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United States · Official source
4,609 records where Sen. Lugar, Richard G. [R-IN] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2003
Expresses the condolences of the Senate on the death of the Honorable J. Strom Thurmond, former Senator and President Pro Tempore Emeritus from South Carolina.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Celebrates the centenary of the Rhodes Scholarships in the United States. Welcomes the establishment of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, and shares the Foundation's commitment to support initiatives aimed at increasing educational opportunities, fostering leadership, and promoting human resource development throughout Africa. Affirms the support of the United States for these worthy goals throughout the sub-Saharan region.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2003
Conservation Reserve Program Tax Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat conservation reserve program payments as real estate rentals and thus excluded from consideration in self-employment net earnings. Amends the Social Security Act to treat such payments similarly for purposes of old, age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2003
Benefits for Victims of International Terrorism Act of 2003 - Establishes the Benefits for Victims of International Terrorism Program under which monetary awards shall be made (in lieu of judgments in civil actions against the U.S. or foreign governments) to eligible individuals who are physically injured, killed, or held hostage as a result of an act of international terrorism. Places administration of the program in the Department of State. Prescribes a claims procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2003
Authorizes the President to present to Dr. Dorothy Height (President of the National Council of Negro Women) a congressional gold medal in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Puerto Rico Karst Conservation Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire land in or immediately adjacent to the Karst Region of Puerto Rico for the purpose of protecting and managing the tropical forest areas of the Region, with particular emphasis on water quality and protection of the aquifers. Authorizes the Secretary to use funds from the Puerto Rico Karst Conservation Fund (established by this Act) as well as funds under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978, the Forest Legacy Program, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Requires these lands to be managed in accordance with the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978. Makes all lands in such region eligible for inclusion in the Forest Legacy Program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable or educational purposes and which make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to continue to be treated as tax-exempt organizations so long as all of the active members of the recipient organization are full-time students at the college or university with which the recipient organization is associated.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Designates the years 2004 and 2005 as Years of Foreign Language Study, during which foreign language study is promoted and expanded in elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher learning, business, and government programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 - Declares that the purposes of the Act are to provide U.S. assistance for global development through the Millennium Challenge Corporation in a manner that: (1) promotes economic growth and the elimination of extreme poverty; and (2) strengthens good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people. Establishes in the executive branch the Millennium Challenge Corporation to provide assistance aimed at reducing extreme poverty to an eligible developing country that enters into a Millennium Challenge Contract with the Coporation establishing a multiyear plan for achieving economic growth, good governance, economic freedom, and investments in its people. Defines "eligible country" in terms of a country's commitment to democratic governance, economic freedom, and investment in its people (including educational opportunities and health care for all of its citizens). Establishes a Millennium Challenge Account for the receipt of funds authorized to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2003
Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 - Prohibits the importation into the United States of any article that is a product of Burma (Myanmar) until the President determines and certifies to Congress that Burma has taken certain democratic and counternarcotics actions. Authorizes the President to waive such requirements. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to direct any U.S. financial institution holding funds of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Burma or the assets of individuals who hold senior positions in the SPDC or its political arm, the Union Solidarity Development Association, to report those assets to the Office of Foreign Assets Control and take such action as may be necessary to secure them. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive director to each appropriate international financial institution to oppose any extension of a loan or financial or technical assistance to Burma until the requirements of this Act are met. Authorizes the President to deny visas and entry into the United States to the former and present leadership of the SPDC or the Union Solidarity Development Association. Urges the Secretary of State to use all appropriate fora, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum and Asian Nations Regional Forum, to encourage other states to restrict financial resources to the SPDC and Burmese companies while offering support to Burma's democratic movement, including the National League for Democracy and Burma's ethnic groups. Authorizes the President to assist Burmese democracy activists dedicated to nonviolent opposition to the regime in their efforts to promote freedom, democracy, and human rights in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
YMCA Healthy Teen Act - Directs the Attorney General to award a grant to the YMCA of the USA to make subgrants to local YMCAs for programs to promote healthy living among teenage youth.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 - Prohibits the importation into the United States of any article that is a product of Burma (Myanmar) until the President determines and certifies to Congress that Burma has taken certain democratic and counternarcotics actions. Authorizes the President to waive such requirements. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to direct any U.S. financial institution holding funds of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Burma or the assets of individuals who hold senior positions in the SPDC or its political arm, the Union Solidarity Development Association, to report those assets to the Office of Foreign Assets Control and take such action as may be necessary to secure them. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive director to each appropriate international financial institution to oppose any extension of a loan or financial or technical assistance to Burma until the requirements of this Act are met. Authorizes the President to deny visas and entry into the United States to the former and present leadership of the SPDC or the Union Solidarity Development Association. Urges the Secretary of State to use all appropriate fora, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum and Asian Nations Regional Forum, to encourage other states to restrict financial resources to the SPDC and Burmese companies while offering support to Burma's democratic movement, including the National League for Democracy and Burma's ethnic groups. Authorizes the President to assist Burmese democracy activists dedicated to nonviolent opposition to the regime in their efforts to promote freedom, democracy, and human rights in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Encouraging Work Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the work opportunity credit permanent. Modifies such credit by: (1) repealing the requirement that a "qualified ex-felon" be a member of a low-income (as specified) family; (2) increasing the maximum age for eligibility of food stamp recipients to 40 years; (3) redefining the term "vocational rehabilitation referral"; (4) adding "long-term family assistance recipients" (as defined) to the definition of "targeted groups"; and (5) increasing the maximum allowable credit for employment of long-term family assistance recipients. Repeals the separate welfare-to-work credit.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2003
Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act (or the IMPACT Act) - Amends the Public Health Service Act to address issues of overweight, obesity, and eating disorders. Expands an existing grant program for training for health profession students to include the treatment of overweight, obesity, and eating disorders. Creates a grant program for training for health professionals in such areas. Creates grant programs at the local level to promote increased physical activity and improved nutrition (in place of current law, which provides for grants to promote childhood nutrition and physical activity). Targets partnerships with businesses, schools, senior centers, day care facilities and other institutions. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to give priority in awarding grants to recipients who provide matching contributions. Permits the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to provide technical assistance to grantees. Allows the Secretary, acting through the National Center for Health Statistics, to provide for the collection and analysis of certain data, including data collected as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Permits the Secretary to: (1) make grants to States, public entities, and nonprofits to further the collection and analysis of such data; and (2) provide technical assistance to such grantees. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to request that the Institute of Medicine conduct a study or contract for a study on the food and nutrition programs run by the Department of Agriculture. Permits the use of preventive health and health services block grants for community education programs which promote healthy eating and exercise habits. Establishes reporting requirements with regard to: (1) obesity research; and (2) the national campaign to change children's health behaviors and reduce obesity.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 2003
Foreign Assistance Authorization Act, fiscal year 2004 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 to the President for development assistance and for the Child Survival and Health Programs Fund. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to establish in the Treasury a Development Credit Authority Program Account, with appropriations authorized for FY 2004, and to authorize FY 2004 appropriations for: (1) technical assistance to foreign governments and foreign central banks of developing or transitional countries; (2) international organizations and programs; (3) international disaster assistance; (4) famine assistance; (5) assistance for the independent states of the former Soviet Union, and for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States; and (6) operating expenses of the United States Agency for International Development. Establishes in the Treasury a Complex Foreign Crises Contingency Fund, with appropriations authorized for FY 2004. Authorizes FY 2004 appropriations for: (1) international narcotics control and law enforcement, especially for Colombia; (2) Economic Support Fund; (3) international military education and training; (4) peacekeeping operations; (5) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related assistance; and (6) foreign military financing program, particularly assistance to Israel and Egypt. Authorizes FY 2004 appropriations for: (1) the Inter-American Foundation; and (2) the African Development Foundation. Amends specified Federal laws to authorize FY 2004 appropriations for contributions to: (1) the seventh replenishment of the Asian Development Fund; (2) the thirteenth replenishment of the International Development Association; and (3) the ninth replenishment of the African Development Fund. Authorizes the President to make available certain FY 2003 funds for relief and reconstruction efforts in and around Iraq. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 with respect to: (1) development policy; (2) assistance for nongovernmental organizations; (3) authority for use of funds for unanticipated contingencies; (4) authority to accept lethal excess property; (5) reconstruction assistance under international disaster assistance authority; (6) funding authorities for assistance for the independent states of the former Soviet Union; (7) waiver of net proceeds resulting from disposal of U.S. defense articles provided to a foreign country on a grant basis; (8) transfer of certain obsolete or surplus defense articles in the war reserve stockpiles for allies to Israel; (9) additions to war reserve stockpiles for allies for FY 2004; (10) restrictions on economic support funds for Lebanon; (11) administration of justice; (12) demining programs; (13) special waiver authority; (14) prohibition of assistance for countries in default; (15) military coups; (16) alternative dispute resolution; (17) assistance for law enforcement forces; (18) special debt relief for the poorest; (19) the Congo Basin Forest Partnership; (20) landmine clearance programs; and (21) the Middle East Foundation. Amends the Arms Export Control Act with respect to: (1) thresholds for advance notice to Congress of sales or upgrades of defense articles, design and construction services, and major defense equipment; (2) the requirement for advance notice to Congress of comprehensive export authorizations; (3) an exception to bilateral agreement requirements for transfers of defense items within Australia; (4) authority to provide cataloging data and services to non-NATO countries; (5) Freedom Support Act permanent waiver authority; (6) extension of Pakistan waivers; (7) consolidation of reports on nonproliferation in South Asia; (8) the Haitian Coast Guard; (9) the sense of Congress relating to exports of defense items to the United Kingdom; and (10) marketing information for commercial communications satellites. Radiological Terrorism Threat Reduction Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of State to: (1) propose that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conclude agreements with up to eight countries for temporary international storage facilities for radioactive sources; (2) support a program to promote discovery, inventory, and recovery of radioactive sources; (3) assist the Government of the Russian Federation to substitute solar (or other non-nuclear) power sources for radioisotope thermal power units operated by the Russian Federation and other independent states of the former Soviet Union; (4) assist in development of foreign first responders to radioactive situations; and (5) submit threat assessment reports to the appropriate congressional committees. Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 2003 - Establishes a fellowship program in public health education or training. Directs the Secretary to support in-country training in laboratory techniques and syndrome surveillance. Authorizes the President to assist eligible developing countries in the purchase and maintenance of public health laboratory equipment, as well as communication equipment and information technology. Authorizes Federal agencies to assign public health personnel to U.S. missions and international organizations. Directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to: (1) increase the number of personnel assigned to CDCP or DOD infectious disease research laboratories; and (2) expand laboratory operations. Authorizes the President to assist in the development of regional health networks, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish new Foreign Epidemiology Training Programs. Amends specified Federal laws with respect to: (1) elimination and modification of certain reporting requirements; (2) certain claims for expropriation by the Government of Nicaragua; and (3) annual reports to Congress under the Arms Control and Disarmament Act. Declares the sense of Congress about support for Sierra Leone, Somalia, and the Central African States. Makes certain funds available to support independent media in Ethiopia and the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance Program. Specifies a condition on the provision of certain funds to Indonesia or the Indonesian Armed Forces. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to add certain countries of the Caribbean region to those for which U.S. activities relating to combatting HIV/AIDS require the direct approval of the Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally.
United States · United States Congress · 29 May 2003
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 - Declares that the purposes of the Act are to provide U.S. assistance for global development through Millennium Challenge Contracts in a manner that: (1) promotes economic growth and the elimination of extreme poverty; and (2) strengthens good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people. Authorizes the Secretary of State to provide assistance aimed at reducing extreme poverty to an eligible developing country that enters into a Millennium Challenge Contract with the United States establishing a multiyear plan for achieving economic growth, good governance, economic freedom, and investments in its people. Defines "eligible country" in terms of a country's commitment to democratic governance, economic freedom, and investment in its people (including educational opportunities and health care for all its citizens). Establishes a Millennium Challenge Account for receipt of funds authorized to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2003
Supports and applauds the Administration's efforts on behalf of the Nation's farmers, challenging the long-standing, unwarranted moratorium imposed by the European Union (EU) on the approval of agricultural biotechnology products. Encourages the President to continue to press this issue at the G-8 Summit in Evian, France, on June 1 through 3, 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2003
Expresses the sense of the Senate that Social Security cost-of-living adjustments should not be reduced.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
Highway Funding Equity Act of 2003 - Revises Federal highway funding minimum guarantee provisions. Requires the Secretary of Transportation, for each of FY 2004 through 2009, to allocate among the States amounts sufficient to ensure that the percentage for each State of the total apportionments for the fiscal year for the National Highway System (NHS), the high priority projects program, the Interstate maintenance program, the surface transportation program, metropolitan planning, the highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation program, the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program, the recreational trails program, the Appalachian development highway system, and the minimum guarantee equals or exceeds 95 percent of the ratio that the estimated tax payments to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (other than the Mass Transit Account) attributable to highway users in the State bears to such payments attributable to highway users in all States (with a specified exception for any State having a population density of less than 50 individuals per square mile). Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the programmatic distribution of NHS funds exceeding $2.8 billion; (2) the apportionment of the remainder of funds to the States; and (3) required adjustments where the sum of State percentages exceeds 100.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
Welcomes the President, Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to the United States. Expresses profound gratitude to the Government and the people of the Philippines for the expressions of support and sympathy provided after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and for the Philippines' strong cooperation in the on-going war against terrorism, membership in the coalition to disarm Iraq, and assistance to rebuild that country. Reaffirms the continued expansion of friendship and cooperation between the Governments and the people of the United States and the Philippines.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
Amends rule VII (Morning Business) of the Standing Rules of the Senate to require a Senator who provides notice to party leadership of his or her intention to object to proceeding to a motion or matter to disclose the notice of objection (or hold) in the Congressional Record in a section reserved for such notices within two session days after the date of the notice.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2003
Children's Express Lane to Health Coverage Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of providing that Medicaid or SCHIP financial eligibility requirements are met for children based on their eligibility for nutrition assistance or similar public programs with comparable income standards and methodologies.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2003
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Center Act - Authorizes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct at or near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site an education center for informing and educating the public about the Memorial. Considers the Center a commemorative work, but waives location and final approval requirements. Requires the center size to be limited to the minimum necessary to: (1) provide for appropriate educational and interpretive functions; (2) prevent interference with or encroachment on the Memorial; and (3) protect open space and visual sightlines on the Mall. Requires the center to be operated and maintained by the Secretary of the Interior.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2003
Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Associate Administrator of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to award grants for newborn screening education and training, including followup.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Designates the week of August 10, 2003, as National Health Center Week.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2003
Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option to expand coverage to certain pregnant women; (2) provide for enhanced matching funds with respect to certain pregnant women if certain conditions are met; (3) pay for such Medicaid expansion costs out of the SSA title XXI (State Child's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) allotment; and (4) no longer require that a newborn child be a member of the mother's household and that the mother remain eligible for Medicaid during the one year period after birth in order for the newborn child to continue to be eligible for Medicaid. Amends SSA title XXI to give certain States the option of providing pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income pregnant women in accordance with this Act, which includes: (1) automatic enrollment for children born to women receiving such pregnancy-related assistance; (2) additional allotments for providing coverage of pregnant women; and (3) no cost-sharing for pregnancy-related services. Provides for coordination of SCHIP with the program under SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services). Increases the income eligibility for low-income children under SCHIP. Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to review determinations, made by State agencies in connection with applications for benefits under this title on the basis of blindness or disability, that individuals who have attained 18 years of age are blind or disabled as of a specified onset date.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2003 - Provides that: (1) any person who engages in conduct that violates specified provisions of the Federal criminal code, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, or specified articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (conduct constituting certain Federal violent crimes), and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury to, a child who is in utero, shall be guilty of a separate offense (but prohibits imposition of the death penalty for such offense); and (2) the punishment for that separate offense shall be the same as that provided under Federal law for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother. Directs that if the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall be punished as provided under the Federal criminal code for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being. Bars prosecution under this Act: (1) for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law in a medical emergency; (2) for conduct relating to any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or (3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2003
United States Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Act of 2003 - Directs the President to develop a comprehensive, integrated five-year strategy to strengthen the capacity of the United States to be an effective leader of the international campaign against HIV/AIDS and to promote the stabilization or reduction of its global incidence and related morbidity and mortality. Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to provide for the establishment within the Department of State of a Coordinator of U.S. Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS. Establishes an Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally Fund. Authorizes the United States to participate in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Authorizes appropriations for U.S. contributions to the Fund and to specified vaccine initiatives. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to commence efforts with multilateral development institutions to modify the multilateral debt initiative for heavily indebted poor countries presented in the Report of G-7 Finance Ministers on the Cologne Debt Initiative to the Cologne Economic Summit to limit the debt of eligible countries, as specified. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to furnish assistance related to HIV/AIDS and assistance to prevent, treat, and eliminate tuberculosis and malaria. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to expand Department of Defense HIV/AIDS prevention educational activities. Expresses the sense of Congress that U.S. firms operating in countries affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic are in a position to make significant contributions to the U.S. effort through the voluntary adoption of specified principles and practices.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Better Nutrition for School Children Act of 2003 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to revise nutritional requirements for the school breakfast program under CNA and the school lunch program under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to base regulations for the school breakfast and lunch programs on sound nutritional science. Authorizes the Secretary, through such Federal regulations, to prohibit the sale of certain competitive foods in food service facilities or areas during the time of school breakfast or school lunch program service (by eliminating a provision of current law that bars such regulations from prohibiting such sale of competitive foods approved by the Secretary during such time). Requires Federal regulations relating to service of foods in schools participating in the breakfast or lunch programs to apply throughout the entire school, including the school grounds, until the end of the time of service of food under the school lunch program. Directs the Secretary, in promulgating such regulations, to consider: (1) the nutritional needs of students in various grade levels; (2) the proximity of any area where foods of minimal nutritional value may be sold, donated, or served without charge to the food service facilities or areas; (3) the extent to which students will likely substitute consumption of foods of minimal nutritional value for other food served in participating schools; and (4) the benefits to a school of permitting the sale, donation, or service without charge of foods of minimal nutritional value, including the extent to which the proceeds of such sales inure to the benefit of a school or an organization of students approved by a school.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Welcomes the Prime Minister of Singapore, His Excellency Goh Chok Tong, to the United States. Expresses the gratitude of Congress to the Government of Singapore for its expressions of sympathy and support after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and its demonstrated willingness to fully cooperate with the United States in the global campaign against terrorism. Reaffirms the commitment of Congress to the continued expansion of friendship and cooperation between the United States and Singapore.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify certain restaurant buildings as 15-year depreciable property.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins, which shall be emblematic of the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia (the first permanent English settlement in America). Provides for a $35 per coin surcharge for the $5 dollar coins and $10 per coin for the $1 dollar coins. Directs the Secretary to distribute: (1) 50 percent of the surcharges to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation of Virginia to support programs to promote the understanding of the legacies of Jamestown; and (2) 50 percent to sustain the ongoing mission of preserving Jamestown, to enhance national and international educational programs, to improve infrastructure and archeological research activities, and to conduct other programs to support the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown. States that entities specified for such purposes are the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, the President of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, and the Chairman of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2003
Designates August 7, 2003, as National Purple Heart Recognition Day (to demonstrate support for the Order of the Purple Heart for Military Merit).
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2003
Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2004 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 for: (1) the Department of State; and (2) U.S. international broadcasting activities. Amends Federal law with respect to certain Department of State basic authorities and activities, as well as educational, cultural, and public diplomacy authorities and activities, including the U.S. Diplomacy Center. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to authorize the Secretary of State to establish the Fellowship of Hope Program, for exchanges of U.S. Foreign Service members with their counterparts in certain foreign governments. Amends Federal law with respect to: (1) the organization and personnel of the Department of State; (2) international organizations; and (3) the designation of foreign terrorist organizations. Amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to direct the President to develop and report to specified congressional committees on an international information strategy with plans designed for major regions of the world, including a focus on those with significant Muslim populations. Authorizes the Secretary to expand certain educational and cultural exchanges, and establish an international secondary school student exchange visitor program, with emphasis on countries with significant Mulsim populations. Edward R. Murrow Fellowship Act - Establishes an Edward R. Murrow Fellowship program under which the Broadcasting Board of Governors shall provide fellowships to foreign national journalists while they serve, for a period of six months, in positions at the Voice of America, RFE/RL, Incorporated, or Radio Free Asia. International Parental Child Abduction Prevention Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny admission into the United States of aliens supporting international child abductors and relatives of such abductors. Provides for: (1) fellowships for multidisciplinary training on nonproliferation issues; (2) reports on U.S. policy toward Haiti and on victims of violent crime abroad; (3) reaffirmation of U.S. policy regarding the recognition of a Palestinian state; (4) annual grants to a Middle East Broadcasting Network; (5) the sense of Congress relating to international and economic support for a successor regime in Iraq; (6) pressure for full membership of the Magen David Adom Society in the International Red Cross Movement; (7) encouragement of U.S. international leadership and responsibility in reducing the health, environmental, and economic risks posed by climate change; and (8) reauthorization of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century Act - Amends the Peace Corps Act with respect to: (1) the independence of the Peace Corps; (2) increasing the number of volunteers; (3) special volunteer recruitment and placement for countries whose governments are seeking to foster greater understanding between their citizens and the United States; (4) volunteer training in prevention and treatment of infectious diseases; (5) the Peace Corps Advisory Council; (6) readjustment allowances; (7) programs and projects of returned Peace Corps volunteers to promote Peace Corps goals; and (8) reauthorization of the Peace Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Naturalization and Family Protection for Military Members Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act respecting naturalization through service in the armed forces to: (1) reduce the required service from three years to two years; (2) prohibit the imposition of a naturalization fee; and (3) qualify the Selective Reserve of the Ready Reserve for such benefits. Provides for overseas naturalization proceedings for members of the armed forces. Retains immediate relative status for the alien spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen who died from injury or disease incurred while serving honorably on active military service. (Requires petition filing within two years of such death.) States that an application for status adjustment by the alien spouse, child, or parent of an alien member of the armed forces who was granted service-related posthumous citizenship may be adjudicated as if the death had not occurred. (Requires application filing prior to such death.) Treats the spouse, child, or parent of a lawful permanent resident who was granted service-related posthumous citizenship as a valid petitioner for immediate family status. (Requires parent filing within two years of such death.) Permits such aliens to apply for permanent resident status adjustment. Waives specified grounds of inadmissibility.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Sickle Cell Treatment Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to include primary and secondary preventative medical strategies, treatment, and services, including genetic counseling and testing, for individuals who have Sickle Cell Disease as medical assistance under the Medicaid program. Directs the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration to conduct a demonstration program for the development and establishment of systemic mechanisms, including a National Coordinating Center, to improve the prevention and treatment of Sickle Cell Disease.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 2003 - Requires that priority for U.S. assistance under this Act be given to eligible developing countries that permit personnel from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to: (1) investigate outbreaks of infectious diseases on their territories; (2) provide early notification of disease outbreaks; and (3) provide pathogen surveillance data to appropriate U.S. agencies in addition to international health organizations. Prohibits any foreign national participating in programs under this Act from having access, during the course of such participation, to select agents that may be used as, or in, a biological weapon, except in a supervised and controlled setting. Establishes a program under which the Secretary of State may award fellowships to eligible nationals to pursue: (1) graduate courses of study leading to a master of public health degree with a concentration in epidemiology from an institution of higher education in the United States with a Center for Public Health Preparedness; or (2) advanced public health training in epidemiology to be carried out at the CDCP (or equivalent State facility), or other Federal facility (excluding the Department of Defense or United States National Laboratories), for a period of between six and 12 months. Allows each fellowship recipient also to study at the CDCP (or an equivalent facility) the diagnosis and containment of likely bioterrorism agents. Requires fellowship recipients to agree to return, upon completion of education or training, to their countries of nationality or last habitual residence (so long as it is an eligible developing country) and complete at least four years of employment in a public health position in the government or a nongovernmental, not-for-profit entity in that country or, with the Secretary's approval in an international health organization. Allows the Secretary, on a case-by-case basis, and if in the U.S. national interest, to provide for participation in the program of U.S. citizens who agree, upon completion of education or training, to work at least five years in a public health position in an eligible developing country or the WHO. Directs the Secretary to support short training courses in-country (not in the United States) to laboratory technicians and other public health personnel from eligible developing countries in: (1) laboratory techniques relating to the identification, diagnosis, and tracking of pathogens responsible for possible infectious disease outbreaks; and (2) techniques of syndrome surveillance reporting and rapid analysis of syndrome information using Geographic Information System (GIS) and other Internet-based tools. Authorizes the President to furnish assistance to eligible developing countries to purchase and maintain: (1) public health laboratory equipment necessary to collect, analyze, and identify expeditiously a broad array of pathogens, including mutant strains, which may cause disease outbreaks or may be used as a biological weapon; and (2) related communications equipment and information technology. Authorizes a Federal agency head, upon the request of a U.S. chief of diplomatic mission or an international health organization, and with the Secretary's concurrence, to assign to the respective U.S. mission or organization any public health officer or employee of the agency for the purpose of enhancing disease and pathogen surveillance efforts in developing countries. Directs the CDCP and the Department of Defense each to: (1) increase the number of personnel assigned to their respective laboratories located in eligible developing countries that conduct research and other activities with respect to infectious diseases; and (2) expand the operations of those laboratories, especially in the implementation of on-site training of foreign nationals and regional outreach efforts involving neighboring countries. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to: (1) enhance the surveillance and reporting capabilities for the WHO and existing regional health networks; and (2) develop new regional health networks. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish new country or regional Foreign Epidemiology Training Programs in eligible developing countries.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2003
Requests the President to designate April 11, 2003, as National Youth Service Day. Commends the contributions of American youth and encourages the cultivation of a common civic bond among young people dedicated to serving their neighbors, their communities, and the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2003
Honors Mary Jane Jenkins (wife of former Senate Chaplain, Reverend Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie).
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2003
Recognizes the Foreign Agricultural Service, and its contributions, employees, and partners, on March 10, 2003, the 50th anniversary of its establishment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
Medicare Rx Drug Discount and Security Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Voluntary Medicare Prescription Drug Discount and Security Program). Establishes, within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a Center for Medicare Prescription Drugs, headed by a Director of Medicare Prescription Drugs, to administer the Voluntary Medicare Outpatient Prescription Drug Discount and Security Program. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish this Program, under which an eligible beneficiary may voluntarily enroll in a prescription drug card plan offered by an eligible entity and endorsed by the Secretary and receive specified benefits, including a catastrophic benefit. Outlines enrollee protections. Makes the costs of providing program benefits payable from the Medicare Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Establishes a Medicare Competition and Prescription Drug Advisory Board. Amends SSA title XVIII part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) to provide for the exclusion of new part D costs from the determination of the Medicare part B monthly premium. Revises Medicare supplemental health insurance (Medigap) requirements with respect to revision of the 1991 National Association of Insurance Commissioners Model Regulation to accord with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005 - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of State for FY 2004 and 2005 for the administration of foreign affairs, international organizations and conferences, certain international commissions, migration and refugee assistance, and specified centers and foundations. Amends Federal law to. provide for: (1) grant authority to promote biotechnology; (2) immediate response facilities under the Secure Embassy Construction and Counterterrorism Act of 1999; (3) mine action programs grant authority; (4) a U.S. Diplomacy Center; and (5) public affairs grant authority. Amends Federal civil service law and the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to provide for: (1) cost of living allowances for State Department personnel; (2) a waiver of annuity limitations on re-employed foreign service annuitants; (3) a Fellowship of Hope Program; (4) claims for lost pay; (5) suspension or enforced leave of Foreign Service members; and (6) an Ombudsman for the Department of State. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to repeal the recertification requirement for Senior Foreign Service. Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 to raise the cap on peacekeeping contributions. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise requirements for designation of foreign terrorist organizations. Amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 to allow the use of Economic Support Funds to address the water needs of Southern Lebanon. Amends the Arms Export Control Act to: (1) raise the minimum thresholds for congressional notification of specified arms transfers; (2) authorize the President to waive any requirements for a bilateral agreement relating to licensing of defense exports; and (3) authorize appropriations for foreign military financing, international military education and training (IMET), and nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related programs. Provides for presidential authority to waive restrictions and eligibility requirements under the Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 1993 with respect to an independent state of the former Soviet Union for a fiscal year. Amends the Arms Export Control Act to: (1) require congressional notification for comprehensive defense export authorizations; and (2) revise authorities for loan of material, supplies, and equipment for research and development purposes. Authorizes the transfer of certain obsolete or surplus defense articles in the war reserve stockpiles for allies to Israel. Extends certain waivers with respect to assistance to Pakistan. International Parental Child Abduction Prevention Act of 2003 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise requirements with respect to the inadmissibility of aliens supporting international child abductors and relatives of such abductors. Repeals specified reporting requirements. Amends the Arms Export Control Act to repeal the requirement for annual renewals of presidential nuclear reprocessing transfer waivers. Establishes a United States Complex Foreign Contingency Fund from which the President is authorized to furnish on such terms and conditions as he may determine assistance to respond to complex foreign: (1) political crises threatening democratic institutions; (2) food, agricultural or health crises; or (3) fiscal or economic crises affecting countries, regions or ethnic groups.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2003
Designates the Federal building and U.S. courthouse located at 46 East Ohio Street in Indianapolis, Indiana, as the Birch Bayh Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2003
Presidential Appointments Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to set forth separate, revised financial disclosure reporting requirements for executive branch personnel that eliminate, raise the thresholds for, or reduce the categories of value under specified current requirements. Requires a person to file a financial disclosure report within 30 days of taking the oath of office of President or Vice President, unless the person is the incumbent in such position. Requires disclosure of the source, description, and category of income from any source aggregating more than $500 in a year. Revises, for disclosure purposes, the categories of value for reporting income investment, assets, and liabilities and the thresholds for reporting interests in property or in a trade or business. Raises from: (1) $10,000 to $20,000 the threshold for the reporting of liabilities; and (2) $5,000 to $25,000 the threshold for the reporting by non-elected individuals of compensation received for personal services. Requires reports to include the sources of income earned by the spouse which exceeds $500 (currently $1,000). Requires the the Office of Personnel Management, within 15 days after a major party nominates its candidate for President, to transmit to that candidate an electronic record on presidentially appointed positions. Requires each Federal agency to submit to the President and specified congressional committees a plan providing for the reduction of the number of positions and the levels of positions within that agency that require an appointment by the President. Requires the Director of the Office of Government Ethics to review the conflict of interest laws relating to Federal employment and to report recommendations for legislation to improve coordination, uniformity, and efficiency in their administration.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2003
Clean Diamond Trade Act -Directs the President to prohibit the importation into, or exportation from, the United States of any rough diamond, from whatever source, that has not been controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). Prescribes criteria for waiver of such prohibition. Directs the President to require the appropriate Government agency to conduct annual reviews of the standards, practices, and procedures of any entity in the United States that issues Kimberley Process Certificates for the exportation from the United States of rough diamonds to determine whether they accord with the KPCS. Makes the importing authority under this Act the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and the exporting authority the Bureau of the Census. Declares that the Congress supports the policy that the President take appropriate steps to promote and facilitate the adoption of the KPCS by the international community. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violation of this Act. Authorizes the President to direct the appropriate Federal agencies to make available technical assistance to countries seeking to implement the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Urges the President to work with Participants to strengthen the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme through the adoption of measures for: (1) sharing statistics on rough diamonds production and trade; and (2) monitoring the effectiveness of the KPCS in stemming trade in diamonds whose importation or exportation is not controlled through the KPCS. Urges the executive branch to continue to: (1) keep and publish statistics on imports and exports of rough diamonds; (2) make them available for analysis by interested parties and by Participants; and (3) take a leadership role in negotiating a standardized methodology among Participants for reporting such statistics. Declares the sense of Congress that the President should establish a Kimberley Process Implementation Coordinating Committee to coordinate the implementation of this Act.
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 · 27 March 2003
Expresses the outrage of Congress at the flagrant violations by the Government of Iraq of the customary international law of war and the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, dated at Geneva August 12 1949, and entered into force October 21, 1950. Supports in the strongest terms the President's warning to Iraq that the United States will hold the Government of Iraq, its officials, and military personnel involved accountable for any and all such violations. Expects Iraq to comply with the requirements of the international law of war and the explicit provisions of the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which afford prisoners of war the proper and humane treatment to which they are entitled. Expects that Iraq will afford prisoners of war access to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as required by the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
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 · 26 March 2003
Commends and expresses the gratitude of the United States to the nations participating in and contributing to the Coalition to Disarm Iraq, including Australia, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Spain, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, and other allies of the United States participating in or contributing to the Coalition. Expresses sincere gratitude to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, and the President of the Spanish Government, Jose Maria Aznar, for their courageous support and strong commitment to the Coalition to Disarm Iraq. Expresses sincere gratitude to other allied nations, including those in the Persian Gulf region, for their military support, logistical support, and other assistance in the current campaign against the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Welcomes and encourages the active involvement and participation of these countries, other nations, and key international organizations in the reconstruction and administration of Iraq after the current conflict in Iraq. Commends and expresses the gratitude of the United States to the military personnel and civilians of the member states of the Coalition to Disarm Iraq who are serving in operations against the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and to the family members of such personnel and civilians who have borne the burden of sacrifice and separation from their loved ones during the current conflict in Iraq.