United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2004
States that the Senate recognizes Israel's right of self-defense against Palestinian terrorist attacks, and supports the construction of a security fence, the route of which, with the support of the Government of Israel, takes into account the need to minimize Palestinian land confiscation and the imposition of hardships on the Palestinian people. Condemns the decision of the International Court of Justice on the legality of the security fence. Urges the United States to vote against any further United Nations action that could delay or prevent the construction of the security fence and to engage in a diplomatic campaign to persuade other countries to do the same.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2004
Iran Freedom and Support Act of 2004 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) it should be U.S. policy to support regime change for the Islamic Republic of Iran and to promote the transition to a democratic government; (2) contacts with democratic Iranian opposition groups that have pledged to adhere to nonproliferation should be expanded, and official meetings with representatives of the Iranian Government should be terminated; and (3) the President should designate at least one democratic opposition group eligible for assistance within 90 days of enactment of this Act. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to foreign and domestic pro-democracy groups opposed to the Government of Iran, including the award of grants to qualified pro-democracy radio and television broadcasting organizations. Requires presidential notification to specified congressional committees prior to any such obligation of assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2004
Medicare Rural Home Health Services Improvement Act of 2004 - Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to provide for a two-year extension of the temporary Medicare payment increase for home health services furnished in a rural area.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2004
Federal Employee Dental and Vision Benefits Enhancement Act of 2004 - Sets forth provisions for the establishment of programs through which current and retired Federal employees and their family members and dependents may obtain enhanced dental and vision benefits to supplement those available under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHB). Urges Congress to evaluate such supplemental plans to determine the options for, and feasibility of, providing an employer contribution. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to submit a report to Congress describing and evaluating options whereby health insurance coverage under FEHB could be made available to unmarried dependent children under twenty five years of age who are enrolled as full-time students at institutions of higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2004
ESRD Modernization Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to provide for an annual update mechanism under the Medicare end stage renal disease (ESRD) program to adjust the payment rates for changes in input prices and inflation. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish demonstration projects to: (1) increase public awareness about the factors that lead to chronic kidney disease, how to prevent it, how to treat it, and how to avoid kidney failure; and (2) enhance surveillance systems and expand research to better assess the prevalence and incidence of chronic kidney diseases. Requires the Secretary to establish demonstration projects to enable individuals with ESRD to develop self-management skills. Provides for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish demonstration projects to evaluate how blood flow monitoring affects the quality and cost of care for Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD; (2) provide appropriate incentives to improve the home dialysis benefit for individuals on behalf of whom payment may be made; (3) enter into an arrangement with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the barriers to increasing the number of individuals with ESRD who elect to receive home dialysis services under the Medicare program; (4) review the surgical procedures and evaluate whether to include in such procedures the full range of dialysis access procedures and to revise such units to reflect evaluation findings; (5) review the relative value units under Medicare that are applicable with respect to physicians' services for vascular access procedures and revise them to reflect accurately the difficulty of such procedures; and (6) establish demonstration projects under which the Secretary shall evaluate methods that improve the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the impact of the temporary codes for nephrologists' services applicable under the fee schedule for physicians' services.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2004
Constitutional Amendment - Federal Marriage Amendment - Declares that marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Prohibits the Constitution or any State constitution from being construed to require that marital status or its legal incidents be conferred upon any union other than that of a man and a woman.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2004
Requires the Architect of the Capitol to enter into a contract to revise the statue commemorating women's suffrage located in the rotunda of the United States Capitol (known as the Portrait Monument) to include a likeness of Sojourner Truth.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2004
Commemorates the 150th anniversary of the founding of The Pennsylvania State University and congratulates its faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends on the occasion.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2004
Benjamin Franklin Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one dollar coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Benjamin Franklin (not more than 250,000 bearing his image as a young statesman and not more than 250,000 with his image as an older numismatist). Directs that all sales of coins minted under this Act include a $10 per coin surcharge, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the Franklin Institute for purposes of the celebration of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2004
Milk Price Forward Contracting Act - Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to convert the dairy forward pricing program from a pilot program to a permanent program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2004
Commemorates the 150th anniversary of the founding of The Pennsylvania State University and congratulates its faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends on the occasion.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2004
Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to make Alzheimer's disease research a priority within the National Institute on Aging. Requires the Director of the Institute to: (1) undertake an Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Initiative to accelerate the discovery of new risk and protective factors, to rapidly identify therapies and preventive interventions, and to implement effective prevention and treatment strategies; (2) conduct and support cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's; and (3) conduct research concerning early detection and diagnosis, the relationship between Alzheimer's and vascular disease, and interventions designed to help caregivers. Authorizes the Director to establish a National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center to facilitate collaboration among Alzheimer's Disease Centers and Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to educate the public and public health community regarding Alzheimer's disease. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop coordinated respite care programs on a statewide basis. Defines "respite care" to mean planned or emergency care provided to a child or adult with a special need in order to provide temporary relief to the family caregiver of such child or adult. Directs the Secretary to award a grant or cooperative agreement to a public or private nonprofit entity to establish a National Resource Center on Lifespan Respite Care. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a nonrefundable tax credit for each individual certified as having long-term care needs and for whom the taxpayer is acting as a caregiver; (2) a tax deduction for long-term care premiums paid under a qualified insurance contract; and (3) qualified long-term care insurance to be offered in a cafeteria plan and flexible spending arrangements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2004
AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004 - Declares the sense of Congress that the preferential market access opportunities for eligible sub-Saharan African countries (SSA countries) will be complemented and enhanced if those countries implement specified existing obligations under the World Trade Organization (WTO). Urges such countries to participate in and support mutual trade liberalization in ongoing negotiations under WTO auspices, recognizing that such commitments may need to reflect special and differential treatment for developing countries. States that eligible SSA countries will benefit from reduction of trade barriers in other developing countries. Urges all countries to make sanitary and phytosanitary decisions on the basis of sound science. Expresses the sense of Congress that the executive branch, including specified Federal agencies, should enforce African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provisions relating to preferential treatment of textile and apparel articles, broadly in order to expand trade by maximizing opportunities for imports of such articles from eligible SSA countries. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend duty-free treatment for AGOA articles: (1) from FY 2008 through 2015; and (2) made from material produced in former beneficiary SSA countries. Defines former beneficiary sub-Saharan African country as a country that, after being designated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under AGOA, ceased to be designated as such a country by reason of its entering into a free trade agreement with the United States. Amends AGOA to revise requirements for textile and apparel products from SSA countries receiving duty-free and other preferential import treatment, including extensions of such treatment to certain apparels. Authorizes duty-free and preferential treatment for certain apparel articles such as ethnic printed fabric of an SSA country that meets certain conditions. Extends preferential treatment to an article containing fibers or yarns not wholly formed in former beneficiary SSA countries (currently, the United States or one or more beneficiary SSA countries) if the total weight of all such fibers and yarns is not more than ten (currently, seven) percent of the total weight of the article. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, under specified conditions, to liquidate or reliquidate as free of duty and free of any quantitative restrictions, limitations, or consultative levels any entries of certain apparel. Requires the President to: (1) study each eligible SSA country, identifying sectors of its economy with the greatest potential for growth, including through export sales, and identifying both domestic and international barriers impeding such growth; (2) make recommendations on how the Federal Government and the private sector can provide technical assistance to assist that country in dismantling such barriers and promoting investment in such sectors; and (3) disseminate information to appropriate Federal agencies on each such country. Requires the President to develop and implement policies to encourage the development of investment in SSA countries, particularly in: (1) infrastructure projects supporting development of land transport road and railroad networks and ports, and the continued upgrading and liberalization of the energy and telecommunications sectors; (2) establishment and expansion of modern information and communication technologies and practices to improve the ability of citizens to research and disseminate specified information; and (3) agriculture, particularly in processing and capacity enhancement. Requires the President to: (1) foster improved port-to-port and airport-to-airport relationships in order to facilitate and increase trade flows between eligible SSA countries; (2) encourage the development of infrastructure projects that will help increase trade capacity and a sustainable ecotourism industry in such countries; (3) identify at least ten eligible SSA countries as having the greatest potential to increase marketable exports of agricultural products to the United States and the greatest need for technical assistance, particularly with respect to pest risk assessments and complying with U.S. sanitary and phytosanitary rules; (4) assign at least 20 full-time personnel to provide assistance to such countries to ensure that their exports of agricultural products meet Federal law requirements; and (5) convene the trade advisory committee on Africa established by Executive Order 11846 of March 27, 1975, under the Trade Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2004
Recognizes the importance of fathers to a healthy society. Calls on all the people of the United States to observe Father's Day by considering how society can better respect and support fatherhood.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2004
Urges the President to posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harry W. Colmery of Topeka, Kansas, who played a significant role in drafting the GI Bill of Rights.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2004
Transit System Flexibility Protection Act of 2004 - Permits the Secretary of Transportation to make mass transportation formula grants for an urbanized area with a population of more than 200,000 if the transit system operates fewer than 100 buses on fixed route service during peak hours.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2004
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require an abortion provider, before beginning any abortion of a pain-capable unborn child (defined as an unborn child who has reached a probable stage of development of 20 weeks after fertilization), to: (1) make a specified statement to the pregnant woman that Congress has determined that there is substantial evidence that the process will cause the unborn child pain, and that the mother has the option of having pain-reducing drugs administered directly to the child; (2) provide to the woman an Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure (unless she waives receipt) and an Unborn Child Pain Awareness Decision Form; and (3) obtain on the form the woman's signature and her explicit request for or refusal of the administration of drugs to the child. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop the brochure and form. Makes such provisions inapplicable to a provider in the case of a medical emergency. Requires the provider to certify that a medical emergency exists. Sets penalties for false statements. Establishes penalties for willfully failing to comply with this Act, including civil penalties, medical license suspension, or both. Authorizes: (1) specified officials to bring suit in Federal court; and (2) private rights of action by a parent or guardian of a woman who is an unemancipated minor. Requires each State and State medical licensing authority to promulgate procedures for the revocation or suspension of a provider's license upon a court finding that the provider has violated this Act. Subjects a State that fails to implement such procedures to loss of Medicaid funding.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2004
Children and Media Research Advancement Act or CAMRA Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to establish: (1) an independent panel of experts to review, synthesize, and report on research, theory, and applications in the social, behavioral, and biological sciences; and (2) research priorities regarding the roles and impact of the use of and exposure to electronic media on youth in certain core areas of child development. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct initial pilot projects to supplement and inform the panel's work. Requires the Director to develop and implement a program that funds additional research determined to be necessary by the panel concerning the role and impact of electronic media in the development of children and adolescents, with a particular focus on media content, format, length of exposure, age of the child, and nature of parental involvement.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2004
New Shipper Review Amendment Act of 2004 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to reviews by the administering authority to establish an individual weighted average dumping margin or an individual countervailing duty rate (as the case may be) for a new exporter or producer that: (1) did not export the merchandise that was the subject of an antidumping duty or countervailing duty order to the United States during the period of investigation; and (2) was not affiliated with any exporter or producer who did. Repeals the requirement that the administering authority direct the Customs Service to allow, at the option of the importer of such merchandise, the posting, until completion of the review, of a bond or security in lieu of a cash deposit for each entry of the subject merchandise (bonding privileges).
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2004
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit certain amendments, waivers, or other modifications to mortgages held by a Real Estate Mortgage Investment Conduit (REMIC) or a Grantor Trust without disqualifying such mortgages as REMIC or Grantor Trust mortgages. Permits amendments, waivers, or modifications that do not: (1) extend the final maturity date of a mortgage; (2) increase the outstanding balance of the mortgage; (3) result in the release of an interest in real property securing the mortgage; or (4) result in an instrument or property right which is not debt for Federal income tax purposes. Exempts such amendments, waivers, or modifications from the penalty for prohibited transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2004
Expresses the grateful thanks of the Nation to the more than 16 million individuals who served in the Army, Army Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine in World War II and to the millions of Americans on the home front who contributed to the war effort. Recognizes the dedication of the National World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on May 29, 2004, as an occasion to acknowledge and pay tribute to those members of the Armed Forces who served in World War II, who are known collectively as the Greatest Generation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2004
States that Congress: (1) acknowledges and welcomes the strong relationship formed between the United States and Ukraine since the restoration of Ukraine's independence in 1991; (2) recognizes that a precondition for the full integration of Ukraine into the Western community of nations, including as an equal member in institutions such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is its establishment of a democratic political system; (3) urges the Government of Ukraine to guarantee freedom of association and assembly, including the right of candidates, members of political parties, and others to freely assemble, to organize and conduct public events, and to exercise these and other rights free from intimidation or harassment; (4) urges the Government of Ukraine to meet its Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) commitments on democratic elections; (5) urges the Ukrainian authorities to ensure the full transparency of election procedures before, during, and after the 2004 presidential elections; and (6) pledges its support and assistance to the Ukrainian people's establishment of a free and open democratic system, creation of a free market economy, and their country's assumption of a full and equal membership in the Western community of democracies.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2004
Commends all Americans serving nobly abroad. Condemns the despicable acts at Abu Ghraib prison and joins with the President in expressing apology for the humiliation suffered by the prisoners in Iraq and their families. Urges: (1) the Government of the United States to take appropriate measures to ensure that such acts do not occur in the future; and (2) that all individuals responsible for such acts be held accountable. Expresses the belief that the appropriate Senate committees and the President should conduct a full investigation of the abuses alleged to have occurred at Abu Ghraib.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2004
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent provisions allowing the expensing of environmental remediation costs; (2) revise the definition of "qualified contaminated site" to include toxic as well as hazardous substances; (3) include within the definition of "hazardous or toxic substances" extremely hazardous substances, as defined by Federal law, and petroleum contaminants; and (4) eliminate the recapture of the expensing deduction upon the sale of environmental remediation property.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2004
United Nations Oil-for-Food Accountability Act of 2004 - Requires the withholding of certain FY 2005 and 2006 U.S. contributions to the United Nations (UN) until the President certifies that the UN is cooperating in the investigation of the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2004
Working Family Tax Relief Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the scheduled reductions in: (1) the amount of the child tax credit for taxable years 2005 through 2009 (maintains the current $1,000 credit amount for all taxable years after 2004); (2) the basic standard deduction for married taxpayers filing joint returns and surviving spouses for taxable years 2005 through 2008; and (3) the increased upper limit threshold amounts for qualifying married individuals filing joint returns for the 15 and ten percent income tax brackets. Allows an inflation adjustment to such threshold amounts for taxable years beginning after 2003 based on the difference from the Consumer Price Index for 2002. Exempts from the general terminating date (December 31, 2010) under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 provisions relating to: (1) the increased upper limit amounts for the ten and 15 percent tax bracket for married taxpayers filing joint returns and surviving spouses; (2) the increase in the child tax credit; (3) the increased standard deduction for married taxpayers filing joint returns; and (4) the earned income tax credit. Extends the increased amounts of the exemption from the alternative minimum tax for individual taxpayers through 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2004
Recognizes the importance of mothers to a healthy society. Calls on the people of the United States to observe Mother's Day by considering how society can better respect and support motherhood.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2004
Amends the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to prohibit a U.S. court from recognizing, enforcing, or otherwise validating the assertion of rights, including treaty rights, by an individual (currently, by a designated Cuban national) of a mark, trade name, or commercial name that was used in connection with a business or assets that were confiscated unless the original owner of such mark or name, or their bona fide successor, has expressly consented thereto. Makes such prohibition applicable only if the individual asserting the rights knew or had reason to know at the time of of acquiring the rights asserted that the mark or name was the same or substantially similar to the mark or name used in connection with the business or assets that were confiscated.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2004
States that Congress: (1) condemns the Government of the Republic of Sudan for its attacks, and for its failure to stop militia attacks, on innocent civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan, and demands that the Government of the Republic of Sudan take actions to cease such attacks; (2) calls on the international community to condemn such attacks and demand their cessation; (3) urges Sudan to allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Darfur; and (4) urges the President to direct the United States Representative to the United Nations to seek an official investigation into whether Sudan has committed crimes against humanity in Darfur.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2004
Medicare DSH Payments for Puerto Rico Hospitals Fairness Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include consideration of additional Medicare low-income patient populations served by Puerto Rico hospitals in the calculation of Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments for prospective payment system hospitals in Puerto Rico.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2004
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the United States deplores the past and continuing violation of the human rights and religious freedoms of minority populations in Arab countries; (2) with respect to Jews and Christians displaced from Arab countries, for any comprehensive Middle East peace agreement to be enduring, constitute an end to Middle East conflict, and provide for finality of all claims, the agreement must resolve all outstanding issues, including the rights of all peoples displaced from Arab countries; and (3) the United States will work to ensure that both the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period and the permanent constitution are universally applied to all groups forced to leave Iraq. Urges the President to: (1) instruct the U.S. Representative to the United Nations and all U.S. representatives in bilateral and multilateral fora that, when the United States considers resolutions that allude to the issue of Middle East refugees, the U.S. delegation should ensure that the relevant text refers to multiple refugee populations that have been caused by the Arab-Israeli conflict and any explicit reference to the resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue is matched by a similar reference to the resolution of the issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries; and (2) make clear that the United States supports the position that the issue of refugees and the mass violations of human rights of minorities in Arab countries must be resolved in a manner that includes redress for the rights of all refugees displaced from Arab countries and recognition that Jewish and Christian property, schools, and community property were lost as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2004
Constitutional Amendment - Federal Marriage Amendment - Declares that marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Prohibits the Constitution or any State constitution from being construed to require that marital status or its legal incidents be conferred upon any union other than that of a man and a woman.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2004
Declares that the Senate: (1) expresses the outrage and shock of the people of the United States over the terrorist attacks that occurred in and around Madrid, Spain on March 11, 2004; (2) joins with President Bush in expressing its deepest condolences and pledges to remain shoulder to shoulder with the people of Spain in the war on terrorism; (3) expresses its strong solidarity with the people of Spain during their difficult hour, and its deep condolences to the families of the victims of these despicable terrorist attacks; (4) calls on all nations to join with the United States in condemning the monstrous attacks on the innocent people of Spain and in attempting to identify the perpetrators of the attacks and bring them to account; (5) expresses its readiness to consult with representatives of King Juan Carlos, President Jose Maria Aznar, the Spanish government, the Spanish Cortes, and other public authorities about joint efforts to combat terrorism more effectively; (6) commends the United States Embassy in Madrid for its prompt offers of assistance to the Government of Spain, and for its efforts to determine the welfare and whereabouts of United States citizens who may have been affected by the terrorist attacks; and (7) urges the executive branch to continue to provide all possible assistance to Spain in order to identify and bring to account the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks that occurred on March 11, 2004, in Madrid and of other terrorist attacks against the people of Spain.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2004
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal in commemoration of the Reverend Oliver L. Brown (the lead plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education) in recognition of his and his fellow plaintiffs' enduring contributions to civil rights and American society.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2004
States that the Senate designates April 2004 as Financial Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the importance of financial education in the United States and the serious consequences that may be associated with a lack of understanding about personal finances.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2004
Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) allow pancreases procured for use in islet cell transplantation or research to be counted for certification purposes for qualified organ procurement organization grants; and (2) require the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee to include in its annual report an assessment of the Federal activities and programs related to pancreatic islet cell transplantation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2004
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act of 2004 - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins emblematic of the human rights legacy and leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Requires that: (1) all sales of such coins include a surcharge of $10 per coin; and (2) all surcharges from coin sales be promptly paid by the Secretary to the Library of Congress for purchasing and maintaining materials associated with the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2004
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2006, the duty on Liquid Crystal Device panel assemblies for use in Liquid Crystal Device projection type televisions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2004
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2006, the duty on electron guns for cathode ray tubes (CRT's) for high definition televisions with a high definition television screen aspect ratio of 16:9.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2004
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2006, the duty on flat panel screen assemblies for use in plasma flat panel screen televisions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2004
Long-Term Care Insurance Partnership Program Act of 2004 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to: (1) change from mandatory to discretionary a State's authority to adjust or recover medical assistance correctly paid on behalf of an individual who has received (or is entitled to receive) benefits under a long-term care insurance policy; and (2) repeal the grandfather date for cases to which such adjustment or recovery authority shall not apply. (Thus applies such exception to all State plans meeting specified requirements, and permits additional States to enter into long-term care partnerships to promote the use of long-term care insurance.)
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2004
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) all Americans should keep the victims of child abuse and neglect in their thoughts and prayers; (2) all Americans should seek to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect and to give victimized children hope for the future; and (3) the faith community, nonprofit organizations, and volunteers across America should recommit themselves and mobilize their resources to assist abused and neglected children. Declares that the Senate: (1) supports the goals and ideas of the "Day of Hope" which will be observed on April 7, 2004, as part of Child Abuse Prevention Month; and (2) commends the individuals working on behalf of abused and neglected children throughout the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2004
Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2004 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that, if the violator of the terms and conditions of any Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license, permit, or certificate is either a broadcast station licensee or permittee or an applicant for a broadcast license, permit, or certificate, and such violator is determined by the FCC to have broadcast obscene, indecent, or profane language, the amount of forfeiture penalty shall not exceed $275,000 for each violation or day of such violation, to a maximum of $3 million for any single act or failure to act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2004
Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program Extension and Reform Act of 2004 - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 with respect to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, particularly funds allocated to States and Indian tribes but not appropriated to them. Sets forth a reallocation scheme for unappropriated balances with respect to: (1) the rural abandoned mine reclamation program; (2) the Federal share; and (3) historic production supplemental grants to States and Indian tribes. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to transfer from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund (Combined Fund) an amount equal to specified expenditures that the Combined Fund trustees estimate will be debited against a certain unassigned beneficiaries premium account. Creates a schedule for the payment of reclamation fees for FY 2004 through 2018 by operators of coal mining operations. Sets forth guidelines governing: (1) allocation of fee receipts and other monies prior to September 30, 2004; and (2) allocation of funds to States and Indian Tribes after September 30, 2004. States that surface coal mining operations on lands eligible for remining shall not affect the eligibility of such lands for reclamation and restoration after the release of the bond or deposit for any such operation. Revises requirements for the granting of Federal funds to implement an approved State reclamation program. Authorizes regulations requiring State assumption of responsibility for administering the emergency reclamation program in order to retain eligibility for Federal grants. Revises requirements for State or Indian tribe certification of the completion of coal reclamation. Authorizes the Secretary to adopt regulations to promote remining of eligible lands to leverage use of monies available from the fund to achieve more land reclamation.
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