United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Recognizes Hiram Powers (a native of Woodstock, Vermont, who was commissioned by Congress to execute the statues of John Marshall, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson that stand today in the United States Capitol) for his enduring contributions to American sculpture.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) reducing the conflict between work and family life should be a national priority; and (2) October should be designated as National Work and Family Month.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2003
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend, and the Postal Service to issue, a commemorative postage stamp on the subject of autism awareness.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2003
Amends the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 (IPPCTPA) to prescribe Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program participant requirements. Requires a participant to be an alien who: (1) is a citizen of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland; (2) is between 21 and 35 years of age on the date of departure for the United States; (3) has resided continuously in a designated county (in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland) for at least six months before such date; (4) has been continuously unemployed for at least six months before such date; and (5) does not have a degree from an institution of higher education. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to report each program year to Congress (currently, the third program year and the three subsequent years) on the number of aliens admitted who have overstayed their visas. Extends the authority of the IPPCTPA through FY 2008. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the nonimmigrant alien eligibility qualifications for program participants to conform to this Act. Reduces from 36 to 24 months the temporary period of the visit to the United States for participation in the program. Denies any such person eligibility to apply for an immigrant visa, or for permanent residence, or for a nonimmigrant visa under such Act until he or she has resided and been physically present in the country of nationality or last residence for an aggregate of a least two years following departure from the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to waive this requirement if: (1) departure from the United States would impose exceptional hardship upon the alien's spouse or child (if such spouse or child is a U.S. citizen or a lawfully resident alien); or (2) the admission of the alien is in the U.S. public or national interest.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2003
Overtime Compensation Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to prohibit the Secretary of Labor from promulgating any regulation that has the effect of exempting from FLSA overtime compensation requirements (which limit maximum hours at regular compensation) any employee who is not otherwise exempted under regulations in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. Provides that such prohibition does not bar the Secretary from reducing the number of employees who are exempt from such overtime compensation requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2003
Calls for the President to designate the week of November 9-15, 2003, as National Veterans Awareness Week to emphasize educational programs for elementary and secondary school students regarding the contributions and sacrifices of veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2003
Congressional Tribute to Celia Cruz Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation of a congressional gold medal in commemoration of Celia Cruz (a Cuban-born entertainer who became known as the "Queen of Salsa") in recognition of her contributions to music, Latino culture, and American society.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2003
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the millions of innocent victims of the Soviet-engineered Ukraine Famine of 1932-33 should be solemnly remembered and honored on the 70th anniversary of the famine; (2) it condemns the callous disregard for human life, human rights, and manifestations of national identity that characterized the Stalinist policies that caused the Ukraine Famine; (3) it supports the efforts of the Government of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) to publicly acknowledge and call greater international attention to the Ukraine Famine; and (4) an independent, democratic Ukraine, in which respect for the dignity of human beings is the cornerstone, offers the best guarantee that atrocities such as the Ukraine Famine never beset the Ukrainian people again.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Authorizes the President to award a congressional gold medal honoring Wilma G. Rudolph (three-time gold medal winner in the 1960 Olympics) to her family in recognition of her outstanding and enduring contributions to humanity and to women's athletics.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Designates the month of September 2003 as National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Declares that the Federal Government has a responsibility to: (1) raise awareness about the importance of screening methods and treatment of prostate cancer; (2) increase research funding that is commensurate with the burden of the disease so that the causes of, and improved screening, treatments, and a cure for, prostate cancer may be discovered; and (3) continue to consider ways for improving access to, and the quality of, health care services for detecting and treating prostate cancer. Requests the President to call upon Americans, interested groups, and affected persons to promote awareness of prostate cancer, to take an active role in ending the devastating effects of prostate cancer on individuals, their families, and the economy, and to observe the month of September 2003 with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2003
Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit falsely pretending to be an officer or employee acting under the authority or law of the United States with intent to harass, alarm, shock, terrify, or cause mental distress to another person regarding the military status of such person's relative.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2003
Relief for Working Families Tax Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), with respect to the child tax credit, to: (1) accelerate the increase from the 10 percent to the 15 percent rate; and (2) reduce the marriage penalty. Provides for a uniform definition of child in the Code. Establishes special tax provisions applicable to the uniformed services and the Foreign Service, including an extension of time to exclude gain from the sale of a principal residence, exclusion from income of certain death gratuity benefits, extending combat zone filing rules to contingency operations, excluding certain dependent care assistance from income, and the deduction overnight travel expenses for National Guard and Reserve members. Provides tax relief for families of the Columbia Space Shuttle by making the tax relief provisions applicable to terrorist attack victims applicable to the Columbia Space Shuttle. Suspends the tax-exempt status of a designated terrorist organization. Establishes IRS service user fee authority through September 30, 2013. Revises IRC expatriation tax provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2003
Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003 - Amends Federal firearms provisions to revise the definition of "semiautomatic assault weapon" to include conversion kits (for converting a firearm to a semiautomatic assault weapon) and any semiautomatic rifle or pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and that has any one of the following characteristics, respectively: (1) a folding or telescoping stock, a threaded barrel, a pistol grip, a forward grip, or a barrel shroud; or (2) a second pistol grip, a threaded barrel, a barrel shroud, or the capacity to accept a detachable magazine at a location outside of the pistol grip. Amends the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act to repeal the sunset provision for the assault weapons ban. Modifies exemptions from the ban to: (1) retain the exemption of any firearm that is manually operated by bolt, pump, level, or slide action, that has been rendered permanently inoperable, or that is an antique firearm; and (2) remove the exemption of specified firearms, or replicas or duplicates, as manufactured on October 1, 1993, any semiautomatic rifle that cannot accept a detachable magazine that holds more than five rounds, and any semiautomatic shotgun that cannot hold more than five rounds in a fixed or detachable magazine. Prohibits the transfer of a semiautomatic assault weapon except through a licensed dealer or a State or local law enforcement agency, subject to specified requirements. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish and maintain a record of the make, model, and date of manufacture of any semiautomatic assault weapon which the Attorney General is made aware has been used in relation to a crime, and of the nature and circumstances of the crime involved; and (2) annually submit the record to Congress and make the record available to the public. Prohibits: (1) the transfer of any assault weapon with an large capacity ammunition feeding device; and (2) a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer who transfers such a a device that was manufactured on or before September 13, 1994, from failing to certify to the Attorney General, within 60 days of the transfer date, that the device was manufactured on or before that date. Sets penalties for violations. Prohibits: (1) the transfer of a semiautomatic assault weapon or a large capacity ammunition feeding device to a juvenile; and (2) the importation of such a device.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2003
National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2003 - Establishes the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the Treasury to promote the development of affordable low-income housing through grants to States and local jurisdictions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2003
Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Act - Establishes a Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Grant Program in the Great Lakes National Program Office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Allocates funds among the Great Lakes States, requiring the funding of at least one project or activity per Great Lakes State per fiscal year. Stipulates that these projects result in tangible improvements in the Great Lakes watershed and address at least one of the priority issues identified by the Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Advisory Board. Prohibits the use of restoration grant funds for: (1) roads not connected with a sewer upgrade; (2) research, monitoring or beautification projects unrelated to tangible improvements to the watershed; or (3) litigation and lobbying expenses. Establishes the Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Advisory Board which includes Federal, State, and local members as well as Canadian and environmental organization observers. Establishes the Great Lakes Federal Coordinating Council. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require the Administrator of EPA to: (1) develop and implement science-based indicators of water quality and related environmental factors in the Great Lakes, including measures of accumulated toxic pollutants; (2) establish a Federal network to regularly monitor and collect this data; and (3) make a report available to Congress and the public describing the water quality and related environmental factors of the Great Lakes.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2003
Money Follows the Person Act of 2003 - Authorizes a State to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for approval to conduct a demonstration project under which the State shall provide community-based services and supports to Medicaid-eligible individuals residing in a Medicaid long-term care facility for at least 90 days with respect to whom it is determined that, but for community-based services and supports, the individual would continue to require the level of care provided in a Medicaid long-term care facility.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2003
American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 one dollar silver coins in commemoration of disabled American veterans, which shall be emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. Requires: (1) all sales of the coins to include a ten dollar per coin surcharge; and (2) the surcharges received to be paid to the Foundation to establish an endowment to support the construction of an American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2003
Consumer Credit Score Disclosure Act of 2003 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to cite specified consumer credit scoring information that a consumer reporting agency must disclose upon consumer request in connection with an application for an extension of consumer credit secured by a dwelling, including a credit score: (1) derived from a model widely distributed to users of credit scores; or (2) that assists the consumer in understanding the credit scoring assessment of the consumer's credit behavior and predictions about future credit behavior. Requires any person that makes or arranges extensions of consumer credit that are to be secured by a dwelling, and that uses credit scores for that purpose, to provide the consumer with a copy of: (1) the information obtained from a consumer reporting agency or that was developed and used by that user of the credit score information; or (2) a copy of the information provided to the user by a third party that developed the credit score, plus a general description of credit scores, their use, and the sources and kinds of data used to generate credit scores. Declares void any contract provision that prohibits such mandated disclosures. Exempts from contractual liability any user of a credit score for making such a disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2003
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (posthumously) and his widow Coretta Scott King in recognition of their service to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2003
Expresses the condolences of the Senate on the death of the Honorable J. Strom Thurmond, former Senator and President Pro Tempore Emeritus from South Carolina.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Money Wire Improvement and Remittance Enhancement Act of 2003 (or the Money WIRE Act of 2003) - Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to require that the following disclosures be prominently displayed on the premises of a money transmitting business which initiates an international money transfer for a consumer: (1) the exchange rate used in connection with such transaction; (2) the exchange rate prevailing at a major financial center of the foreign country whose currency is involved in the transaction; (3) all commissions and fees charged in connection with such transaction; and (4) the exact amount of foreign currency to be received by the recipient in the foreign country, which shall be disclosed to the consumer before the transaction is consummated. Requires that such disclosures be prominently revealed in advertisements and receipts used by the business, and in the same language as that principally used by the business to advertise, solicit, or negotiate, at that office, if other than English. Requires the Federal banking agencies and the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to Congress on the need for fee disclosures for money wire transmissions. Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to authorize Federal credit unions to: (1) sell, to persons in the field of membership, negotiable checks (including travelers checks), money orders, and other similar money transfer instruments; and (2) cash checks and money orders for persons in the field of membership for a fee. (Currently these transactions are reserved for credit union members only.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Ferry Transportation Enhancement Act - Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to authorize appropriations for FY 2004 through 2009 for construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities. Amends Federal highway law to make ferry maintenance (currently, only terminal) facilities eligible for Federal funding. Amends Federal transportation law to include ferries within the Federal clean fuels program. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish a Ferry Joint Program Office to coordinate Federal programs affecting ferry boat and facility construction, maintenance, and operation, and to promote ferry service as a component of the Nation's transportation system; (2) maintain a national ferry database containing ferry routes, vessels, passengers and vehicles carried, funding sources, and related information; and (3) make grants to an institution of higher education to establish a National Ferry Transportation Institute for research, development, training programs, etc. relating to U.S. ferry transportation systems.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2003
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the U.S. Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone (the first recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded in World War II, and the only enlisted Marine in that war to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, and the Purple Heart).
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2003
Sexual Offender Parental Notification Act of 2003 - Amends the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act to direct the State or any agency authorized by the State to: (1) notify members or organizations of the community vulnerable to persons required to register of relevant information concerning such persons that is necessary to protect the public, provided that the State or any such agency retain discretion to determine the community members or organizations to be notified and the manner of notification; (2) make relevant information that is necessary to protect the public (including the offender's name, address, photograph, and crime of conviction, the sentence imposed, the age and gender of the victim, a description of the offense and modus operandi, and any special conditions imposed on the offender) accessible on an Internet registry website that is free of charge and designed to ensure the privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity of users, as long as such accessibility is consistent with State law; and (3) not release the identity of a victim of an offense that requires registration (or the victim's age if the age would identify that victim). Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally accessing a sex offender Internet registry to obtain information to facilitate, commit, or aid in the commission of an act of violence or other crime against a listed offender. Requires the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to award a grant to each State to offset costs directly associated with complying with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2003
Hudson-Fulton-Champlain 400th Commemoration Commission Act of 2003 - Establishes the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain 400th Commemoration Commission to plan, develop, and execute programs and activities appropriate to commemorate, in 2009, the 400th anniversary of the voyage of Henry Hudson (the first European to sail up the Hudson River), the 200th anniversary of the voyage of Robert Fulton (the first person to use steam navigation on a commercial basis), and the 400th anniversary of the voyage of Samuel de Champlain (the first European to discover and explore Lake Champlain).
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Criminal Spam Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce: (1) accessing a protected computer without authorization and intentionally initiating the transmission of multiple commercial electronic mail messages (spam) from or through such computer; (2) using a protected computer to relay or retransmit spam with the intent to deceive or mislead recipients or any Internet access service as to the origin of such messages; (3) falsifying header information in and intentionally initiating the transmission of spam; or (4) registering for five or more electronic mail or online user accounts or two or more domain names using information that falsifies the identity of the actual registrant and intentionally initiating the transmission of spam from such accounts or domain names. Prohibits conspiring to do so. Sets criminal and civil penalties for violations, including forfeiture to the United States of any violator's interest in property constituting or traceable to gross profits or other proceeds obtained from such offense and in any technology used or intended to be used to commit or to promote the commission of the offense. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the sentencing guidelines and policy statements and consider providing sentencing enhancements for violations of this Act under specified circumstances. Requires the Departments of Justice and State to report on efforts to achieve international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting spammers who engage in conduct that violates this Act. Calls for such Departments to work through international fora for such cooperation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Downed Animal Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations to provide for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory livestock by a covered entity, including a requirement that nonambulatory livestock be humanely euthanized. Provides that an entity shall: (1) not move nonambulatory livestock while such livestock is conscious; and (2) humanely euthanize such livestock. Prohibits an establishment covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act to pass nonambulatory livestock through inspection. Defines "covered entity," and "humanely euthanize."
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly capturing by videotape, photograph, film, or any electronic means, with the intent to do so, an improper image of an individual (an image of the naked or undergarment clad individual, captured without that individual's consent) under circumstances violating that individual's privacy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Servitude and Emancipation Archival Research ClearingHouse Act of 2003 or the SEARCH Act of 2003 - Directs the Archivist of the United States to establish, as part of the National Archives, a national database consisting of historic records of servitude and emancipation in the United States to assist African Americans in researching their genealogy. Requires the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to maintain the database.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to Syracuse University to establish an endowment fund to support a Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute. Requires the University, to be eligible for such grant, to designate the global affairs institute within the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs as the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2003
Disaster Area Health and Environmental Monitoring Act of 2003 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President, if one or more chemicals or substances associated with potential acute or chronic human health effects (substances of concern) are being or have been released in a disaster area, to carry out a program for the protection, assessment, monitoring, and study of the health and safety of individuals. Requires such a program to ensure that: (1) the individuals are adequately informed about and protected against potential health impacts of the substance of concern and potential mental health impacts in a timely manner; (2) they are monitored and studied over time for any such impacts, both short- and long-term; (3) they receive needed health care referrals; and (4) information from any such monitoring and studies is used to prevent or protect against similar health impacts from future disasters. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency jointly to establish a Blue Ribbon Panel on Disaster Area Health Protection and Monitoring to provide advice and recommendations regarding the implementation of this Act, among other things.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2003
Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from taking any action proposed under the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services initiative of the Department of Veterans Affairs: (1) unless the Secretary has notified Congress of the intention to take such action; and (2) until the later of the expiration of a 60-day period, or 30 days of continuous congressional session, after such notification.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2003
Authorizes the President to present to Dr. Dorothy Height (President of the National Council of Negro Women) a congressional gold medal in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Expresses the sense of the Senate that a postage stamp should be issued to commemorate Anne Frank (victim of the Holocaust and author of "The Diary of Anne Frank").
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
Gun Trafficking Penalties Enhancement Act of 2003 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to increase the maxiumum term of imprisonment for: (1) selling or otherwise disposing of a firearm or ammunition knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the recipient is prohibited from owning a firearm or ammunition (such as a fugitive, drug addict, person who has been committed to a mental institution, or an individual subject to a court order restraining stalking an intimate partner); (2) traveling from any State or foreign country into another State and acquiring, transferring, or attempting to acquire or transfer a firearm to engage in certain illegal conduct; (3) transferring a firearm, knowing it will be used to commit a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime; and (4) illegally engaging in the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to raise the base offense level for interstate firearms trafficking and increase the punishment for related violations. Includes illegal firearms trafficking within the scope of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Stop Pornography and Abusive Marketing Act or SPAM Act - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish a registry in which persons not wishing to receive unsolicited commercial electronic (UCE) mail may register their (or their child's) electronic mail (email) address. Makes it unlawful for a person to initiate UCE mail to a registered email address. Provides for enforcement by the FTC, with civil penalties of $5,000 for each violation. Makes it unlawful for any person to initiate the transmission of any UCE mail to a protected computer (a computer used by or for a financial institution or the U.S. Government) unless the message provides clear and conspicuous identification that it is an advertisement or solicitation by including "ADV" as the first characters in the subject line. Outlines procedures under which the FTC may approve a self-regulatory organization that requires program participants to adhere to such requirements. Makes it unlawful for a person to: (1) initiate the transmission of commercial email or UCE mail in violation of Internet service provider policies with respect to email, account registration and use, or other terms of service; and (2) send to a protected computer a message that contains false, misleading, or deceptive information in the subject line, header, or router information or in the body of the message. Requires all commercial email and UCE mail to contain: (1) a functioning return email address that a recipient may use to request not to receive any such mail in the future; and (2) clear and conspicuous notice of the opportunity to decline to receive further mail from the sender. Prohibits the transmission of commercial email and UCE mail: (1) to addresses obtained through illegal harvesting or automated means; and (2) without identifying the valid physical address of the sender. Provides for enforcement of this Act by: (1) the FTC; (2) certain other Federal agencies; (3) the attorney general of a State; (4) an Internet service provider; or (5) an individual consumer.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Honors and congratulates chambers of commerce for their efforts that contribute to the improvement of their communities and the strengthening of their local and regional economies.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2003
Medicare Beneficiary Access to Rehabilitation Facilities Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to prospective payment for inpatient rehabilitation services to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services by regulation to define the terms "rehabilitation hospital" and "rehabilitation unit" in a manner fully consistent with all the rehabilitation impairment categories (except miscellaneous) used to classify patients into case-mix groups. Requires the Secretary to update these regulations periodically to ensure that they remain fully consistent with the rehabilitation impairment categories used to classify patients into case-mix groups. Prohibits the Secretary from seeking to recoup any overpayment, take any enforcement action, or to impose any sanction or penalty, with respect to a rehabilitation hospital, or a converted rehabilitation unit insofar as such overpayment, enforcement action, sanction or penalty, is for failure to satisfy the requirement that 75 percent of the patients of the rehabilitation hospital or converted rehabilitation unit be in one or more of ten listed treatment categories (the 75 Percent Rule).
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2003
Wireless Telephone Number Portability Act of 2003 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission to require each wireless telephone service provider offering service in one of the largest 100 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas to provide consumers with the option to port (retain) telephone numbers between providers by implementing wireless telephone number portability throughout the networks of providers in each of those statistical areas. Mandates subsequent implementation of such requirement with respect to all other metropolitan statistical areas in which three or more providers provide wireless service.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2003
Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to: (1) limit a brand name drug manufacturer to one Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 30-month stay of competition in a patent infringement suit against a generic drug applicant; (2) permit a generic applicant being sued to file a counterclaim to correct or delete patent information; (3) limit damages that a brand name manufacturer may recover in an instance where such manufacturer failed to file certain patent information; (4) permit a generic drug applicant to seek declaratory judgment regarding patent infringement prior to marketing a drug; (5) forfeit the180-day market exclusivity period for a first generic drug applicant to a subsequent generic applicant if the first applicant engages in certain activities which impede such drug's timely marketing; and (6) permit alternative means to determine bioequivalence for drugs that are not absorbed into the bloodstream.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2003
Reaffirms support for the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Anticipates the commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987 on November 4, 2003. Encourages the people and Government of the United States to rededicate themselves to ending genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2003
Filipino Veterans' Benefits Act of 2003 - Requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish hospital and nursing home care and medical services to any individual who is a Commonwealth Army veteran or new Philippine Scout (current law) and who is: (1) residing in the United States; and (2) a U.S. citizen or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Provides a rate of payment equal to the rate provided for active-service veterans and their survivors for dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of Commonwealth Army veterans or new Philippine Scouts. Extends through 2008 the authority to operate a Department of Veterans Affairs regional office in the Republic of the Philippines. Provides national cemetery burial benefits for new Philippine Scouts residing in the United States.
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 · 9 June 2003
Cell Phone Users Bill of Rights - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to require each wireless telephone service provider (provider) offering service in one of the largest 100 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas to provide consumers with the option to port (retain) telephone numbers between providers by implementing wireless telephone number portability throughout the networks of providers in each of those statistical areas. Mandates subsequent implementation of such requirement with respect to all other metropolitan statistical areas in which three or more providers provide wireless service. Directs the FCC to require providers to include specified information in their wireless telephone service plans, including charges, minutes allowed, contract length, start-up fees, and taxes and surcharges. Requires each provider to make available, including on the Internet, a map of their service area. Directs the FCC to monitor the quality of wireless service through semiannual provider reports. Empowers the FCC to, and the States to bring civil actions in U.S. district court to, enforce provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Meat and Poultry Products Traceability and Safety Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act, respectively, to direct that cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules and other equines, and poultry presented for slaughter for human consumption, and the carcasses or parts of carcasses and the meat and food products of those animals, shipped in interstate commerce be identified in a manner that enables the Secretary of Agriculture to trace: (1) each animal to any location at which the animal was held at any time before slaughter; and (2) each carcass or part of a carcass and food product forward from slaughter through processing and distribution to the ultimate consumer. Authorizes the Secretary to prohibit or restrict entry to a slaughtering establishment of an animal not so identified. Directs the Secretary to establish a traceability system for all stages of production, processing, and distribution of meat and meat food products and poultry and poultry food products.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2003 - Prohibits road construction and road reconstruction in inventoried roadless areas of the National Forest System. Specifies exceptions, including because: (1) there is threat of a catastrophic event; (2) a natural resource restoration action is necessary; or (3) a Federal-aid highway project is in the public interest or is consistent with the purposes for which the land was reserved or acquired. Forbids timber from being cut, sold, or removed in an inventoried roadless area. Permits various exceptions, including for specified environmental reasons, if the responsible official determines that the cutting, sale, or removal of timber is expected to be infrequent. Declares that this Act does not: (1) revoke, suspend, or modify legal instruments and decisions concerning the use of NFS land made before January 12, 2001; (2) compel the amendment or revision of any land and resource management plan; or (3) apply to specified activities in the Tongass National Forest. States that the prohibitions and restrictions of this Act cannot be reconsidered, modified, or terminated under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2003
Working Taxpayer Fairness Restoration Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the refundability of the child tax credit, to accelerate the increase to the 15 percent rate. Limits, to fair market value immediately following a transaction, the importation of net built-in loss by a corporation. Prohibits an allocation of any decrease in the adjusted basis of partnership property to stock in a corporation which is a partner in the partnership. Repeals part V (Financial Asset Securitization Investment Trusts) of subchapter M (Regulated Investment Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts). Expands the definition of a disqualified debt instrument with respect to deduction disallowance on certain debt instruments of corporations. Expands the authority to disallow deductions, credits, or other allowances under provisions disallowing such benefits due to acquisitions made to evade or avoid income tax. Amends provisions affecting passive foreign investment companies to state that the term "qualified portion" (of a shareholder's holding period) does not include any period if there is only a remote likelihood of an inclusion in gross income under subpart F (Controlled Foreign Income). Adds to the definition of the term "real estate investment trust" by stating that such term includes a corporation, trust, or association which is not a controlled entity. Directs the Secretary to establish a program requiring the payment of user fees, until September 30, 2013, for: (1) requests to the Internal Revenue Service for ruling letters, opinion letters, and determination letters; and (2) other similar requests.
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