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190 records in US in 2004
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2004
Elects Members to the House Committees on Agriculture and on International Relations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2004
Healthy Forest Youth Conservation Corps Act of 2004 - Establishes A Healthy Forest Youth Conservation Corps to be comprised of low-income young adults between the ages of 16 and 25 to work on projects to prevent fire and suppress fires, and provide disaster relief on public land. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to enter into contracts or cooperative agreements directly with any service and conservation corps or State department of natural resources, agriculture, or forestry to carry out projects to prevent fire and suppress fires, rehabilitate public land affected or altered by fires, and provide disaster relief. Directs the Secretaries to give priority to certain projects, including projects that will: (1) reduce hazardous fuels on public lands; (2) restore public land affected or threatened by disease or insect infestation; (3) rehabilitate public land affected or altered by fires; (4) assess public land at a high risk of reburn; and (5) address public land located near a municipal watershed and water supply.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2004
Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to increase the nonrecourse marketing loan rate for safflower. (Separates safflower from "other oilseeds.")
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2004
Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, and the Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987, to reauthorize certain school lunch and child nutrition programs through June 30, 2004.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2004
Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 - Amends, and repeals, specified agricultural Acts to eliminate tobacco quota and price support programs. Provides for: (1) transitional payments (funded by appropriations made by this Act) to tobacco quota holders and active producers of quota tobacco; (2) geographic restrictions on tobacco expansion through penalties for tobacco grown outside traditional tobacco counties; and (3) county committee resolution of payment disputes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2004
Sets forth the congressional budget for the Federal Government for FY 2005, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY 2004 and 2006 through 2009. Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts, for FY 2004 through 2009, with respect to: (1) Federal revenues; (2) new budget authority; (3) budget outlays; (4) deficits (on-budget); (5) debt subject to limit; and (6) debt held by the public. Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority and outlays for specified major functional categories for FY 2004 through 2009. Sets forth reconciliation instructions for the House Committees on Agriculture, on Education and the Workforce, on Energy and Commerce, on Government Reform, and on Ways and Means. Requires the House Committee on: (1) Ways and Means to report a reconciliation bill providing for specified reductions in revenues; and (2) Armed Services to report to the House Budget Committee on its findings that identify specified savings from activities determined to be a low priority to the successful execution of current military operations, or to be wasteful or unnecessary to national defense. Provides for deficit-neutral reserve funds for: (1) health insurance for the uninsured; (2) medicaid coverage for children with special needs (the Family Opportunity Act); (3) increasing the survivor's benefits under the Military Survivors' Benefit Plan; and (4) pending legislation that provides for the safe importation of FDA-approved prescription drugs or places limits on medical malpractice litigation. Provides for contingency procedures to adjust budget aggregates and new budget authority allocation for surface transportation and infrastructure. Specifies adjustments for highway and transit outlays. Prohibits House legislation that would require advanced appropriations, with a specified exception. States that if legislation is reported that makes supplemental appropriations for FY 2005 for contingency operations related to the global war on terrorism, or for any emergency requirements, then the resulting new budget authority, new entitlement authority, outlays, and receipts shall not count for certain purposes of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for the provisions of such measure that are designated as making appropriations for such contingency operations. Declares the sense of the House on: (1) spending accountability; and (2) entitlement reform.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2004
Health Information Independence Act - Prevents the Federal Government from restricting the distribution of a dietary supplement or other nutritional food because the manufacturer makes health claims unapproved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if: (1) the product has a label clearly stating that its health claims are not FDA-approved; (2) the FDA lacks evidence establishing probable cause that the claims contain misleading information posing a threat to the safety and well-being of those who use the product. Requires an independent review of a determination by the FDA that there is such probable cause. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to extend certain food nutrition labeling requirements to dietary supplements. Requires nutrition labels to include the relationship of a nutrient to the prevention, treatment, or cure of a disease. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to solicit independent scientific reviewers from the university community to review, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding particular health claims, based on the scientific evidence available. Excludes health claims only if they are unsupported by credible scientific evidence and no disclaimer could eliminate potentially misleading connotations. Makes recommendations of such reviewers binding on the Secretary and reviewable only by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Requires costs of this program to be offset against the operating budget of the Department of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2004
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain National Forest System land in Pope County, Arkansas, to the New Hope Cemetery Association for use as a cemetery.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2004
Country-of-Origin Labeling Enhancement Act of 2004 - Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended by the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004, to make country-of-origin notice requirements applicable to retail sales of all covered commodities as of September 30, 2004. (Current law applies such requirements to farm-raised and wild fish as of such date, and other covered commodities as of September 30, 2006.) Requires a retailer to maintain country-of-origin records for at least 180 days. Provides for the future inclusion of national animal identification system information into the certification of origin requirements. Revises civil money penalty provisions for country-of-origin notice violations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2004
Exempts certain information obtained through the livestock identification system from Freedom of Information Act disclosure. States that such information: (1) shall not be released, nor considered to be in the public domain; and (2) shall be considered privileged and confidential commercial information. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to release such information if: (1) related to disease or pest threats to livestock; (2) related to certain actions by the Secretary; and (3) needed for public health and public safety purposes. Directs the Secretary to release such information to: (1) a requesting livestock owner; (2) the Attorney General for law enforcement purposes; (3) the Secretary of Homeland Security for national security purposes; (4) a court of competent jurisdiction; and (5) a foreign government if necessary to trace livestock threatened by disease or pest.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2004
Captive Supply Reform Act - Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 respecting livestock producer-packer forward contracts to: (1) require the inclusion of fixed dollar amount base pricing and public bidding; (2) prohibit formula pricing; (3) limit individual contract size; and (4) exclude from the definition of "formula price" futures-based prices and base adjustments resulting from factors outside packer control.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2004
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct research through the Agricultural Research Service regarding the likelihood and risks of the inter-animal species transfer of the proteinaceous infectious particles (prions) that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. Directs the Service to study the risks associated with feeding livestock by-products to other animals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2004
Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to extend contract authority for national dairy market loss payments.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2004
Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Reform Act of 2004 - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to repeal the authorization for use of certain moneys in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund: (1) by the Secretary of Agriculture for reclamation of rural lands; and (2) by the Department of the Interior for certain studies, research, and demonstration projects. Reduces the reclamation fee required to be paid by operators of coal mining operations. Extends the authority to collect such fee to 2019. Revises Fund allocation requirements with respect to reclamation fees. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer specified sums to: (1) the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; (2) the United Mine Workers of America 1992 Benefit Plan; and (3) a certain multiemployer health benefit plan established after July 20, 1992, by the parties that are the settlors of the 1992 Plan. Repeals Fund objectives concerning: (1) protection , construction, or enhancement of public facilities such as utilities, roads, recreation and conservation facilities adversely affected by coal mining practices; and (2) the development of publicly owned land adversely affected by coal mining practices including land acquired as provided in this subchapter for recreation and historic purposes, conservation, and reclamation purposes and open space benefits. States that no lien shall be filed against any person who neither consented to, nor participated in nor exercised control over the mining operation which necessitated reclamation. Repeals the limitation of such prohibition to persons who owned the surface before May 2, 1977. Expands certification guidelines to prescribe payments to: (1) qualified States and Indian tribes; and (2) non-qualified States and Indian tribes.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2004
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District, without consideration, specified Federal land administered by the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service in Riverside, California, contingent on the District's agreeing to use the property for land conservation and related research and to make the property available to other public agencies engaged in similar activities.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2004
United States Animal Identification Plan Implementation Act - Amends the Animal Health Protection Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the animal identification plan (developed by the National Animal Identification Development Team) for: (1) beef and dairy cattle that are at least 30 months old on the date of enactment of this Act, not later than 60 days after such enactment; (2) all other beef and dairy cattle, not later than 90 days after the date of such enactment; (3) all other ruminate livestock, not later than 180 days after the date of such enactment; and (4) all other livestock, not later than one year after the date of such enactment. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into State or third-party information collection agreements. Provides for: (1) confidentiality of producer information; and (2) nonapplication of the Freedom of Information Act. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to monitor and report on the implementation of certain regulations relating to prohibited animal proteins in ruminant feed; and (2) the Secretary to develop a related enforcement plan.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2004
Amends the Federal judicial code to permit any civil action seeking judicial review of a final agency action by the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Director of the National Park Service, or the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, relating to the use of land administered by the Secretary to be brought only in: (1) the U.S. district court for the district in which the land is located; or (2) any of the districts in which the land is located (if the land is located in more than one district).
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2004
Summer Food Service Program Improvement Act of 2004 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to revise requirements for the summer food service program for children. Provides for a redefinition of rural areas in which poor economic conditions exist. Revises requirements relating to payments to service institutions for operating expenses and administrative costs. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive startup grants to ten States to assist eligible service institutions in initiating summer food service program sites.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2004
Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests Land Exchange Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain lands in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, Colorado, with the City of Golden, Colorado, subject to the City's right to use necessary surface and subsurface land to maintain the Vidler Tunnel. States that if such land exchange is not completed the Secretary is authorized and directed to sell such Federal land to the City. Authorizes the City to construct a water pipeline on such Federal land upon enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2004
Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to permit the planting of chicory on base acres for purposes of direct and counter-cyclical payments.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2004
Educational Grants for Great Starts Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a pilot program to: (1) support before-school activities that advance student academic achievement and that encourage establishing of, or increasing participation in, school breakfast programs; and (2) evaluate the effect before-school activities have on school breakfast program participation. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to make such program grants to seven State agencies to conduct pilot projects in 17 elementary schools in each such State through subgrants to local educational agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2004
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to include certain previously cropped playas (temporary water areas) in the wetland and buffer acreage conservation pilot program (farmable wetlands program). Increases maximum acreage and payment acreage limits.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2004
Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to reauthorize various programs, including the national school lunch and breakfast, child and adult care food, after-school snack, summer food service, and special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC). Revises requirements relating to eligibility for and access to such programs. Reauthorizes, without any termination date, the exclusion of military housing allowances from consideration as income in determining eligibility for free or reduced price lunches. Includes as automatically eligible for free lunches and breakfasts: (1) children or youth defined as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; and (2) youth served under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. Makes eligible also for such special payments any new schools which draw attendance from schools receiving severe need assistance. Extends through FY 2009 the summer food pilot projects and the summer food service program for children. Allows nonprofit organizations to participate in such programs. Revises the child and adult care food program. Extends indefinitely the period during which private day care providers with at least 25 percent of served children eligible for free and reduced price lunch are eligible to participate. Extends, from three years to five years, the period of a tier classification of a family or group day care home. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to issue regulations requiring States to develop and use a standard form of agreement between each family or group home day care sponsoring organization and their homes participating in the program. Extends through FY 2006 the period during which the Secretary is required to reserve funds for providing training and technical assistance to States to improve program management and oversight. Authorizes the Secretary or a State agency to disregard any overpayment to an institution if the total overpayment does not exceed a collection cost amount consistent with other disregards, except where there is evidence of a violation of criminal law or civil fraud law. Allows children up to age 18 (currently 12) to be served program meals while residing at homeless or domestic violence shelters. Directs the Secretary, in conjunction with States and participating institutions, to examine the feasibility of reducing paperwork under the program. Revises eligibility and certification requirements for free and reduced price lunches. Directs the Secretary to base income eligibility guidelines on nonfarm income poverty guidelines issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Requires applications and related descriptive materials for free and reduced price lunches to be distributed at least annually to parents and guardians in clear and understandable format and language. Requires descriptive material to contain: (1) only the income levels for reduced price lunches, and an explanation that lower income levels may mean eligibility for free lunches; and (2) notice that WIC participants in the program are eligible for free or reduced price lunches. Allows applications to be submitted by an adult of the household: (1) as a single application for all children in the household; and (2) electronically if the filing system meets confidentiality standards. Directs local education agencies (LEAs) to verify information in a sample of approved applications, with variations in such samples according to specified formulae based non-response rates. Provides for direct certification of children as eligible for free meals, without further application, based on their being in households receiving assistance under the food stamp program or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program under title IV part A of the Social Security Act. Sets forth privacy protections. Prohibits requiring LEAs to submit free and reduced price meal policy statements to State agencies after the initial submission unless there is a substantive change in such policy. Requires, with certain exceptions, a child's eligibility for free and reduced price lunches to remain in effect from the date of approval for the current school year until the beginning of school in a subsequent school year, or as otherwise specified by the Secretary. Transfers responsibility for local administration of school lunch and breakfast programs from local school food authorities (LSFAs) to LEAs (including appropriate entities determined by the Secretary in cases of private nonprofit school food authorities). Makes LEAs, as well as LSFAs, responsible for program compliance and accountability. Directs the Secretary to give priority consideration to States that will use reallocated funds for technology and information management improvements. Requires States to describe how they will use technology and information management systems to improve program integrity in certain ways. Raises the amount of the minimum State administrative expense grant, and guarantees that such a grant shall not be less than the one received in a previous fiscal year. Permits eligibility for special assistance to be determined district-wide, as an alternative to determining it on an individual school basis. Directs the Secretary to develop and distribute training and technical assistance materials relating to administration of school meals programs. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide training and technical assistance related to administrative practices to improve program integrity and administrative accuracy to State educational agencies (SEAs), LSFAs, and LEAs; and (2) assist SEAs in reviewing administrative practices of LSFAs. Establishes additional administrative and performance review requirements for selected LSFAs and LEAs that have demonstrated high levels of or high risks for administrative errors. Directs SEAs, where such a selected LSFA or LEA fails to meet performance criteria established by the Secretary, to: (1) require such entity to develop and carry out a plan of corrective action; (2) provide technical assistance; and (3) conduct a follow-up review. Authorizes the Secretary require the SEA to recover funds that were expended in error and use them to improve program integrity and administrative accuracy. Requires States to provide annual training and technical in administrative practices, emphasizing requirements established under this Act. Requires the Secretary to assist the State or provide such training and technical assistance or directly. Authorizes the Secretary or the State to contract with a third party conducting such activities. Requires each LSFA or LEA to insure that an individual conducting or overseeing such administrative procedures receives such training at least annually. Authorizes the Secretary to assist States in carrying out State training and administrative reviews of selected LSFAs and LEAs with excessive error rates. Requires LEAs participating in school meals programs to establish local school wellness policies with: (1) goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities; (2) nutrition guidelines for all foods sold on school campus during the school day in order to promote health and reduce obesity; (3) a plan to ensure policy implementation, including designating persons with operational responsibility; and (4) involvement of parents, students, and representatives of the LSFA, school board, school administrators, and the public. Revises the system of nutrition education grants to SEAs to provide assistance to State agencies, schools, and nonprofit entities for the Team Nutrition Network (TNN) program and other nutrition education projects that improve student understanding of healthful eating patterns, the quality of school meals, and access to local foods in schools and institutions operating programs under NSLA and CNA. Establishes TNN to: (1) promote the Nation's schoolchildren's health through nutrition education, physical fitness, and other activities supporting healthy lifestyles; (2) provide grants to States to develop Statewide, comprehensive, and integrated nutrition education and physical fitness programs; and (3) provide training and technical assistance to States, school and community nutrition programs, and child nutrition food service professionals. Requires State TNN Coordinators to: (1) administer and coordinate a comprehensive integrated statewide nutrition education program; and (2) coordinate efforts with the Food and Nutrition Service and State agencies responsible for children's health programs. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance for the following types of three-year pilot projects: (1) to States on a competitive basis for State TNN Coordinators to create model nutrition education and physical fitness programs for school students; and (2) to not more than 100 LEAs, at least one per State, to promote healthy eating habits and increase physical fitness among school students. Authorizes the Secretary to provide: (1) technical assistance to SEAs to improve school meal quality; and (2) technical assistance and competitive matching grants to schools and nonprofit entities to improve access to local foods in schools and institutions. Includes fruits and vegetables among the foods to be emphasized in commodity distribution. Revises fruit and vegetable pilot program requirements to direct the Secretary to make available fresh and dried fruits and fresh vegetables to 25 schools in each of four additional States and one Indian reservation, with an emphasis on low-income schools. Requires schools to serve milk in a variety of fat contents. Permits substitute nutritionally-equivalent nondairy beverages to be reimbursable, if a note is provided from a medical authority or the child's parent or guardian. Extends the period during which weighted averages are not required to be used in nutrient analysis of foods under the school lunch program, if school food authority has an equivalent nutrient analysis system. Directs the Secretary to: (1) promulgate rules, based on Federal nutrition guidelines, to increase the presence of whole grains in foods offered in school nutrition programs; and (2) enter into an agreement with a science-based organization to study, determine, and report on appropriate nutritional standards for foods available to students in school, considering total daily dietary intake of students participating in the school foods program. Revises WIC program (under CNA) definitions of: (1) nutrition education to include child development and physical activity; and (2) supplemental foods to provide for consideration of the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Revises certification requirements for WIC program participation to allow: (1) a State to certify breastfeeding women for up to one year or until they stop breastfeeding, whichever is earlier; (2) a local agency to waive the physical presence requirement for infants under eight weeks of age; and (3) applicants or participants to reschedule appointments to apply or be recertified. Directs the Secretary to: (1) promulgate a rule updating the prescribed supplemental foods available through the WIC program, within six months of receiving the review of the WIC food package undertaken by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine in September 2003; and (2) beginning in 2013, and at least every ten years thereafter, conduct scientific reviews of supplemental foods available in the WIC program and recommend changes to reflect nutrition science, current public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns. Requires State agencies to notify vendors in writing of violations, unless the notification would compromise an investigation. Authorizes State agencies to round up to the next whole can of infant formula to ensure all infants receive the full-authorized nutritional benefit. Revises WIC program competitive bidding provisions to require infant formula: (1) rebate invoices to provide reasonable estimates or actual counts of numbers of units sold to program participants; and (2) bid solicitations amounts to be adjusted on a cent-by-cent basis according to changes in the lowest national wholesale truckload price. Authorizes demonstration projects, in up to ten local sites, to evaluate inclusion of fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables, to be made available through private funds, as an addition to supplemental food provided under the WIC program. Revises WIC program provisions for management information systems to require: (1) States to comply with certain standards for electronic benefit systems; and (2) the Secretary to implement a national Universal Product Code Database for use by all State agencies. Requires participating vendors in the WIC program to purchase infant formula from a State-maintained list of approved manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. Prohibits State alliances from exceeding 200,000 infant participants (except alliances with such numbers as of October 2003). Allows any State agency serving under 5,000 participants, or any Indian Tribal Organization, to request to join any State alliance. Increases from one to three percent the maximum portion of nutrition services and administration funds a State may expend during the subsequent fiscal year for allowable expenses incurred during a fiscal year. Extends through FY 2009 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the WIC program; (2) WIC nutrition services and administrative funds; and (3) WIC farmers' market nutrition program. Revises requirements relating to training and technical assistance under NSLA, CNA, and other federally-assisted feeding programs. Directs the Secretary to develop policy and establish procedures regarding the purchase, distribution, notice of consumption, and provision of information regarding irradiated foods in Federal school meals programs. Extends through FY 2009 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) State administrative expenses (CNA); (2) the commodity distribution program (NSLA and the Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987); (3) purchases of locally produced foods (NSLA); (4) training, technical assistance, and food service management institute (NSLA); and (5) compliance and accountability (NSLA).
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management) or the Secretary of Agriculture (with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service), upon request of an Indian tribe to enter into an agreement or contract to carry out a project to protect Indian forest land that meets specified criteria, to issue public notice of initiation of any necessary environmental review or of the potential of entering into such an agreement or contract under which the Indian tribe would carry out certain activities. Authorizes the appropriate Secretary to enter into such an agreement or contract following completion of any necessary environmental analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Farming Flexibility Act of 2004 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, with respect to direct and counter-cyclical payments, to: (1) permit a producer to reduce soybean base acreage by electing to plant such acres with fruits or vegetables for processing; (2) require such election to be made annually; and (3) provide that if a farm's base acreage is recalculated, such fruit or vegetable production shall be considered the same as the planning, prevented planting, or production of soybeans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management) or the Secretary of Agriculture (with respect to land under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service), upon request of an Indian tribe to enter into an agreement or contract to carry out a project to protect Indian forest land that meets specified criteria, to issue public notice of initiation of any necessary environmental review or of the potential of entering into such an agreement or contract under which the Indian tribe would carry out certain activities. Authorizes the appropriate Secretary to enter into such an agreement or contract following completion of any necessary environmental analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2004
National Livestock Identification Act - Amends the Animal Health Protection Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an electronic nationwide livestock identification system to enhance the Department of Agriculture's response to outbreaks of livestock disease. Requires that such system be capable of tracing, within 48 hours, individual animals from birth to slaughter. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide producer participation assistance; and (2) appoint an international panel of scientific experts to review the Department's response to an outbreak of livestock disease.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2004
Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Reform Act of 2004 - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to repeal the authorization that certain moneys in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund may be used: (1) by the Secretary of Agriculture for reclamation of rural lands; and (2) by the Department of the Interior for studies by contract with organizations for advice and research and development projects technical assistance. Reduces the reclamation fee required to be paid by operators of coal mining operations. Revises Fund allocation requirements with respect to reclamation fees. Repeals Fund objectives concerning: (1) protection , construction, or enhancement of public facilities such as utilities, roads, recreation and conservation facilities adversely affected by coal mining practices; and (2) the development of publicly owned land adversely affected by coal mining practices including land acquired as provided in this subchapter for recreation and historic purposes, conservation, and reclamation purposes and open space benefits. States that no lien shall be filed against any person who neither consented to, nor participated in nor exercised control over, the mining operation which necessitated reclamation. Repeals the limitation of such prohibition to persons who owned the surface before May 2, 1977. Expands certification guidelines to prescribe payments to: (1) qualified States and Indian tribes; and (2) non-qualified States and Indian tribes.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2004
United States Animal Identification Plan Implementation Act - Amends the Animal Health Protection Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the animal identification plan (developed by the National Animal Identification Development Team) for: (1) beef and dairy cattle that are at least 30 months old on the date of enactment of this Act, not later than 60 days after such enactment; (2) all other beef and dairy cattle, not later than 90 days after the date of such enactment; (3) all other ruminate livestock, not later than 180 days after the date of such enactment; and (4) all other livestock, not later than one year after the date of such enactment. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into State or third-party information collection agreements. Provides for: (1) confidentiality of producer information; and (2) nonapplication of the Freedom of Information Act. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to monitor and report on the implementation of certain regulations relating to prohibited animal proteins in ruminant feed; and (2) the Secretary to develop a related enforcement plan.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2004
Abandoned Mine Lands Reclamation Reform Act of 2004 - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to repeal the authorization that certain moneys in the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund may be used: (1) by the Secretary of Agriculture for reclamation of rural lands; and (2) by the Department of the Interior for studies by contract with organizations for advice and research and development projects technical assistance. Reduces the reclamation fee required to be paid by operators of coal mining operations. Revises Fund allocation requirements with respect to reclamation fees. Repeals Fund objectives concerning: (1) protection , construction, or enhancement of public facilities such as utilities, roads, recreation and conservation facilities adversely affected by coal mining practices; and (2) the development of publicly owned land adversely affected by coal mining practices including land acquired as provided in this subchapter for recreation and historic purposes, conservation, and reclamation purposes and open space benefits. States that no lien shall be filed against any person who neither consented to, nor participated in nor exercised control over the mining operation which necessitated reclamation. Repeals the limitation of such prohibition to persons who owned the surface before May 2, 1977. Expands certification guidelines to prescribe payments to: (1) qualified States and Indian tribes; and (2) non-qualified States and Indian tribes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2004
National Farm Animal Identification and Records Act - Amends the Animal Health Protection Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an electronic nationwide livestock identification system to enhance the Department of Agriculture's response to outbreaks of livestock disease. Requires that such system: (1) be capable of tracing, within 48 hours, livestock from birth to slaughter; (2) provide for access by States and inclusion of State information; and (3) apply to all livestock born or imported into the United Sates, and to interstate and intrastate commerce. Exempts, with specified exceptions, system information from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act or other release into the public domain. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide producer participation assistance; and (2) appoint an international panel of scientific experts to review the Department's response to an outbreak of livestock disease.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2004
Animal Feed Protection Act of 2004 - Makes it unlawful for any person to introduce into interstate or foreign commerce a covered article that contains: (1) specified risk material from a ruminant, or any material from a ruminant that was in any foreign country when there was a risk of transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and may contain specified risk material from a ruminant; or (2) any material from a ruminant exhibiting signs of a neurological disease. States that the head of a Federal agency may: (1) seize and destroy an article that is introduced into interstate or foreign commerce in violation of this Act; or (2) require any person who is in violation of this Act to cease the violation, to recall any sold article and refund the purchase price, to destroy or forfeit the article to the United States for destruction, or to cease production operations until the head of the appropriate Federal agency determines that there is no longer a violation of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for related civil and monetary penalties. Defines "covered article" as: (1) animal feed, nutritional supplement, or medicine; and (2) any other article that is ordinarily ingested, implanted, or otherwise taken into an animal. Sets forth exceptions. Defines "specified risk material" as: (1) the skull, brain, trigeminal ganglia, eyes, tonsils, spinal cord, vertebral column, or dorsal root ganglia of cattle and bison 30 months of age and older, or sheep, goats, deer, and elk 12 months of age and older; (2) the intestinal tract of any ruminant; and (3) any other material of a ruminant that may carry a prion disease.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2004
Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program Extension and Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to repeal the authorization to use certain funds in the Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund (Fund) by the Secretary of Agriculture for rural land reclamation. Revises guidelines governing: (1) the availability of moneys from the Fund: (2) the disposition of unappropriated Fund balances; (3) transfers to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund; and (4) submission of quarterly reports by operators of surface coal mining operations. Revises requirements governing allocation of funds and allocation of funds to states and Indian tribes. Prescribes guidelines for initial program sites and bond forfeiture sites with insolvent sureties. Revises requirements for the granting of funds to set forth guidelines governing: (1) the application processing deadline; (2) the disposition of unexpended funds; and (3) a state set-aside program. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to require that states assume responsibility for administering the emergency reclamation program in order to remain eligible to receive grants. Authorizes the Secretary to propose regulations prescribing conditions under which the Fund would be used to promote remining of eligible lands, including reclamation fee rebates or waivers and other incentives.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2004
Family and Workplace Balancing Act of 2004 - Balancing Act of 2004 - Provides assistance for working families through: (1) family and medical care leave; (2) expanded child care for young children and incentives for child care providers; (3) preschool, in-school, and afterschool nutrition and education; (4) temporary and part-time workers pension and health plan benefits; and (5) encouragement of business use of employee telecommuting. Family Income to Respond to Significant Transitions Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make five-year grants to a State or local government to pay for the Federal share of the cost of carrying out projects that assist families by providing wage replacement for eligible individuals responding to caregiving needs resulting from the birth or adoption of a son or daughter or other family caregiving needs. Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2003 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to allow employees covered by FMLA to take up to four hours during any 30-day period, and up to 24 hours during any 12-month period, of parental involvement leave to participate in or attend their children's or grandchildren's educational and extracurricular activities. Amends Federal civil service law to apply the same parental involvement leave allowance to Federal employees. Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize additional funds for expanding child care activities for young children less than three years of age. Establishes: (1) the Child Care Provider Development and Retention Grant Program; and (2) the Child Care Provider Scholarship Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allot funds to eligible States (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) for distribution directly, or at State option through local governments, to pay the Federal share of the cost of making grants to eligible child care providers under both such programs. Healthy Early Education Workforce Grant Program Act - Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to allot funds to eligible States (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) to pay for the Federal share of the cost of providing access to affordable health benefits coverage for: (1) eligible child care providers; and (2) at State option, the spouses, domestic partners, and dependents of such providers. Directs the Secretary to conduct an evaluation of several such funded State programs representing various approaches to increasing the rate of coverage for child care providers. Child Care Construction and Renovation Incentive Grants Act - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to provide for use of community development block grants to establish child care facilities. Amends the National Housing Act to provide for insurance for mortgages: (1) on new and rehabilitated child care facilities; and (2) for acquisition of or the refinancing of debt on existing child care facilities. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make technical and financial assistance grants to acquire or improve child care facilities or equipment. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a business child care incentive grant program. Universal Prekindergarten Act - Directs the Secretary of HHS to make grants to State agencies to develop full-day, full-year universal prekindergarten programs for all children three, four, and five years old. Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a universal free school breakfast program without regard to family incomes. Provides that appropriations and expenditures for CNA shall be considered HHS, not Department of Agriculture, functions for budget purposes. Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program of healthy school nutrition environment incentive grants. Revises CNA and NSLA requirements for regulation of competitive foods. Revises NSLA child and adult care food program provisions relating to reimbursements for afterschool dinners and eligibility of private child care centers. Afterschool Education Enhancement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require State educational agencies to give priority to 21st century community learning centers program applications submitted jointly by eligible entities consisting of at least one local educational agency receiving funds under ESEA provisions for disadvantaged students and at least one community-based organization or other public or private entity. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for treatment of employees working at less than full-time under participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans and under group health plans. Expands the definition of employee to include certain individuals whose services are leased or contracted for. United States Business Telework Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to conduct, in not more than five States, a pilot program to raise awareness about telework among employers and to encourage them to offer telework options to employees.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2004
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange certain administrative sites and land in the Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas and Oklahoma, and the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, Arkansas. States that any resultant funds shall be available for acquisition, improvement, or construction of administrative facilities, land, or interests in land for the national forests in Arkansas or Oklahoma.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2004
Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended by the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 to require implementation of certain country of origin labeling requirements by September 30, 2004, rather than September 30, 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
BSE and Other Prion Disease Prevention and Public Health Protection Act - Prohibits the importation of a covered article that: (1) if containing animal-derived material, does not state in English that the covered article contains animal-derived material and the name of the derivative animal, and if a ruminant, identifies the country of origin and states whether specified risk material from the ruminant is or may be part of the covered article; (2) if not containing animal-derived material, does not state in English that the covered article does not contain animal-derived material; and (3) contains animal-derived material from a ruminant that was in any country at a time at which there was a transmission risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to promulgate compliance standards. Prohibits the introduction into interstate or foreign commerce of a covered article that contains: (1) specified risk material from a ruminant, or any material from a ruminant that was in any foreign country when there was a BSE transmission risk; or (2) any material from a ruminant exhibiting signs of a neurological disease. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate compliance standards. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop an enforcement plan for the regulatory ban of certain animal proteins in ruminant feed; (2) promulgate regulations prohibiting same-farm admixing of ruminant and nonruminant feed; (3) annually assess prion disease prevalence and cattle testing in the United States; and (4) in conjunction with the National Prion Disease Pathology Research Center at Case Western Reserve University, expand survey efforts for prion diseases in humans. Directs the Secretary to establish a ruminant identification program capable of tracing, within 48 hours, the movements of disease-exposed animals from birth to slaughter. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture develop programs to: (1) fund the development of the national animal health laboratory network, and expand the network to include all certified Federal, State, and university veterinary diagnostic laboratories; (2) require rapid prion disease screening tests on nonambulatory ruminants, and on cattle and bison 30 months of age and older and on sheep, goats, deer, and elk 12 months of age and older intended for human consumption; (3) exclude BSE-tested ruminants from animal feed use until test confirmation; (4) expand animal collection by Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing; (5) require CWD herd certification and interstate movement restrictions for farm raised deer and elk; and (6) increase import inspections. Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish a prion disease task force. Defines: (1) covered article; (2) prion disease; and (3) specified risk material.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2004
National Farm Animal Identification and Records Act - Amends the Animal Health Protection Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an electronic nationwide livestock identification system (for individual animal identification) to enhance the Department of Agriculture's response to outbreaks of livestock disease. Requires that such system: (1) be capable of tracing, within 48 hours, an individual animal from birth to slaughter; and (2) provide for access by States and inclusion of State information. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide producer participation assistance; and (2) appoint an international panel of scientific experts to review the Department's response to an outbreak of livestock disease.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2004
BSE and Other Prion Disease Prevention and Public Health Protection Act - Prohibits the importation of a covered article that: (1) if containing animal-derived material, does not state in English that the covered article contains animal-derived material and the name of the derivative animal, and if a ruminant, identifies the country of origin and states whether specified risk material from the ruminant is or may be part of the covered article; (2) if not containing animal-derived material, does not state in English that the covered article does not contain animal-derived material; and (3) contains animal-derived material from a ruminant that was in any country at a time at which there was a transmission risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to promulgate compliance standards. Prohibits the introduction into interstate or foreign commerce of a covered article that contains: (1) specified risk material from a ruminant, or any material from a ruminant that was in any foreign country when there was a BSE transmission risk; or (2) any material from a ruminant exhibiting signs of a neurological disease. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate compliance standards. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop an enforcement plan for the regulatory ban of certain animal proteins in ruminant feed; (2) promulgate regulations prohibiting same-farm admixing of ruminant and nonruminant feed; (3) annually assess prion disease prevalence and cattle testing in the United States; and (4) in conjunction with the National Prion Disease Pathology Research Center at Case Western Reserve University, expand survey efforts for prion diseases in humans. Directs the Secretary to establish a ruminant identification program capable of tracing, within 48 hours, the movements of disease-exposed animals from birth to slaughter. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture develop programs to: (1) fund the development of the national animal health laboratory network, and expand the network to include all certified Federal, State, and university veterinary diagnostic laboratories; (2) require rapid prion disease screening tests on nonambulatory ruminants, and on cattle and bison 30 months of age and older and on sheep, goats, deer, and elk 12 months of age and older intended for human consumption; (3) exclude BSE-tested ruminants from animal feed use until test confirmation; (4) expand animal collection by Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing; (5) require CWD herd certification and interstate movement restrictions for farm raised deer and elk; and (6) increase import inspections. Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish a prion disease task force. Defines: (1) covered article; (2) prion disease; and (3) specified risk material.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2004
Mad Cow Testing Act of 2004 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require the post-mortem testing of cattle carcasses and parts intended for human consumption for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease). Requires that: (1) such tests be conducted only by Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service personnel; and (2) testing costs be covered through fees collected from slaughtering, meat-canning, salting, packing, rendering, and other establishments subject to such testing. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to delay such testing if an accurate test is not available for cattle under a certain age. Requires the Secretary to evaluate at least yearly during the course of any such delay whether a test has been developed.