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51 records in US in 2004
United States · United States Senate · 7 December 2004
United States · United States Senate · 7 December 2004
United States · United States Senate · 7 December 2004
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2004
Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make certain corrections in the enrollment of H.R. 1350 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004). Continues provision of free educational materials, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), for visually impaired and print disabled students, not only in educational and secondary schools, but also in postsecondary and graduate schools. Requires States eligible under IDEA to ensure that all special education teachers in elementary, middle, and secondary schools are highly qualified by the end of the 2005-6 schoolyear (which is the current deadline for all teachers teaching in core academic subjects in a State to be highly qualified, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001).
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2004
Establishes the Interagency Aerospace Revitalization Task Force to develop a national strategy for aerospace workforce development. Directs the Task Force to develop: (1) cooperation among Federal agencies to provide a skilled workforce; (2) integrated Federal policies to promote and monitor public and private sector education and training programs for science, engineering, technology, mathematics, and skilled trades; and (3) partnerships with industry, organized labor, academia, and State and local governments for occupational information and for workforce education, training, and certification resources, including grants, loans, and scholarships.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2004
Waives points of order against the consideration of the conference report on H.R. 1350 (reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
United States · United States Senate · 16 November 2004
United States · United States Senate · 16 November 2004
United States · United States Senate · 16 November 2004
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2004
Medicare Hospice Demonstration Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish Hospice Demonstration Projects to increase the utility of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) hospice services for seriously ill Medicare beneficiaries. Includes a supportive and comfort care benefit within such program. Requires the Secretary to conduct demonstration projects in between three and six sites. Sets forth the criteria for selecting such sites, including geographic diversity and accessibility. Requires special rules for adjusting payment to any Medicare+Choice (SSA title XVIII part C) organization offering a Medicare+Choice plan to reflect an enrolled member's participation in such a project. Directs the Secretary to establish a Hospice Education Grant program under which the Secretary awards education grants to entities participating in the demonstration projects for the purpose of providing information about the Medicare hospice benefit and the benefits available to Medicare beneficiaries under the demonstration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2004
American History and Civics Education Act of 2004 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants, on a competitive basis, to entities with demonstrated expertise in historical methodology or the teaching of history to establish: (1) Presidential Academies for Teaching of American History and Civics that may offer workshops for both veteran and new teachers of such subjects; and (2) Congressional Academies for Students of American History and Civics. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to the National History Day Program to continue and expand its activities to promote the study of history and improve instruction.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2004
Recognizes that the "Trust in the Lives of Older Women" program benefits older women by decreasing their stress, isolation, anxiety, and depression and providing trust, support, friendship, community, and mental stimulation. Commends the "Trust in the Lives of Older Women" program for encouraging older women to stay healthy and to continue making contributions to their communities. Encourages community groups, including religious organizations, colleges and universities, and community centers to participate in the program by starting groups in their communities.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2004
Protecting Our Communities by Making Returning Offenders Better Citizens Act of 2004 - Establishes within the Department of Justice the Office of Community Services. Requires the Office Director to: (1) develop and administer grant programs to prepare incarcerated persons for reentry into the community or to assist reentering offenders in their transition; and (2) make grants to nongovernmental entities that have expertise in providing such services. Authorizes the Director to award a grant to an eligible organization to establish a National Offender Reentry Initiative Clearinghouse. Requires the Director to award grants: (1) to State or local corrections agencies to provide services to incarcerated persons, including education, substance abuse treatment, and vocational skills training; (2) to consortiums of such agencies and to State or local parole or probation agencies to provide services to incarcerated persons who have not more than one year remaining of their sentence or to released offenders within 18 months after release; (3) to parole and probation agencies to provide offenders with services to help with their transition; and (4) to correctional, parole, or probation agencies and nongovernmental entities for community protection programs. Directs the Bureau of Prisons to provide each offender released from Federal prisons information on how to restore voting rights and other civil and civic rights. Earmarks specified funds for research, technical assistance, and training.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2004
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should: (1) endorse the concept of a worldwide campaign of scientific activity for the 2007-2008 time frame; (2) require the Director of the National Science Foundation and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to continue interagency and international inquiries and discussions that ensure a successful worldwide international science year in such time frame, emphasizing activities dedicated to global environmental research, education, and protection; and (3) report to Congress on the steps taken to carry out this resolution, including possible activities and organizational structures for an international science year in 2007-2008.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2004
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration, including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Allows the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. Prohibits such regulations from: (1) limiting product sales or distribution to authorization of a practitioner licensed to prescribe medical products; (2) prohibiting product sales in face-to-face transactions by a specific category of retail outlets; or (3) establishing a minimum age greater than 18 years of age for product purchases. Prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health, but reserves to Congress the power to ban any tobacco products or reduce the nicotine level to zero. Allows the Secretary to take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (3) congressional review of regulations; and (4) state and local authority. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning label and advertising requirements. Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to change smokeless tobacco warning label and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2004
Designates November 2004 as American Music Month.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2004
The College Savings Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the maximum annual contribution limit for Coverdell education savings accounts from $2,000 to $5,000; and (2) allow a tax deduction up to $5,000 for contributions to an education savings account.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2004
Education Savings for Students Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the maximum annual contribution limit for Coverdell education savings accounts from $2,000 to $5,000.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2004
National Park Centennial Act of 2004 - Establishes the National Park Centennial Fund (Fund) in the Treasury. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers to designate overpayments and contributions for the benefit of the National Park System. Allocates such amounts to the Fund (along with necessary amounts from the General Fund to the extent that such amounts are inadequate in any fiscal year) for expenditure by the Secretary of the Interior. Creates within the Fund the National Park Backlog Elimination Fund, the Natural Resource Challenge Fund, and the Cultural Resource Challenge Fund. Authorizes appropriations for a public awareness campaign about the Fund and the ability of taxpayers to make tax-related contributions. Requires a specified percentage of Fund deposits to be used: (1) for the elimination of the backlog of unmet needs in the national parks as identified in the Facility Condition Index of the National Park Service (NPS); (2) to protect natural resources within the parks; and (3) to protect cultural resources within the parks. Requires a majority of such percentages to be distributed to those national parks that have completed comprehensive business plans under the Business Plan Initiative of the NPS. Directs the Government Accountability Office annually to submit a report on the National Park System to specified congressional committees. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide grants to elementary and secondary schools for cooperative agreements with the NPS providing distance learning and onsite education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2004
Youngstown State University Music for Our Youth Program Establishment Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to establish the Youngstown State University Music for Our Youth Program, a six-year pilot program to make grants to fund a music education center at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio, to provide music education for children in grades 7 through 12.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Coordinated Environmental Health Network Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to establish and operate the Coordinated Environmental Health Network (the Network), including by: (1) identifying, expanding, and coordinating among existing Federal public health and environmental infrastructure; (2) providing for public access to an electronic national database on the incidence and prevalence of specified priority chronic conditions and relevant environmental and other factors; (3) operating a National Environmental Health Rapid Response Service to develop strategies to rapidly respond to, and conduct investigations of, higher than expected incidence and prevalence rates of priority chronic conditions and environmental exposures; (4) awarding grants to States, local governments, territories, and Indian tribes to establish, maintain, and operate State Environmental Health Networks; (5) developing minimum standards and procedures for data collection and reporting for State Networks, including mechanisms for allowing States to set priorities and allocate resources accordingly; (6) establishing an Advisory Committee for the Network; (7) awarding John H. Chafee Public Health Scholarships to eligible students who are enrolled in an accredited school of public health or medicine; and (8) entering into a cooperative agreement with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to train and place applied epidemiology fellows in State and local health departments. Allows the Secretary to award grants to accredited schools or programs of public health to establish, maintain, and operate Centers of Excellence for research and demonstration with respect to chronic conditions and relevant environmental factors, which may include investigating causal connections between chronic conditions and environmental factors.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Green Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2004 - Directs the President to establish a Green Chemistry Research and Development Program to promote and coordinate Federal research, development, demonstration, education, and technology transfer activities related to green chemistry and chemical engineering to design chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. Requires the President to establish an Interagency Working Group to oversee the planning, management, and coordination of the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Recognizes the growing number of community activists, organizations, and municipal governments leading the national effort to establish public access defibrillation (PAD) programs. Encourages the continued development and implementation of PAD programs in schools, sports arenas, NASCAR race tracks, large hotels, concert halls, public housing, high-rise buildings, gated communities, buildings subject to high-security, and similar facilities to increase the survival rate for victims of cardiac arrest.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Enhancing Nutrition in Medical Education Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to schools of medicine to integrate innovative curricula on nutrition into medical education. Requires the Secretary to ensure that such curricula focus on preventive health measures, including : (1) education on the causes, treatment, and prevention of obesity; (2) office education and counseling to ensure an appropriate diet for mostly healthy people; (3) prevention and treatment of common nutritional deficiencies; (4) the appropriate and inappropriate use of herbs and supplements; (5) office recognition and treatment of common eating disorders; and (6) identification of special dietary needs, eating disorders, and appropriate routes of referral for medical nutrition therapy. Requires grantees to: (1) develop innovative curricula; (2) integrate such curricula into the medical education at the school; (3) evaluate the results achieved with the curricula; (4) establish a multidisciplinary planning committee to develop the curricula; and (5) report to the Secretary on the developed curricula and results achieved. Requires the Secretary to prepare a consolidated report on the curricula and results achieved by grantees and to disseminate such report to schools of medicine.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Cure and Understanding through Research for Alzheimer's Act of 2004 or La Cura Act of 2004 - Authorizes appropriations for conducting and supporting research on Alzheimer's disease at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Requires the Director of NIH to ensure sufficient resources for activities relating to Alzheimer's disease and Hispanic communities, including by: (1) increasing efforts in epidemiological work in Hispanic subgroups; (2) allocating resources to the National Institute on Aging Alzheimer's disease research centers and other academic centers involved in such research to increase participation of Hispanics in research and clinical trials in sufficient numbers to draw valid conclusions; and (3) conduct social, behavioral, and health services research to understand the underlying reasons why Hispanic individuals delay diagnosis and underutilize services and to identify culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches to address such delays and underutilization. Requires the Director to expand and intensify NIH efforts to educate communities about the importance of research relating to Alzheimer's disease and to respond effectively to cultural concerns about participation in such research. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for a program of grants to States to carry out demonstration programs related to Alzheimer's disease. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to conduct an aggressive, evidence-based education and outreach program to promote public awareness and risk reduction with respect to Alzheimer's disease, particularly to Hispanic populations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Nurse Education, Expansion, and Development Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Health Resources and Services Administration, to award a grant to each eligible school of nursing to increase the number of nursing faculty and students at the school. Requires such schools to formulate and implement a plan to accomplish at least two of specified goals, which include: (1) establishing or significantly expanding an accelerated baccalaureate degree nursing program designed to graduate new nurses in 12 to 18 months; (2) establishing cooperative interdisciplinary training between schools of nursing and other specified health related fields; (3) increasing admissions, enrollment, and retention of qualified individuals who are financially disadvantaged; (4) increasing enrollment of minority and diverse student populations; (5) increasing enrollment of new graduate baccalaureate nursing students in graduate programs that educate nurse faculty members; (6) developing post-baccalaureate residency programs to prepare nurses for practice in specialty areas where nursing shortages are more severe; and (7) increasing integration of geriatric content into the core curriculum. Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to study ways to increase participation in the nurse faculty profession and to submit a report to Congress that includes: (1) a discussion of the master's degree and doctoral degree programs that are successful in placing graduates as faculty in schools of nursing; and (2) an examination of compensation disparities throughout the nursing profession and between higher education instructional faculty generally and higher education instructional nursing faculty.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Makes the Big Spring Independent School District in Texas eligible to receive a grant under the Rural and Low-Income School Program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 for any fiscal year in which it meets a specified eligibility criterion and would meet another such criterion but for the inclusion of the Federal prison population in the calculation of the school locale codes.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Winning the War on Terror Act of 2004 - Provides for increases in the numbers of U.S. special operations forces. Provides counter-proliferation measures, including a Global Threat Reduction Initiative (to secure nuclear and radiological materials outside the United States) and radiological material threat assessments. Requires elimination of the U.S. chemical stockpile no later than the end of 2012. Establishes a Terrorist Screening Center in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Secure Borders Act - Institutes, or modifies, measures related to: (1) border infrastructure and monitoring, transportation workers and cargo containers, and public and tribal lands; (2) identification document standards; (3) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staffing, detention and removal operations, informant aliens, and alien smuggling penalties; (4) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) foreign coordination, visa security, and the visa waiver program; and (5) immigration benefit functions, including identification techniques. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary) to make grants for public transportation security. Directs the Secretary to develop public transportation best practices, public awareness, and security plans. Requires a Memorandum of Agreement between the Secretaries of Homeland Security and of Transportation concerning their respective roles in public transportation security matters. Secure Containers from Overseas and Seaports from Terrorism Act or Secure COAST Act - Requires establishment of security standards and verification procedures for maritime cargo containers moving within the intermodal transportation system. Imposes validation and inspection requirements, including deployment of radiation detection portal equipment at all ports of entry and a staffing assessment. Authorizes appropriations for port security grants and requires funding for an information sharing and analysis capability within the maritime industry. Increases funding for Coast Guard components associated with the Integrated Deepwater System. Increases authorized Coast Guard active duty personnel levels. Requires aviation security measures that include provision of checked baggage screening for explosives, phaseout of passenger "bag-matching" programs, technology assessment, a shipping companies database, wireless flight crew communications, a national transportation security strategy, and passenger watchlists. Private Sector Preparedness Act of 2004 - Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and implement a private sector emergency preparedness program. Sets forth requirements for promoting the sharing of intelligence and homeland security information. Requires the Secretary to develop: (1) a plan for security critical infrastructure; and (2) a national biodefense strategy. Rapid Pathogen Identification to Delivery of Cures Act - Requires a strategy and research programs to expedite the development and approval of countermeasures against novel or unknown pathogens or toxins. Chemical Security Improvement Act of 2004 - Establishes procedures for assessment of the vulnerability of chemical sources to terrorist release and planning to address security concerns. Authorizes establishment of a program to fund cybersecurity professional development programs. Creates a National Cybersecurity Office in DHS. Connecting the Operations of National Networks of Emergency Communications Technologies for First Responders Act of 2004 - Establishes an Office of Wireless Public Safety Interoperable Communications and a program to fund communications interoperability improvements. Strengthening Homeland Innovation to Emphasize Liberty, Democracy, and Privacy Act or the SHIELD Privacy Act - Requires designation of a Chief Privacy Officer within the Office of Management and Budget and of an official primarily responsible for privacy policy in each executive branch agency. Establishes a Commission on Privacy, Freedom, and Homeland Security and a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Homeland Security Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Protection Act of 2004 - Revises DHS organizational provisions to institute certain civil rights and civil liberties safeguards. Sets forth policies (and measures) regarding prevention of future international terrorism, including concerning: (1) the role of Pakistan; (2) the future of Afghanistan; (3) the U.S.-Saudi relationship; (4) politics, culture, and education in the Islamic world; and (5) the use of economic and trade policies as part of a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy. Urges a comprehensive coalition strategy to fight Islamist terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
International Remittance Consumer Protection Act of 2004 - Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to require a remittance transfer provider to: (1) clearly and conspicuously make specified disclosures in writing and in a form that the consumer may keep to each consumer requesting a remittance transfer; and (2) make such disclosures in English and in the same languages principally used by the remittance transfer provider, or its agents at that office, if other than English. Prescribes error resolution guidelines and remedies governing remittance transfer errors. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to publish electronically on each business day the foreign currencies dollar exchange rate. Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to empower Federal Credit Unions to: (1) provide remittance transfers to persons in the field of membership; and (2) cash checks and money orders for such persons for a fee. Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to work with the Federal reserve banks to expand the use of the automated clearinghouse system for remittance transfers to foreign countries. Requires certain Federal banking agencies to provide guidelines to financial institutions offering low-cost remittance transfers and no-cost or low-cost basic consumer accounts, as well as agency services to remittance transfer providers. Requires such agencies and the Secretary to assist the Financial Literacy and Education Commission in improving the financial literacy and education of consumers who send remittances. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, acting through the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, to provide assistance to leverage personal remittances and reduce the cost of remittances sent to Latin America and the Caribbean. Amends the Inter-American Development Bank Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at the Inter-American Development Bank to use the U.S. voice, vote, and influence to urge the Bank, among other specified things, to provide assistance to increasing access to financial institutions for the poor and working with local financial institutions to reduce fees and other costs associated with sending or receiving remittances. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to specified congressional committees on the remittance transfer system.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Coordinated Environmental Health Network Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to establish and operate the Coordinated Environmental Health Network (the Network), including by: (1) identifying, expanding, and coordinating among existing Federal public health and environmental infrastructure; (2) providing for public access to an electronic national database on the incidence and prevalence of specified priority chronic conditions and relevant environmental and other factors; (3) operating a National Environmental Health Rapid Response Service to develop strategies to rapidly respond to, and conduct investigations of, higher than expected incidence and prevalence rates of priority chronic conditions and environmental exposures; (4) awarding grants to States, local governments, territories, and Indian tribes to establish, maintain, and operate State Environmental Health Networks; (5) developing minimum standards and procedures for data collection and reporting for State Networks, including mechanisms for allowing States to set priorities and allocate resources accordingly; (6) establishing an Advisory Committee for the Network; (7) awarding John H. Chafee Public Health Scholarships to eligible students who are enrolled in an accredited school of public health or medicine; and (8) entering into a cooperative agreement with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to train and place applied epidemiology fellows in State and local health departments. Allows the Secretary to award grants to accredited schools or programs of public health to establish, maintain, and operate Centers of Excellence for research and demonstration with respect to chronic conditions and relevant environmental factors, which may include investigating causal connections between chronic conditions and environmental factors.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Combating Methamphetamine Act of 2004 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General, through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), to make grants to States to address the manufacture, sale, and use of methamphetamine (methamphetamine use) to enhance public safety. Lists eligible programs, projects, and activities, including: (1) arresting individuals violating methamphetamine laws; (2) undertaking clandestine methamphetamine lab seizures and environmental cleanup; (3) providing community-based education, awareness, and prevention; and (4) providing Drug Court and Family Drug Court services to address methamphetamine use. Sets forth grant application requirements. Authorizes the Attorney General, through BJA, to make grants to States, Indian tribal governments, and multijurisdictional or regional consortia thereof to develop a comprehensive, cooperative strategy to address methamphetamine use to enhance public safety. Earmarks specified sums (according to a specified formula) to each State. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) collect systematic data on the effectiveness of the programs assisted under this Act in reducing methamphetamine use; (2) establish a national clearinghouse of information on effective programs to address such use that shall disseminate to State and local agencies a description of the results of research on reduction efforts and information on effective programs, best practices, and Federal resources; (3) establish a program within the Department of Justice to facilitate the sharing of knowledge in best practices among States addressing such use; and (4) provide technical assistance to State and local agencies implementing effective programs to reduce methamphetamine use.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with respect to research on pulmonary hypertension and to coordinate the Director's activities with related activities of other national research institutes and National Institutes of Health agencies. Requires the Director to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of centers to conduct research and programs on pulmonary hypertension, including: (1) basic and clinical research into the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, control, and treatment of the disease; (2) training programs for scientists and health professionals; (3) programs to provide information and continuing education to health professionals; and (4) programs for the dissemination of information to the public. Requires the Director to establish: (1) a data system for the collection, storage, analysis, retrieval, and dissemination of data derived from patient populations with pulmonary hypertension; and (2) an information clearinghouse to facilitate and enhance knowledge and understanding of pulmonary hypertension by health professionals, patients, industry, and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2004 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to provide assistance, including through nongovernmental or international organizations, for basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries, including assistance for: (1) community-based care; (2) school food programs; (3) education and employment training; (4) mental health care; (5) protection of inheritance rights; and (6) HIV/AIDS care. Directs the President to develop a coordinating strategy for such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Full-Service Community Schools Act of 2004 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award grants to: (1) eligible entities to assist public elementary or secondary schools to function as full-service community schools; and (2) State collaboratives to support development of full-service community school programs. Requires such schools to: (1) participate in community-based efforts to coordinate educational, developmental, family, health, and other comprehensive services through community-based organizations and public and private partnerships; and (2) provide access to such services to students, families, and the community. Gives local grant priority to entities that: (1) will serve at least one school eligible for schoolwide programs under specified provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and more than one full-service community school as part of a community or districtwide strategy; and (2) demonstrate a record of effectiveness in integrating at least three of various qualified services. Establishes a Full-Service Community Schools Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Safe Food Act of 2004 - Establishes the Food Safety Administration to administer and enforce food safety laws. Directs the Administrator of the Food Safety Administration to: (1) promulgate regulations to ensure the security of the food supply from all forms of contamination; (2) implement Federal food safety inspection, enforcement, and research efforts to protect the public health; (3) develop consistent and science-based standards for safe food; (4) coordinate and prioritize food safety research and education programs with other Federal agencies; (5) prioritize Federal food safety efforts and deployment of resources to achieve the greatest possible benefit in reducing food-borne illness; (6) coordinate the Federal response to food-borne illness outbreaks with other Federal and State agencies; and (7) integrate Federal food safety activities with State and local agencies. Transfers to the Administration all functions of specified Federal agencies that relate to the administration or enforcement of food safety laws, including (1) the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture; and (2) the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the Food and Drug Administration. Requires the Administrator to: (1) administer a national food safety program based on an analysis of the hazards associated with different food and the processing of different food; (2) establish standards for processors of food and food establishments; (3) establish a certification system for foreign governments or food establishments seeking to import food to the United States; (4) establish requirements for tracing food and food producing animals from point of origin to retail sale; (5) maintain an active surveillance system of food, food products, and epidemiological evidence; (6) establish a sampling system to monitor contaminants in food; (7) rank and analyze hazards in the food supply; (8) establish a national public education campaign on food safety; and (9) conduct research relating to food safety. Sets forth provisions regarding prohibited acts, administrative detention, condemnation, temporary holds, recall, penalties for violations of food safety laws, whistle blower protection, and civil actions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
North American Investment Fund Act - Authorizes the President to negotiate with Canada and Mexico to create a North American Investment Fund to: (1) promote economic and infrastructure integration among Canada, Mexico, and the United States; (2) promote education and economic development in Mexico; and (3) reduce the wealth gap between Mexico and Canada, and between Mexico and the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Domestic Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2004 - Directs the Attorney General to award grants to States and political subdivisions to establish model law enforcement programs that promote the effective prosecution of purchasers, exploiters, and traffickers of commercial sex acts. Permits the use of grant funds for: (1) prosecutions against purchasers of unlawful commercial sex acts, including through the use of female decoys; (2) prosecutions against traffickers and exploiters of unlawful commercial sex acts, including through surveillance of places of business engaged in such acts; and (3) social service programs operated by non-governmental organizations with special expertise in assisting victims of unlawful commercial sex activities, whose programs offer protection, education, food, and shelter for victims. Amends the Federal criminal code to increase penalties for purchasers of unlawful commercial sex acts. Requires the Departments of Justice (DOJ), Labor, Health and Human Services, and any other Federal agency involved in combating unlawful domestic sex trafficking and providing services to the victims to coordinate their activities with the Senior Policy Operating Group to ensure that Federal programs directed at domestic trafficking are consistent with Federal enforcement of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) disseminate best practices for training State and local law enforcement personnel at each annual conference conducted by DOJ; and (2) carry out a biennial comprehensive statistical review and analysis of unlawful commercial sex acts.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Domestic Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2004 - Directs the Attorney General to award grants to States and political subdivisions to establish model law enforcement programs that promote the effective prosecution of purchasers, exploiters, and traffickers of commercial sex acts. Permits the use of grant funds for: (1) prosecutions against purchasers of unlawful commercial sex acts, including through the use of female decoys; (2) prosecutions against traffickers and exploiters of unlawful commercial sex acts, including through surveillance of places of business engaged in such acts; and (3) social service programs operated by non-governmental organizations with special expertise in assisting victims of unlawful commercial sex activities, whose programs offer protection, education, food, and shelter for victims. Amends the Federal criminal code to increase penalties for purchasers of unlawful commercial sex acts. Requires the Departments of Justice (DOJ), Labor, Health and Human Services, and any other Federal agency involved in combating unlawful domestic sex trafficking and providing services to the victims to coordinate their activities with the Senior Policy Operating Group to ensure that Federal programs directed at domestic trafficking are consistent with Federal enforcement of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) disseminate best practices for training State and local law enforcement personnel at each annual conference conducted by DOJ; and (2) carry out a biennial comprehensive statistical review and analysis of unlawful commercial sex acts.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 2004 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 for 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; (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts; and (3) in paying overtime to existing career law enforcement officers. 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.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Comprehensive Assistance for Veterans Exposed to Traumatic Stressors Act of 2004 - Extends eligibility for readjustment counseling services for Vietnam-era veterans. Requires implementation of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-Department of Defense (DOD) Health Care Sharing Incentive Fund. Requires: (1) the DOD to assist the VA with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related data collection; (2) routine preventative maintenance intervention for returning members of the Armed Forces; and (3) substance use disorder questions in pre- and post-deployment screens and related treatment protocols. Provides for a telemedicine program to support health care providers in combat theaters. Requires a study of factors that decrease the likelihood of developing combat-related chronic PTSD. Extends the enhanced eligibility period for VA health services for certain veterans. Provides for participation by the VA in DOD demobilization and Transitional Assistance Program activities to enhance identification of chronic PTSD risk factors. Requires PTSD educational materials. Provides for a joint demonstration project that stations VA psychologists and psychiatrists at major demobilization sites and military treatment facilities. Requires: (1) performance measures that ensure appropriate deployment of resources to implement the Iraq war clinical practice guidelines; (2) establishment of the DOD/VA Council on Post-Deployment Mental Health; (3) a plan for expanded access to specialized PTSD care; and (4) additional mental health services personnel for certain VA programs and locations. Authorizes counseling for immediate family members of disabled veterans and Armed Forces personnel killed in action. Establishes a National Steering Committee on PTSD Education. Addresses deficiencies in compensation and pension examinations with regard to PTSD. Requires development of criteria for determining which medical conditions are likely associated with PTSD and when secondary service-connection should be granted for those conditions. Provides for an outreach program to enhance PTSD awareness.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Teacher Training Expansion Act of 2004 - Amends the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to authorize the Secretary of Education, in selecting recipients for certain IDEA grants for personnel preparation, to give preference to local educational agencies and public or private nonprofit organizations that provide training to regular education personnel to: (1) meet the needs of children with disabilities in integrated settings; and (2) work in collaboration with special education personnel in integrated settings.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Safe Food Act of 2004 - Establishes the Food Safety Administration to administer and enforce food safety laws. Directs the Administrator of the Food Safety Administration to: (1) promulgate regulations to ensure the security of the food supply from all forms of contamination; (2) implement Federal food safety inspection, enforcement, and research efforts to protect the public health; (3) develop consistent and science-based standards for safe food; (4) coordinate and prioritize food safety research and education programs with other Federal agencies; (5) prioritize Federal food safety efforts and deployment of resources to achieve the greatest possible benefit in reducing food-borne illness; (6) coordinate the Federal response to food-borne illness outbreaks with other Federal and State agencies; and (7) integrate Federal food safety activities with State and local agencies. Transfers to the Administration all functions of specified Federal agencies that relate to the administration or enforcement of food safety laws, including (1) the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture; and (2) the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the Food and Drug Administration. Requires the Administrator to: (1) administer a national food safety program based on an analysis of the hazards associated with different food and the processing of different food; (2) establish standards for processors of food and food establishments; (3) establish a certification system for foreign governments or food establishments seeking to import food to the United States; (4) establish requirements for tracing food and food producing animals from point of origin to retail sale; (5) maintain an active surveillance system of food, food products, and epidemiological evidence; (6) establish a sampling system to monitor contaminants in food; (7) rank and analyze hazards in the food supply; (8) establish a national public education campaign on food safety; and (9) conduct research relating to food safety. Sets forth provisions regarding prohibited acts, administrative detention, condemnation, temporary holds, recall, penalties for violations of food safety laws, whistle blower protection, and civil actions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax deduction from gross income (available for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions) for the uncompensated educational expenses of a spouse or child of certain deceased, permanently disabled, missing in action, or captured members of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Education for Public Service Act of 2004 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise certain student loan income contingent repayment plan requirements with respect to public service employees and married borrowers. Provides public service employees with a shortened maximum student loan repayment period before receiving debt forgiveness under an income contingent repayment plan. Prohibits the Secretary of Education from prescribing such a repayment period exceeding 15 years (instead of the usual 25 years) in the case of those borrowers who, after electing such a plan, have been full-time public service employees for at least eight years, whether or not continuously. Revises income contingent student loan repayment schedules for married borrowers to attribute to the borrower one-half (rather than all) of the combined adjusted gross income of the borrower and the borrower's spouse.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Servicemembers' Flexible Educational Assistance Act - Allows members of the Armed Forces and Selected Reserve who are entitled to educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill to transfer a portion of their entitlement to their dependents. States that a child's use of such transferred entitlement may not commence until the child completes secondary school or attains 18 years of age. Extends the time period for use of such transferred entitlements. Requires the Secretary of Defense to: (1) submit annual reports to specified congressional committees on the number of individuals transferring their entitlement to educational assistance under this Act; and (2) include such information pertaining to the Selected Reserve in biennial reports to Congress. Allows service members and their dependents to choose the program of education for which educational assistance will be used. Redefines the qualifying period of active duty service for members of the Selected Reserve to receive educational assistance as a cumulative period of at least 24 months during any six-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish a program to award competitive grants, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to institutions of higher education (IHEs) for increased education and job training of U.S. nationals who are undergraduate or graduate students in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. Requires such grants to be provided to IHE applicants that demonstrate they will institute creative and innovative methods of encouraging students to study and enter into careers focused on those disciplines. Requires IHE applications to include: (1) financial incentives to students; (2) commitment to expose students to different industries; and (3) commitment to increase the number of traditionally underrepresented students in those disciplines. Allows IHE recipients to use grant funds: (1) for major research equipment, facilities construction, repair and upgrades, textbooks, and other purposes necessary to create a quality academic program in one or more of those disciplines; and (2) to create interdisciplinary programs in those disciplines to better meet rapidly changing needs in emerging fields.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the United States deplores the past and continuing violation of the human rights and religious freedoms of minority populations in Arab countries; (2) with respect to Jews and Christians displaced from Arab countries, for any comprehensive Middle East peace agreement to be enduring, constitute an end to Middle East conflict, and provide for finality of all claims, the agreement must resolve all outstanding issues, including the rights of all peoples displaced from Arab countries; and (3) the United States will work to ensure that both the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period and the permanent constitution are universally applied to all groups forced to leave Iraq. Urges the President to: (1) instruct the U.S. Representative to the United Nations and all U.S. representatives in bilateral and multilateral fora that, when the United States considers resolutions that allude to the issue of Middle East refugees, the U.S. delegation should ensure that the relevant text refers to multiple refugee populations that have been caused by the Arab-Israeli conflict and any explicit reference to the resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue is matched by a similar reference to the resolution of the issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries; and (2) make clear that the United States supports the position that the issue of refugees and the mass violations of human rights of minorities in Arab countries must be resolved in a manner that includes redress for the rights of all refugees displaced from Arab countries and recognition that Jewish and Christian property, schools, and community property were lost as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2004
National Guard and Reserve Education Act of 2004 - Increases the monthly rate of educational assistance for members of the Selected Reserve who pursue full-time studies. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prescribe by regulation the rate of assistance for less than full-time studies. Establishes an educational assistance benefit for reservists and National Guard members who, on or after September 11, 2001, serve at least 180 days within a five-year period of active duty in a contingency operation. Authorizes such persons to use their educational assistance entitlement during a 14-year period beginning on the last day of duty. Authorizes members of the Selected Reserve who are entitled to retired pay and basic educational assistance to transfer a portion of their educational entitlement to eligible dependents. Requires the Secretary to report on such transfers in the Secretary's annual report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2004
Let Parents Raise Their Kids Act of 2004 - Prohibits Federal funds from being used to establish or implement any universal or mandatory mental health screening program. Prohibits Federal education funds from being used to pay any local educational agency or other instrument of government that uses the refusal of a parent or legal guardian to provide consent to mental health screening as the basis of a charge of child abuse or education neglect until the agency or instrument demonstrates that it is no longer using such refusal as a basis of such charge. Defines universal or mandatory mental health screening as any mental health screening program in which a set of individuals is automatically screened without regard to whether there was a prior indication of a need for mental health treatment, including: (1) any program of State incentive grants to implement recommendations in the July 2003 report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health; and (2) any student mental health screening program that allows mental health screening of individuals under 18 years of age without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of the parent or legal guardian of the individual involved.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2004
Youth Service Scholarship Act of 2004 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a Public Service Incentives college scholarship program to reward low-income students who have, during high school, and who continue, during college, to make significant public service contributions to their communities. Requires 300 hours of public service by the student: (1) during each of two academic years of secondary school, to be eligible for a scholarship for the first year of college; and (2) during the preceding postsecondary academic year, to be eligible for a second, third, or fourth year. Requires such students to: (1) have been eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; and (2) be eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants in the year in which the scholarships are awarded. Sets the scholarship amount at $5,000 for any academic year during a student's first four years of undergraduate education, and provides for adjustments of such amount in the event of insufficient appropriations. Requires program dissemination and promotion.