Education

Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2003

Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and implement a plan for the prevention, control, and management of hepatitis C virus (HCV), which shall include strategies for education and training, surveillance and early detection, and research. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a biennial plan assessment; (2) support voluntary State, local, and tribal HCV testing and counseling programs; (3) provide for the vaccination of HCV-infected individuals against hepatitis A and B and other infectious diseases; (4) support the establishment and maintenance of HCV surveillance databases; and (5) establish and support a Hepatitis C Clinical Research Network. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to States, political subdivisions of States, Indian tribes, or nonprofit entities to carry out activities under this Act. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health to establish a Liver Disease Research Advisory Board.

SAFE Act

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2003

Strategy for Assuring Financial Empowerment Act - SAFE Act - Directs the President to develop a national strategy for financial education, the Strategy for Assuring Financial Empowerment (SAFE strategy), acting through the Secretary of the Treasury and the Office of Financial Education in the Department of the Treasury. Requires the SAFE strategy to: (1) address certain issues; and (2) be developed and transmitted to Congress annually, along with policy effectiveness reports. Requires the first SAFE strategy to contain recommendations and a proposal for forming a Financial Literacy and Education Working Group. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to chair the Working Group and to consult with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and with other officials of specified Federal, State, local, and private entities in developing the SAFE strategy.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in support of establishing a program to foster private investment by the people of the United States in Iraqi schools and hospitals through adopt-a-school and adopt-a-hospital initiatives.

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2003

Declares the sense of the House of Representatives that the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, in coordination with the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, should establish a program to foster private assistance by the people of the United States to Iraqi schools and hospitals through adopt-a-school and adopt-a-hospital initiatives. Calls for: (1) mechanisms to establish inventories of specific material and financial educational and medical needs which are made known to schools, education professionals, students, hospitals, and health care professionals in the United States; and (2) avenues for the donation, collection, and transfer of supplies and funds directly to Iraqi schools and hospitals. Calls for online peer-to-peer consultation between education and health care professionals in Iraq and the United States, as well as student-to-student communication.

Social Security Solvency and Modernization Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2003

Social Security Solvency and Modernization Act of 2003 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the Personal Retirement Account Board to: (1) establish a federally-administered personal retirement account (PRA) for each eligible individual in the Personal Retirement Account Fund (PRAF); and (2) credit to the eligible individual's PRA the contributions transferred from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund (Trust Fund) that result from reduced Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax rates (provided for in this Act), as well as other specified contributions involving certain tax overpayments treated as contributions and certain rollovers. Requires investment of a PRA in a manner similar to that under the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal employees. Establishes in the Treasury a Personal Retirement Account Fund composed of all established PRAs, and managed by a Personal Retirement Account Board established in the Social Security Administration. Provides for an alternative PRA privately-administered by a certified investment firm, credit union, insurance company, or other certified institution. Prescribes rules for: (1) distribution of an eligible individual's PRA's funds; (2) off-budget treatment of the PRAF and any federally-administered PRAs within it; and (3) privately-administered PRAs. Amends SSA title II to: (1) make adjustments to primary insurance amounts under the OASDI program for eligible individuals with personal retirement accounts; (2) establish a new minimum monthly Social Security benefit for certain low-income beneficiaries; and (3) provide for the treatment of disabled beneficiaries who have not elected supplemental contribution coverage under a PRA. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce FICA tax rates on the income of every eligible individual, and to impose a PRA contribution on such income, to be credited to the eligible individual's PRA. Entitles each qualified eligible individual to a specified limited PRA tax credit for the taxable year involved, treated as a tax overpayment, to be transferred by the Secretary of Health and Human Services for crediting by the Commissioner of Social Security, as a contribution equal to the tax overpayment, to such eligible individual's PRA. Establishes the Commission on the Review of Federal Agencies and Programs to evaluate all agencies and programs and recommend to Congress realignment or elimination of any that has wasted Federal funds. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer annually an amount equal to 1.25 percent of the taxable payroll for the preceding calendar year to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund. Provides for a reduction in the amount of certain transfers to the Medicare trust fund. Amends SSA title XVII (Administration) to establish a mechanism for remedying unforseen deterioration in social security solvency. Amends SSA title II to make adjustments for widow's and widowers' insurance benefits. Establishes the Commission to Strengthen Financial Education Programs to study all matters relating to programs to increase the financial literacy of Americans.

MADE in America Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2003

Manufacturing Assistance, Development, and Education in America Act or MADE in America Act - Amends the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to define for such Acts the term "small manufacturer," the production facilities of which must be located in the United States. Establishes in the Small Business Administration (SBA) the National Office for the Development of Small Manufacturers, to be administered by the Associate Administrator for Small Manufacturing. Requires the Associate Administrator to establish within the Office the Manufacturing Corps to focus on the education and training of the existing and potential small manufacturer workforce. Directs the Administrator to award block grants to States to develop and implement manufacturing training programs. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants and enter into agreements to expand business-to-business relationships between large and small manufacturers. Requires the Associate Administrator to establish a mentor-protege program that pairs small manufacturers with larger, more experienced manufacturers. Provides increased access to SBA loans for small manufacturers. Authorizes the Administrator to make small business disaster loans (with limits) to small manufacturers, and to refinance such loans or business debts of such manufacturers that were outstanding on the day of the disaster. Authorizes: (1) SBA-guaranteed loans for increasing the productive capacity of, or job creation or retention for, small manufacturers; and (2) small business investment companies to make SBA-guaranteed loans to small manufacturers. Includes small manufacturers under the SBA's new market venture capital program. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants from the Small Business Foreign Patent Protection Grant Fund to assist small businesses in seeking foreign patent protection.

A resolution designating 2004 as "The Year of Polio Awareness".

United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2003

Recognizes: (1) the need for every American child to be vaccinated against polio; and (2) the 1,630,000 Americans who survived polio, their new battle with post-polio sequelae, and the need for education and appropriate medical care. Requests that: (1) every State proclaim 2004 as The Year of Polio Awareness to promote vaccination and post-polio sequelae education and treatment; and (2) the President convene a White House Polio Awareness Summit.

Elder Fall Prevention Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2003

Elder Fall Prevention Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Administration on Aging within the Department of Health and Human Services to: (1) oversee and support a three-year national education campaign by the National Safety Council focusing on ways to reduce the risk of elder falls and prevent repeat falls; (2) provide grants for State coalitions for local education campaigns addressing reduction and prevention of elder falls; and (3) provide grants and contracts for continuing education to health professionals to effect geriatric fall prevention. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct and support research concerning various topics, including high-risk elders, risk and protective factors, fall reduction strategies, fall prevention interventions, diagnosis and treatment of victims, barriers to adopting proven interventions, and the effectiveness of community programs in preventing assisted living and nursing home falls; (2) support the development of ways to reduce falls among very high risk elders; and (3) award grants to enable organizations to provide professional education for physicians and health professionals in elder fall prevention. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to oversee and support demonstration and research projects to be carried out by the Council and other qualified organizations in the following areas: (1) a multi-State demonstration project assessing the utility of targeted fall risk screening and referral programs; (2) programs targeting newly-discharged fall victims at high risk for second falls; (3) private-public partnerships to develop technologies to prevent falls and prevent or reduce injuries from falls; (4) hospital-based fall prevention and treatment centers; (5) Medicaid sponsored community projects of the type adopted by Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida; and (6) grants to States and hospitals to expand such hospital and Medicaid programs. Requires the Secretary to provide grants for: (1) fall prevention programs in residential and institutional settings; and (2) demonstration program evaluations. Directs the Secretary to review the effects of falls on the costs of the Medicare and Medicaid programs and the potential for reducing costs by expanding covered services. States that such review shall include a review of reimbursement policies.

Rural Health Training Incentive Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2003

Rural Health Training Incentive Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the Office of Rural Health Policy, to award matching grants to five accredited schools of medicine or accredited schools of nursing to enable each school to conduct a demonstration program to encourage more health professionals to practice in rural areas. Requires at least one grant for a demonstration program for: (1) physicians in family medicine that includes a regional consortium with three or more family medicine residency programs that each have a residency rural training program and are located in three or more States; and (2) nurses, including registered nurses, nurse anesthetists, and nurse practitioners.

Rural Health Training Incentive Act

United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2003

Rural Health Training Incentive Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award a three-year grant to the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho joint medical school to strengthen and expand programs to encourage health professionals to practice in rural areas; and (2) award grants (beginning in FY 2007) in other geographic areas to regional university and associated medical school partnerships that have at least a two-month old rural training program.

To amend the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to redesignate the American Indian Education Foundation as the National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education.

United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2003

Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to redesignate the American Indian Education Foundation as the National Fund for Excellence in American Indian Education.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Act

United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2003

National Museum of African American History and Culture Act - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution (SI) the National Museum of African American History and Culture, to be operated as a center for scholarship and a location for museum training, public education, exhibits, and collection and study of items and materials relating to the life, art, history, and culture of African Americans that encompass the period of slavery, the era of reconstruction, the Harlem renaissance, the civil rights movement, and other periods of the African American diaspora. Establishes the National Museum of African American History and Culture Council to: (1) advise and assist the SI Board of Regents on Museum planning, design, construction, operation, and budgets; and (2) have responsibility and authority with respect to the Museum's collections and work, subject to the Board of Regents' general policies. Requires the Secretary of SI to appoint a Director to manage the Museum. Authorizes the Director of the Museum to carry out educational and liaison programs in support of Museum goals. Requires the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to establish specified grant, scholarship, internship, and fellowship programs relating to African American museums. Directs the Board of Regents to select the Museum's site from one of four specified sites on, adjacent to, or near the national mall. Requires the Board of Regents to pay costs of planning, design, and construction of the Museum on the chosen site as follows: 50 percent from Federal funds and 50 percent from non-Federal sources. Directs the Council and the Board of Regents, in carrying out their duties under this Act, to consider the reports and plans submitted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission under the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-106).

Security Enhancement Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2003

Security Enhancement Act of 2003 - Defense Trade Cooperation Act of 2003 - Amends the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) , with respect to country exemptions for licensing of defense items for export to foreign countries, to declare that specified requirements for a bilateral agreement under such Act shall not apply to a bilateral agreement between the U.S. Government and: (1) the Government of Australia with respect to transfers or changes in end use within Australia of defense items that will remain subject to the licensing requirements of such Act after the agreement enters into force; or (2) the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) for an exemption from the licensing requirements of such Act. Requires the President to report annually to specified congressional committees on issues raised during the previous year in consultations pursuant to bilateral agreements with Australia and the UK. Requires the Secretary of State to notify the appropriate congressional committees of any credible information regarding the unauthorized end-use or diversion of U.S. exports made pursuant to any agreement with a country to gain exemption from AECA licensing requirements. Radiological Terrorism Threat Reduction Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) propose that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conclude agreements with up to eight countries that would provide temporary secure storage for orphaned, unused, surplus, or other radioactive sources (other than special nuclear material, nuclear fuel, or spent nuclear fuel); and (2) make voluntary contributions to the IAEA for use by its Department of Nuclear Safety (DNS) to fund the U.S. share (which may be 100 percent) of the costs of activities associated with or under such agreements. Declares that the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 shall not apply with respect to any temporary secure storage facility constructed outside the United States under such an agreement, but any applicable environmental laws of the host country shall apply. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide assistance, including through voluntary contributions to the IAEA, to support a program of the DNS Division of Radiation and Waste Safety to promote the discovery, inventory, and recovery of radioactive sources in IAEA member nations; and (2) assist the Government of the Russian Federation to substitute solar (or other non-nuclear) power sources for radioisotope thermal power units operated by it and by other independent states of the former Soviet Union in applications such as lighthouses in the Arctic, remote weather stations, and for providing electricity in remote locations. Authorizes the Secretary to assist foreign countries, or to propose that the IAEA assist foreign countries, in the development of appropriate national radioactive material hazard response plans and the training of first responders. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the preparations made at U.S. diplomatic missions abroad to detect and mitigate a radiological attack on such missions and other U.S. facilities under the Secretary's control; (2) the Secretary's priorities for improving radiological security and consequence management at U.S. missions; and (3) the missions where such improvement is most important. Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 2003 - Declares that priority for U.S. assistance to eligible developing countries under this title shall be given to those countries that permit personnel from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to: (1) investigate outbreaks of infectious diseases on their territories; (2) provide early notification of such outbreaks; and (2) provide pathogen surveillance data to appropriate U.S. departments and agencies in addition to international health organizations (including WHO and the Pan American Health Organization). Prohibits to foreign nationals participating in programs authorized under this title any access to select agents that may be used as, or in, a biological weapon, except in a supervised and controlled setting. Establishes a fellowship program under which the Secretary shall award fellowships to eligible nationals (including, on a case-by-case basis, U.S. citizens) to pursue specified public health education or training. Requires foreign recipients, upon completion of such education or training, to return to their countries of nationality or last habitual residence (if it is an eligible developing country) and complete at least four years of employment in a public health position in the government or a nongovernmental, not-for-profit entity in that country or, with the Secretary's approval, through service with an international health organization without geographic restriction. Directs the Secretary to support short training courses in-country (not in the United States) for laboratory technicians and other public health personnel from eligible developing countries in laboratory techniques of: (1) identification, diagnosis, and tracking of pathogens responsible for possible infectious disease outbreaks; and (2) syndrome surveillance reporting and rapid analysis of syndrome information using Geographic Information System (GIS) and other Internet-based tools. Authorizes the President to furnish assistance to eligible developing countries to purchase and maintain specified: (1) public health laboratory equipment; and (2) communications equipment and information technology necessary to collect, analyze, and transmit public health information effectively. Authorizes a Federal agency head, upon specified request, to assign to a U.S. mission or organization any agency officer or employee occupying a public health position to enhance disease and pathogen surveillance efforts in developing countries. Requires the CDCP and the Department of Defense each to: (1) increase the number of personnel assigned to their laboratories in eligible developing countries that conduct research and other activities with respect to infectious diseases; and (2) expand the operations of those laboratories, especially with respect to implementation of on-site training of foreign nationals and regional outreach efforts involving neighboring countries. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to: (1) enhance the surveillance and reporting capabilities of WHO and existing regional health networks; and (2) develop new regional health networks. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish new country or regional Foreign Epidemiology Training Programs in eligible developing countries. Authorizes the President to transfer: (1) certain naval vessels to specified foreign countries; and (2) certain obsolete or surplus defense articles in the war reserve stockpiles for allies to Israel.

Security Enhancement Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2003

Security Enhancement Act of 2003 - Radiological Terrorism Threat Reduction Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) propose that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conclude agreements with up to eight countries that would provide temporary secure storage for orphaned, unused, surplus, or other radioactive sources (other than special nuclear material, nuclear fuel, or spent nuclear fuel); and (2) make voluntary contributions to the IAEA for use by its Department of Nuclear Safety (DNS) to fund the U.S. share (which may be 100 percent) of the costs of activities associated with or under such agreements. Declares that the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 shall not apply with respect to any temporary secure storage facility constructed outside the United States under such an agreement, but any applicable environmental laws of the host country shall apply. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide assistance, including through voluntary contributions to the IAEA, to support a program of the DNS Division of Radiation and Waste Safety to promote the discovery, inventory, and recovery of radioactive sources in IAEA member nations; and (2) assist the Government of the Russian Federation to substitute solar (or other non-nuclear) power sources for radioisotope thermal power units operated by it and by other independent states of the former Soviet Union in applications such as lighthouses in the Arctic, remote weather stations, and for providing electricity in remote locations. Authorizes the Secretary to assist foreign countries, or to propose that the IAEA assist foreign countries, in the development of appropriate national radioactive material hazard response plans and the training of first responders. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the preparations made at U.S. diplomatic missions abroad to detect and mitigate a radiological attack on such missions and other U.S. facilities under the Secretary's control; (2) the Secretary's priorities for improving radiological security and consequence management at U.S. missions; and (3) the missions where such improvement is most important. Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 2003 - Declares that priority for U.S. assistance to eligible developing countries under this title shall be given to those countries that permit personnel from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to: (1) investigate outbreaks of infectious diseases on their territories; (2) provide early notification of such outbreaks; and (2) provide pathogen surveillance data to appropriate U.S. departments and agencies in addition to international health organizations (including WHO and the Pan American Health Organization). Prohibits to foreign nationals participating in programs authorized under this title any access to select agents that may be used as, or in, a biological weapon, except in a supervised and controlled setting. Establishes a fellowship program under which the Secretary shall award fellowships to eligible nationals (including, on a case-by-case basis, U.S. citizens) to pursue specified public health education or training. Requires foreign recipients, upon completion of such education or training, to return to their countries of nationality or last habitual residence (if it is an eligible developing country) and complete at least four years of employment in a public health position in the government or a nongovernmental, not-for-profit entity in that country or, with the Secretary's approval, through service with an international health organization without geographic restriction. Directs the Secretary to support short training courses in-country (not in the United States) for laboratory technicians and other public health personnel from eligible developing countries in laboratory techniques of: (1) identification, diagnosis, and tracking of pathogens responsible for possible infectious disease outbreaks; and (2) syndrome surveillance reporting and rapid analysis of syndrome information using Geographic Information System (GIS) and other Internet-based tools. Authorizes the President to furnish assistance to eligible developing countries to purchase and maintain specified: (1) public health laboratory equipment; and (2) communications equipment and information technology necessary to collect, analyze, and transmit public health information effectively. Authorizes a Federal agency head, upon specified request, to assign to a U.S. mission or organization any agency officer or employee occupying a public health position to enhance disease and pathogen surveillance efforts in developing countries. Requires the CDCP and the Department of Defense each to: (1) increase the number of personnel assigned to their laboratories in eligible developing countries that conduct research and other activities with respect to infectious diseases; and (2) expand the operations of those laboratories, especially with respect to implementation of on-site training of foreign nationals and regional outreach efforts involving neighboring countries. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to: (1) enhance the surveillance and reporting capabilities of WHO and existing regional health networks; and (2) develop new regional health networks. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish new country or regional Foreign Epidemiology Training Programs in eligible developing countries. Authorizes the President to transfer certain naval vessels to specified foreign countries.

Security Enhancement Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2003

Security Enhancement Act of 2003 - Defense Trade Cooperation Act of 2003 - Amends the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) , with respect to country exemptions for licensing of defense items for export to foreign countries, to declare that specified requirements for a bilateral agreement under such Act shall not apply to a bilateral agreement between the U.S. Government and: (1) the Government of Australia with respect to transfers or changes in end use within Australia of defense items that will remain subject to the licensing requirements of such Act after the agreement enters into force; or (2) the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) for an exemption from the licensing requirements of such Act. Requires the President to report annually to specified congressional committees on issues raised during the previous year in consultations pursuant to bilateral agreements with Australia and the UK. Requires the Secretary of State to notify the appropriate congressional committees of any credible information regarding the unauthorized end-use or diversion of U.S. exports made pursuant to any agreement with a country to gain exemption from AECA licensing requirements. Radiological Terrorism Threat Reduction Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) propose that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conclude agreements with up to eight countries that would provide temporary secure storage for orphaned, unused, surplus, or other radioactive sources (other than special nuclear material, nuclear fuel, or spent nuclear fuel); and (2) make voluntary contributions to the IAEA for use by its Department of Nuclear Safety (DNS) to fund the U.S. share (which may be 100 percent) of the costs of activities associated with or under such agreements. Declares that the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 shall not apply with respect to any temporary secure storage facility constructed outside the United States under such an agreement, but any applicable environmental laws of the host country shall apply. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide assistance, including through voluntary contributions to the IAEA, to support a program of the DNS Division of Radiation and Waste Safety to promote the discovery, inventory, and recovery of radioactive sources in IAEA member nations; and (2) assist the Government of the Russian Federation to substitute solar (or other non-nuclear) power sources for radioisotope thermal power units operated by it and by other independent states of the former Soviet Union in applications such as lighthouses in the Arctic, remote weather stations, and for providing electricity in remote locations. Authorizes the Secretary to assist foreign countries, or to propose that the IAEA assist foreign countries, in the development of appropriate national radioactive material hazard response plans and the training of first responders. Requires the Secretary to report to the appropriate congressional committees on: (1) the preparations made at U.S. diplomatic missions abroad to detect and mitigate a radiological attack on such missions and other U.S. facilities under the Secretary's control; (2) the Secretary's priorities for improving radiological security and consequence management at U.S. missions; and (3) the missions where such improvement is most important. Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 2003 - Declares that priority for U.S. assistance to eligible developing countries under this title shall be given to those countries that permit personnel from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to: (1) investigate outbreaks of infectious diseases on their territories; (2) provide early notification of such outbreaks; and (2) provide pathogen surveillance data to appropriate U.S. departments and agencies in addition to international health organizations (including WHO and the Pan American Health Organization). Prohibits to foreign nationals participating in programs authorized under this title any access to select agents that may be used as, or in, a biological weapon, except in a supervised and controlled setting. Establishes a fellowship program under which the Secretary shall award fellowships to eligible nationals (including, on a case-by-case basis, U.S. citizens) to pursue specified public health education or training. Requires foreign recipients, upon completion of such education or training, to return to their countries of nationality or last habitual residence (if it is an eligible developing country) and complete at least four years of employment in a public health position in the government or a nongovernmental, not-for-profit entity in that country or, with the Secretary's approval, through service with an international health organization without geographic restriction. Directs the Secretary to support short training courses in-country (not in the United States) for laboratory technicians and other public health personnel from eligible developing countries in laboratory techniques of: (1) identification, diagnosis, and tracking of pathogens responsible for possible infectious disease outbreaks; and (2) syndrome surveillance reporting and rapid analysis of syndrome information using Geographic Information System (GIS) and other Internet-based tools. Authorizes the President to furnish assistance to eligible developing countries to purchase and maintain specified: (1) public health laboratory equipment; and (2) communications equipment and information technology necessary to collect, analyze, and transmit public health information effectively. Authorizes a Federal agency head, upon specified request, to assign to a U.S. mission or organization any agency officer or employee occupying a public health position to enhance disease and pathogen surveillance efforts in developing countries. Requires the CDCP and the Department of Defense each to: (1) increase the number of personnel assigned to their laboratories in eligible developing countries that conduct research and other activities with respect to infectious diseases; and (2) expand the operations of those laboratories, especially with respect to implementation of on-site training of foreign nationals and regional outreach efforts involving neighboring countries. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to: (1) enhance the surveillance and reporting capabilities of WHO and existing regional health networks; and (2) develop new regional health networks. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish new country or regional Foreign Epidemiology Training Programs in eligible developing countries.

Kiron Kanina Skinner, of Pennsylvania, to be a Member of the National Security Education Board for a term of four years, vice Herschelle S. Challenor.

United States · United States Senate · 7 November 2003

Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003

Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act - States that the purpose of this Act is to improve minority health and healthcare and to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health and healthcare. FamilyCare Act of 2003 - Amends the Social Security Act respecting: (1) family care; (2) Medicaid coverage for all residents with poverty level incomes; and (3) funding for the territories. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide for optional coverage of legal immigrants under Medicaid and SCHIP (State children's health insurance program). Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to revise provisions respecting program operations and funding. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a demonstration project to strengthen Medicaid and SCHIP coverage for migrant workers and farmworkers. Establishes the National Commission for Expanded Access to Health Care. Amends the Public Service Health Act to improve limited English speakers' access to health care. Directs the Secretary to establish a Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Healthcare. Provides for health workforce diversity, including provisions respecting: (1) career training and support; (2) data collection; (3) cultural training; (4) Hispanic-serving health professions schools; (5) student assistance, including online degree programs; (6) the Louis Stokes public health scholars program; (7) the Patsy Mink health and gender research fellowship program; (8) the Paul David Wellstone international health fellowship program; and (9) the Edward R. Roybal Healthcare scholar program. Environmental Justice Act of 2003 - Establishes: (1) the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice which shall provide guidance to Federal agencies for identifying disproportionately high and adverse health and environmental effects on minority, low-income, and Native American populations; and (2) the Federal Environmental Justice Advisory Committee which shall advise the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Working Group on areas environmental justice. Border Health Security Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary, through the United States members of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission, to award grants to eligible entities to improve the health of border area residents that are established by: (1) the United States members of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission; (2) the State border health offices; and (3) the Secretary. Amends the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission Act to make permanent authorizations of appropriations for activities under such Act. Patient Navigator, Outreach, and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to public and nonprofit private health centers (including Indian Health Service Centers, tribal governments, urban Indian organizations, tribal organizations, clinics serving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and Alaska Natives, and rural health clinics) for model programs that provide health disparity populations with: (1) cancer and chronic disease prevention and treatment; (2) patient navigators to manage the care of individuals within such groups; and (3) outreach services. Authorizes similar grant programs through: (1) the National Cancer Institute; and (2) the Indian Health Service. Community Health Workers Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States or local or tribal units to promote positive health behaviors for women in target populations, especially racial and ethnic minority women in medically underserved communities. Extends funding for breast and cervical cancer preventive health measures. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to qualifying health centers, nonprofit organizations, and public institutions for cancer treatment and prevention programs for underserved minority and other populations, with consideration given to such population's language and cultural context. Provides for grants and activities respecting: (1) health empowerment zone programs in health disparity communities; (2) the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative; (3) infant mortality and sudden infant death syndrome rates in minority communities; (4) fetal alcohol syndrome treatment and diagnosis; (5) diabetes prevention and treatment activities with Indian tribes, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians; (6) diabetes programs, including youth and children's programs; (7) heart disease; (8) a national stroke education campaign; and (9) obesity treatment and prevention in underserved minority populations; (10) tuberculosis control and prevention; (11) asthma; (12) sickle cell disease; (13) autoimmune disease in minority populations; (14) sexually transmitted diseases; (15) children's dental disease coverage under Medicaid or SCHIP, and dental health services in underserved areas; (16) demonstration projects to reduce violence; (17) uterine fibroid research and education; (18) disease screening; (19) community outreach; (20) immunizations; (21) chronic disease management; and (22) racial and ethnic approaches to community health. Requires HHS funded or operated programs to collect race, ethnicity, and language data to detect ethnic and racial health care disparities. Authorizes demonstration program grants for health plan, health center, and hospital data collection. Amends the Social Security Act to require the Social Security Administration to collect similar data. Directs the Secretary to fund epidemiology centers in Indian health areas lacking such centers. Extends funding for the National Center for Health Statistics. Minority Health and Genomics Act of 2003 - Establishes the Minority Health and Genomics Commission, which shall conduct a study of, and develop recommendations on, issues relating to genomic research as applied to minority groups. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) civil rights compliance offices within each HHS agency that administers a health program; and (2) an Office of Minority Health within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Establishes the Indian Health Service as an agency of the Public Health Service. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish an Office of Minority Affairs within the Office of the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to make grants for demonstration programs to improve minority healthcare access and quality. Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate centers of excellence at hospitals and other health systems serving large numbers of minority patients; (2) provide financial assistance to designated healthcare providers and community health centers for facility and service improvements in American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii; and (3) provide grants and loan guarantees from the Health Safety Net Infrastructure Trust Fund (established by this Act) for capital financing assistance to eligible healthcare facilities.

A bill to require payments to State and local governments for infrastructure and social services needs in the same amount as the amount of relief and reconstruction funds provided to Iraq.

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to States and local governments to coordinate their budget-related actions with Federal Government efforts to stimulate the economy. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2003 for such payments in an amount equal to the total amount appropriated for for FY 2003 for the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund in the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003, and subsequent appropriations Acts. Requires not less than one-third of such amount to be made available to local governments. Requires the Secretary to establish a formula for determining the allocation of payments, with priority consideration to the relative unemployment rate, median income, population, and poverty rate. Permits the use of funds received by States and local governments only for: (1) ordinary and necessary maintenance and operating expenses for education, public safety, public health, social services, roads, transportation, water infrastructure, and housing; and (2) ordinary and necessary capital expenditures authorized by law.

Better Eating for Better Living Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003

Better Eating for Better Living Act of 2003 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) and the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to revise school lunch programs with respect to reimbursement rates, nutrition guidelines, milk guidelines, and funds for nutrition education and training. Amends NLSA to increase the reimbursement rate for school lunches by 20.5 cents per meal (from 10.5 to 31). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to evaluate nutrition guidelines for school meals, and issue any necessary revised guidelines, every five years. Revises milk guidelines. Requires schools, at a minimum, to offer students a choice of low fat or nonfat fluid milk. Allows schools, in addition, to offer any other varieties of fluid milk that are: (1) consistent with expressed preferences of the student population; and (2) reasonably equivalent in calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin K content and cost. Amends CNA to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer to the Secretary specified amounts of funds for implementing and administering nutrition education and training programs. Requires grants to each State from such amounts to be: (1) based on a rate of 1/2 cent per average daily number of meals served; and (2) allocated among State, district, and school food service and health education authorities, as determined by the Secretary. Sets a minimum grant amount.

Education for the 21st Century (E-21) Act

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003

Education for the 21st Century (E-21) Act - Establishes assistance programs for: (1) middle school computer literacy; and (2) high-quality educational software for all schools. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to States (especially those with a priority on training middle school teachers) that integrate into the State curriculum the goal of making all middle school graduates in the State technologically literate. Requires use of such grants for teacher training in technology, particularly teachers in elementary, middle, and secondary schools who become technology leaders serving as experts and training other teachers. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants for students at secondary schools and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to work with IHE faculty, software developers, and experts in educational technology in developing high-quality educational software and Internet websites. Directs the Secretary to recognize outstanding software and websites developed with such assistance that focus on core curriculum areas, especially: (1) for the first year of awards, mathematics, science, and reading; and (2) for the second and third years of awards, again mathematics, science, and reading, but also social studies, the humanities, and the arts. Requires: (1) such recognized educational software to be made available to local educational agencies for free downloading from the Department of Education's Internet website; and (2) such recognized Internet websites to be accessible to any World Wide Web user.

Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003

Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act - States that the purpose of this Act is to improve minority health and healthcare and to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health and healthcare. FamilyCare Act of 2003 - Amends the Social Security Act respecting: (1) family care; (2) Medicaid coverage for all residents with poverty level incomes; and (3) funding for the territories. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide for optional coverage of legal immigrants under Medicaid and SCHIP (State children's health insurance program). Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to revise provisions respecting program operations and funding. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a demonstration project to strengthen Medicaid and SCHIP coverage for migrant workers and farmworkers. Establishes the National Commission for Expanded Access to Health Care. Amends the Public Service Health Act to improve limited English speakers' access to health care. Directs the Secretary to establish a Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Healthcare. Provides for health workforce diversity, including provisions respecting: (1) career training and support; (2) data collection; (3) cultural training; (4) Hispanic-serving health professions schools; (5) student assistance, including online degree programs; (6) the Louis Stokes public health scholars program; (7) the Patsy Mink health and gender research fellowship program; (8) the Paul David Wellstone international health fellowship program; and (9) the Edward R. Roybal Healthcare scholar program. Environmental Justice Act of 2003 - Establishes: (1) the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice which shall provide guidance to Federal agencies for identifying disproportionately high and adverse health and environmental effects on minority, low-income, and Native American populations; and (2) the Federal Environmental Justice Advisory Committee which shall advise the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Working Group on areas environmental justice. Border Health Security Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary, through the United States members of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission, to award grants to eligible entities to improve the health of border area residents that are established by: (1) the United States members of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission; (2) the State border health offices; and (3) the Secretary. Amends the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission Act to make permanent authorizations of appropriations for activities under such Act. Patient Navigator, Outreach, and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to public and nonprofit private health centers (including Indian Health Service Centers, tribal governments, urban Indian organizations, tribal organizations, clinics serving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and Alaska Natives, and rural health clinics) for model programs that provide health disparity populations with: (1) cancer and chronic disease prevention and treatment; (2) patient navigators to manage the care of individuals within such groups; and (3) outreach services. Authorizes similar grant programs through: (1) the National Cancer Institute; and (2) the Indian Health Service. Community Health Workers Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States or local or tribal units to promote positive health behaviors for women in target populations, especially racial and ethnic minority women in medically underserved communities. Extends funding for breast and cervical cancer preventive health measures. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to qualifying health centers, nonprofit organizations, and public institutions for cancer treatment and prevention programs for underserved minority and other populations, with consideration given to such population's language and cultural context. Provides for grants and activities respecting: (1) health empowerment zone programs in health disparity communities; (2) the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative; (3) infant mortality and sudden infant death syndrome rates in minority communities; (4) fetal alcohol syndrome treatment and diagnosis; (5) diabetes prevention and treatment activities with Indian tribes, Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians; (6) diabetes programs, including youth and children's programs; (7) heart disease; (8) a national stroke education campaign; and (9) obesity treatment and prevention in underserved minority populations; (10) tuberculosis control and prevention; (11) asthma; (12) sickle cell disease; (13) autoimmune disease in minority populations; (14) sexually transmitted diseases; (15) children's dental disease coverage under Medicaid or SCHIP, and dental health services in underserved areas; (16) demonstration projects to reduce violence; (17) uterine fibroid research and education; (18) disease screening; (19) community outreach; (20) immunizations; (21) chronic disease management; and (22) racial and ethnic approaches to community health. Requires HHS funded or operated programs to collect race, ethnicity, and language data to detect ethnic and racial health care disparities. Authorizes demonstration program grants for health plan, health center, and hospital data collection. Amends the Social Security Act to require the Social Security Administration to collect similar data. Directs the Secretary to fund epidemiology centers in Indian health areas lacking such centers. Extends funding for the National Center for Health Statistics. Minority Health and Genomics Act of 2003 - Establishes the Minority Health and Genomics Commission, which shall conduct a study of, and develop recommendations on, issues relating to genomic research as applied to minority groups. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) civil rights compliance offices within each HHS agency that administers a health program; and (2) an Office of Minority Health within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Establishes the Indian Health Service as an agency of the Public Health Service. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish an Office of Minority Affairs within the Office of the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to make grants for demonstration programs to improve minority healthcare access and quality. Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate centers of excellence at hospitals and other health systems serving large numbers of minority patients; (2) provide financial assistance to designated healthcare providers and community health centers for facility and service improvements in American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii; and (3) provide grants and loan guarantees from the Health Safety Net Infrastructure Trust Fund (established by this Act) for capital financing assistance to eligible healthcare facilities.

Diabetic Retinopathy Prevention Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003

Diabetic Retinopathy Prevention Act of 2003 - Amends the Social Security Act to provide Medicare and Medicaid coverage for remote assessment diabetic retinopathy procedures. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a mobile diabetic retinopathy screening pilot program with five eligible entities (hospitals, States, Indian or local governments, institutions of higher education, nonprofit health organizations, or certain community health centers) serving patients primarily in rural underserved areas.

To designate the headquarters building of the Department of Education in Washington, DC, as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Federal Building.

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003

Designates the headquarters building of the Department of Education located at 400 Maryland Avenue S.W., Washington, D.C., as the Lyndon Baines Johnson Federal Building.

Reducing Education Loan Repayment Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003

Reducing Education Loan Repayment Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 to repeal limitations on the deduction for interest on education loans and to make the deduction permanent.

Recognizing November as National Lung Cancer Awareness Month and expressing the sense of Congress that Federal efforts need to increase in the areas of lung cancer screening and research.

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003

Calls for Congress to: (1) work with health care providers and lung cancer advocacy and education organizations to encourage screening and early detection of lung cancer; and (2) increase Federal funding for lung cancer research.

Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2003

Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003 - Rape Kits and DNA Evidence Backlog Elimination Act of 2003 - Amends: (1) the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to reauthorize the Act; (2) the DNA Identification Act of 1994 (Identification Act) to expand the scope of DNA samples to be included in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS); and (3) the Violence Against Women Act to authorize grants to increase the availability of legal assistance to victims of dating violence. DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2003 - Amends the Identification Act to require that CODIS include only information on DNA identification records and analyses that are prepared by laboratories that: (1) have been accredited by a nationally recognized nonprofit professional association of forensic scientists within two years; and (2) undergo external audits at least every two years that demonstrate compliance with specified standards. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants for: (1) DNA training and education; (2) sexual assault forensic examination programs; (3) research and development; (4) using DNA technology to identify missing persons; and (5) tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions. Expands and reauthorizes the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grant Program. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to States, local governments, and tribal governments to eliminate forensic science backlogs.

Menu Education and Labeling Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2003

Menu Education and Labeling Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require restaurants that are part of a chain of at least 20 outlets doing business under the same trade name to provide the total number of calories, grams of saturated fat plus trans fat, and milligrams of sodium adjacent to any item on menus in a clear and conspicuous manner. Requires vending machines and restaurant menu boards to display the total number of calories of each item. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to propose implementing regulations within 12 months of the enactment of this Act. Permits restaurants to provide additional nutritional information. Allows States and local governments to require additional nutritional information.

PROTECTION Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2003

Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 2003 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for certain educational costs. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; and (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other entities. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding termination of grants for hiring officers. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for local governmental units with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted for police officer retention.

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to reduce class size through the use of fully qualified teachers, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2003

Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grants program to reduce class size through the use of fully-qualified teachers. Allots funds to States and local educational agencies to recruit, hire, and train additional teachers, in order to: (1) reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and (2) improve teaching in those grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade.

Johanna's Law

United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2003

Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2003 or Johanna's Law - Directs The Secretary of Health and Human Services: (1) through the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and in collaboration with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to carry out a national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of women with respect to gynecologic cancers; and (2) through NIH and the Director, to carry out a demonstration program with nonprofit private entities to test different outreach and education strategies to increase such awareness among women and health care providers.

Historically Women's Public Colleges and Universities Historic Building Preservation and Restoration Act

United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2003

Historically Women's Public Colleges and Universities Historic Building Restoration and Preservation Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to award grants to historically women's public colleges and universities for the preservation and restoration of historic buildings and structures on their campuses. Specifies seven institutions to receive such grants in FY 2004 through 2008.

College Literacy in Finance and Economics (College LIFE) Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

College Literacy in Finance and Economics (College LIFE) Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to direct the Secretary of Education (Secretary), in carrying out HEA activities related to improving financial and economic literacy, education, and counseling, to emphasize, among other elements, basic personal income and household money management and financial planning skills, and basic economic decision making skills, including specified skills. Directs the Secretary to coordinate such financial and economic literacy activities with related efforts of a Federal commission composed of members from specified Federal agencies. Revises various HEA provisions relating to minority-serving institutions and to student assistance to include requirements for: (1) educational or counseling services to improve the financial and economic literacy of students and their parents; and (2) personal finance courses and skills. Directs the Secretary to establish a HEA pilot program to enable institutions of higher education (IHEs) to provide annual personal finance counseling for their students. Requires: (1) award of a total of five grants to five different IHEs located in geographically different parts of the United States; and (2) at least two of such grantees to be minority-serving IHEs. Directs the Secretary to make competitive grants, to IHEs or other eligible entities, under new programs for: (1) developing or sponsoring experimental, innovative delivery systems for financial literacy; (2) creating or sharing personal finance courses (with priority given to eligible entities that ban or discourage credit card proliferation and abusive credit marketing practices on campus); (3) studying and making recommendations on best ways to integrate personal finance and economics into basic educational subjects; and (4) training in economics and personal finance instruction or advising for elementary and secondary school teachers or secondary school counselors. Directs the Comptroller General to evaluate and report to specified congressional committees on the range and effectiveness of financial and economic education and financial aid counseling activities of IHEs, lenders, servicers, and guaranty agencies as emphasized by the Secretary.

SAFE Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act - Sets forth entitlement standards and implementation guidelines for employee use of emergency leave to address domestic or sexual violence. Permits victims of domestic or sexual violence to substitute existing leave in lieu of emergency leave. Authorizes State use of funds under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) to provide nonrecurrent short-term emergency benefits for emergency leave precipitated by domestic or sexual violence . Amends the Internal Revenue Code relating to approval of State unemployment compensation laws to prohibit denial of compensation where an individual is separated from employment due to circumstances resulting from the individual's experience of domestic or sexual violence. Amends the Social Security Act to include training under this Act for unemployment compensation and TANF personnel. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a grant to a national victim services organization to develop and disseminate a model program for domestic and sexual violence training. Victims' Employment Sustainability Act - Prohibits certain discriminatory employer practices relating to terms or conditions of employment in connection with victims of domestic or sexual violence. Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits denial or restriction of insurance coverage based on the status of the applicant or insured regarding abuse or abuse-related claims. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business related credit for 40 percent of an employer's costs for implementing workplace safety and education programs relating to domestic and sexual violence. Authorizes the Attorney General to provide a grant for a clearinghouse and resource center to provide information and assistance to employers, labor organizations, and advocates on behalf of victims of domestic or sexual violence.

A concurrent resolution condemning the repression of the Iranian Baha'i community and calling for the emancipation of Iranian Baha'is.

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

Condemns the repressive anti-Bahai policies and actions of the Government of Iran. Urges the Government of Iran to permit: (1) Bahai students to attend, and Bahai faculty to teach at, Iranian universities; and (2) the Bahai Open University to continue to function. Urges the Government of Iran to implement fully the recommendations by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on the emancipation of the Iranian Bahai community. Calls upon the President to continue to assert the concerns of the U.S. Government regarding Iran's treatment of the Bahai community, its support of international terrorism, and its efforts to develop nuclear weapons and acquire weapons of mass destruction. Urges the European Union to use its relationship with Iran to address and advance fundamental human rights issues.

College and Job Opportunities for the Future Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

College and Job Opportunities for the Future Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish a title VIII, Cooperative Education programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or combinations of IHEs to develop and make available work experiences for students to help them in future careers and in supporting themselves while in school. Requires such cooperative education to provide alternating or parallel periods of academic study and public or private employment. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and contracts for demonstration and innovation projects, training and resource centers, and research relating to cooperative education.

Domestic Violence Prevention, Education, and Awareness Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

Domestic Violence Prevention, Education, and Awareness Act - Requires the Attorney General, acting through the Violence Against Women Office, to make grants to public or private nonprofit entities, States, and Indian tribes and tribal organizations to carry out public information campaigns to educate racial and ethnic minority communities and immigrant communities about domestic violence, including its effects, methods of preventing or reducing it, and available services to such victims.

Security and Financial Empowerment Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

Security and Financial Empowerment Act - Sets forth entitlement standards and implementation guidelines for employee use of emergency leave to address domestic or sexual violence. Permits victims of domestic or sexual violence to substitute existing leave in lieu of emergency leave. Authorizes State use of funds under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) to provide nonrecurrent short-term emergency benefits for emergency leave precipitated by domestic or sexual violence . Amends the Internal Revenue Code relating to approval of State unemployment compensation laws to prohibit denial of compensation where an individual is separated from employment due to circumstances resulting from the individual's experience of domestic or sexual violence. Amends the Social Security Act to include training under this Act for unemployment compensation and TANF personnel. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a grant to a national victim services organization to develop and disseminate a model program for domestic and sexual violence training. Victims' Employment Sustainability Act - Prohibits certain discriminatory employer practices relating to terms or conditions of employment in connection with victims of domestic or sexual violence. Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits denial or restriction of insurance coverage based on the status of the applicant or insured regarding abuse or abuse-related claims. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business related credit for 40 percent of an employer's costs for implementing workplace safety and education programs relating to domestic and sexual violence. Authorizes the Attorney General to provide a grant for a clearinghouse and resource center to provide information and assistance to employers, labor organizations, and advocates on behalf of victims of domestic or sexual violence.

Healthy Children Through Better Nutrition Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

Healthy Children Through Better Nutrition Act of 2003 - 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. Establishes programs for: (1) year-round community child nutrition; (2) school meals improvements grants; and (3) free fruit and vegetables at schools. Expands eligibility for free meals. Makes homeless children and youth automatically eligible for free lunches and breakfasts. Lowers area eligibility thresholds under the child and adult care food programs and the summer food service program. 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, and through other means-tested programs. Provides for categorical eligibility for recipients of other means-tested benefits. Revises the summer food service program to make it a permanent rather than a pilot program, and to provide startup and expansion grants. Revises school breakfast programs to provide: (1) startup and expansion grants; and (2) universal secondary school breakfast pilot projects. Provides commodity assistance for school breakfast, as well as school lunch, programs. Revises the child and adult care food program to provide for nutrition education pilot programs. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish a year-round community child nutrition program. Requires local educational agencies (LEAs) participating in school meals programs to establish school nutrition policies that at a minimum ensure that operational responsibility for school food services includes approval of all foods sold on campus, excluding occasional sales. Revises prohibitions and restrictions on competitive foods sold within food service areas. Revises requirements for nutritional reviews. Authorizes the Secretary to make school meals improvement grants to State educational agencies. Directs the Secretary to carry out an expanded pilot program for availability of free fruits and vegetables throughout the schoolday. Revises the system of nutrition education grants to SEAs to provide Team Nutrition Network (TNN) program grants to States for various State and local community activities, including subgrants to schools and school food authorities to carry out nutrition education activities at the local level. Requires schools to serve milk in a variety of fat contents. Permits soy milk to be included as a fluid milk option if the Secretary determines it to be nutritionally equivalent and to meet nutritional standards. Revises certification requirements for WIC program participation to: (1) allow a State to certify breastfeeding women for up to one year or until they stop breastfeeding, whichever is earlier; and (2) modify physical presence requirements. Expands the definition of nutrition education under WIC to include not only dietary habits but related matters such as physical activity, parenting, and child development. Directs the Secretary to engage the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine every ten years to reevaluate the supplemental foods available in the WIC program and recommend changes. 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. Directs the Secretary to make competitive grants to private nonprofit entities and educational institutions to establish and carry out Farm-to-Cafeteria projects to improve access to local foods in schools and institutions receiving funds under NSLA and CNA (except the WIC program, which already has a WIC Farmers Market Nutrition program). Requires States to amend their plans to describe how funds for State administrative expenses will be used for technology and information management systems (TIMS), and how they will use such systems to improve program integrity in certain ways. Directs the Secretary to make funds available, on a competitive basis, to provide for grants to schools and school food authorities to purchase or upgrade TIMS for use in NSLA or CNA 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; (3) training, technical assistance, and food service management institute (NSLA); and (4) accommodation of the special dietary needs of individuals with disabilities (NSLA). Reauthorizes through FY 2009 the exclusion of military housing allowances from consideration as income in determining eligibility for free or reduced price lunches.

Higher Education Affordability and Equity Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

Higher Education Affordability and Equity Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand education incentives, including: (1) the deduction for interest on education loans; (2) making the deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses permanent; (3) increasing allowable contributions to Coverdell education savings accounts; (4) allowing qualified higher education expenses (books, supplies, room, board, and special needs services) to be excluded from gross income in the case of scholarship programs for higher education; and (5) repealing the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 applicable to title IV (Affordable Education Provisions) of such Act.

Expressing the sense of the Congress that American colleges and universities should adopt an Academic Bill of Rights to secure the intellectual independence of faculty members and students and to protect the principle of intellectual diversity.

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

Encourages all public and private colleges and universities in the United States to adopt an Academic Bill of Rights and observe specified principles and procedures to secure the intellectual independence of faculty members and students and protect the principle of intellectual diversity. Recognizes that such principles and procedures fully apply only to public universities and to private universities that present themselves as bound by the canons of academic freedom. Expresses the sense of the Congress that private institutions choosing to restrict academic freedom on the basis of creed have an obligation to be as explicit as possible about the scope and nature of these restrictions.

Recognizing that November 2, 2003, shall be dedicated to "A Tribute to Survivors" at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003

Recognizes a day dedicated to A Tribute to Survivors at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and devoted to programs about and for the survivors of the Holocaust. Commends the Museum for its first decade of education dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Endeavors to continue to support the Museum's vital work. Requests that this resolution be duly recorded in the Museum's official records.

Susan K. Sclafani, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, Department of Education, vice Carol D'Amico, resigned.

United States · United States Senate · 29 October 2003

New Partnership for Haiti Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2003

New Partnership for Haiti Act of 2003 - Directs the President to work with the Government of Haiti and international organizations to establish a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat infectious diseases in Haiti, including HIV/AIDS, and to establish a comprehensive health infrastructure in Haiti. Authorizes the President: (1) acting through the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to provide assistance to Haiti to develop its health sector, including by supporting infrastructure and education and prevention activities; and (2) acting through the Secretary of State and the Corps of Engineers, to provide assistance to develop Haiti's basic sanitation and transportation infrastructure. Directs the President to establish a program to recruit U.S. health care professionals and engineers to rebuild the health care and physical infrastructures of Haiti. Authorizes the President to provide financial incentives to encourage such individuals to participate in the program.

No Financial Aid for Sex Offenders Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2003

No Financial Aid for Sex Offenders Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit the award of Pell grants and student loans to individuals subject to an involuntary civil commitment upon completion of a period of incarceration for a sexual offense.

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding women with bleeding disorders.

United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2003

Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Federal Government has a responsibility to further research on von Willebrand's disease, improve access to treatment centers for all individuals with bleeding disorders, and increase funding for research; (2) the Director of the National Institutes of Health should develop a 5-year research plan concerning women with bleeding disorders; (3) the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should continue to improve outreach, treatment, and prevention of the complications of women's bleeding disorders; (4) physicians should screen all adolescents and all adult women presenting with severe menorrhagia for von Willebrand's disease; (5) hysterectomy for excessive menstrual bleeding should not be performed without the consideration of a bleeding disorder; (6) referral of women with bleeding disorders to a federally sponsored hemophilia treatment center is critical to comprehensive treatment; (7) physicians should be encouraged to conduct clotting factor assays for carrier diagnosis and to facilitate genotyping of the disorder and patients should be referred for genetic counseling when appropriate; and (8) patient advocate organizations and medical specialty societies should continue to collaborate on public education campaigns to educate women about bleeding disorders.

College Quality, Affordability, and Diversity Improvement Act of 2003

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2003

College Quality, Affordability, and Diversity Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) and Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to set forth provisions relating to: (1) access to college for all; (2) teacher quality enhancement; (3) diversity, retention, and enriched academics for matriculating students; (4) opportunities at Hispanic-serving institutions; (5) historically Black colleges and universities; and (6) recruitment of teachers to teach at tribal colleges or universities. Makes appropriations in a specified amount to carry out the HEA Pell Grant program. Increases the maximum amount of an individual Pell Grant to: $4,500 for academic year 2004-5; $7,600 for 2005-6; $8,600 for 2006-7; $9,600 for 2007-8; $10,600 for 2008-9; and $11,600 for 2009-10. Revises the IRC Hope Scholarship program to: (1) make it a refundable tax credit; (2) increase the maximum amount; and (3) make it available for four years. Eliminates origination fees under HEA student loan programs. Directs the Secretary of Education to adjust fees and terms for Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans to equal those for Unsubsidized Stafford Loans for middle-income borrowers. Direct Loan Reward Act - Amends HEA to require the Secretary to carry out a Direct Loan Reward Program to encourage institutions of higher education (IHEs) to participate in the Federal Direct Loan Program for student loans. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants under HEA to university consortia to engage in endeavors to reduce college costs. Directs the Secretary to convene a college cost summit with representatives of competing peer IHEs to negotiate voluntarily agreed upon limits on future college tuition and fee increases (which require the Secretary's approval, and to which antitrust laws shall not apply). Requires a certain maintenance of effort by States in supporting public IHEs, upon penalty of lowering of Federal assistance levels for Pell Grant and student loan programs at such IHEs. Requires IHEs that receive Federal funds and are eligible for assistance under HEA title IV (Student Assistance) to include certain truth-in-tuition disclosures in their admissions applications. Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop a higher education cost index that tracks inflation changes in the necessary costs associated with higher education. Amends IRC to provide a nonrefundable tax credit for interest on higher education loans. Amends HEA to provide refinancing authority for Federal Direct Consolidation Loans. Repeals a HEA provision regarding a rate of special allowance for certain holders of student loans. Sets a quarterly rate of special allowance for holders of loans funded through tax-exempt securities. Requires windfall profit offset payments from eligible lenders of student loans. Exempts from student aid need formula determinations earnings up to: (1) $9,000 by dependent students; (2) $13,000 by independent students with no dependents (other than spouse); and (3) $18,000 by independent students with dependents (other than spouse). Repeals provisions suspending individual eligibility for HEA student assistance on the basis of convictions for drug-related offenses. Increases levels of authorizations of appropriations for FY 2004 through 2009 for the following Federal campus-based aid programs: (1) Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants; (2) Work-Study; and (3) Perkins Loans. Increases and extends through FY 2009 the authorization of appropriations for special programs for students whose families are engaged in migrant and seasonal farmwork. Provides for increased amounts of forgiveness and cancellation under HEA student loan programs for certain teachers. Provides such additional amounts for highly qualified teachers in mathematics, science, special education, or bilingual education. Establishes new programs of forgiveness or cancellation of Federal Family Education Loans or of Direct Loans for early education teachers in Head Start, Early Head Start, or comparable pre-kindergarten programs. Directs the Secretary to revise a certain tax table involved in student aid calculations only after consultation with appropriate congressional committees. Provides student loan forgiveness after certain public sector employees have made 120 payments under an income contingent repayment plan. Allows borrowers to return to a standard repayment plan from an income contingent one. Revises provisions and reauthorizes appropriations for HEA title II (Teacher Quality Enhancement): (1) teacher quality enhancement grants for States and partnerships; and (2) preparing tomorrow's teachers to use technology. Establishes a new program for innovative strategies to recruit, train, and retain high quality teachers and principals. Establishes a HEA program for college admissions test preparation for low-income students. Revises HEA title IV to require IHEs to: (1) include in student aid applications certain information on admissions and retention for prospective students; and (2) provide certain support services to increase student retention. Directs the Secretary to make: (1) competitive grants, to IHEs where at least 40 percent of students are eligible for Pell Grants, to increase student retention and promote articulation agreements; and (2) supplemental grants, to States in partnership with IHEs and other entities, for certain access and persistence activities relating to low-income students. Revises provisions and extends authorizations of appropriations for the following HEA title IV programs of support services for low-income students: (1) Federal Trio; (2) GEAR UP; and (3) LEAP. Revises provisions for Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) under HEA title V (Developing Institutions). Establishes a program of competitive grants to eligible HSIs that offer postbaccalaureate certifications or degrees (part B grants). Limits a part B grant award's duration to five years. Prohibits the Secretary of Education from awarding more than one part B grant to an HSI in any one fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 through FY 2009 for: (1) the current program of part A grants to HSIs that offer baccalaureate degrees or are junior or community colleges; and (2) the new part B grants to HSIs that offer postbaccalaureate certifications or degrees. Eliminates the requirement that an eligible HSI provide assurances that at least 50 percent of its Hispanic students be low-income students. Includes, among authorized activities under part A grants, articulation agreements and student support programs to help transfers from two-year to four-year institutions. Eliminates the two-year wait-out period between any two five-year part A grants to an HSI. Extends and increases authorization of appropriations for HEA title V part B programs for strengthening historically Black Colleges and universities (HBCUs). Revises HBCU requirements for professional or graduate institutions to: (1) include business administration, computer or information science, and nursing and allied health among types of study; (2) add specified institutions; and (3) revise funding rules. Establishes an HBCU graduate and professional degree development grants program. Establishes the Patsy T. Mink graduate fellowship program for eligible institutions that serve various minorities. Tribal Colleges and Universities Teacher Loan Forgiveness Act - Amends HEA title IV to provide for the cancellation of a specified percentage of the total amount of any Federal Perkins loan, Federal Family Education loan, or direct student loan for each year of employment (up to five) as a full-time teacher at a tribal college or university if the borrower is not in default on such loan. Prohibits a borrower from receiving, for the same service, both a benefit from this Act and a benefit from the National Community Service Act of 1990. Provides that the amount of any loan forgiven under this Act shall not be treated as gross income for Federal tax purposes.

A concurrent resolution recognizing that November 2, 2003, shall be dedicated to "A Tribute to Survivors" at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2003

Recognizes that November 2, 2003, shall be dedicated to "A Tribute to Survivors" at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Commends the Museum for its first decade of education dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

Student Loan Interest Full Deductibility Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2003

Student Loan Interest Full Deductibility Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the limitations on the maximum amount of the deduction of interest on education loans.

Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2003

Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require reports to the Secretary of Health and Human Services by: (1) manufacturers and processors of dietary supplements respecting dietary supplement product listing (including labeling, ingredient, and discontinuance information); and (2) manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements respecting serious adverse experiences resulting from a supplement's use (requires manufacturer or distributor investigation of such occurrence). Authorizes the Secretary to require a manufacturer to: (1) provide postmarket surveillance if there is a reasonable possibility of a supplement causing adverse health consequences; and (2) demonstrate that a supplement is not adulterated if the Secretary has reasonable grounds for believing that a supplement may be adulterated (permits distribution during such demonstration period unless determined to be an imminent public health hazard, and requires a final determination of adulteration by the Secretary). Deems a supplement as adulterated for noncompliance with such safety demonstration provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to make a determination that a dietary supplement may pose a significant risk to individuals under the age of 18, and prohibit (as misbranded while held for sale) the supplement's sale to such individuals. Includes among prohibited acts failure to comply with the requirements added by this Act (other than safety demonstration requirements). Extends inspection authority to records, controls, and facilities related to a determination of supplement adulteration. Directs the Secretary to carry out dietary supplement education programs for health care professionals and consumers.

Recognizing the valuable contributions of higher education faculty in the education of our Nation's students.

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2003

Recognizes the contributions of over three-quarters of a million part-time and adjunct faculty, full-time non-tenure-track faculty, and graduate employees who teach in colleges and universities across the United States. Supports: (1) the efforts of organizations to raise public awareness of the conditions in which these contingent employees work; and (2) solutions which provide fair and equitable treatment for contingent employees in higher education and promote the return to a significant and stable corps of full-time, tenure-track faculty in U.S. institutions of higher education.

Expressing the sense of Congress that the international community should recognize the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East should establish a program for resettling Palestinian refugees.

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2003

Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries should be recognized and included in any settlement of the Middle East conflict or as part of any agreement regarding the issue of refugees; (2) the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) should establish a program and timetable for resettling all of the Palestinian refugees; (3) the UNRWA should immediately replace anti-Semitic and anti-Israel educational materials used in the UNRWA education system and take steps to ensure that UNRWA facilities are not being used to store weapons; and (4) Arab countries should accept a meaningful number of refugees and take a larger role in financing UNRWA.