the enactment of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages (such FLSA provisions are also known as the Equal Pay Act) to: (1) add nonretaliation requirements; (2) increase penalties; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Directs the Secretary to provide for certain studies, information, national summit, and guidelines, awards, and assistance for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria. Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect certain pay information.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Good Samaritan Hunger Relief Tax Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth a special rule allowing a charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Includes as an employee, for purposes of Federal provisions authorizing enrollment under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: (1) a member of the armed forces who began service before June 7, 1956, and retired after a minimum of 20 years of such service or by reason of a service-connected disability; and (2) the surviving widow or widower of such member. Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide FEHB coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Equal Rights and Equal Dignity for Americans Act of 2003 - Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Attorney General (AG), upon request, to provide assistance with the investigation or prosecution of any crime that constitutes: (1) a Federal crime of violence; (2) a felony under State or Indian tribal law; and (3) is motivated by prejudice based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability, or is a violation of State or Indian tribe hate crime laws. Amends the Federal criminal code to provide criminal penalties for certain hate crimes. Authorizes funding for enforcing civil rights laws and for indigent defense. Indian Trust Asset and Trust Fund Management and Reform Act of 2003 - Amends the American Indian Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 to expand the annual audit responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior. Prescribes guidelines for development and implementation of an Indian Trust Fund and Trust Asset Management and Monitoring Plan. Establishes the position of Deputy Secretary for Trust Management and Reform to oversee all trust fund and trust asset matters of the Department of the Interior. Establishes the Office of Trust Reform Implementation and Oversight, headed by the Deputy Secretary, to supervise activities of specified senior officials who administer Indian trust assets or funds. Instructs the Deputy Secretary to establish a Tribal Task Force on Trust Reform. Expresses the sense of the Senate that Congress should enact legislation: (1) to ban the practice of racial profiling; and (2) to require law enforcement agencies to take steps to prevent the practice. Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to revamp proscriptions against sex discrimination in wages. Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2003 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities. Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act - Amends the following Acts to prohibit specified discriminatory practices concerning genetic information: (1) the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974; (2) the Public Health Service Act; (3) the Internal Revenue Code; and (4) title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act . Protecting Americans' Medical Privacy Act - States that specified modifications made by the August 2002 medical privacy rule to the December 2000 medical privacy rule governing consent for uses or disclosures for treatment, payment, or health care operations shall have no force or effect. Prohibits the collection of information on U.S. citizens inside the United States for intelligence or law enforcement purposes by any member of the Armed Forces or civilian employee of the Department of Defense. Help America Vote Act of 2002 (sic) - Authorizes appropriations to implement the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and the Help America Vote Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2002
Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to revise the direct loan minimum interest rate determination for low-income limited resource borrowers.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2002
Condemns any publication or program that lends legitimacy to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Expresses the belief that such heinous propaganda, especially in the Arab world, incites popular sentiment against Jews and the State of Israel, rather than promoting religious tolerance and preparing Arab populations for peace with Israel. Commends the Department of State for denouncing the "Horseman Without a Horse" television series. Urges the Government of Egypt and other Arab governments: (1) not to permit their government-controlled television stations to broadcast this program or other racist and untrue material; and (2) to vigorously and publicly condemn anti-Semitism as a form of bigotry.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2002
Protection of Family Farmers and Family Fishermen Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal Bankruptcy Code to reenact Chapter 12, Adjustment of Debts of a Family Farmer with Regular Annual Income (thus reinstating permanently family farmer bankruptcy relief). Provides periodic adjustments for inflation of the debt limit for family farmers. Cites circumstances under which the claim of a governmental unit that arises from the disposition of a farm asset used in the debtor's farming operation shall be treated as an unsecured claim not entitled to priority. Increases from $1.5 million to $3.237 million the maximum aggregate debt that permits a farming operation to qualify as a family farming operation for debt adjustment purposes. Decreases from 80 percent to 50 percent the minimum percentage of aggregate, noncontingent liquidated debts arising out of such a farming operation. Repeals the requirement that a family farmer and spouse receive over 50 percent of income from farming operations in the year before a bankruptcy petition is filed. Prohibits: (1) retroactive assessment of disposable income; and (2) post-confirmation modification of a bankruptcy plan that would increase the amount of payments that were due before such modification. Requires debtor's consent for post-confirmation increase in payments. Extends Chapter 12 coverage to family fishermen whose aggregate debts do not exceed $1.5 million, of which at least 80 percent of aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debts arise out of a commercial fishing operation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2002
Renewal Community Tax Benefit Improvement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code concerning the renewal community employment credit to permit employers in a renewal community to also qualify by employing residents of certain other renewal communities (within the same State).
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2002
Authorizes the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in calculating the Federal cost for guaranteeing small business loans under the Small Business Act during FY 2003, to use: (1) the most recently approved subsidy cost model and methodology in conjunction with the program and economic assumptions; and (2) historical data included in the FY 2003 budget. Requires the Small Business Administration (SBA), after written notification to Congress, to implement the validated, OMB-approved rate for FY 2003. Amends the Department of Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States Act, 2002 to allow funds appropriated to the SBA for emergency expenses to also be used for such loan guarantee subsidies.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2002
Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Building Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to award a grant to Neighborhood House of St. Paul, Minnesota, to finance the construction of a new community center in St. Paul, to be known as the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Building.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2002
Stable Transitions in Education for Armed Services' Dependent Youth Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a five-year demonstration program for competitive matching grants to eligible State educational agencies (SEAs) for subgrants to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish and maintain high quality military charter schools as independent public elementary or secondary schools in areas of greatest need. Requires the commander of each military installation served by such a school to establish a nonprofit corporation or an oversight group to provide the applicable LEA with oversight and guidance regarding the day-to-day operations of the school. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award at least four grants in each fiscal year to establish or improve innovative credit enhancement initiatives that assist military charter schools in acquiring, constructing, and renovating facilities. Requires such grants to be made to eligible entities, which may be a public entity such as a military installation, a private nonprofit entity, or a consortium of those two types of entities. Includes among requirements for military charter schools: (1) an admissions policy providing for at least 60 percent and at most 80 percent military dependent students, except where such percentages are impossible to maintain because of the demographics of the area around the military installation; (2) an intensive high-quality program including practices relating to the academic-passport concept to ease transitions for mobile students; and (3) a curriculum aligned with State student performance standards which may incorporate a curriculum from the Department of Defense Education Activity.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2002
Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act of 2002 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that a public safety officer who dies as the direct and proximate result of a heart attack or stroke suffered while on duty or within 24 hours after participating in a training exercise or responding to an emergency situation shall be presumed to have died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty, for purposes of survivor benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2002
Mourns the death of Stephen E. Ambrose, and expresses condolences to his wife and five children. Salutes the excellence of Ambrose at capturing in words the greatness of the American spirit.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2002
Designates Thursday, November 21, 2002, as Feed America Thursday. Calls upon the U.S. people to sacrifice two meals on such day and to donate the money they would have spent on such meals to a religious or charitable organization of their choice for the purpose of feeding the hungry.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2002
Patient Abuse Prevention Act - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the screening of skilled nursing facility and nursing facility employee applicants with criminal background checks to prevent abuse of recipients of long-term care services under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Amends SSA title XVIII part D (Miscellaneous Provisions) to provide for application of skilled nursing facility abuse prevention requirements to any provider of services or any other entity that is eligible to be paid under Medicare for providing home health services, hospice care, or long-term care services to an individual entitled to benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) or enrolled under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Amends SSA title XI to provide for inclusion of abusive workers in the database established as part of the national health care fraud and abuse data collection program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program to provide grants to develop information on best practices in patient abuse prevention training for managers and staff of hospital and health care facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2002
Reservists and Guardsmen Pay Protection Act of 2002 - Entitles a person who is absent from his or her position of Federal employment to perform service in the uniformed services or the National Guard to receive from his or her agency an amount that, when added to the pay and allowances for such service, equals the basic pay for such period of service. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that, for purposes of the general business credit, the Ready Reserve-National Guard employee credit for any taxable year is 50 percent of the actual compensation amount for the taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2002
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) suspend the tax-exempt status of an organization designated by an Executive order as a terrorist organization; (2) prohibit taking a deduction for a contribution to any such organization; (3) prohibit challenging such a suspension or denial in any administrative or judicial proceeding relating to Federal tax liability; and (4) provide any credit or refund due (with interest), in the case of an erroneous designation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2002
Renames title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting discrimination in education based on sex) the "Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act".
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2002
Foster Care Mentoring Act of 2002 - Amends title IV part B (Child-Welfare Services) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States to support the establishment or expansion and operation of programs using networks of public and private community entities to provide mentoring for children in foster care. Prescribes program implementation guidelines, including: (1) application requirements; (2) screening; (3) training; (4) educational requirements; (5) Federal and non-Federal share of funds for the Program; (6) considerations in awarding grants; and (7) use of funds. Sets forth a maximum grant amount to be awarded to a State. Mandates an annual status report to Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to award a competitive grant to an eligible entity to establish a National Hotline Service or Website to provide information to individuals interested in becoming mentors to youth in foster care. Instructs the Secretary of Education to implement a program to provide for the discharge or cancellation of the Federal student loan indebtedness of an eligible mentor.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2002
No Taxation Without Representation Act of 2002 - 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.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2002
Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq - Expresses support for the President's efforts to: (1) strictly enforce through the United Nations Security Council all relevant Security Council resolutions applicable to Iraq; and (2) obtain prompt and decisive action by the Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its strategy of delay, evasion, and noncompliance and promptly and strictly complies with all relevant Security Council resolutions. Authorizes the President to use the U.S. armed forces to: (1) defend U.S. national security against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq. Directs the President, prior to or as soon as feasible (but not later than 48 hours) after exercising such authority, to make available to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate his determination that: (1) reliance on further diplomatic or peaceful means alone will not achieve the above purposes; and (2) acting pursuant to this resolution is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization for use of the armed forces, consistent with requirements of the War Powers Resolution. Requires the President to report to Congress at least every 60 days on matters relevant to this resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2002
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 - Amends the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (TEUCA, which is title II of the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002, PL107-147) to extend the TEUCA program through weeks of unemployment ending before July 1, 2003 (currently January 1, 2003). Entitles eligible individuals in all States to a total of 26 weeks of TEUCA compensation (13 weeks beyond the current 13 weeks). Provides an additional seven weeks of TEUCA benefits for workers in high unemployment States (entitling them to a total of 33, which is 20 weeks beyond the current 13). Applies a revised adjusted insured unemployment rate State trigger. Sets an additional TEUCA benefit period State trigger based on total unemployment rate.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2002
Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to establish a program to preserve and restore historic buildings and structures at historically black colleges and universities (institutions). Requires the Secretary, through the National Trust for Historic Preservation, to: (1) assess all such buildings and structures; (2) obtain an independent estimate of the complete cost of restoring them; and (3) determine the fiscal capacity of each institution to complete the restoration. Instructs the Secretary: (1) to award up to 15 grants each fiscal year to pay the Federal share of the cost of restoring such buildings and structures; and (2) in awarding such grants, to consider the relative severity of the threat to such a building's or structure's historic value and status. Requires grant recipients to agree to provide the non-Federal share and, for a period specified by the Secretary, to: (1) make no alteration to the building or structure without the Secretary's approval; (2) allow public access to the restored building or structure for interpretive and educational purposes; and (3) not receive other funds under the National Historic Preservation Act. Requires the non-Federal share of a project's cost to be 30 percent. Waives such non-Federal share for an institution that does not have an endowment or that has an endowment of under $50 million. Applies such waiver to any grant provided to an institution after November 12, 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2002
Reservist Opportunities and Protection of Education Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to declare that: (1) whenever a student who is a member of the National Guard or other reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States, or a member of such Armed Forces in a retired status, is called or ordered to active duty, the institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled shall grant the student a military leave of absence from the institution while the student is serving on active duty, and for one year after the conclusion of such service; (2) as a consequence of military leave, upon return, such student is entitled to restoration to his or her previous educational status with regard to academic credits earned, scholarships or grants awarded, or tuition and other fees paid; and (3) the student has the option of having tuition fees refunded, subject to a certain condition, or credited to the next period of enrollment.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2002
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out the hurricane and storm damage reduction project from Morganza, Louisiana, to the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River and its tributaries substantially in accordance with the plans and conditions described in the Report of the Chief of Engineers dated August 23, 2002.
![Official portrait of Sen. Landrieu, Mary L. [D-LA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000550_200.jpg)