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201 records in US in 2003
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Amends the Head Start Act to require Head Start agencies to obtain written parental consent before administration of any non-emergency intrusive physical examination of a child in connection with participation in a Head Start program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Right to Know School Nutrition Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture make certain rules for institutions that serve irradiated foods as part of the school lunch program under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the school breakfast program under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Requires institutions, prior to serving irradiated foods, to provide students and their parents or guardians with: (1) balanced information regarding such irradiation, including its purpose, nutritional effects, and potential adverse health consequences; and (2) the option of traditional, non-irradiated foods at every meal provided under such programs. Requires institutions to ensure: (1) clear labeling of menu items containing irradiated foods; (2) no commingling of irradiated and non-irradiated foods; and (3) prominent display of signs in school cafeterias indicating that irradiated food is being served.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that nothing in the Constitution shall be construed to prohibit individual prayer in public schools or to prohibit public school officials from including voluntary prayer in official school ceremonies and meetings. Prohibits the United States and the States from prescribing the content of any such prayer.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Improving Education for Homeless and Foster Children with Disabilities Act of 2003 - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that special education and other services are provided for children with disabilities who are homeless or who are wards of the State, including foster children. Revises or adds IDEA provisions relating to such children under: (1) definitions of parents, and of homeless children (and youth); (2) State child find systems; (3) local educational agency coordinated services systems, interagency personnel development, and liaisons for service delivery; (4) evaluations, eligibility determinations, individualized education programs, and educational placements; (5) procedural safeguards; (6) infants and toddlers, and related statewide systems, applications, and assurances; (7) State interagency coordinating councils; and (8) training in educational advocacy.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Head Start Assessment Act of 2003 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from proceeding with the full-scale implementation of the Head Start National Reporting System on Child Outcomes, as described in a specified project proposal, until the Secretary certifies to Congress that: (1) congressional oversight hearings have been concluded concerning the development and implementation of the System; (2) the Secretary has concluded public forums in different regions of the United States, and provided an opportunity for written public comments, concerning early childhood assessment proposals; (3) the Secretary has reported to Congress a study by the National Academy of Sciences of early childhood assessments focusing on improving accountability, instruction, and the delivery of services; and (4) sufficient funds are available to develop and implement any new Head Start assessments, and deliver necessary additional technical assistance and professional development required to successfully implement these assessments. Prescribes requirements for participants in such public forums.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Consumers, Schools, and Libraries Digital Rights Management Awareness Act of 2003 - Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission, except as specifically authorized by Congress, from requiring a person manufacturing, importing, or offering for sale or license in the United States a device, machine, or process that is designed, manufactured, or marketed for rendering, processing, transmitting, receiving, or reproducing a digital media product to incorporate access control or redistribution control technology into the design of such device, machine, or process. Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish an advisory committee to inform the FTC about: (1) the ways in which access control and redistribution technology may affect consumer, educational institution, and library use of digital media products based on their legal and customary uses of such products; and (2) how awareness of such technologies in the digital media products they purchase or legally own may be achieved. Prohibits a person from offering for sale, license, or use by a consumer, educational institution, or library an access- or redistribution-controlled digital media product unless the product contains a notice of the restriction such technology may have on the product's use. Prohibits an Internet access service from being compelled to make available to a manufacturer of a digital media product the identity or personal information of a subscriber or user of its service for use in enforcing the manufacturer's right relating to the use of such product. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) secondary market rights for used digital media products; and (2) FTC enforcement of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
David Shick Honesty in Campus Justice Act - Amends the General Education Provisions Act to require an institution of post-secondary education to disclose to the alleged victim of any crime of violence or a non-forcible sex offense (or to a deceased victim's next of kin) the final results of any disciplinary proceeding conducted by such institution against a student who is the alleged perpetrator. (Current law states that such disclosure is not prohibited.)
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Greater Access to E-Governance Act - GATE Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to make grants to State and local governments to assist them in deploying broadband computer networks for the conduct of electronic governance transactions by citizens in local schools and libraries. Allows such grants to be used to: (1) hire contractors or nonprofit organizations to deploy and manage such networks; (2) acquire broadband infrastructure, computers, and other equipment for such networks; and (3) acquire related software and services to support such networks. Sets forth requirements for grant allocation criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Social Security Child's Insurance Benefits Restoration Act of 2003 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to restore child's insurance benefits in the case of children between 18 and 22 years of age who attend postsecondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2003
Graduation for All Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to establish a program that will provide grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish reading and writing programs to improve overall reading and writing performance among students in secondary schools, including middle and high schools. Limits eligibility for subgrants to LEAs in a State that are among those that have the lowest graduation rates for public secondary school students. Includes among required uses of LEA subgrant funds: (1) hiring and inservice training of literacy coaches to work with classroom teachers to incorporate reading and writing instruction in all subject areas, and to identify students with reading problems and provide remediation or referral for additional services; (2) counseling for students at risk of not graduating on time; and (3) professional development for middle and high school teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals that addresses literacy needs of economically disadvantaged students, students from major racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, migrant children, and homeless children. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include public secondary school graduation rates for all students under requirements for: (1) accountability for adequate yearly progress; and (2) annual State report cards. Amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act to require annual reports on the number participants who are 16, 17, or 18 years of age in certain programs and services, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, limited English proficiency status, disability, and socioeconomic status.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2003
International Studies in Higher Education Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise provisions and reauthorize appropriations for title VI International Education Programs, including: (1) international and foreign language studies; (2) business and international education programs; and (3) the Institute for International Public Policy. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to use up to one percent of title VI funds for evaluation, outreach, and dissemination. Establishes an independent International Education Advisory Board to advise Congress and the Secretary on title VI programs in relation to national needs with respect to homeland security, international education, international affairs, and foreign language training. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) U.S. Government agency recruiter access to students and student recruiting information; and (2) safety in programs of student travel and study abroad.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2003
Graduate Opportunities in Higher Education Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise requirements and reauthorize appropriations for the following Graduate and Postsecondary Improvement Programs under title VII: (1) the Jacob K. Javits fellowship program; (2) the program of graduate assistance in areas of national need; (3) the Thurgood Marshall legal educational opportunity program; (4) the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education; and (5) demonstration projects to ensure that students with disabilities receive a quality higher education. Eliminates the Urban Community Service program and certain continuation awards.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2003
Children's Mental Health Screening and Prevention Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education, and the Attorney General to jointly make ten three-year demonstration grants to implement evidence-based preventive-screening tools to detect mental illness and suicidal tendencies in school-age youth and to refer those youth in need of assessment or treatment. Makes eligible to receive such a grant, as a demonstration facility, any facility that serves at-risk youth or performs outreach to school-age youth, including any elementary school, secondary school, school-based health center, juvenile justice facility, foster care setting, homeless shelter, youth drop-in center, youth outreach organization, youth residential treatment center, or State or local mental health organization. Requires applicants to form multidisciplinary project implementation committees and to agree to certain information collecting and reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2003
National Science Education Incentive Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permit an eligible science, engineering, math, or technology teacher a limited credit for undergraduate tuition; and (2) permit an elementary and secondary science, mathematics, engineering, and technology credit (SMET) credit for qualified contributions of property or service to qualified elementary and secondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Amends the Head Start Act to require, for purposes of certain allotments of funds to States, the Secretary of Health and Human Services to use data that is not more than two years old with respect to the number of children in a State who are less than five years of age and who are from families below the poverty line. (Current law requires use of the most recent data available.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Acknowledges historically Black colleges and universities and their presidents, faculties, staff, and trustees for their efforts in support of equal opportunity in higher education. Commends the students of such institutions for their pursuit of academic excellence.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Student Testing Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise certain requirements regarding student assessments and adequate yearly progress which were added by the No Child Left Behind Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Expanding Opportunities in Higher Education Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and reauthorize various programs and provisions. Repeals HEA provisions, under the definition of institution of higher education, that: (1) currently require for-profit institutions of higher education to derive at least ten percent of their revenue from funds that do not come from HEA title IV student assistance programs (the 90/10 rule); and (2) currently restrict distance education in terms of the relative number of courses an institution may offer by telecommunications, and relative number of students enrolled in such courses, for purposes of student assistance program eligibility (the 50 percent rule). (Retains such rule for correspondence courses not offered by telecommunications.) Revises HEA title III (Institutional Aid) to extend authorizations of appropriations for: (1) part A grants for American Indian tribally controlled colleges and universities, and for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions; (2) part B grants for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU); (3) endowment challenge grants for institutions; (4) HBCU capital financing; and (5) the minority science and engineering improvement program. Revises HEA title V (Developing Institutions) to extend the authorization of appropriations for grants to Hispanic-serving institutions. Revises HEA title IV (Student Assistance) to treat as independent students those currently serving on active duty in the Armed Forces for other than training purposes (thus including active duty members of the National Guard and Reserves). Revises requirements, and extends authorizations of appropriations for, the following title IV programs: (1) Federal TRIO support services programs for disadvantaged students; (2) GEAR UP early intervention and college awareness programs for low-income students; and (3) HEP/CAMP special programs for students whose families are engaged in migrant and seasonal farmwork. Directs the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to study and report on the feasibility of simplifying the need analysis methodology for all for Federal student financial assistance programs and the process of applying for such assistance. Requires the Secretary of Education to initiate a redesign of the free application for Federal student aid (FAFSA). Revises requirements for a simplified needs test. Amends the Education of the Deaf Act of 1986 to extend the authorization of appropriations in general, as well as for monitoring and evaluation, and for Federal endowment programs for Gallaudet University and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). Extends authorizations of appropriations for programs under the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978, the Navajo Community College Act, and the United States Institute of Peace Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2003
Commends Students United with Parents and Educators to Resolve Bullying (SUPERB), its founders Jeremy and Sharon Ring, its curriculum, and its six-school pilot program in Broward County, Florida, which is to be staffed by graduate students from Nova Southeastern University's family therapy and conflict resolution programs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2003
Environmental Health Research Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for the development and operation of not more than six centers to conduct multidisciplinary research on environmental factors that may be related to the development of women's health conditions. Requires each center to conduct basic and clinical research, develop training protocols, conduct training, develop model continuing education programs, and disseminate information to professionals and the public, with priority to prevention activities. Requires each center to: (1) collaborate with community organizations; and (2) use the facilities of a single institution or be formed from a consortium of institutions. Limits support to five years but allows extensions under specified circumstances. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to establish a comprehensive research program on the impact and occurrence of hormone disrupting chemicals as they affect human, ecological, and wildlife health. Requires the program to: (1) compile scientifically valid information, with an emphasis on the effect of low doses during critical life stages and the extent of human and wildlife exposure; (2) research the mechanisms by which such chemicals interact with biological systems as well as their screening and tracking; and (3) include the participation of the U.S. Geological Survey. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Hormone Disruption Research Interagency Commission. Establishes a Hormone Disruption Research Panel within the Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2003
Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to Syracuse University to establish an endowment fund to support a Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute. Requires the University, to be eligible for such grant, to designate the global affairs institute within the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs as the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2003
School Nutrition Antibiotic Safety Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require school lunch and breakfast programs to ensure that chickens and chicken products purchased for them have not been fed or administered a fluoroquinolone. Requires the establishment of procedures which will ensure that chickens and chicken products purchased for summer food service programs for children have not been fed or administered a fluoroquinolone.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2003
Permits members of the Selected Reserve to use up to $2,000 of Reserve Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance benefits for payment for licensing or certification tests.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2003
District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations to the District of Columbia for FY 2004, including amounts for the Federal payments: (1) for District of Columbia Resident Tuition Support; (2) for emergency planning and security costs in the District; (3) to support hospital bioterrorism preparedness in the District; (4) to District of Columbia Courts; (5) for Defender Services in District of Columbia Courts; (6) to the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (including transfer of funds); (7) to the Chief Financial Officer of the District; (8) to the Department of Transportation in the District for a downtown circular transit system and to offset a portion of the District's allocated operating subsidy payment to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; (9) to the DC Water and Sewer Authority; (10) to the Department of Transportation in the District for the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative; (11) for capital development in the District; (12) to Children's National Medical Center; (13) to the St. Coletta of Greater Washington Expansion Project; (14) for foster care improvements in the District; and (15) for school improvement. DC Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 2003 - Requires the Secretary of Education to provide five-year grants on a competitive basis to District Government educational entities, nonprofit organizations, and consortia of nonprofit organizations with approved applications to carry out activities to provide expanded school choice opportunities to students who are DC residents and who come from households with incomes not exceeding 185 percent of the poverty line applicable to families of the size involved. Appropriates specified sums out of the District's general fund and/or other funds for the current fiscal year for: (1) operating expenses (with limitations); (2) governmental direction and support; (3) economic development and regulation; (4) public safety and justice; (5) the public education system (including transfer of funds); (6) human support services (including transfer of funds); (7) public works; (8) the Emergency and Contingency Reserve Fund; (9) repayment of certain loans and interest; (10) payment of interest on short-term borrowing; (11) principal and interest payments on the District's Certificates of Participation, issued to finance the ground lease underlying the building located at One Judiciary Square; (12) refunds and the payment of legal settlements or judgments that have been entered against the District government; (13) the John A. Wilson Building; (14) workforce investments; (15) certain non-departmental agency costs; (16) emergency planning and security costs (17) transportation assistance; (18) pay-as-you-go capital in lieu of capital financing; (19) a Tax Increment Financing Program; (20) the Cash Reserve; (21) refunds associated with disallowed Medicaid funding; (22) the Water and Sewer Authority; (23) the Washington Aqueduct; (24) the Stormwater Permit Compliance Enterprise Fund; (25) the Lottery and Charitable Games Enterprise Fund; (26) the Sports and Entertainment Commission; (27) the District of Columbia Retirement Board; (28) the Washington Convention Center Enterprise Fund; (29) the National Capital Revitalization Corporation; and (30) capital outlay (including rescissions).
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2003
Universal Prekindergarten Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants to a designated State agency for development of universal prekindergaten programs for all children three, four, and five years old in the State. Requires the State to: (1) match Federal funds by at least 20 percent; and (2) submit a State plan to establish, coordinate, and implement a statewide universal prekindergarten program. Authorizes State agencies to set aside up to five percent of a grant for ongoing professional development activities for teachers and staff of prekindergarten programs that wish to participate.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2003
No Substitute for Quality Teaching Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a competitive demonstration grant program to provide grants for a single academic year directly to between 50 and 100 local educational agencies, or to regional consortia of such agencies acting together, that vary geographically and socioeconomically, to enable them to experiment with ways to alleviate the substitute teacher shortage.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2003
Josephine Butler United States Health Service Act - Establishes the United States Health Service (Service) as an independent executive branch entity. Provides that the authority of the Service shall be exercised by a National Health Board of the Service (Board) and by local and regional authorities affiliated with the Board. Requires the Board to establish health care delivery regions. Affords every user of the Service the right to receive high quality care and supplemental services from any facility within the Service capable of providing such services without charge and without discrimination. Sets forth a list of other basic health rights. Declares all individuals in the United States eligible to receive health care and supplemental services under this Act. Requires the Service to provide specified services. Provides for the reimbursement of emergency health services costs. Requires the establishment of health care facilities as necessary to provide services. Sets forth provisions concerning job categories, certification standards, qualifications, and the education of health workers. Requires the establishment of a health advocacy program to ensure patients rights. Imposes on individuals, estates and trusts, and on corporations additional taxes of specified percentages of the total taxes otherwise imposed, creates the Health Service Trust Fund, and appropriates to such Fund such additional taxes, the Federal Hospital Insurance employment taxes, and a Government contribution equal to 40 percent of the amount so appropriated. Transfers to the Fund all assets and liabilities of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2003
Nevada National Forest Land Disposal Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to sell any right, title, or interest of the United States in and to certain parcels of National Forest System lands in Carson City and Douglas County, Nevada. Declares that the Secretary and the relevant unit of local government shall jointly decide whether land is to be offered for sale under this Act. Sets forth percentages of the gross proceeds from sales under this Act that shall be earmarked for: (1) the State of Nevada general education program; (2) the Carson Water Subconservancy District in Nevada; (3) the fund established in the Sisk Act, to be used for land sales costs and for the development and maintenance of parks, trails, and natural areas in specified Nevada counties; and (4) the Minden Interagency Dispatch Center in Minden, Nevada. Declares that the lands authorized to be sold under this Act shall not be subject to specified Federal law pertaining to property management.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 2003
Directs the President to convene a Commission to Educate our Nation's Teachers and Students on Financial Literacy Skills to examine, identify, and report to the President, the congressional leadership, and the chief executive officers of the States on government policies that promote economic and financial literacy.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2003
Pathways for All Students to Succeed Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to establish a program that will provide grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish reading and writing programs to improve overall reading and writing performance among students in middle school and secondary school. Requires LEAs receiving a subgrant to hire literacy coaches (at least one for every 20 teachers) to work with classroom teachers to: (1) incorporate reading and writing instruction in all subject areas; (2) identify and refer to remediation services any students with reading and writing problems; (3) provide reading and writing professional development for all middle school and secondary school teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals; and (4) procure and implement programs and instructional materials based on reading and writing research. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program of grants to SEAs and, through them, subgrants to LEAs that: (1) enables a secondary school receiving assistance under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 to hire a sufficient number of academic counselors (at least one for 150 students) to develop personal six-year plans defining career and education goals for each student at the school, including students with limited English proficiency; (2) involves parents in the development and implementation of such plans; and (3) provides academic counselors and staff at the schools receiving grants under this Act the opportunity to coordinate with other programs and services, including those supported by Federal funds, to ensure that students have access to the resources and services necessary to fulfill their personal plans. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to SEAs and, through them, subgrants to LEAs to promote school improvement and student achievement in low performing secondary schools through specified programs and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2003
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2003 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that parents who choose private home education should be encouraged within the framework provided by the Constitution. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) with respect to: (1) student aid eligibility of home-schooled students who have satisfied certain secondary education standards; and (2) institutional aid eligibility of the higher education institutions that such students attend. Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide, if a parent does not consent to an initial evaluation or special education or related services for a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall not be required to convene an individualized education program (IEP) meeting or develop an IEP for such child. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses (the Coverdell Education Savings Account) to include home schools if they are treated as a home school or private school under State law. Amends the part of the General Education Provisions Act known as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit release of certain information on and educational records of students in non-public education, including any student educated at home or in a private school in accordance with State law, without written parental consent. Amends HEA to include students at home schools, whether treated as a home school or a private school under State law, among those prospective secondary school graduates eligible to apply for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program for higher education. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to direct the Secretary of Labor to extend the hours and periods of permissible employment of employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years who are privately educated at a home school, whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under State Law, beyond those hours and periods applicable to employees of such ages who are educated in traditional public schools. (Thus allows home-school students to be employed during the traditional school day.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2003
Comprehensive Tuberculosis Elimination Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prescribe composition requirements for the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis, and direct it to make recommendations on: (1) a national plan to eliminate tuberculosis in the United States; and (2) a plan to guide U.S. involvement in global tuberculosis-control activities, with a focus on high incidence countries and on access to a comprehensive package of tuberculosis control measures. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, directly or through grants, to carry out tuberculosis research, demonstration projects, and public information and education programs. Authorizes the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to make awards: (1) to faculty of schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine to support the development of high quality curricula to assist interested individuals in learning the principles and practices of preventing, managing, and controlling tuberculosis; and (2) to support the career development of clinically trained professionals committed to pulmonary infection research. Authorizes the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of NIH to work to develop a tuberculosis vaccine. Requires the John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences to carry out an international training program regarding tuberculosis.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
DSHEA Full Implementation and Enforcement Act of 2003 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 through 2008: (1) to carry out the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) and all applicable regulatory requirements for dietary supplements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA); and (2) for expanded research and development of consumer information on dietary supplements by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Makes appropriations: (1) for FY 2004, to carry out DSHEA and all applicable regulatory requirements for dietary supplements under FFDCA; and (2) for FY 2004 through 2008, for expanded research and development of consumer information on dietary supplements by ODS at NIH. Requires the Food and Drug Administration to fully and appropriately use such funds to regulate dietary supplements. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report annually to Congress on the implementation and enforcement of the DSHEA.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Access to Employment and English Acquisition Act of 2003 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for: (1) job training that integrates occupational skills training with language acquisition; and (2) specified services for individuals who are Limited English Proficient (LEP). Authorizes the Secretary to award incentive grants to States for exemplary performance in carrying out integrated training programs. Directs the Secretary to carry out demonstration, pilot, multiservice, and multistate projects that provide training to establish or upgrade the job and related skills of special participant populations that face multiple barriers to employment, including low-income individuals with substantial language or cultural barriers, offenders, homeless individuals, or other hard-to-serve populations. Amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act with respect to adult education and literacy services to assist immigrants who are not proficient in English in improving their reading, writing, speaking, and mathematics skills and acquiring an understanding of the American free enterprise system, individual freedom, and the responsibilities of citizenship. Authorizes the national leadership activities of the Secretary of Education to include awarding grants to communities experiencing large increases of individuals with Limited English Proficiency for the purpose of providing English language and civics education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2003 or the DREAM Act - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to repeal the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on State residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such State residence. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to cancel the removal of, and adjust to conditional permanent resident status, an alien who: (1) entered the United States prior to his or her sixteenth birthday, and has been present in the United States for at least five years immediately preceding enactment of this Act; (2) is a person of good moral character; (3) is not inadmissible or deportable under specified grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act; (4) at the time of application, has been admitted to an institution of higher education, or has earned a high school or equivalent diploma; and (5) from the age of 16 and older, has never been under a final order of exclusion, deportation, or removal. Sets forth the conditions for conditional permanent resident status, including: (1) termination of status for violation of this Act; and (2) removal of conditional status to permanent status. Authorizes an alien who has satisfied the appropriate requirement prior to enactment of this Act to petition the Secretary for permanent status without first becoming a conditional resident. Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) exclusive jurisdiction; (2) penalties for false application statements; (3) confidentiality; (4) fee prohibitions; and (5) a General Accounting Office report respecting the number of aliens adjusted under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act - Amends the USA PATRIOT Act to revise the conditions under which delayed notice of the issuance of a warrant may be permitted by: (1) limiting applicable offenses to acts dangerous to human life and constituting a Federal crime of terrorism; (2) requiring a finding that providing immediate notice will endanger a person's life or safety or result in flight from prosecution or the destruction of evidence; and (3) requiring notice to be given within seven days of execution of the warrant, with extension authorized. Requires the Attorney General to make public a report concerning all requests for delays. Requires each application for access to business records for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations: (1) to include a statement of the facts and circumstances relied upon to justify the belief that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent thereof; and (2) in the case of medical, library, or specified other records, to state that on the basis of the facts submitted there is probable cause to believe that the person is a foreign power or agent. Prohibits a library from being treated as a wire or electronic communication service provider required to supply subscriber information and toll billing records or electronic communication transactional records at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Permits electronic surveillance to be conducted at a facility or place that is unknown at the time the order is issued only when the presence of the target at a particular location has been ascertained. Requires an application for a wiretap to include a statement of specific and articulable facts that indicate that a crime has been, is being, or will be committed. Prohibits data-mining activity by a Government agency except pursuant to specific statutory authorization. Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to prescribe a public reporting requirement with respect to orders granted, modified, or denied under such Act. Amends the General Education Provisions Act and the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 to require that an applicant seeking disclosure of educational records set forth specific and articulable facts indicating that such records are likely to contain information relevant to an authorized terrorism investigation or prosecution.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Indian Trust Payment Equity Act of 2003 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior for each of FY 2004 through 2008 to use $2 billion of the amounts in the Indian Trust Payment Equity Fund established by this Act to provide payments to Indian tribes for amounts owed by the United States to individual Indian money account holders as a result of mismanagement of the individual Indian money fund. Authorizes the Secretary: (1) to enter into a contract with an Indian tribe under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, or amend such a contract, to provide funds to the Indian tribe from the Fund to assist it in performing audits of individual Indian money accounts in accordance with generally accepted Federal accounting standards; and (2) if the account holder accepts the results of an audit, to use amounts in the Fund as partial payment until a full accounting is satisfied. Provides that nothing in this Act: (1) negates or otherwise affects the requirement of the Department of the Interior to complete the accounting; or (2) constitutes a settlement regarding any individual Indian money account or any civil action to compel an accounting and payment of amounts owed to such account holders. Establishes the Indian Trust Payment Equity Fund in the Treasury to be used to carry out this Act, consisting of amounts appropriated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Excellence through Choice to Elevate Learning Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for private or public school choice vouchers for children from low-income families who are enrolled in low-performing elementary or secondary public schools. Requires each grantee State to provide scholarships (at $2,000 per year, but with continuing awards) to the parents of eligible children through a lottery system administered for all eligible schools by the State educational agency. Requires that a child eligible for such a scholarship be: (1) enrolled in an eligible public elementary or secondary school; and (2) a member a family with income not more than 200 percent of the poverty line. Allows the use of such funds for: (1) payment of tuition and fees at the school selected by the scholarship child's parents, plus reasonable transportation costs; (2) up to $500 of supplementary academic services, if the parents choose a provider (with an appropriate refund policy) which the State determines capable of rendering such services; and (3) educational programs that help the child achieve high levels of academic excellence, if the child chooses to attend a public school. Requires: (1) a grantee State to allow lawfully operating public and private elementary and secondary schools serving the area involved, including religious schools, to participate in the program; (2) participating schools or providers of supplementary academic services to comply with specified antidiscrimination requirements; and (3) national evaluation of the program by the Comptroller General. Directs specified congressional committees to identify, and report to certain congressional leaders on, wasteful Federal spending (including loopholes to revenue raising tax provisions) as a means of providing funding for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2003
Higher Education for Freedom Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to eligible institutions to prepare elementary, middle, and secondary school history teachers and to strengthen postsecondary programs in fields related to the founding of the United States, free institutions, and Western civilization.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2003
Tobacco Market Transition Act of 2003 - Amends, and repeals, specified agricultural Acts to eliminate tobacco quota and price support programs, including no net cost provisions. Adds a new subtitle, Subtitle E: Tobacco Assistance, to title III of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 which requires the Secretary of Agriculture to make transition payments to each tobacco quota holder (generally, an owner of a farm, as of July 1, 2002, for which a basic tobacco marketing or farm acreage allotment for quota tobacco was established for the 2002 tobacco marketing year under a marketing quota program). Requires the Secretary to make direct payments to a traditional producer of tobacco (a person that, for at least one of the 2000, 2001, or 2002 tobacco marketing years, was actively engaged in the production of tobacco marketed, or considered planted, under a marketing quota and shared in the risk of producing the tobacco). Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a permanent advisory board, the Tobacco Quality Board; (2) a permanent advisory board for each kind of tobacco, a Production Board; and (3) an acreage limitation program for each crop of each kind of tobacco. Directs the Secretary, during any consecutive 4-week period of a marketing year in which the world price for the crop of a kind of tobacco exceeds the average domestic price for such tobacco, to make market stability payments available to active producers of such tobacco. Directs the Secretary to make grants: (1) to eligible States for the Federal share of carrying out economic development initiatives in impacted counties (counties in which tobacco producers have sustained a reduction in gross receipts from the sale of tobacco for a base period); and (2) to colleges and universities in eligible States to conduct research to assist tobacco producers to diversify so as to reduce or eliminate reliance on tobacco production (or to promote alternative uses of tobacco or enhance the quality of tobacco produced), and to foster development of economically viable new agricultural technologies and enterprises for rural communities. Establishes in the Commodity Credit Corporation a revolving trust fund to carry out this subtitle. Deposits into the Fund an annual assessment (imposed by this Act) on each tobacco product manufacturer and tobacco product importer that sells tobacco products in domestic U.S. commerce. Sets forth tobacco stocks and no net cost transition provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2003
Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include demonstration, education, and other programs concerning cancer survivorship among the activities of the National Cancer Institute (Institute) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Requires the Director of NIH, acting through the Director of the Institute, to: (1) expand and coordinate NIH activities related to cancer survivorship; and (2) establish an Office on Survivorship within the Institute. Creates the position of Associate Director for Survivorship. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, to study the health challenges associated with cancer survivorship and carry out projects and interventions. Requires the Secretary to make grants for the monitoring and evaluation of cancer care and survivorship.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2003
(NOTE - S.1940 & S.1483, unlike H.R.2210, do not provide for State demonstration programs that allow States to administer their allotment of Federal Head Start funds.) Head Start Coordination and School Readiness Act - Amends the Head Start Act to reauthorize through FY 2008 and revise Head Start programs. Requires expanded coordination and collaboration among Head Start and other agencies. Requires States that receive Head Start quality improvement and collaboration grants (currently collaboration grants) to establish: (1) State Head Start Quality Improvement and Collaboration Offices; and (2) State advisory councils on collaboration on early care and education activities for children. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulations requiring Head Start agencies to implement certain policies and procedures for enrollment of eligible homeless children. Revises requirements for the Secretary's designation of Head Start agencies, as well as those for quality standards. Requires annual Head Start program self-assessments, reports, and improvement plans. Requires Head Start agencies to have: (1) a program meeting all quality standards; (2) capacity to serve eligible children with scientifically based curricula and other interventions and support services that promote school readiness; (3) outreach to schools, local educational agencies (LEAs), local businesses, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, museums, and libraries; and (4) coordination with LEAs, particularly on ways to increase participation of underserved populations. Revises requirements for Early Head Start grant programs to include: (1) consideration of homeless infants and toddlers; (2) migrant and seasonal Head Start programs; (3) grants to applicants in communities which have experienced a large percentage increase in limited English proficient (LEP) children and families; and (4) professional development to increase program participation for underserved populations. Establishes increased staff qualification requirements for Head Start programs. Requires individuals receiving financial assistance under the Act to pursue a degree to qualify as Head Start staff to: (1) teach or work in a Head Start program for at least three years after receiving the degree; or (2) repay the assistance received. Requires every Head Start agency and program to create a professional development plan for employees providing direct services to children. Establishes programs to: (1) attract and retain high-quality Head Start classroom teachers; and (2) improve literacy in Head Start programs. Directs the Secretary to contract with the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the National Research Council and the Board on Testing and Assessments of the National Academy of Sciences to establish expert, independent panels to study, report, and make recommendations on: (1) the assessment of school readiness in young children; and (2) the Head Start reporting system.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2003
Amends the Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program Act of 1998 (IPPCTPA) to prescribe Irish Peace Process Cultural and Training Program participant requirements. Requires a participant to be an alien who: (1) is a citizen of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland; (2) is between 21 and 35 years of age on the date of departure for the United States; (3) has resided continuously in a designated county (in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland) for at least six months before such date; (4) has been continuously unemployed for at least six months before such date; and (5) does not have a degree from an institution of higher education. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to report each program year to Congress (currently, the third program year and the three subsequent years) on the number of aliens admitted who have overstayed their visas. Extends the authority of the IPPCTPA through FY 2008. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the nonimmigrant alien eligibility qualifications for program participants to conform to this Act. Reduces from 36 to 24 months the temporary period of the visit to the United States for participation in the program. Denies any such person eligibility to apply for an immigrant visa, or for permanent residence, or for a nonimmigrant visa under such Act until he or she has resided and been physically present in the country of nationality or last residence for an aggregate of a least two years following departure from the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to waive this requirement if: (1) departure from the United States would impose exceptional hardship upon the alien's spouse or child (if such spouse or child is a U.S. citizen or a lawfully resident alien); or (2) the admission of the alien is in the U.S. public or national interest.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2003
Tribal Colleges and Universities Head Start Partnership Act - Amends the Head Start Act to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants of at least five years duration to Tribal Colleges and Universities to: (1) implement education programs that include tribal culture and language and increase the number of associate, baccalaureate, and graduate degrees in early childhood education and related fields that are earned by Indian Head Start agency staff members, parents of children served by such an agency, and members of the tribal community involved; (2) develop and implement such programs in technology-mediated formats; and (3) provide technology literacy programs for Indian Head Start agency staff members and children and families of children served by such an agency.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2003
Financial Literacy and Education Coordinating Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish within the Office of Financial Education of the Department of the Treasury, the Financial Literacy and Education Coordinating Committee to: (1) coordinate Federal financial literacy and education efforts; (2) develop and implement a national strategy to promote basic financial literacy and education among all Americans; (3) reduce overlap and duplication in Federal financial literacy and education activities; (4) identify the most effective types of public sector financial literacy programs and techniques, as measured by improved consumer decision making; and (5) coordinate and promote financial literacy efforts at the State and local level, including partnerships among Federal, State, and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and private enterprises.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act Amendments Act of 2003 - Amends the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 to revise the accounting duties of the Secretary of the Interior with respect to the daily and annual balances of all monies or proceeds derived from trust assets and funds held in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual Indian. Requires an annual audit only for accounts with over $1,000 in trust funds, but for accounts with less than $1,000, only statistical sampling audit procedures of all such accounts grouped separately. Specifies minimum additional responsibilities of the Secretary. Allows an Indian tribe to use authority granted to the tribe under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to manage Indian trust funds and trust assets without terminating the trust responsibility of the Secretary or the trust status of the funds and assets. Replaces the current Office of Special Trustee for American Indians with a Deputy Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs to: (1) oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs; (2) carry out all duties currently assigned to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs; and (3) oversee all Indian trust fund and trust asset matters, and consult with Indian tribes and individual trust asset and trust fund account holders. Establishes within the Office of the Secretary the Office of Trust Reform Implementation and Oversight, headed by such Deputy Secretary, to supervise and direct day-to-day activities concerning such assets or funds, including providing accurate inventories, revenue postings, monthly statements, and annual audits. Establishes a Commission for Review of Indian Trust Fund Management Responsibilities to assess the fiduciary and management responsibilities of the Federal Government with respect to Indian tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
American Manufacturing Works Act of 2003 - Amends the the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to rename: (1) the Technology Administration in the Department of Commerce as the Manufacturing and Technology Administration; (2) its Office of Technology Policy as the Office of Manufacturing and Technology Policy; and (3) the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Technology. Establishes an Assistant Secretary of Manufacturing and a Manufacturing Advisory Board. Repeals the program to monitor Japanese technical activities and developments and the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Technology. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce for: (1) Manufacturing Engineering activities at the Scientific and Technical Research and Services Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) ; (2) the Advanced Technology Program; and (3) the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to require the Director of NIST to establish a program of assistance to institutions of higher education or nonprofit research institutions that enter into partnerships with for-profit entities to support, promote, and enhance manufacturing research and development. Requires the Director to establish a program to award postdoctoral research and senior research fellowships to individuals seeking research positions at institutions, including the Institute, engaged in research activities related to manufacturing sciences. Revises requirements of the Advanced Technology Program to permit institutions of higher education or nonprofit oprganizations to lead joint ventures, as well as take title to intellectual property developed by them. Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Technology to develop a plan to maximize the utilization of Federal programs such as the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program to support manufacturing sciences. Authorizes appropriations to the Director of the National Science Foundation for: (1) the Advanced Technological Education Program under the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992; and (2) the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council formed as the voluntary partnership for the manufacturing occupational cluster under the National Skill Standards Act of 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Ecstasy Awareness Act of 2003 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit profiting monetarily from a rave or similar electronic dance event, knowing or having reason to know that the unlawful use or distribution of a controlled substance occurs at the event. Sets penalties for violations by persons (up to a $500,000 fine and 20 years' imprisonment) and organizations (up to a $2 million fine). Authorizes appropriations to the Attorney General to make grants to provide training to State and local prosecutors and law enforcement agents for prosecution of ecstasy offenses. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to provide for the use by local educational agencies of grant funds for activities to prevent or reduce the use of the illegal drug commonly called ecstasy.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Holocaust Education Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to educational organizations to carry out educational programs about the Holocaust.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2003
Distance Education and Online Learning Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise title IV student assistance provisions regarding distance education courses and programs, with respect to student eligibility, eligible programs, and requirements for recognition of accrediting agencies that evaluate institutions of higher education offering such programs.