108th Congress > House > Vote 674
Clerk session vote number: 676
Description: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004
Bill summary: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004 -
Division A: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Programs Appropriations, 2004
- Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 -
Title I: Agricultural Programs
- Appropriates funds for FY 2004 for the following Department of Agriculture (Department) programs and services: (1) Office of the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary); (2) executive
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operations; (3) Office of the Chief Information Officer; (4) Office of the Chief Financial Officer; (5) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights; (6) Office of Civil Rights; (7) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration; (8) agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments; (9) hazardous materials management; (10) departmental administration; (11) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations; (12) Office of Communications; (13) Office of the Inspector General; (14) Office of the General Counsel; (15) Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics; (16) Economic Research Service; (17) National Agricultural Statistics Service; (18) Agricultural Research Service; (19) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; (20) Office of the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; (21) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; (22) Agricultural Marketing Service; (23) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; (24) Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety; (25) Food Safety and Inspection Service; (26) Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; (27) Farm Service Agency; (28) Risk Management Agency; (29) Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; and (30) Commodity Credit Corporation Fund.
Title II: Conservation Programs
- Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment; and (2) Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Title III: Rural Development Programs
- Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development; (2) rural development salaries and expenses; (3) Rural Housing Service; (4) Rural Business-Cooperative Service; and (5) Rural Utilities Service.
Title IV: Domestic Food Programs
- Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services; and (2) Food and Nutrition Service.
Title V: Foreign Assistance and Related Programs
- Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Foreign Agricultural Service; (2) P.L. 480 program account, title I ocean freight differential grants, and title II grants; (3) McGovern-Dole international food for education and child nutrition program grants; and (4) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) export loans program account.
Title VI: Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration
- Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Food and Drug Administration (FDA); (2) Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and (3) Farm Credit Administration.
Title VII: General Provisions
- Specifies certain uses and limits on or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act.
(Sec. 710) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to pay indirect costs charged against competitive agricultural research, education, or extension grant awards issued by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service that exceed 20 percent of total Federal funds provided under each award.
(Sec. 715) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for the Safe Meat and Poultry Inspection Panel.
(Sec. 720) Prohibits the use of funds for the initiative for future agriculture and food systems, with an exception for administration of prior grants and obligations.
(Sec. 722) Prohibits fund use to relocate a State Rural Development office until cost and operation effectiveness have been determined.
(Sec. 723) Makes additional appropriations for Bill Emerson and Mickey Leland Hunger Fellowships.
(Sec. 724) Provides that any balances and recoveries available to carry out title III of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 may be used to carry out title II of such Act.
(Sec. 725) Obligates specified amounts of agricultural commodities to assist foreign countries mitigate the effects of HIV and AIDS.
(Sec. 726) Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to increase obligated funding for the national sheep industry improvement center revolving fund.
(Sec. 727) Authorizes the Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide financial and technical assistance through the watershed and flood prevention operations program for: (1) the Kuhn Bayou and Ditch 26 Improvement projects in Arkansas; (2) the Matanuska River erosion control project in Alaska; (3) the DuPage County Sawmill Creek Watershed project in Illinois; (4) the Coal Creek project in Utah; and (4) four flood control structures in Marmaton, Kansas.
(Sec. 728) Considers as eligible for rural development mission area assistance: (1) Lawrence County, Ohio; (2) Havelock, North Carolina; (3) Portsmouth, Ohio; (4) Binghamton, New York; (5) Vestal, New York; (6) Ithaca, New York; (7) Casa Grande, Arizona; (8) Clarksdale, Mississippi; (9) Coachella, California; (10) Salinas, California; (11) Watsonville, California; (12) Hollister, California; (13) Carolina, Puerto Rico; and (14) Kinston, North Carolina.
(Sec. 729) Directs the Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide financial and technical assistance through the watershed and flood prevention operations program to: (1) the DuPage County, Illinois, Kress Creek Watershed Plan; and (2) the Rockhouse Creek Watershed, Leslie County, Kentucky.
(Sec. 730) Prohibits funds under this Act from being transferred to any Federal entity unless authorized by an appropriations Act.
(Sec. 731) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to close or relocate the FDA Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis in Saint Louis, Missouri, outside the city or county limits.
(Sec. 732) Authorizes the Department to use any unobligated salaries and expense funds to reimburse the Office of General Counsel for representing its agencies and offices in employee complaints before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, or the Merit Systems Protection Board.
(Sec. 733) Authorizes the Secretary to use up to 20 percent of competitive research funds under this Act for a competitive grants program similar to the initiative for future agriculture and food systems.
(Sec. 734) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to carry out CCC-funded rehabilitation of certain dams.
(Sec. 735) Directs the Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide financial and technical assistance through the watershed and flood prevention operations program for the Upper Tygart Valley Watershed project, West Virginia.
(Sec. 736) Prohibits fund use to carry out the rural strategic investment program under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
(Sec. 737) Prohibits fund use to carry out the rural firefighters and emergency personnel grant program.
(Sec. 738) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to carry out a review of the Agricultural Research Service, as provided for by the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.
(Sec. 739) States that the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration shall not be required to establish obligations and outlays for purchases of interest bearing investments outside of the Treasury under specified circumstances.
(Sec. 740) Authorizes the Secretary to use specified food stamp funds for commodity processing, storage, transporting, and distribution.
(Sec. 741) Limits wetlands reserve program enrollment acreage for 2004.
(Sec. 742) Limits funds made available in FY 2004 or preceding fiscal years under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to reimburse CCC for the release of certain commodities under the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act.
(Sec. 743) Limits funds for the environmental quality incentives program.
(Sec. 744) Authorizes the Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide from appropriations financial and technical assistance to the Dry Creek project, Utah.
(Sec. 745) Authorizes the Secretary to permit Department employees to carry and use firearms for personal protection in remote locations in the performance of their official duties.
(Sec. 746) Prohibits fund use for renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvements assistance.
(Sec. 747) Prohibits FY 2004 fund use for access to broadband telecommunications in rural areas.
(Sec. 748) Prohibits fund use for the agricultural marketing resource center pilot program.
(Sec. 749) Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to make country-of-origin notice requirements applicable to retail sales of farm-raised and wild fish as of September 30, 2004, and other covered commodities as of September 30, 2006.
(Sec. 750) Directs the Secretary, with lender consent, to structure the annual fee payment schedule for rural electrification and telephone bond and loan guarantees so as not to exceed an average of 30 basis points per year for the term of the loan in order to ensure fund availability to pay related subsidy costs.
(Sec. 751) Rescinds unobligated balances in the Alternative Agricultural Research and Commercialization Revolving Fund.
(Sec. 752) Limits FY 2004 fund use for the conservation security program.
(Sec. 753) Limits fund use for the ground and surface water conservation program.
(Sec. 754) Limits fund use for the grazing, wildlife habitat incentive, source water protection, and Great Lakes Basin programs.
(Sec. 755) Limits fund use for the farmland protection program.
(Sec. 756) Directs the Secretary to provide assistance to: (1) commercial tree-fruit growers in a federally declared disaster area in New York who suffered tree losses from a 2003 icestorm; and (2) commercial citrus and lime growers in Florida for tree replacement and for lost production for certain trees removed to control citrus canker, and for certified citrus nursery stocks within the citrus canker quarantine areas.
(Sec. 757) Appropriates funds for the Northern Great Plains Regional Authority.
(Sec. 758) Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to revise certain committee reporting requirements.
(Sec. 759) Prohibits fund use for the rural business investment program other than for promulgation of regulations or application review.
(Sec. 760) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act in violation of PL 105-264 (Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998).
(Sec. 761) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to revise a proposed rule (July 8, 2003) respecting cost-sharing for animal and plant health emergency programs of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
(Sec. 762) Authorizes Department agencies and offices to use available discretionary funds to prepare for final employment discrimination decisions.
(Sec. 763) States that in the case of a high cost isolated rural area that is not connected to a road system in Alaska, the maximum level for the single family housing assistance shall be 150 percent of the average income level in the metropolitan areas of the State and 115 percent of all other eligible areas of the State.
(Sec. 764) Appropriates funds to the Denali Commission to address solid waste disposal problems which threaten to contaminate rural drinking water supplies.
(Sec. 765) Considers, until receipt of the 2010 census, Vicksburg, Mississippi, Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Starkville, Mississippi, to be eligible for rural housing programs under the Housing Act of 1949.
(Sec. 766) Considers, until receipt of the 2010 census, Berlin, New Hampshire, Guymon, Oklahoma, Shawnee, Oklahoma, and Altus, Oklahoma, to be eligible for rural community advancement program loans and grants.
(Sec. 767) Prohibits, without specific congressional authorization, fund use to study or enter into a contract with a private party for competitive sourcing activities relating to rural development or farm loan programs.
(Sec. 768) Amends the Housing Act of 1949 respecting rural farm housing to make the income exemption for dividends from the Alaska Permanent Fund to a person under 18 years old permanent.
(Sec. 769) Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to revise FY 2004 through 2007 CCC funding provisions for the agricultural management assistance program, including the addition of specified funding obligations.
(Sec. 770) Prohibits fund use to promote Foreign Agricultural Service sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products.
(Sec. 771) Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to maintain FY 2003 food stamp benefit levels in Alaska and Hawaii.
(Sec. 772) Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to define "eligible rural community" as any area of the United States that is not contained in an incorporated city or town with a population in excess of 20,000 inhabitants.
(Sec. 773) States that for all rural development mission area programs in Honolulu County, Hawaii, the Secretary may designate any portion of the county as a rural area or eligible rural community, except for any area included in the Honolulu Census Designated Place as determined by the Secretary of Commerce.
(Sec. 775) Authorizes community facility program borrowers and grantees to enter into service contracts with not-for-profit third parties.
(Sec. 776) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative aircraft lease agreements under the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
(Sec. 777) Amends the Agricultural Assistance Act of 2003 to include tree replacement under the citrus canker assistance program.
(Sec. 778) Sun Grant Research Initiative Act of 2003
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Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary to make grants to university-based sun grant centers which shall: (1) establish centers of excellence to pursue research, extension, and educational programs to implement biobased energy technologies, products, and economic diversification in rural areas; and (2) make grants to land-grant colleges and universities for related multiinstitutional and multistate programs. Establishes: (1) a north-central sun grant center at South Dakota State University for Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; (2) a southeastern sun grant center at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands; (3) a south-central sun grant center at Oklahoma State University for Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas; (4) a western sun grant center at Oregon State University for Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and other U.S. territories and possessions; and (5) a northeastern sun grant center at Cornell University for Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia.
Requires the centers to maintain a Sun Grant Information Analysis Center for analysis and data management support.
Authorizes FY 2005 through 2010 appropriations.
(Sec. 779) Authorizes the Secretary to use any unobligated Rural Utilities Service funds in FY 2004 to improve rural area 911 access and emergency communications systems.
(Sec. 780) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to allocate the rate of price support between the purchase prices for nonfat dry milk and butter in a manner that does not support the price of milk in accordance with the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.
(Sec. 781) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make funding and other assistance available through the emergency watershed protection program to repair and prevent damage to nonfederal land in watersheds that have been impaired by fires initiated by the Federal Government; and (2) waive related cost sharing requirements.
(Sec. 782) Authorizes the Secretary to waive certain small and emerging rural business requirements respecting a lease for the Oakridge Oregon Industrial Park.
(Sec. 783) States that the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development shall be: (1) eligible to receive a water and waste disposal grant for up to 75 percent of the cost of providing water and sewer service to the proposed hospital in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska; and (2) allowed to pass the grant funds to the local government entity that will provide such service.
(Sec. 784) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to make certain previously-enrolled land planted to hardwood trees ineligible for the conservation reserve program.
(Sec. 785) Makes Postville, Iowa, eligible for a water and waste disposal grant for up to 75 percent of the cost of providing water and sewer service to the city.
(Sec. 786) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to implement a reorganization of regional conservationists and/or regional offices of the Natural Resources Conservation Service without the prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations.
(Sec. 787) Rescinds specified funds for the Food Safety and Inspection Service's field automation and information management project.
(Sec. 788) Amends the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Programs Appropriations, 2003 respecting international science and education grants.
(Sec. 789) Considers Great Falls, Montana, to be eligible for rural business and industry guaranteed loans.
Division B: Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004
- Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations for FY 2004 for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies.
Title I: Department of Justice
- Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations for FY 2004 the Department of Justice (DOJ) for: (1) general administration, including for a Joint Automated Booking System, an integrated automated fingerprint identification system, office automation expenses of specified organizations, conversion to narrowband communications, a Counterterrorism Fund, administrative review and appeals, the Federal Detention Trustee, and the Office of the Inspector General; (2) the U.S. Parole Commission; (3) legal activities, including antitrust activities, the Offices of U.S. Attorneys, the U.S. Trustee Program, the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, the U.S. Marshals Service (including for Federal prisoner detention), fees and expenses of witnesses, the Community Relations Service, and certain uses of the Assets Forfeiture Fund; (4) the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force/Terrorist Threat Integration Center; (5) the Drug Enforcement Administration, including interagency drug enforcement; (6) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; (7) the Federal Prison System; and (8) the Office of Justice Programs, including State and local law enforcement assistance, the Executive Office for Weed and Seed, community oriented policing services, violence against women prevention and prosecution programs, juvenile justice programs, and public safety officers' benefits.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds.
(Sec. 102) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this title to: (1) pay for abortions, except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in the case of rape; or (2) require any person to perform or facilitate an abortion.
(Sec. 104) Declares that nothing in the prohibition on the use of funds for abortions shall remove the obligation of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to provide escort services necessary for a female inmate to receive an abortion outside the Federal facility.
(Sec. 105) Makes funds available to establish and publicize an extraordinary rewards program.
(Sec. 107) Provides for the continuation during FY 2004 of provisions of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and
State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 directing the Attorney General to provide for the granting of posthumous citizenship for certain non-citizens who died as the result of injuries incurred in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
(Sec. 108) Authorizes the Attorney General to transfer forfeited real or personal property of limited or marginal value to a State or local government agency, or its designated contractor or transferee, for use to support drug abuse treatment, drug and crime prevention and education, housing, job skills, and other community-based public health and safety programs.
(Sec. 109) Declares that authorities contained in the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (Public Law 107-273) shall remain in effect until the effective date of a subsequent Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act.
(Sec. 110) Prohibits the expenditure of funds for the purpose of reimbursement or direct payments for the legal fees of an individual employed as an DOJ attorney for a matter in which the individual is the subject of a disciplinary recommendation for ethical misconduct by the Counsel for Professional Responsibility.
(Sec. 111) Earmarks certain additional funds for Project Seahawk, to remain available until expended.
(Sec. 112) States that none of the funds provided in this Act or hereafter may be used for courts or law enforcement officers for a tribe or village: (1) in which fewer than 25 Native members live in the village year round; or (2) that is located within the boundaries of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Matanuska Susitna Borough, the Municipality of Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the City and Borough of Juneau, the Sitka Borough, or the Ketchikan Borough.
Establishes an Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission to be appointed by the Attorney General to review Federal, State, local, and tribal jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters in Alaska but outside the Municipality of Anchorage, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the City and Borough of Juneau, the Sitka Borough, and the Ketchikan Borough. Requires the Commission to make recommendations to Congress and the Alaska State Legislature by May 1, 2004, on options which shall include: (1) creating a unified law enforcement system, court system, and system of local laws or ordinances for Alaska Native villages and communities of varying sizes including the possibility of first, second, and third class villages with different powers; (2) meeting the law enforcement and judicial personnel needs in rural Alaska including the possible use of cross deputization in a way that maximizes the existing resources of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments; and (3) addressing the needs to regulate alcoholic beverages including the prohibition of the sale, importation, use, or possession of alcoholic beverages, and provide restorative justice for persons who violate such laws, including treatment, and addressing the problem of domestic violence and child abuse, including treatment options and restorative justice.
Requires the General Accounting Office (GAO) to begin immediately a review of Federal programs benefiting rural communities in Alaska, including the name of each program and the administering department or agency, the amount of funds provided to Alaska through each program, a list of the statutes and regulations governing use of funds for each program, and any data demonstrating the performance of each program. Requires a report to specified congressional committees and to the Alaska Federation of Natives.
Authorizes the Federation to review the delivery of Federal programs in Alaska and make recommendations to Congress to reduce duplication, improve and consolidate delivery of services, streamline application and administrative procedures, improve accountability, mandate performance measures, and otherwise reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Amends the Denali Commission Act (title III of Public Law 105-277) to require the Federal Co-chairman of the Denali Commission to appoint an Economic Development Committee (EDC), chaired by the President of the Federation of Natives, to consider and approve applications from Regional Advisory Committees for grants (including mini-grants to individuals) and loans to promote economic development and promote private sector investment to reduce poverty in economically distressed rural villages.
Requires the State Co-chairman of the Commission to appoint a Regional Advisory Committee for each region to develop a regional economic development plan for EDC consideration.
Authorizes the EDC to develop rural development performance measures (including economic, educational, social, and cultural indicators) linking economic growth to poverty reduction to measure the success of its program.
Allows the Commission to make a grant to the First Alaskans Foundation to assist Alaska Natives and other rural residents in acquiring the skills and training necessary to participate fully in private sector business and economic and development opportunities through fellowships, scholarships, internships, public service programs, and other leadership initiatives.
Requires the EDC to sponsor a statewide economic development summit in consultation with the World Bank to evaluate the best practices for economic development worldwide and how they can be incorporated into regional economic development plans.
Authorizes appropriations to specified agencies, which shall be transferred to the Denali Commission as a direct lump sum payment to implement this Act.
(Sec. 113) Specifies an additional amount for the "Local Law Enforcement Block Grant" program to be provided to the City of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
(Sec. 114) Rescinds $100 million of DOJ unobligated balances available from prior year appropriations, with the exception of funds provided for counterterrorism activities, counterintelligence activities, white collar crime enforcement, organized crime enforcement, and drug enforcement.
Title II: Department of Commerce and Related Agencies
- Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for FY 2004 for: (1) the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; (2) the International Trade Commission; (3) the International Trade Administration; (4) the Bureau of Industry and Security for export administration and national security activities; (5) the Economic Development Administration; (6) the Minority Business Development Agency; (7) economic and statistical analysis programs; (8) the Bureau of the Census; (9) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; (10) public telecommunications facilities planning and construction grants; (11) information infrastructure grants; (12) the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; (13) the Under Secretary for Technology/Office of Technology Policy; (14) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), including amounts for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership and for construction of new research facilities; (15) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including transfer of funds and an amount for procurement, acquisition, and construction of capital assets; (16) restoration of Pacific salmon populations; (17) the fisheries finance program account; and (18) departmental management, including the Office of Inspector General.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds.
(Sec. 203) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act or any other Act for NOAA to support hurricane reconnaissance aircraft and activities that are under the control of the U.S. Air Force or Air Force Reserve.
(Sec. 207) Appropriates specified amounts of funds available to NIST for Construction of Research Facilities to: (1) fund a cooperative agreement with the Medical University of South Carolina; (2) the Thayer School of Engineering for research relating to intelligent control of distributed systems, a small laser beam project, and for research relating to nanomagnetics; (3) the Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection at the Institute for Security and Technology Studies; and (4) for the Institute for Politics and the Coastal Conservation Center.
(Sec. 208) Appropriates specified amounts of funds available from the fund entitled "Promote and Develop Fishery Products and Research Pertaining to American Fisheries," under certain conditions, to: (1) the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board; (2) the Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation; (3) the South Carolina Seafood Alliance; (4) the Oregon Trawl Commission; and (5) the Oregon State University Seafood Laboratory. Requires the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board to be nonprofit and non-Federal.
(Sec. 209) Requires: (1) the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to approve the sale, transfer, or conveyance, without compensation to the Agency, of certain land on the former Charleston Naval Base; and (2) funds obligated but not yet disbursed in connection with EDA project number 04-49-04347 to remain available until expended and, as of September 30, 2003, to be exempt from the application of Federal procedure for appropriation accounts available for definite periods.
Requires the Secretary to approve, without compensation to the Agency, a lease to be entered into by the City of Florence, Alabama, and Alabama Real Estate Holdings, Inc., for use of the parcel of land (including improvements) located in Florence that was improved using assistance from EDA project number 04-01-03963.
(Sec. 210) Authorizes the Secretary to operate a marine laboratory in South Carolina in accordance with a memorandum of agreement among NOAA, NIST, the State of South Carolina, the Medical University of South Carolina, and the College of Charleston as a partnership for collaborative, interdisciplinary marine scientific research.
(Sec. 211) Amends the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Act of 1999 to extend the Emergency Loan Guarantee Board's authority from December 31, 2003, until December 31, 2005.
Earmarks certain funds for salaries and administrative expenses to administer the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Program.
(Sec. 212) Earmarks certain additional NOAA procurement, acquisition, and construction funds for: (1) the Western Carolina University; (2) the South Florida Museum; (3) the French and Indian War Foundation; (4) the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee; (5) the University of Mississippi; (6) the City of Charlotte, North Carolina; and (7) a public safety marine docking facility for Hampton, New Hampshire.
(Sec. 213) Provides additional amounts, until expended, for the Federal Credit Reform Act cost of a fisheries financing and capacity reduction loan under the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 of up to $50 million in principal. Limits such amounts to loans that: (1) have a term of at least 30 years; (2) carry out a New England lobster fishing capacity reduction program which may include fewer than all management areas of the fishery; (3) permanently revoke all fishery licenses, fishery permits, area and species endorsements, and any other fishery privileges issued to a vessel or vessels (or to persons on the basis of their vessel operation or ownership) removed under the program; and (4) ensure that all vessels removed from the fishery under the program are made permanently ineligible to participate in any fishery worldwide, and that the owners of such vessels will operate only under the U.S. flag or such vessels shall be scrapped as a reduction vessel.
(Sec. 214) Specifies the same provisions with respect to a fisheries financing and capacity reduction loan that carries out a Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands non-pollock groundfish capacity reduction program which may include fewer than all management areas of the fishery.
(Sec. 215) Rescinds, under specified conditions, $100 million of Department of Commerce unobligated balances available from prior year appropriations, with the exception of funds provided for coral reef activities, fisheries enforcement, the Ocean Health Initiative, land acquisition, and lab construction.
Title III: The Judiciary
- Judiciary Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes FY 2004 appropriations for: (1) the U.S. Supreme Court; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; (3) the U.S. Court of International Trade; (4) the courts of appeals, district courts, and other judicial services, including defender services, fees of jurors and commissioners, and court security; (5) the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; (6) the Federal Judicial Center; (7) judicial retirement funds; and (8) the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, such funds.
Title IV: Department of State and Related Agency
- Department of State and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations for the Department of State for FY 2004 for: (1) administration of foreign affairs, diplomatic and consular programs, including up to 69 permanent positions for the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, the establishment and operations of an Office on Right-Sizing the United States Government Overseas Presence, a Federal Government interagency task force to examine, coordinate and oversee U.S. participation in the UN headquarters renovation project, establishment of the Center for Antiterrorism and Security Training, and the costs of worldwide OpenNet and classified connectivity infrastructure; (2) the Capital Investment Fund; (3) the Office of Inspector General; (4) educational and cultural exchange programs; (5) representation allowances; (6) protection of foreign missions and officials; (7) U.S. embassy security, construction, and maintenance; (8) emergencies in the diplomatic and consular service; (9) the repatriation loans program account; (10) the American Institute in Taiwan; (11) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (12) international organizations, peacekeeping, and commissions; (13) the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico; (14) the International Joint Commission and the International Boundary Commission, United States and Canada; (15) the Asia Foundation; (16) the International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue Trust Fund; (17) the International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue; (18) the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowships, Incorporated; (19) the Israeli Arab Scholarship Program; (20) the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, Hawaii; and (21) the National Endowment for Democracy.
Makes appropriations for the Broadcasting Board of Governors for FY 2004 for international broadcasting operations (including broadcasting to Cuba) and capital improvements.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title.
(Sec. 403) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act by the Department of State or the Broadcasting Board of Governors to provide assistance to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.
(Sec. 404) Directs the Secretary of State, for purposes of registration of birth, certification of nationality, or issuance of a passport of a U.S. citizen born in Jerusalem, to record the place of birth as Israel.
(Sec. 405) Repeals the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003 with respect to: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services' authority to carry out international health activities, including HIV/AIDS and other infectious disease, chronic and environmental disease, and other health activities abroad during FY 2003; (2) amending the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 to make additional appropriations to the Department of Education for specified school improvement programs; and (3) specified funds appropriated for certain higher education programs.
(Sec. 406) Requires denial of an application for a visa without prejudice under the Immigration and Nationality Act if the application is delayed for a period of more than 60 days from the application date due to administrative processing by any agency in making a determination of inadmissibility under such Act.
(Sec. 407) Authorizes the obligation and expenditure of funds appropriated by this Act for the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Department of State, notwithstanding specified Federal law.
(Sec. 408) Requires the Senior Policy Operating Group on Trafficking in Persons, established under Public Law 108-7 to coordinate agency activities regarding policies (including grants and grant policies) involving the international trafficking in persons, to coordinate all such policies related to the activities of traffickers and victims of severe forms of trafficking.
Prohibits funds provided in this or any other Act from being expended to perform functions that duplicate coordinating responsibilities of the Operating Group.
Requires the Operating Group to continue to report only to the authorities that appointed them.
(Sec. 409) Requires the Secretary of State to provide to a member of the congressional appropriations committees a copy of each cable sent to or by a Department of State employee that pertains to any topic specified by the requesting member, regardless of the cable's level of classification, within 15 days after the date on which the member makes such written or verbal request.
Title V: Related Agencies
- Appropriates FY 2004 funds for salaries and specified expenses, with restrictions in certain cases, for: (1) the Antitrust Modernization Commission; (2) the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad; (3) the Commission on Civil Rights; (4) the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; (5) the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (6) the Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China; (7) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); (8) the Federal Communications Commission;(9) the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (10) the Helping to Enhance the Livelihood of People (Help) Around the Globe Commission; (11) the Legal Services Corporation; (12) the Marine Mammal Commission; (13) the National Veterans Business Development Corporation; (14) the Securities and Exchange Commission; (15) the Small Business Administration (SBA), including the Office of Inspector General, business loans program account, and the disaster loans program account; (16) the State Justice Institute; and (17) the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Title VI: General Provisions
- (Sec. 601) Prohibits the use of appropriations for publicity or propaganda purposes not authorized by Congress.
(Sec. 603) Limits expenditures for any consulting service through procurement contract to contracts whose expenditures are a matter of public record and available for public inspection, with exceptions.
(Sec. 606) Bars the use of funds in this Act for the construction, repair (other than emergency repair), overhaul, conversion, or modernization of NOAA vessels in shipyards outside the United States.
(Sec. 607) Makes ineligible to receive a contract or subcontract made with funds in this Act any person determined to have intentionally affixed a fraudulent "Made in America" label to any product sold or shipped to the United States.
(Sec. 608) Prohibits the use of funds in this Act to implement, administer, or enforce any EEOC guidelines covering harassment based on religion when it is made known to the Federal entity or official to which such funds are made available that such guidelines do not differ in any respect from certain proposed guidelines published on October 1, 1993.
(Sec. 609) Prohibits the use of funds to implement, enforce, or otherwise abide by the Memorandum of Agreement signed by FTC and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice on March 5, 2002.
(Sec. 610) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for any United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission that will involve U.S. armed forces under the command or operational control of a foreign national if the President's military advisors have not recommended such involvement in the national security interests and the President has not made such recommendation to Congress.
(Sec. 611) Requires the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary and SBA to make a quarterly accounting to the congressional appropriations committees of the cumulative balances of any unobligated funds that were received by such agency during any previous fiscal year.
(Sec. 612) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being expended to pay for costs incurred in operating certain diplomatic or consular posts in Vietnam or increasing the number of personnel assigned to such posts unless the President certifies that the Vietnamese Government is cooperating in specified activities regarding resolution of sightings of, and accounting for, prisoners-of-war and individuals missing in action, recovery and analysis of American remains, and investigations in Laos, pursuant to such prohibition in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999. Applies such requirements during FY 2004.
(Sec. 613) Requires any costs incurred by a department or agency funded under this Act resulting from personnel actions taken in response to funding reductions included in this Act to be absorbed within the total budgetary resources available to such department or agency, with reprogramming in specified circumstances.
(Sec. 614) Limits to only 90 percent of the amount to be awarded under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant the amount of any such grant to an entity that does not provide health insurance benefits to a public safety officer who retires or is separated from service due to injury suffered directly and proximately in the line of duty while responding to an emergency situation or a hot pursuit that are the same or better than the benefits such officer received while on duty.
(Sec. 615) Prohibits the use of funds in this Act to promote the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products or to seek the reduction or removal by any foreign country of restrictions on the marketing of tobacco or tobacco products, except for restrictions which are not applied equally to all tobacco or tobacco products of the same type.
(Sec. 616) Prohibits expenditure of funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act to issue visas to certain individuals from Haiti, including those involved in specified extrajudicial and political killings pursuant to such prohibition in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999.
Continues provisions of such Act during FY 2004 with respect to: (1) exemption of certain individuals from the prohibition; and (2) certain reporting requirements.
(Sec. 617) Prohibits the use of funds in this Act for: (1) the implementation of any tax or fee in connection with the implementation of the national instant criminal background check system for firearms; and (2) any system to implement such background check system that does not require and result in the destruction of any identifying information submitted by or on behalf of any person who has been determined not to be prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm within 24 hours after the system advises a Federal firearms licensee that possession or receipt of a firearm by the prospective transferee would not violate the Federal Criminal Code or State law.
(Sec. 618) Provides that amounts deposited or available in the Crime Victims Fund in any fiscal year in excess of $625 million shall not be available for obligation until the following fiscal year.
(Sec. 619) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to DOJ to discriminate against, or to denigrate the religious or moral beliefs of, students who participate in programs for which financial assistance is provided from those funds or their parents or legal guardians.
(Sec. 620) Prohibits the availability of funds under this Act for the purpose of granting immigrant or nonimmigrant visas to citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents of countries that the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined deny or unreasonably delay accepting the return of citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
(Sec. 621) Appropriates additional amounts under the heading "Small Business Administration, Salaries, and Expenses," for specified entities.
(Sec. 622) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act to DOJ to transport a maximum or high security prisoner to a place other than a prison or other facility certified by the Federal Bureau of Prisons as appropriately secure.
(Sec. 623) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act by Federal prisons to purchase audiovisual or electronic equipment used primarily for recreational purposes.
(Sec. 624) Requires a Deputy Assistant Administrator for non-contiguous States and territories, through the Senior Executive Service, to administer SBA programs in Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories, including disaster loans to fishermen, programs benefiting Alaska Native Corporations and Native Hawaiians, including but not limited to section 8(a) and Historically Underutilized Business Zones, and all other programs serving Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians. Requires disaster loans issued in Alaska to be administered by SBA. Prohibits their sale during FY 2004.
(Sec. 626) Directs the Secretary to negotiate or reevaluate, with the consent of the President, international agreements affecting international ocean policy.
(Sec. 627) Requires the Departments of Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary, and SBA, under specified conditions, each to establish a policy under which eligible employees may participate in telecommuting to the maximum extent possible without diminished employee performance.
(Sec. 628) Amends Public Law 107-117 to provide that funds appropriated in it for the SBA Disaster Loans Program Account shall also be used for SBA deferred participation loans to finance the planning, design, or installation of pollution control facilities.
(Sec. 629) Amends the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to modify its rules for multiple ownership to increase the national audience reach limitation for television stations to 39 (currently, 35) percent.
Requires a person or entity that exceeds such limitation through grant, transfer, or assignment of an additional license for a commercial television broadcast station, but not through population growth, to comply with the limitation within two years after exceeding it.
Declares that mandatory FCC forbearance from applying regulations to telecommunications carriers or services meeting certain requirements shall not apply to persons or entities that exceed the 39 percent limitation.
Changes from biennial to quadrennial the mandatory review by the FCC of its adopted rules concerning broadcast ownership and all of its ownership rules as part of its regulatory reform review. Makes such requirement inapplicable to any rules relating to the 39 percent national audience reach limitation.
(Sec. 630) Requires Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) data releases to include specified language that would make clear that trace data cannot be used to draw broad conclusions about firearms-related crime.
(Sec. 631) Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to extend from October 1, 2003, to March 15, 2004, the termination of the authority to apply certain fees to SBA-approved financingof development company debentures.
(Sec. 632) Makes unobligated balances previously made available for loan guarantees under the Defense Loan and Technical Assistance program (DELTA) available until expended for SBA general business loans for plant acquisition, construction, conversion, or expansion.
(Sec. 633) Establishes in the Treasury the International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue Trust Fund. Requires the income from the Fund to be used for operations of the International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue to promote dialogue and scholarship in the Middle East.
Authorizes appropriations for each fiscal year from the Fund for the operations of the Dialogue as well as its permanent endowment.
Requires the United States, through the Department of State, to retain ownership of the Palazzo Corpi building in Istanbul, Turkey. Makes the Secretary of State responsible for maintaining the Dialogue at such location.
Amends Federal law with respect to the budget process and the classification of trust funds to include in the list the International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue Trust Fund.
(Sec. 634) Prohibits the use of funds: (1) to issue patents on claims directed to or encompassing a human organism; (2) to pay expenses for any U.S. delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission if the Commission is chaired or presided over by a country, the government of which the Secretary of State has determined has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism; or (3) in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding inadmissibility into the United States of aliens engaged in international child abduction.
(Sec. 637) HELP Commission Act - Establishes the Helping to Enhance the Livelihood of People (HELP) Around the Globe Commission. Specifies the duties of the Commission, including but not limited to: (1) identifying the past and present objectives of U.S. development assistance, successful cases, beneficiaries, and the percentage of the funds that actually reached the intended beneficiaries; (2) studying ways to expand educational opportunities and investments in people, and assess infrastructure needs; (3) analyzing ways in which the United States can coordinate its development assistance programs with those of other donor countries and international organizations, and ways in which the safety of development assistance workers can be ensured, particularly in the midst of conflicts; and (4) comparing the effectiveness of increased and open trade with development assistance, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of such trade and whether it could be a more effective alternative to U.S. development assistance.
Authorizes appropriations.
Requires the President to report triennially to Congress an analysis of the impact and effectiveness of U.S. economic assistance furnished to each country during the preceding three fiscal years, identifying those receiving at least $5 million of U.S. economic assistance in which it has been most successful and least successful.
(Sec. 638) Rescinds an amount equal to 0.465 percent of the budget authority provided for FY 2004 for any discretionary account in this Act.
Title VII: Rescissions
- Rescinds specified prior year appropriation amounts from: (1) DOJ for the Working Capital Fund, the Counterterrorism Fund, the Assets Forfeiture Fund, the Federal Prison System, and the Office of Justice Programs, including for State and local law assistance, community oriented policing services, and for juvenile justice programs; and (2) the Department of Commerce for the International Trade Administration for operations and administration and for NOAA coastal and ocean activities.
Title VIII: Alaskan Fisheries
- (Sec. 801) Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to direct the Secretary of Commerce to approve and implement the Voluntary Three-Pie Cooperative Program for crab fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, as approved by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Authorizes the Council, after such implementation, to submit, and the Secretary to implement, changes to or repeal of conservation and management measures for such fisheries. States that this section shall not preclude the Secretary from approving by January 1, 2005, and implementing any subsequent program amendments approved by the Council. Provides implementation funding.
Declares that an individual processing quota shall be considered a permit for civil and criminal penalty purposes, and may be revoked or limited at any time.
(Sec. 802) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program that recognizes the historic participation of fishing vessels and of fish processors for Pacific ocean perch, northern rockfish, and pelagic shelf rockfish harvested in the Central Gulf of Alaska.
Requires such program to: (1) provide for a set-aside of up to five percent for the total allowable catch of such fisheries for catcher vessels not eligible to participate in the pilot program, which shall be delivered to shore-based fish processors also ineligible to participate; and (2) establish catch limits for non-rockfish species and non-target rockfish species currently harvested with Pacific Ocean perch, northern rockfish, and pelagic shelf rockfish, which shall be based on historical harvesting of such bycatch species. States that the pilot program will sunset when a Gulf of Alaska Groundfish comprehensive rationalization plan is authorized by the Council and implemented by the Secretary, or two years from date of implementation, whichever is earlier.
(Sec. 803) Requires the directed pollock fishery in the Aleutian Islands Subarea to be allocated to the Aleut Corporation, which shall provide for all pollock harvesting and processing within the allocation. Allows only fishing vessels meeting certain requirements, including length limits, to form partnerships with the Corporation for such harvesting.
Prohibits the optimum yield for groundfish in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area from exceeding two million metric tons.
Requires the Council to recommend and the Secretary to approve an allocation to the Corporation for economic development in Adak, Alaska.
(Sec. 804) Prohibits a Council or the Secretary from considering or establishing any program to allocate or issue an individual processing quota or processor share in any U.S. fishery other than the crab fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
Division C:
District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2004
- District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2004 -
Title I: Federal Funds
- 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 District of Columbia Courts; (4) for Defender Services in District of Columbia Courts; (5) to the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (including transfer of funds); (6) the DC Water and Sewer Authority; (7) to support hospital bioterrorism preparedness in the District; (8) to the DC Department of Transportation for the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative; (9) to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; (10) for capital development in the District; (11) for DC Public School facilities; (12) for the Family Literacy Program; (13) to the DC Department of Transportation for a downtown circulator transit system and to offset a portion of the District's allocated operating subsidy payment to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; (14) for foster care improvements in the District; (15) to the Chief Financial Officer of the District (CFO); (16) for emergency personnel cross training; and (17) for a DC School Improvement Program.
Title II: District of Columbia Funds
- 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 transfers of funds); (6) human support services (including transfer of funds); (7) public works; (8) the Cash Reserve; (9) the Emergency and Contingency Reserve Fund; (10) repayment of certain loans and interest; (11) payment of interest on short-term borrowing; (12) for 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; (13) refunds and the payment of legal settlements or judgments that have been entered against the District government; (14) the John A. Wilson Building; (15) workforce investments; (16) certain non-departmental agency costs; (17) pay-as-you-go capital in lieu of capital financing; (18) a Tax Increment Financing Program; (19) making refunds associated with disallowed Medicaid funding; (20) the Water and Sewer Authority; (21) the Washington Aqueduct; (22) the Stormwater Permit Compliance Enterprise Fund; (23) the Lottery and Charitable Games Enterprise Fund; (24) the Sports and Entertainment Commission; (25) the District of Columbia Retirement Board; (26) the Washington Convention Center Enterprise Fund; (27) the National Capital Revitalization Corporation; and (28) capital outlay (including rescissions).
Title III: DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003
- DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003 - (Sec. 304) Requires the Secretary of Education to award five-year grants on a competitive basis to educational entities of the District government, nonprofit organizations, and consortia of nonprofit organizations (eligible entities) 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 (eligible students). Authorizes the Secretary to award a single grant or multiple grants, depending on the quality of applications submitted and the priorities of this title.
Requires the Secretary and the Mayor of the District to enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding the design of, selection of eligible entities to receive grants under, and implementation of, a program assisted under this Act.
(Sec. 306) Requires the Secretary to give priority to applications from eligible entities who will most effectively: (1) give priority to eligible students who, in the school year preceding the school year for which they are seeking a scholarship, attended an elementary or secondary school identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring; (2) target resources to students and families that lack the financial resources to take advantage of available educational options; and (3) provide students and families with the widest range of educational options.
(Sec. 307) Requires a grantee: (1) under specified conditions, to use the grant funds to provide the students with scholarships to pay the tuition, fees, and transportation expenses, if any, to enable them to attend the DC private elementary or secondary school of their choice; and (2) to ensure that the amount of any tuition or fee charged by a participating school in the grantee's program to a participating eligible student does not exceed the amount of tuition or fees that the school customarily charges to a nonparticipating student.
Authorizes the Secretary to award scholarships in larger amounts to students with the greatest need. Limits scholarships to $7,500 per student for any academic year.
Allows an eligible entity to award a scholarship, for the second or any succeeding year of an eligible student's participation in a program under this Act, to a student who comes from a household whose income does not exceed 200 percent of the poverty line.
(Sec. 308) Prohibits an eligible entity or a school participating in any program under this title from discriminating against program participants or applicants on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex.
Makes the prohibition on sex discrimination inapplicable to a participating school that is operated by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to a religious organization to the extent that the application is inconsistent with the religious tenets of the school.
Allows a parent to choose and a school to offer a single-sex school, class, or activity.
Applies the abortion neutrality provision of the Education Amendments of 1972 to this title.
Provides that nothing in this title may be construed to alter or modify the Individuals with Disabilities Act.
Authorizes schools participating in programs under this Act that are operated by, supervised by, controlled by, or connected to, a religious organization to exercise their discretion in matters of employment consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including the exemptions in such title.
Declares that funds made available under this Act to eligible students that are received by a participating school, as a result of their parents' choice, shall not, consistent with the first amendment of the Constitution: (1) necessitate any change in such school's teaching mission; (2) require the school to remove religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols; or (3) preclude such school from retaining religious terms in its name, selecting its board members on a religious basis, or including religious references in its mission statements and other chartering or governing documents.
Requires a scholarship (or any other form of support provided to parents of eligible students) under this title to be considered as assistance to the student and not to the school that enrolls the student. Provides that the amount of such scholarship or other form of support shall not be treated as income of the parents for purposes of Federal tax laws or for determining eligibility for any other Federal program.
(Sec. 309) Requires the Secretary and the Mayor jointly to select an independent entity to evaluate annually the performance of students who received scholarships under the five-year program, and to make such evaluations public.
Requires the Secretary, through a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, to: (1) ensure that the evaluation is conducted using the strongest possible research design for determining the effectiveness of the programs funded under this title that addresses the specified issues; and (2) disseminate information on the impact of the programs in increasing the student academic achievement of participating students, and on the impact of the programs on students and schools in the District.
Requires the independent entity to: (1) measure the academic achievement of all participating eligible students; (2) use the same grade appropriate measurement every school year to assess participating eligible students as the measurement used by DC Public Schools to assess its students in the first year of the program; and (3) work with the eligible entities to ensure that the parents of each student who applies for a scholarship (regardless of whether the student receives one) and the parents of each student participating in the scholarship program, agree that the student will participate in the annual measurements.
Requires annual interim reports by the Secretary, and a final report within one year after the final year for which a grant is made.
Limits expenditures for such evaluation and reporting requirements for any fiscal year to three percent of the total amount appropriated to carry out this title.
(Sec. 310) Sets forth reporting requirements for: (1) grantees to the Secretary; (2) participating schools to parents of participating children; and (3) the Secretary to congressional committees on the findings of such reports.
(Sec. 311) Requires each participating school to comply with all requests for data and information regarding such evaluations. Authorizes such school to require eligible students to abide by any rule of conduct and other requirements applicable to all other students at the school.
(Sec. 313) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 and for each of the four succeeding fiscal years.
Title IV: General Provisions
- Sets forth authorized or prohibited uses of funds appropriated by this Act identical or similar to corresponding provisions of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2003.
(Sec. 407) Allows the use of local funds provided in this Act to carry out lobbying activities on any issue other than: (1) the promotion or support of any boycott; or (2) statehood for the District or voting representation in Congress for the District.
States that nothing in this title may be construed to prohibit any elected official from advocating with respect to any of such issues.
(Sec. 415) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act for abortions except where the mother's life would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term or in cases of rape or incest.
(Sec. 416) Bars the use of funds under this Act to implement or enforce: (1) the District of Columbia Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992 (also known as the District Domestic Partner Act); or (2) any system of registration of unmarried, cohabiting couples for purposes of extending them benefits on the same basis as such benefits are extended to legally married couples.
(Sec. 420) Prohibits the use of funds contained in this Act by the District's Corporation Counsel or any other District government officer or entity to provide assistance for any petition drive or civil action which seeks to require Congress to provide for voting representation in Congress for the District.
(Sec. 421) Prohibits the use of funds contained in this Act for any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of any illegal drug. Requires individuals or entities who do so to account for all funds used for such program separately from any funds contained in this Act.
(Sec. 422) Prohibits the use of funds contained in this Act: (1) 60 days after its enactment to pay the salary of any chief financial officer of any District government office who has not filed a certification with the Mayor and CFO that the officer understands the duties and restrictions applicable, including reports required as a result of this Act or its amendments; or (2) to enact or carry out any law, rule, or regulation to legalize or otherwise reduce penalties associated with the possession, use, or distribution of any schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act or any tetrahydrocannabinols derivative.
(Sec. 423) Provides that the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998, also known as Initiative 59, approved by the electors of the District on November 3, 1998, shall not take effect.
(Sec. 424) Provides that nothing in this Act may be construed to prevent the District's Council or the Mayor from addressing the issue of the provision of contraceptive coverage by health insurance plans. Expresses the intent of Congress that any legislation enacted on such issue should include a "conscience clause" which provides exceptions for religious beliefs and moral convictions.
(Sec. 425) Requires the Mayor to report quarterly to specified congressional committees on the following District issues: (1) crime; (2) access to substance and alcohol abuse treatment; (3) management of parolees and pretrial violent offenders; (4) education; (5) improvement in basic District services, including rat control and abatement; (6) application for and management of Federal grants; and (7) indicators of child well-being.
(Sec. 427) Prohibits the funds contained in this Act from being used to issue, administer, or enforce any order by the District of Columbia Commission on Human Rights relating to docket numbers 93-030-(PA) and 93-031-(PA) (In The Matter Of: Roland D. Pool and Michael S. Geller (Boy Scouts' Policy of Excluding Homosexuals)).
(Sec. 428) Prohibits the transfer of any Federal funds to any Federal department, agency, or instrumentality, except pursuant to a transfer made by, or transfer authority provided in, this Act or any other appropriation Act.
(Sec. 429) Provides that, in addition to any other authority to pay claims and judgments, a District government department, agency, or instrumentality may pay the settlement or judgment of a claim or lawsuit in an amount less than $10,000.
(Sec. 430) Requires the District of Columbia Courts to transfer to the DC Treasury all fines levied and collected by the Courts in cases charging Driving Under the Influence and Driving While Impaired. Requires the Office of the Corporation Counsel to use such funds for enforcement and prosecution of District traffic alcohol laws.
(Sec. 431) Allows any District government agency to transfer local funds to the Office of Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining (OLRCB) to pay for OLRCB representation in third-party cases, grievances, and dispute resolution.
(Sec. 432) Prohibits funds contained in this Act from being made available to pay: (1) the fees in excess of $4,000 of an attorney who represents a party or defends an action, including an administrative proceeding, brought against the DC Public Schools under IDEA; or (2) the fees of an attorney or firm whom the CFO determines to have a pecuniary interest, either through an attorney, officer or employee of the firm, in any special education diagnostic services, schools, or other special education service providers.
(Sec. 433) Directs the CFO to require attorneys in special education cases brought under IDEA in the District to certify in writing, along with other specified disclosures, that the attorney or representative rendered any and all services for which they receive awards, including those received under a settlement agreement or as part of an administrative proceeding, under IDEA.
(Sec. 434) Amends the Student Loan Marketing Association Reorganization Act of 1996 regarding the credit enhancement revolving fund for public charter schools in the District to remove the indefinite status on the five percent cap on administrative costs of making grants from the fund to limit the cap to five percent of the costs of any particular fiscal year.
(Sec. 435) Amends the District of Columbia Code to allow the Court to appoint an attorney: (1) to represent a parent or guardian in an adoption proceeding if the individual is financially unable to obtain adequate representation when a petition for adoption has been filed and there has been no termination or relinquishment of parental rights with respect to the proposed adoptee or consent to the proposed adoption by the parent or guardian whose consent is required under the Code; and (2) as guardian ad litem to represent the child and the child's best interest in an adoption proceeding.
(Sec. 436) Allows the amount appropriated by this Act to be: (1) increased by no more than $15 million from funds identified in the comprehensive annual financial report as the District's FY 2003 unexpended general fund surplus; (2) obligated or expended under specified conditions; and (3) used only for unanticipated one-time expenditures, avoiding deficit spending, reducing debt, unanticipated program needs, or avoiding revenue shortfalls.
Division D: Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2004 -
Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2004 -
Title I: Export and Investment Assistance
- Makes 2004 appropriations for: (1) Export-Import Bank direct and guaranteed loan and insurance programs, including administrative expenses; (2) Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) credit and insurance programs, including administrative expenses, and for the cost of direct and guaranteed loans; and (3) the Trade and Development Agency.
Title II: Bilateral Economic Assistance
- Makes FY 2004 appropriations for: (1) expenses of the President in carrying out certain programs under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) for child survival and disease programs, including HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and family planning/reproductive health programs; (3) specified development assistance; (4) international disaster assistance including famine prevention and relief, and democracy transition and long-term development of countries in crisis; (5) direct loans and guaranteed loans for micro and small enterprise development and urban programs; (6) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (7) operating expenses of AID, including the transfer of certain funds to support its mission in Iraq, and the AID Office of Inspector General; (8) the Capital Investment Fund; (9) Economic Support Fund (ESF) assistance, including amounts for Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Ruwanda, Burundi, and the Middle East Partnership Initiative; (10) the International Fund for Ireland; (11) the global HIV/AIDS initiative; (12) assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States; (13) assistance for the new independent states of the former Soviet Union, including restrictions on assistance to Russia until compliance with specified actions in Chechnya and Iran; (14) the Inter-American Foundation, the African Development Foundation, the Peace Corps,with a prohibition on fund use for abortions, and the Millennium Challenge Account; (15) international narcotics control and law enforcement; (16) counterdrug activities in the Andean region of South America including restrictions on Peruvian air interdiction assistance and assistance to Colombia to support a unified campaign against terrorist organizations such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC); (17) migration and refugee assistance; (18) the Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund; (19) nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related programs and activities, including U.S. contributions to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Preparatory Commission; (20) the Department of the Treasury for international affairs technical assistance activities; and (21) debt restructuring of concessional loans, guarantees, and credits made to, and the canceling of amounts owed to, the United States by eligible foreign countries (but barring such assistance to Sudan or Burma unless the Secretary of the Treasury notifies the Committees on Appropriations that a democratically elected government has taken office).
Title III: Military Assistance
- Makes FY 2004 appropriations for: (1) expanded international military education and training (IMET), including provisions respecting Algeria, Cambodia, Nigeria, and Guatemala; (2) foreign military financing grants, including amounts for Israel and Egypt; and (3) international peacekeeping operations.
Prohibits foreign military financing for Indonesia, Guatemala, Sudan, and Liberia.
Title IV: Multilateral Economic Assistance
- Makes FY 2004 appropriations for the U.S. contribution to: (1) the Global Environment Facility of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank); (2) International Development Association (IDA); (3) the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency; (4) the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund; (5) the Asian Development Fund; (6) the African Development Bank; (7) the African Development Fund; (8) the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and (9) the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Makes FY 2004 appropriations for international programs and organizations. Sets certain restrictions on international organization funding. Prohibits the use of funds for the International Atomic Energy Association.
Title V: General Provisions
- (Sec. 501) Prohibits payments to any international financial institution while the U.S. Executive Director to the institution is compensated at a rate in excess of that for Level IV of the Executive Schedule, or any alternate U.S. Director is compensated at a rate in excess of that for Level V of such Schedule.
(Sec. 503) Sets forth limits on the use of appropriations, including specified maximums for official residence expenses, entertainment expenses, and representation allowances for AID, and for entertainment and representation allowances for the Inter-American Foundation and the Trade and Development Agency. Limits funds for entertainment expenses of the Peace Corps and entertainment allowances under IMET, and for entertainment and representation allowances under the Foreign Military Financing Program.
(Sec. 506) Prohibits the use of funds for: (1) assistance for a foreign country under a new bilateral agreement unless such agreement provides that such assistance shall be exempt from taxation, or reimbursed, by the foreign government; (2) direct assistance or reparations to Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Iran, or Syria; (3) assistance to any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree; (4) certain transfers between U.S. agencies except pursuant to a transfer made by, or transfer authority provided in, this Act or any other appropriation Act, or between appropriations accounts without prior presidential consultation with Congress; (5) assistance to any country in default in excess of a year on payments on a U.S. loan (unless the President determines such assistance is in the national interest); and (6) assistance (except in certain circumstances) for production of any export commodity by a foreign country if the commodity is likely to be in surplus on world markets and if the assistance will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar commodity.
(Sec. 510) Authorizes the commercial leasing of defense articles (instead of the government-to-government sale) to Israel, Egypt, NATO, and major non-NATO allies if the President determines that there are compelling foreign policy or national security reasons.
(Sec. 514) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Directors of specified international financial institutions to oppose any assistance for the production or extraction of any commodity or mineral for export if it is in surplus on world markets and such assistance will cause substantial injury to U.S. producers of a similar commodity.
(Sec. 516) Declares that funds appropriated for foreign operations, export financing, and related programs, that are returned or not made available for international organizations and programs shall remain available for obligation until September 30, 2005.
(Sec. 517) Prohibits the availability of assistance for the Independent States of the former Soviet Union to a government of such an Independent State: (1) unless it is making progress in implementing economic reforms based on market principles, private ownership, respect for commercial contracts, and equitable treatment of foreign private investment; (2) if it applies or transfers U.S. assistance to any entity for the purpose of expropriating or seizing ownership of assets, investments, or ventures (unless the President determines such assistance is in the national interest); (3) if it directs action in violation of the territorial integrity or national sovereignty of any other Independent State; or (4) to enhance its military capability (except for demilitarization, demining, or nonproliferation programs). Subjects such assistance for the Russian Federation, Armenia, Georgia, and the Ukraine to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations.
(Sec. 518) Prohibits the use of development assistance funds for abortions or involuntary sterilizations as methods of family planning, to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions, or to provide any financial incentive to undergo sterilization.
(Sec. 519) Limits the amount of export financing funds (other than for administrative expenses) that can be transferred from one appropriation to another to not more than five percent, with no appropriation being increased by more than 25 percent by such transfer.
(Sec. 520) Prohibits the use of funds for Liberia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, or Cambodia except through the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations.
(Sec. 522) Makes funds available to AID for child survival and disease prevention programs in developing countries.
(Sec. 523) Earmarks certain funds for Afghanistan for humanitarian, reconstruction, and related assistance.
(Sec. 524) Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to notify the Committees on Appropriations before providing excess DOD articles to certain NATO and major non-NATO countries.
(Sec. 525) Makes certain foreign assistance funds available to employ on a limited appointment basis not more than 85 individuals for each of FY 2004 through 2006 under the AID overseas program.
(Sec. 526) Earmarks certain funds for activities to support democracy and human rights in: (1) the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong; (2) countries with a significant Muslim population where such activities would be important to U.S. efforts to deter international terrorism, with obligated amounts for Egypt and Iran; and (3) sub-Saharan Africa.
(Sec. 527) Prohibits bilateral assistance funds to any country which the President determines grants sanctuary from prosecution to any individual or group which has committed an act of international terrorism or otherwise supports such activities. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition for national security and humanitarian reasons.
(Sec. 528) Authorizes nongovernmental organizations which are AID grantees or contractors to place funds made available to them under this Act in interest bearing accounts in order to enhance their participation in debt-for-development and debt-for-nature exchanges.
(Sec. 529) Directs the Administrator of AID to require foreign countries that receive foreign assistance which results in the generation of local currencies to deposit such currencies in a separate account to be used to finance foreign assistance activities.
(Sec. 530) Requires the President to submit to specified congressional committees a plan for the distribution of the assets of an Enterprise Fund before any distribution resulting from liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Fund.
(Sec. 531) Makes ESF assistance available to support democracy activities in Burma and along the Burma-Thailand border and for activities of Burmese student groups and other organizations located outside Burma, including support for humanitarian assistance to displaced Burmese along Burma's borders. Earmarks an amount to support newspapers, publications, and other media activities promoting democracy inside Burma.
States that is the sense of Congress that the United Nations Security Council should consider sanctions against Burma because of the threat to regional peace posed by the rule of the State Peace and Development Council.
(Sec. 532) Declares that provisions under this or any other Act authorizing appropriations for foreign operations or export financing shall not be construed to prohibit activities authorized by the Peace Corps Act, the Inter-American Foundation Act, or the African Development Foundation Act. Requires an agency to report to the Committees on Appropriations whenever it is conducting or proposing activities in a country for which such assistance is prohibited.
(Sec. 533) Prohibits the use of funds to provide: (1) any financial incentive to a business for purposes of inducing it to relocate outside the United States if it will reduce the number of U.S. employees; or (2) assistance for any program that contributes to the violation of internationally recognized workers rights in the recipient country.
(Sec. 534) Allows funds appropriated under this Act for Afghanistan to be made available notwithstanding: (1) restrictions on assistance to countries in default in payment to the United States; and (2) restrictions contained in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 on law enforcement assistance. Allows funds appropriated under the trade and economic assistance titles of this Act to be made available to Lebanon, Montenegro, Pakistan, and for war victims, displaced children, and displaced Burmese, and to assist victims of trafficking in persons and to combat such trafficking.
Authorizes the use of foreign assistance funds to support tropical forestry and biodiversity conservation programs and energy programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Authorizes AID to employ up to 25 personal services contractors in the United States to provide support for specified new or expanded overseas programs until permanent direct hire personnel are hired and trained.
Makes specified AID funds for FY 2004 and each fiscal year thereafter available to nongovernmental organizations for administrative costs necessary to implement a program to obtain available donated space on commercial ships for the shipment of humanitarian assistance overseas.
Expands authorities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 providing assistance to reconstitute post-conflict civilian police authority in an emerging nation to authorize such assistance for a regional, district, municipal, or other sub-national entity emerging from instability.
Obligates specified funds: (1) managed by the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance of AID as a general contribution to the World Food Program; and (2) under Middle East regional programs for the Yitzhak Rabin Center for Israel Studies and for the Center for Human Dignity Museum of Tolerance, Israel.
(Sec. 535) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Arab League boycott of Israel (reinstated in 1997), and the secondary boycott of American firms that have commercial ties with Israel, is an impediment to regional peace and to U.S. investment and trade in the Middle East and North Africa and should be terminated; and (2) the President should report annually to Congress on specific steps taken by the United States to encourage Arab League states to normalize their relations with Israel to bring an end to the boycott.
(Sec. 536) Authorizes the use of ESF funds to strengthen the administration of justice in countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and in other regions.
(Sec. 537) Declares that restrictions on assistance to foreign countries contained in this Act or any other Act (except those relating to international terrorism or human rights violations) shall not be construed to restrict assistance: (1) in support of certain programs of nongovernmental organizations; or (2) under specified provisions of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954.
(Sec. 538) Authorizes the reprogramming of earmarked appropriations for other programs within the same account, provided certain requirements are met. Sets forth certain other requirements with respect to ceilings and earmarks of appropriations under this Act.
(Sec. 540) Prohibits the use of funds for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States that were not authorized before the enactment of this Act. Earmarks amounts for private and voluntary organizations to deal with world hunger problems abroad.
(Sec. 541) Prohibits the use of funds to pay any assessments, arrearages, or dues of any UN member (including costs for attendance of another country's delegation at international conferences held under the auspices of multilateral or international organizations).
(Sec. 542) Prohibits the provision of funds to a nongovernmental organization that fails to provide any document, file, or record necessary for AID auditing requirements.
(Sec. 543) Prohibits the provision of funds to any foreign government that provides lethal military equipment to a country that the Secretary of State (Secretary) has determined has a terrorist government, unless the President determines that such assistance is in the U.S. national interest.
(Sec. 544) Withholds assistance to a foreign country in an amount equal to 110 percent of the total unpaid parking fines and penalties owed by the country to the District of Columbia and New York City, New York, as of September 30, 2003.
(Sec. 545) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the West Bank and Gaza unless the President has exercised certain authorities to suspend prohibitions on assistance to the PLO.
(Sec. 546) Permits the President to provide up to a specified amount of commodities and services to the UN War Crimes Tribunal if doing so will contribute to a just resolution of charges regarding genocide or other violations of international law in the former Yugoslavia.
(Sec. 547) Authorizes disposal on a grant basis in foreign countries of demining equipment used in support of the clearance of land mines and unexploded ordnance for humanitarian purposes.
(Sec. 548) Prohibits, with an exception for acquisition of additional space for the Consulate General in Jerusalem, the obligation of appropriations to create in Jerusalem a new U.S. agency office for the purpose of conducting U.S. business with the Palestinian Authority over Gaza and Jericho (or any successor Palestinian governing entity) provided for in the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles.
(Sec. 549) Prohibits the obligation of certain funds to pay for: (1) alcoholic beverages; or (2) entertainment expenses for recreational activities.
(Sec. 550) Prohibits the United States from paying any voluntary contribution to the UN (including the UN Development Program) if the UN implements or imposes any taxation on U.S. persons.
(Sec. 551) Makes the Government of Haiti eligible to purchase U.S. defense articles and services for its Coast Guard.
(Sec. 552) Prohibits the obligation of any appropriations for the PLO unless the President certifies to Congress that it is in the U.S. national security interests. Limits the duration of any such waiver and requires a report to the Committees on Appropriations when it is exercised.
(Sec. 553) Prohibits the use of funds for the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary believes they have committed gross violations of human rights, unless the Secretary reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such country is taking steps to bring the responsible persons to justice.
(Sec. 554) Requires a specified annual foreign military training report to be submitted by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary to the Committees on Appropriations by a certain date.
(Sec. 555) Earmarks specified funds for biodiversity (and forest) programs in developing countries, and for improving the capacity of indigenous groups and local environmental organizations and law enforcement agencies to protect the biodiversity of indigenous reserves in the Amazon Basin region of Brazil.
Directs: (1) the Secretary to submit to the Committees on Appropriations a strategy for biodiversity conservation in the Amazon Basin region of South America; and (2) the President to report to such Committees on Federal agency FY 2004 obligations for climate change programs.
(Sec. 556) Makes specified funds requested for Regional Democracy assistance for East Asia and the Pacific available for the Human Rights and Democracy Fund of the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Department of State.
(Sec. 557) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive director to each international financial institution to: (1) vote against any loan extension to the Government of Zimbabwe, except to meet basic human needs or to promote democracy, unless the Secretary of State certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that the rule of law has been restored in Zimbabwe; (2) oppose loans to Cambodia, except loans for basic human needs; and (3) support projects in Tibet if such projects do not provide incentives for the migration and settlement of non-Tibetans into Tibet or facilitate the transfer of ownership of Tibetan land and natural resources to non-Tibetans. Earmarks specified funds for nongovernmental organizations to support activities which preserve cultural traditions and promote sustainable development and environmental conservation in Tibetan communities in the Tibetan Autonomous Region and in other Tibetan communities in China.
(Sec. 560) Prohibits International Military Education and Training and Foreign Military Financing Program funds for Nigeria until the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that the Nigerian Minister of Defense, the Chief of the Army Staff, and the Minister of State for Defense/Army are suspending those armed forces members against whom there is credible evidence of gross violations of human rights in Benue State in October 2001. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition if in the U.S. national security interest.
(Sec. 562) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated by this Act to support a Palestinian state unless the Secretary certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that: (1) a new leadership of a Palestinian governing entity has been democratically elected; (2) such entity has demonstrated a commitment to peaceful coexistence with Israel and is taking measures to counter terrorism; and (3) the Palestinian Authority is working to establish a lasting peace in the Middle East. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition if in the U.S. national security interest.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the newly elected governing entity should enact a constitution assuring the rule of law, an independent judiciary, and respect for human rights, and should enact other laws and regulations assuring transparent and accountable governance.
(Sec. 563) Makes up to 12.5 percent of the funds appropriated by this Act for assistance for the Colombian Armed Forces available only if the Secretary has certified to the appropriate congressional committees that such armed forces are cooperating in bringing to justice those members of the armed forces who have committed gross violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings.
(Sec. 564) Prohibits the Secretary from issuing a visa to any alien who has willfully provided (or conspired to provide) support to Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), or the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Provides for waiver of such prohibition on a case-by-case basis for humanitarian reasons or to support the peace process.
(Sec. 565) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act to provide equipment, technical support, consulting services, or any other assistance to the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation.
(Sec. 566) Requires the Secretary, 30 days prior to ESF fund obligation for the bilateral West Bank and Gaza Program, to certify to the appropriate congressional committees that procedures have been established to ensure the Comptroller General's access to appropriate U.S. financial information in order to review the uses of Program funds. Requires the Secretary to take all appropriate steps to ensure such assistance is not provided to or through any individual or entity that advocates or engages in terrorist activity.
(Sec. 567) Earmarks a specified amount of international organizations and program funds for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) (except for any country program in China). Conditions the availability of such funds to UNFPA on specified requirements, including that it does not fund abortions.
Earmarks specified UNFPA funds for: (1) family planning, and maternal and reproductive health activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Haiti, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Albania, Romania, and Kazakhstan; and (2) young women, mothers and children who are victims of trafficking in persons.
(Sec. 568) States that funds appropriated by this Act may be made available for: (1) the Government of Uzbekistan only if the Secretary determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of Uzbekistan is making substantial progress in meeting its commitments under the Declaration on the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Framework Between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United States of America, including respect for human rights, establishing a genuine multiparty system, and ensuring free and fair elections, freedom of expression, and the independence of the media; and (2) the Government of Kazakhstan only if the Secretary determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of Kazakhstan has made significant human rights improvements during the preceding six-month period. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements if in the U.S. national security interest.
Directs the Secretary to make specified defense-related reports respecting the countries of Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan).
(Sec. 569) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act for the Government of the Russian Federation unless the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of the Russian Federation has implemented no statute or similar government action that would discriminate against religious groups or religious communities in the Russian Federation.
(Sec. 570) Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for assistance (except humanitarian assistance and assistance for democratization), and requires the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors to the international financial institutions to vote against the extension of assistance to any country (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia) or entity (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and the Republika Srpska) that has failed to take necessary steps to implement its international legal obligations to apprehend and transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia all persons in their territory who have been indicted by the Tribunal.
(Sec. 571) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive directors at specified international financial institutions to oppose any loan, grant, strategy, or policy that would require user fees or service charges on poor people for primary education or primary health care, including prevention and treatment efforts for HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and infant, child, and maternal well-being, in connection with the institution's lending programs.
(Sec. 572) Makes funds appropriated by this Act available for assistance for Serbia if the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is: (1) cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, including regarding the surrender and transfer of indictees or assistance in their apprehension; (2) taking steps consistent with the Dayton Accords to end Serbian financial, political, security and other support which has served to maintain separate Republika Srpska institutions; and (3) taking steps to implement policies which reflect a respect for minority rights and the rule of law, including the release of political prisoners from Serbian prisons. States that such requirements shall not apply to Montenegro, Kosovo, humanitarian assistance, or assistance to promote democracy in municipalities.
(Sec. 573) Authorizes the use of foreign assistance funds to enhance the effectiveness and accountability of civilian police authority in Jamaica and El Salvador through human rights training, and through the promotion of civilian police roles that support democratic governance, including programs on conflict prevention and police relations with the community.
(Sec. 574) Authorizes the President to reduce amounts owed to the United States by eligible countries as a result of: (1) housing guarantees made pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) credits extended or guarantees issued under the Arms Export Control Act; and (3) certain export guarantees for U.S. agricultural commodities.
Permits exercise of such authority only: (1) to implement multilateral official debt relief and referendum agreements known as the Paris Club Agreed Minutes; and (2) with respect to countries with heavy debt burdens that are eligible to borrow from the International Development Association (but not from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) (IDA-only countries). Prescribes additional conditions for the exercise of such authority.
(Sec. 575) Authorizes the President to engage in certain debt buybacks or sales. Authorizes sale, reduction, or cancellation of certain loans to foreign governments upon payment from an eligible purchaser that plans to use such loans only for debt-for-equity swaps, debt-for-development swaps, or debt-for-nature swaps. Limits such authority to funds appropriated by this Act under the heading of debt restructuring.
(Sec. 576) Authorizes the use of certain foreign assistance funds for the cost of individuals detailed to or employed by AID whose primary responsibility is to carry out programs to address natural or man-made disasters or programs under certain Transition Initiatives.
(Sec. 577) Authorizes a U.S. contribution to the sixth replenishment of the resources of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
(Sec. 578) Earmarks a specified amount of ESF assistance for the Philippines only for upgrading education and health infrastructure in the Sulu Archipelago.
(Sec. 579) Earmarks specified amounts of bilateral economic assistance funds and ESF funds for basic education. Requires the Secretary to submit a report for the use of basic education funds in Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, the Near East, South Asia, and the Western Hemisphere (excluding the United States).
(Sec. 580) Amends the International Development Association Act to authorize a U.S. contribution to the thirteenth replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA).
(Sec. 581) Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury: (1) to instruct the U.S. executive director at each multilateral development institution to inform the institution of certain U.S. policy goals regarding institution meetings and public records and work toward achieving them before June 30, 2005; and (2) not later than 60 days after a meeting of the Board of Directors of a multilateral development institution to provide for publication on the Department of the Treasury's website of any written statement presented by the U.S. executive director concerning inspection mechanism cases.
(Sec. 582) Amends the Asian Development Bank Act to authorize a U.S. contribution to the seventh replenishment of the Asian Development Fund.
(Sec. 583) Amends the African Development Fund Act to authorize a U.S. contribution to the ninth replenishment of the African Development Fund.
(Sec. 584) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act by the OPIC to insure, reinsure, guarantee, or finance any investment in connection with a project involving the mining, polishing or other processing, or sale of diamonds in a country that fails to meet the requirements developed by the Kimberley Process on conflict diamonds.
Imposes similar requirements on the U.S. Import-Export Bank with respect to credit.
(Sec. 585) Earmarks specified funds for reconciliation programs.
(Sec. 586) Earmarks specified Child Survival and Development Assistance funds for Nicaragua.
(Sec. 587) Requires the Administrator of AID to develop and implement AID project access standards for people with disabilities.
(Sec. 588) Earmarks certain funds appropriated by this Act for trade capacity building assistance.
(Sec. 589) States that Congress recognizes: (1) the important contribution of the Government of Nigeria in fostering stability in West Africa, including reaching an agreement with the Government of Liberia to provide relief and promote reconciliation in that nation; and (2) the important contributions of other African nations and supports continued assistance in resolving the destabilizing conflicts in West Africa and the Great Lakes region.
States that Congress reaffirms its support for the efforts of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) to bring to justice individuals responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity
States that funds appropriated by this Act, including funds for debt restructuring, may be made available to the central government of a country in which individuals indicted by ICTR and SCSL are credibly alleged to be living if the Secretary determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that such government is cooperating with ICTR and SCSL. Authorizes the President to waive such requirements if in the U.S. national security interest.
Earmarks specified funds for the Special Court of Sierra Leone.
(Sec. 590) Directs the Secretary to: (1) use private voluntary organizations with the relevant expertise in the processing, identification, and referral of refugees; (2) develop a system for accepting referrals from local private, voluntary organizations, and outlines categories of special consideration for admission; and (3) report to the Committees on Appropriations respecting such provisions' implementation.
(Sec. 591) Amends Federal law to increase post differentials and danger pay allowances for AID employees, subject to the provision of similar pay allowances for Department of State employees. (Makes such increase available immediately for AID personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq.)
(Sec. 592) Directs the Secretary to report to the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives on the murder investigation of U.S. democracy worker John Alvis.
(Sec. 593) Amends the International Organizations Immunities Act to authorize extension of such Act to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) in the same manner as may be extended to a public international organization in which the United States participates pursuant to any treaty or under the authority of any Act of Congress.
(Sec. 594) Prohibits specified funds under this Act for refugees or internally displaced persons to be provided to an organization that has failed to adopt a code of conduct consistent with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Force on Protection From Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises six core principles for the protection of beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance.
States that in administering such funds the Secretary and the Administrator of AID shall incorporate policies and programs to identify the specific needs of women and children at the various stages of humanitarian emergencies.
Directs the Secretary to report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations on activities of the Government of the United States to protect women and children affected by humanitarian emergencies.
(Sec. 595) Amends the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 to: (1) define "funds contributed to the Global Fund from all sources" for purposes of the U.S. one-third matching limitation; (2) allow certain withheld funds to be used for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria programs; and (3) exempt the Global Fund, the World Health Organization, the International AIDS Vaccine Fund, and United Nations agencies from the funding ban for any entity that does not have an explicit policy opposing prostitution and sex trafficking.
(Sec. 597) States that Foreign Military Financing Program funds under this Act may be made available for assistance for Indonesia, and licenses may be issued for the export of lethal defense articles for the Indonesian Armed Forces, only if the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that: (1) the Indonesia Minister of Defense is suspending and prosecuting those armed forces members who have been credibly alleged to have committed gross human rights violations or to have aided militia groups; and (2) the Indonesian Armed Forces are cooperating with civilian prosecutors and judicial authorities in Indonesia and with the joint United Nations-East Timor Serious Crimes Unit.
States that IMET assistance may be made available for Indonesia if the Secretary determines and reports that the Indonesian Government and armed forces are cooperating with the FBI's investigation of the August 31, 2002, murders of two American citizens and one Indonesian citizen in Timika, Indonesia.
(Sec. 598) States that assessment and description of violations of religious freedom contained in the report required by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 shall include a description of persecution targeted at specific religions, including acts of anti-Semitism, by terrorist individuals or organizations.
(Sec. 599A) Directs the Secretary and the Administrator of AID to provide charter air service in regions where scheduled air service is grossly inadequate.
(Sec. 599B) Modifies certain Plan Columbia reporting requirements.
(Sec. 599C) Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to report on the number of individuals detailed from each executive agency to the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq by February 1, 2004. Requires such plan's quarterly updating until May 2005.
Title VI: Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 -
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 - (Sec. 602) Declares that the purposes of this title are to provide U.S. assistance for global development through the Millennium Challenge Corporation in a manner that promotes economic growth and the elimination of extreme poverty, and strengthens good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people.
(Sec. 604) Establishes in the executive branch the Millennium Challenge Corporation which shall provide assistance (grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts) to each eligible country that enters into a Millennium Challenge Compact with the United States to support policies and programs that advance its progress in achieving economic growth and poverty reduction.
(Sec. 605) Defines "eligible entity" as: (1) the national government or regional or local governmental units of an eligible country; or (2) a nongovernmental organization or a private entity.
Prohibits assistance: (1) for military purposes; (2) that is likely to adversely affect U.S. jobs or production; (3) that is likely to adversely affect health, safety, or the environment; and (4) for abortions or involuntary sterilizations.
(Sec. 606) Sets forth eligibility conditions for low-income and lower middle income countries.
(Sec. 607) Defines "eligible country" in terms of a country's commitment to democratic governance, economic freedom, and investment in its people (including educational opportunities and health care).
(Sec. 609) Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) Compact elements; (2) congressional and public notification; (3) suspension and termination of assistance; (4) disclosure; and (5) reporting.
(Sec. 619) Authorizes FY 2004 and 2005 appropriations.
[NOTE: This Public Law version of
H.R. 2673
does NOT include provisions prohibiting funds for the Department of Labor from being used to promulgate or implement any regulation that would have taken away eligibility for overtime pay from any worker currently entitled to such overtime pay. Such provisions were in a Senate-passed version of
H.R. 2660
for Labor-HHS-Education appropriations.]
Division E: Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations, 2004 -
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations for FY 2004 for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies.
Title I: Department of Labor
- Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations for FY 2004 to the Department of Labor for: (1) the Employment and Training Administration, training and employment services; (2) community service employment for older Americans; (3) Federal unemployment benefits and allowances; (4) State unemployment insurance and employment service operations; (5) advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund and the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (6) employment and training program administration; (7) the Employee Benefits Security Administration; (8) the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; (9) the Employment Standards Administration; (10) certain special benefits, including ones for disabled coal miners; (11) the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Fund; (12) the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund; (13) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; (14) the Mine Safety and Health Administration; (15) the Bureau of Labor Statistics; (16) the Office of Disability Employment Policy; (17) departmental management; (18) veterans employment and training; (19) the Office of Inspector General; and (20) a working capital fund for a new core accounting system.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds and transfers of funds appropriated under this title.
(Sec. 101) Prohibits use of Job Corps funds under this title to pay individual compensation at a rate in excess of Executive Level II.
(Sec. 102) Allows not more than one percent of discretionary funds for the current fiscal year for the Department of Labor in this Act to be transferred between appropriations. Prohibits any increase of any such appropriation by more than three percent by any such transfer.
(Sec. 103) Prohibits, in accordance with a specified executive order, funds under this Act from being obligated or expended for procuring goods mined, produced, manufactured, or harvested, or services rendered, whole or in part, by forced or indentured child labor in industries and host countries already identified by the Department of Labor prior to enactment of this Act.
(Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations to the Denali Commission, through the Department of Labor, to conduct job training of the local workforce where Denali Commission projects will be constructed.
(Sec. 105) Rescinds a specified amount of the funds appropriated for FY 1999 that were allotted as welfare-to-work formula grants to States under certain Social Security Act provisions. Directs the Secretary of Labor to recapture unexpended funds from States that have received such allotments, on the basis of each State's relative portion of the total unexpended amount in all States.
(Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) re-propose a rule on respirable coal dust which incorporates the use of Personal Dust Monitors (PDMs), following the successful demonstration of PDM technology, if the Secretary determines that PDMs can be effectively applied in a regulatory scheme; and (2) if such rule is re-proposed, comply with the regular procedures applicable to Federal rulemaking.
(Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary of Labor to transfer, without charge or consideration, to Hamilton County, Ohio, all rights, title, and interest (including all Federal equity) the United States holds in the real property located at 1916 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio, to the extent such rights, title, or interest were acquired through grants to the State of Ohio under title III of the Social Security Act or the Wagner-Peyser Act or acquired through funds distributed to the State of Ohio under specified provisions of the Social Security Act.
(Sec. 108) Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exempt from certain child labor restrictions the employment, inside or outside of businesses where machinery is used to process wood products, of individuals between ages 14 and 18 who are exempt, by statute or judicial order, from compulsory school attendance beyond the eighth grade. Permits such youth employment if the individual: (1) is supervised by an adult relative or by an adult member of the same religious sect or division; (2) does not operate or assist in the operation of power-driven woodworking machines; (3) is protected from wood particles or other flying debris within the workplace by a barrier appropriate to such potential hazard or by maintaining a sufficient distance from machinery in operation; and (4) is required to use personal protective equipment to prevent exposure to excessive levels of noise and sawdust.
Title II: Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations for FY 2004 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for: (1) the Health Resources and Services Administration, for specified health resources and services activities; (2) health education assistance loans; (3) the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Trust Fund; (4) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), for disease control, research, and training; (5) the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the John E. Fogarty International Center, the National Library of Medicine, and the Office of the Director; (6) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, for substance abuse and mental health services; (7) the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, reserving a specified amount for the conduct of research on the comparative effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and safety of drugs, biological products and devices; (8) the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for grants to States for Medicaid, payments to health care trust funds, program management, and the Health Maintenance Organization Loan and Loan Guarantee Fund; (9) the Administration for Children and Families for payments to States for child support enforcement and family support programs; (10) low income home energy assistance; (11) refugee and entrant assistance; (12) payments to States for the child care and development block grant; (13) the social services block grant; (14) children and families services programs; (15) promoting safe and stable families, through family preservation and support; (16) payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance; (17) the Administration on Aging; (18) the Office of the Secretary for general departmental management; (19) the Office of Inspector General; (20) the Office for Civil Rights; (21) policy research; (22) retirement pay and medical benefits for Public Health Service commissioned officers, and medical care of dependents and retired personnel; and (23) the public health and social services emergency fund, for expenses related to countering potential biological, disease, and chemical threats to civilian populations.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title.
(Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary of HHS to make available through assignment not more than 60 employees of the Public Health Service to assist in child survival activities and to work in AIDS programs through and with funds provided by the Agency for International Development, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, or the World Health Organization.
(Sec. 203) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to implement a certain mandatory breast cancer study under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) or to construct regional centers for primate research under the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993.
(Sec. 204) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for the NIH, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to pay an individual's salary, through a grant or other extramural mechanism, at a rate in excess of Executive Level I.
(Sec. 205) Prohibits the expenditure of funds under this Act pursuant to specified evaluation provisions of PHSA, except for funds specifically provided for in this Act, or for other taps and assessments made by any office located in the Department of HHS, prior to a report by the Secretary of HHS to specified congressional committees detailing the planned uses of such funds.
(Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary of HHS to determine a portion, up to 2.2 percent, of appropriations for PHSA programs to be made available for evaluation of implementation and effectiveness of such programs.
(Sec. 207) Allows the transfer between appropriations of not more than one percent of discretionary funds in this Act for the current fiscal year for the Department of HHS. Prohibits any increase of any such appropriation by more than three percent by any such transfer, but allows that appropriation to be increased by an additional two percent subject to approval by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
(Sec. 208) Authorizes the Directors of the NIH and of the Office of AIDS Research (OAR) jointly to transfer up to three percent among institutes, centers, and divisions from the total amounts identified by these two Directors as funding for research pertaining to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
(Sec. 209) Requires the amount for research related to HIV (of amounts made available for NIH in this Act), as jointly determined by the Directors of NIH and of OAR, to be made available to the OAR account. Requires the Director of OAR to transfer from such account amounts necessary to carry out certain provisions of PHSA.
(Sec. 210) Prohibits funds under this Act from being made available under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of PHSA, unless the award applicant certifies to the Secretary of HHS that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and provides counseling to minors on resisting attempts to coerce them into engaging in sexual activities.
(Sec. 211) Prohibits use of funds under this Act to carry out the Medicare+Choice program if the Secretary of HHS denies participation in such program to an otherwise eligible entity (including a Provider Sponsored Organization) because the entity informs the Secretary that it will not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for abortions.
(Sec. 212) Declares that no provider of services under title X (population research and voluntary family planning) of PHSA shall be exempt from any State law requiring notification or the reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse, rape, or incest.
(Sec. 213) Amends the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1990 to extend through FY 2004 the authority and deadline for aliens to apply for refugee admission into the United States. Directs the Attorney General to establish one or more refugee categories for members of religious minorities who are or were targets of persecution in Iran.
(Sec. 214) Prohibits funds under by this Act from being used to withhold substance abuse funding from a State pursuant to specified PHSA provisions, if such State certifies to the Secretary of HHS that the State will commit additional State funds to ensure compliance with State laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to individuals under 18 years of age. Requires the amount of such funds to be committed by a State to equal one percent of its substance abuse block grant allocation for each percentage point by which the State misses the retailer compliance rate goal established by the Secretary of HHS. Requires the State to maintain its expenditures in FY 2004 for tobacco prevention programs and for compliance activities at least at its FY 2003 level, and to add to that level such required additional funds for tobacco compliance activities. Provides that no funds under this Act may be used to withhold such substance abuse funding from a territory that receives less than $1 million of such funding.
(Sec. 215) Authorizes the Secretary of HHS, in order for the CDCP to carry out international health activities, including those relating to HIV/AIDS and other infectious disease, chronic and environmental disease, and other health activities abroad during FY 2004, to: (1) exercise authority equivalent to that available to the Secretary of State under specified provisions of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956; and (2) provide funds to the Secretary of State to acquire, lease, alter, renovate, or manage facilities outside the United States for use by the Department of HHS to carry out such programs.
(Sec. 216) Authorizes the Division of Federal Occupational Health to use personal services contracting to employ occupational health professionals and professionals in management and administration.
(Sec. 217) Authorizes the Director of the NIH to use funds under this Act to award Core Center Grants to encourage the development of innovative multidisciplinary research and provide training concerning Parkinson's disease. Requires each such center to be designated as a Morris K. Udall Center for Research on Parkinson's Disease.
(Sec. 218) Requires the NIH Director, within 90 days after enactment of this Act, to report to the appropriate congressional committees, including: (1) the Director's recommendations on the NIH role in promoting affordability of inventions and products developed with Federal funds; and (2) a description of any existing circumstances that prevent the Director from doing such promotion.
(Sec. 219) Authorizes use of certain funds to continue operating the Council on Graduate Medical Education.
(Sec. 220) Designates the NIH Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers program as the Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers.
(Sec. 221) Authorizes the NIH Director to use certain available funds to enter into transactions (other than contracts, cooperative agreements, or grants) to carry out research in support of the NIH Roadmap Initiative of the Director. Authorizes the Director, in entering such transactions, to determine and use appropriate peer review procedures in lieu of the peer review and advisory council review procedures that would otherwise be required under PHSA.
(Sec. 222) Amends the Denali Commission Act of 1998 to replace certain grant authority with the authority to make interagency transfers.
Title III: Department of Education
- Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations for FY 2004 to the Department of Education for: (1) education for the disadvantaged; (2) impact aid; (3) school improvement programs; (4) Indian education; (5) innovation and improvement activities; (6) safe schools and citizenship education, including the Project School Emergency Response to violence program; (7) English language acquisition and language enhancement; (8) special education; (9) rehabilitation services and disability research; (10) special institutions for persons with disabilities, including the American Printing House for the Blind, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and Gallaudet University; (11) vocational and adult education; (12) certain student financial assistance programs, as well as Federal administrative expenses for such programs (and sets a maximum individual Pell Grant amount); (13) specified higher education programs; (14) Howard University; (15) the college housing and academic facilities loans program; (16) the historically Black college and university capital financing program account; (17) the Institute of Education Sciences; (18) departmental management and program administration; (19) the Office for Civil Rights; and (20) the Office of the Inspector General.
Sets the maximum individual Pell Grant amount at $4,050 during award year 2004-2005.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title.
(Sec. 301) Prohibits funds under in this Act from being used to transport teachers or students in order to: (1) overcome racial imbalance in any school; or (2) carry out a racial desegregation plan.
(Sec. 302) Prohibits the use of funds under in this Act to require, directly or indirectly, the transportation of any student to a school other than the school nearest the student's home, except, for a student requiring special education, to the school offering such special education, in order to comply with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Declares that such a prohibited indirect requirement of transportation of students includes the transportation of students to carry out a plan involving the reorganization of the grade structure of schools, the pairing of schools, or the clustering of schools, or any combination of grade restructuring, pairing or clustering. Exempts the establishment of magnet schools from such prohibition.
(Sec. 303) Prohibits funds under this Act from being used to prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in public schools.
(Sec. 304) Allows the transfer between appropriations of not more than one percent of discretionary funds for the current fiscal year for the Department of Education in this Act. Prohibits any increase of any such appropriation by more than three percent by any such transfer.
(Sec. 305) Directs the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to study and report to the Secretary of Education and specified congressional committees on the feasibility of simplifying: (1) the needs analysis methodology for all Federal student assistance programs; and (2) the process of applying for such assistance.
Directs the Secretary of Education to consult with such congressional committees and subsequently initiate a redesign of the free Federal form for applying for student assistance, which is required under specified provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Requires such redesign to include the testing of alternative simplified versions of the free Federal form.
Prohibits the Secretary of Education from implementing or enforcing for the award year 2004-2005 the annual update to the allowances for State and other taxes in the tables used in the Federal needs analysis methodology as prescribed in the Federal Register on Friday, May 30, 2003.
(Sec. 306) Directs the Secretary of Education to treat as timely filed an application under specified provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 from the local educational agency for Hydaburg, Alaska, for a payment for FY 2004, and process such application for payment, if it is received not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
Title IV: Related Agencies
- Makes appropriations for FY 2004 to the: (1) Armed Forces Retirement Home; (2) Corporation for National and Community Service, for domestic volunteer service programs and operating expenses; (3) Corporation for Public Broadcasting; (4) Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; (5) Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission; (6) Institute of Museum and Library Services; (7) Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (8) National Commission on Libraries and Information Science; (9) National Council on Disability; (10) National Labor Relations Board; (11) National Mediation Board; (12) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; (13) Railroad Retirement Board for the dual benefits payments account, Federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts, administration, and the Office of Inspector General; (14) Social Security Administration for payments to the Social Security trust funds, the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, administrative expenses, and the Office of Inspector General; and (15) U.S. Institute of Peace.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this title.
Title V: General Provisions
- Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds appropriated under this Act.
(Sec. 505) Prohibits the use of funds appropriated under this Act for programs to distribute sterile needles or syringes for the injection of illegal drugs.
(Sec. 506) Sets forth Buy American requirements.
(Sec. 508) Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated under this Act, or in any trust fund to which funds are appropriated under this Act, for abortions or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion, with exceptions specified in section 509 of this Act.
(Sec. 509) Provides that the prohibition in section 508 shall not apply to an abortion: (1) if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest; or (2) in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed. Provides that nothing in section 508 shall be construed as: (1) prohibiting the expenditure by a State, locality, entity, or private person of State, local, or private funds (other than a State's or locality's contribution of Medicaid matching funds); or (2) restricting the ability of any managed care provider from offering abortion coverage or the ability of a State or locality to contract separately with such a provider for such coverage with State funds (other than a State's or locality's contribution of Medicaid matching funds).
(Sec. 510) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for: (1) the creation of a human embryo for research purposes; or (2) research in which a human embryo is destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero under specified Federal regulations and the Public Health Service Act. Defines "human embryo or embryos" to include any organism, not protected as a human subject under specified Federal regulations as of the date of the enactment of this Act, that is derived by fertilization, parthenogenesis, cloning, or any other means from one or more human gametes or human diploid cells.
(Sec. 511) Prohibits the use of funds made available in this Act for activities to promote the legalization of a controlled substance unless there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic advantage to the use of such substance or that federally-sponsored trials are being conducted to determine such advantage.
(Sec. 513) Bars the use of funds made available in this Act to promulgate a final standard under the Social Security Act providing for a unique health identifier for an individual (except in an individual's capacity as an employer or health care provider) until legislation is enacted specifically approving the standard.
(Sec. 515) Requires a pro rata reduction of $50,000,000 from amounts made available under this Act for departmental management of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
(Sec. 516) Prohibits funds made available by this Act to carry out the Library Services and Technology Act from being made available for assistance to purchase computers or Internet access for any covered library (under specified provisions of such Act as amended by the Children's Internet Protections Act) unless the library has certified its compliance with certain requirements for Internet safety.
(Sec. 517) Prohibits funds made available by this Act to carry out the Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001 (part D of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Children's Internet Protections Act and the No Child Left Behind Act) from being made available to any covered elementary or secondary school, unless its local educational agency has certified the school's compliance with certain requirements for Internet safety.
Division F: Departments of Transportation, and Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004
-Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004
- Title I: Department of Transportation -
Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 for the following agencies: (1) Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary; (2) Office of Civil Rights; (3) the Working Capital Fund; (4) Minority Business Resource Center Program; (5) Federal Aviation Administration; (6) grants-in-aid for airports; (7) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); (8) Federal-Aid Highways, including Highway Safety Programs; (9) Appalachian Development Highway System; (10) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; (11) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; (12) National Driver Register; (11) Highway Traffic Safety Grants; (12) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; (13) Federal Railroad Administration; (14) Railroad Research and Development; (15) Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Program; (16) Next Generation High-Speed Rail; (17) Alaska Railroad Rehabilitation; (18) Grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak); (19) Federal Transit Administration (FTA); (20) Formula Grants; (21) University Transportation Research; (22) Transit Planning and Research; (23) Capital Investment Grants; (24) Job Access and Reverse Commute Grants; (25) Utah Transportation Projects; (26) Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation; (27) Maritime Administration; (28) Research and Special Programs Administration; (29) Pipeline Safety; (30) Emergency Preparedness Grants; (31) Office of the Inspector General; and (32) the Surface Transportation Board.
(Sec. 106) Prohibits the use of funds to: (1) change weight restrictions or prior permission rules at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey; or (2) establish or implement a pilot program under which up to ten designated essential air service communities located in proximity to hub airports are required to assume ten percent of their essential air subsidy costs for a four-year period, (EAS local participation program)
(Sec. 108) Declares that the costs of construction of terminal and hangar buildings are allowable for an airport development project at Somerset-Pulaski County Airport-J.T. Wilson Field, Kentucky, and at Pryor Field Regional Airport, Decatur, Alabama.
(Sec. 111) Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) to designate as Interstate I-22 a specified segment of the high priority U.S. Route 78 Corridor from Memphis, Tennessee, through Mississippi to near Birmingham, Alabama.
(Sec. 112) Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) to revise requirements for specified high priority projects in New York, Louisiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana.
(Sec. 114) Declares that certain Intelligent Transportation Systems appropriations made to the State of Wisconsin shall not be subject to specified TEA-21 funding limitations.
(Sec. 116) Makes Intelligent Transportation Systems appropriations for specified places in Wisconsin available for use in certain counties and the City of Superior and northern Wisconsin.
(Sec. 117) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to enter into an agreement with Nevada, Arizona, or both, to provide a method of funding for construction of a Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge from funds allocated for the Federal Lands Highway Program.
(Sec. 118) Amends ISTEA to change a specified relocation priority intermodal project for Detroit, Michigan, to one for road improvements and non-motorized enhancements in the Detroit East Riverfront.
(Sec. 119) Requires the transfer of certain Transportation and Community and System Preservation Program funds for the Lodge Freeway and Eastern Market pedestrian overpasses, Detroit, Michigan, to such enhancements in the East Riverfront, Detroit, Michigan.
(Sec. 121) Makes unexpended balances of the amounts made available by the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003 from the Federal-aid highway account for improvements to Council Grove Lake, Kansas, available to make improvements to Richey Cove, Santa Fe Recreation Area, Canning Creek Recreation Area, and other areas in Kansas.
(Sec. 122) Amends the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003 to make certain funds available to the Secretary of Transportation to make grants for surface transportation projects.
(Sec. 123) Amends Federal transportation law with respect to the Appalachian development highway system to increase authorized construction on the system from 3,025 miles to 3,090 miles. Designates a certain addition to the system in Alabama as Corridor X-1, which shall be developed as a multi-lane freeway.
(Sec. 124) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to amend the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to permit provision of information, including by means of a logo panel within three miles of an interchange on the Federal-aid system, to assist motorists in locating licensed 24-hour pharmacy services open to the public.
(Sec. 125) Makes funds obligated for pre-implementation costs, project design, and implementation costs of the I-15 Congestion Pricing Project (also known as the I-15 FasTrack project) in the city of San Diego eligible for funding costs incurred under such project. Sets the Federal share of the total cost of the project at up to 80
percent.
(Sec. 126) Makes the Kentucky Highlands, Freight Enhancement Revolving Loan Fund, Kentucky, eligible for specified funding to assist in financing freight enhancement projects.
(Sec. 127) States that a specified amount made available for obligation in FY 2003 for the project Kannapolis Parkway & Interstate 85 Interchange-Kannapolis, North Carolina, shall be reprogrammed, transferred, and made available for obligation for Kannapolis Industrial Park Access Road-Kannapolis, North Carolina.
(Sec. 128) Amends the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 to revise the specifications for specified improvements to US 73 in Wyandotte County, Kansas.
(Sec. 129) Amends the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003 to make the unobligated share of certain funds for the Pennsylvania State Route 711 Bypass (Ligonier), the unobligated share shall be available for construction of a connector road between the newly relocated State Route 1045 and Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, PA.
(Sec. 130) Subjects funds appropriated or limited in this Act to the requirements for the safety of cross-border trucking between the United States and Mexico of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002, including an annual report to specified congressional committees on the safety and security of transportation into the United States by Mexico-domiciled motor carriers.
(Sec. 131) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to implement or enforce any provisions of the Final Rule, issued on April 16, 2003 (Docket No. FMCSA-97-2350), with respect to either: (1) the operators of utility service vehicles; or (2) maximum daily hours of service for drivers engaged in the transportation of property or passengers to or from a motion picture or television production site located within a 100-air mile radius of the work reporting location of such drivers.
(Sec. 150) Amends Federal transportation law to authorize the Surface Transportation Board to direct the continued operation of certain existing freight or commuter rail passenger transportation operations in the case of a failure of such operations caused by a cessation of service by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak). States that the Board may not direct a rail carrier to undertake such operations unless: (1) the rail carrier is operationally capable of conducting the directed service in a safe and efficient manner; and (2) the funding for such directed service is provided in advance in appropriations Acts.
Requires the Board, in such an emergency, to: (1) provide funding to fully reimburse the directed service provider for its associated costs, including the payment of increased insurance premiums; and (2) order complete indemnification against any and all claims associated with the provision of service to which the directed rail carrier may be exposed.
(Sec. 151) Directs the Secretary of Transportation, working with affected States, to develop and implement a procedure for fair competitive bidding by Amtrak and non-Amtrak operators for State-supported routes. Provides for agreements between States and Amtrak for use of Amtrak facilities and equipment in the event a State desires to select or selects a non-Amtrak operator for a route.
(Sec. 164) Makes certain funds available to the Colorado Roaring Fork Transportation Authority also available for expenditure on park and ride lots in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, Colorado, as part of the Roaring Fork Valley Bus Rapid Transit project.
(Sec. 166) Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot grant program to determine the benefits of encouraging cooperative procurement of major capital equipment in pilot projects involving urbanized formula grants for mass transit capital projects, capital investment grants and loans for new fixed guideway systems, and mass transportation service projects for areas other than urbanized areas. Sets the Federal share for a grant at 90 percent of the net project cost.
(Sec. 167) Makes certain new fixed guideway system funds available for the Yosemite, California, area regional transportation system project also available for obligation for the replacement, rehabilitation, or purchase of buses or related equipment, or the
construction of bus related facilities.
(Sec. 168) Directs the Secretary, for the purpose of calculating the non-New Starts share of the total project cost of both phases of San Francisco Muni's Third Street Light Rail Transit project for FY 2004, to: (1) include all non-New Starts contributions made towards Phase 1 of the two-phase project for engineering, final design and construction; and (2) also allow non-New Starts funds expended on one element or phase of the project to be used to meet the non-New Starts share requirement of any element or phase of the project. Prohibits the obligation of the funds provided in this Act for the San Francisco Muni Third Street Light Rail Transit Project, however, if the FTA determines that the project is ``not recommended'' after evaluation and computation of revised transportation system user benefit data.
(Sec. 169) Authorizes the use for the Euclid Corridor Transportation Project of certain funds made available for the Cleveland Berea Red Line Extension to the Hopkins International Airport project.
(Sec. 170) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds designated to the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) on pages 1305 through 1307 of the Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference for Public Law 108-7 may be available to CTAA for any project or activity authorized under section 3037 of Public Law 105-178 upon receipt of an application.
(Sec. 171) Amends the Federal Transit Act to direct the FTA and FHWA to work with the Utah Transit Authority and the Utah Department of Transportation to coordinate the development regional commuter rail and the northern segment of I-15 reconstruction located in the Wasatch Front corridor extending from Brigham City to Payson, Utah.
(Sec. 172) Authorizes the use of certain mass transit capital project formula grant funds apportioned to the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority to to lease land, equipment, or facilities used in public transportation from another governmental authority in the same geographic area. Allows the non-Federal share of such a capital project to include revenues from the sale of advertising and concessions. Terminates this authorization on the earlier of September 30, 2004, or the date the Federal interest in the land, equipment or facilities leased reaches 80 percent of its fair market value at disposition.
(Sec. 173) Authorizes the availability of funds otherwise designated to the Pennsylvania Cumberland/Dauphin County Corridor I project in committee reports accompanying this Act for any project activities authorized with respect to urbanized formula grants for mass transit capital projects and capital investment grants and loans for new fixed guideway systems.
(Sec. 174) Directs the FTA to permit the Memphis Area Transit Authority to use (until expended) for Memphis Regional Rail Plan planning, engineering, design, construction or acquisition projects all of remaining funds provided for the Memphis Medical Center light rail extension project through the new fixed guideway systems program.
(Sec. 175) Amends TEA-21 to: (1) make the Memphis-Shelby International Airport intermodal facility eligible for funding; and (2) authorize the Secretary, for FY 2004, to make urbanized formula mass transit capital project grant assistance (up to $10 million annually to all such providers) available to a transit provider that operates 25 or fewer vehicles in an urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000 to finance operating costs in providing mass transportation services to elderly and persons with disabilities.
Title II: Department of the Treasury
- Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 for the Department of the Treasury, including: (1) department-wide systems and capital investments; (2) the Office of Inspector General; (3) Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; (4) the Air Transportation Stabilization Board; (5) Treasury Building and Annex Repair and Restoration; (6) Financial Crimes Enforcement Network; (7) Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau; (8) U.S. Mint; (9) Bureau of the Public Debt; (10) the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); (11) tax law enforcement; and (12) health insurance tax credit administration.
(Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to propose to Congress legislation which would provide transition relief for older and longer-service participants affected by conversions of their employers' traditional pension plans to cash balance pension plans. Prohibits the use of funds under this Act by the Secretary, or his designee, to issue any rule or regulation implementing the proposed amendments to IRS regulations set forth in REG-209500-86 and REG-164464-02, or any amendments reaching results similar to such proposed amendments.
(Sec. 206) Directs the IRS to study and report to Congress on any program that requires certification (including pre-certification) in order to claim the earned income tax credit.
(Sec. 216) Amends Federal law to extend from five years to six years the authorization for the personnel management demonstration project providing for the compensation and performance management of not more than a combined total of 950 employees who fill critical scientific, technical, engineering, intelligence analyst, language translator, and medical positions in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Title III: Executive Office of the President and Funds Appropriated to the President
- Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 for compensation of the President and salaries and expenses of designated White House agencies, including: (1) the Council of Economic Advisors; (2) National Security Council; (3) Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and (4) various Federal Drug Control Programs.
Title IV: Independent Agencies
- Authorizes appropriations for FY 2004 for independent agencies, including: (1) the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board; (2) the National Transportation Safety Board; (3) Committee for Purchase from People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled; (4) Federal Election Commission; (5) Election Assistance Commission; (6) Federal Labor Relations Authority; (7) Federal Maritime Administration; (8) General Services Administration (GSA); (9) Merit Systems Protection Board; (10) the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Trust Fund; (11) the Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund; (12) the National Archives and Records Administration; (13) the National Historical Publications and Records Commission; (14) the Office of Government Ethics; (15) the Office of Personnel Management; (16) the Office of Special Counsel; (17) U.S. Postal Service; (18) U.S. Tax Court; and (19) the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance.
(Sec. 408) Authorizes the GSA Administrator to: (1) acquire certain land in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as a site for the public building needs of the Federal Government; (2) design and construct upon the site a new Federal Office Building to house the Federal agencies presently located in the Thomas J. McIntyre Federal Building. Makes certain funds available for such purposes; and (3) convey without consideration the Thomas J. McIntyre Federal Office Building to the City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for economic development purposes, subject to specified conditions.
(Sec. 409) Directs the GSA Administrator to carry out the authority of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to make election assistance payments under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, including the authority to receive statements and applications from entities seeking such payments and reports from entities receiving such payments. Terminates this authority on June 30, 2004, or the end of the three-month period beginning when all EAC members are appointed, whichever is earlier.
(Sec. 410) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act by GSA to establish a quick response team processing center on East Brainerd Road in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
(Sec. 411) Amends the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 , as amended by the 1999 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, to revise requirements for the conveyance to San Joaquin County, California, of certain land currently administered by the Federal Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice. Replaces the Attorney General as the conveyer with the GSA Administrator acting on the Attorney General's behalf. Extends the date for completion of the conveyance from August 21, 1999, to an indefinite date as soon as practicable. Revises the mandatory purposes of the conveyance to replace specific use as a joint secondary and postsecondary educational facility or as a public park with generic educational or recreational purposes.
Title V: General Provisions (This Act)
- Sets forth permissions for and restrictions upon the use of funds for designated Department of Transportation activities.
(Sec. 504) Declares that none of the funds in this Act shall be available for salaries and expenses of more than 106 political and Presidential appointees in the Department of Transportation. Prohibits the assignment of such appointees on temporary detail outside the Department of Transportation.
(Sec. 508) None of the funds in this Act shall be used to establish in the Department of Transportation a National Highway Safety Advisory Committee.
(Sec. 511) Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to allow the issuer of any preferred stock heretofore sold to the Department of Transportation to redeem or repurchase it upon the payment to the Department of an amount determined by the Secretary.
(Sec. 513) Declares that , for the purpose of any applicable law, for FY 2004, the City of Norman, Oklahoma, shall be considered part of the Oklahoma City Transportation Management Area.
(Sec. 517) Reduces funds provided in this Act for the Working Capital Fund by $17.816 million, which limits FY 2004 Working Capital Fund obligational authority for elements of the Department of Transportation funded in this Act to no more than $98.899 million. Requires such reductions from the budget request to be allocated by the Department of Transportation to each appropriations account in proportion to the amount included in each account for the Working
Capital Fund.
(Sec. 518) Makes recovered improper payments by the Department of Transportation to a third party contractor under a financial assistance award available to: (1) reimburse the actual expenses incurred in recovering improper payments; and (2) pay contractors for services provided in recovering them.
(Sec. 520) Prohibits the availability of the funds under this Act for any activity or for paying the salary of any Government employee where it would result in a decision, determination, rule, regulation, or policy that would prohibit the enforcement of the prohibition under the Tariff Act of 1930 against the importation of convict-made or forced labor-made goods from a foreign country.
(Sec. 521)Directs the Secretary of Transportation to maintain in full force and effect the restrictions imposed under specified FAA Notices to Airmen. Prohibits the Secretary from granting any waivers or exemptions from such restrictions, except: (1) as authorized by air traffic control for operational or safety purposes; (2) for specified purposes with respect to an event, stadium, or other venue; and (3) allow the operation of an aircraft in restricted airspace to the extent necessary to arrive at or depart from an airport using standard air traffic control procedures.
(Sec. 522) Prohibits payment of the salary from any appropriation under this Act for any person filling a permanent or indefinite position formerly held by an employee who has: (1) left to enter the U.S. Armed Forces; (2) satisfactorily completed his period of active military or naval service;(3) within 90 days after release from such service, or from hospitalization continuing after discharge for a period of not more than one year, applied for restoration to his former position; and (4) been certified by the Office of Personnel Management as still qualified to perform the duties of his former position, but not been restored to it.
(Sec. 523) Sets forth Buy America requirements, and penalties for their violation.
(Sec. 531) Prohibits funds appropriated by this Act from being made available to pay for an abortion, or the administrative expenses in connection with any health plan under the Federal employees health benefits program which provides any benefits or coverage for abortions.
( Sec. 532) Declares such proscription inapplicable where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term, or the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest.
(Sec. 533) Prohibits the availability of appropriations, without prior approval by the congressional appropriations committees, for obligation or expenditure through a reprogramming of funds that: (1) creates a new program; (2) eliminates a program, project, or activity; (3) increases funds for any program, project, or activity for which funds have been denied or restricted by the Congress; (4) proposes to use funds directed for a specific activity by either the House or Senate Committees on Appropriations for a different purpose; (5) augments existing programs, projects, or activities in excess of $5 million or ten percent, whichever is greater; or (6) reduces existing programs, projects, or activities by one or the other such amount.
(Sec. 535) Declares that the Buy American Act restriction on purchasing nondomestic articles, materials, and supplies shall not apply to the acquisition by the Federal Government of commercial information technology, including equipment or the interconnected system or subsystem of equipment used in the automatic analysis or evaluation of data or information, imaging peripherals, input, output, and storage devices necessary for security and surveillance, and peripheral equipment.
(Sec. 536) Declares the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) empowerment zones within cities should have the necessary flexibility to expand to include relevant communities so that empowerment zone benefits are equitably distributed; and (2) all census tracts contained in an empowerment zone, either fully or partially, should be equitably accorded the same benefits.
(Sec. 539) Expresses the sense of Congress that, after proper documentation, justification, and review, the Department of Transportation should consider programs to reimburse general aviation ground support services at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and airports located within fifteen miles of such airport, for their financial losses due to Government actions after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
(Sec. 540) Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) public private partnerships (PPPs) could help eliminate some of the cost drivers behind complex, capital-intensive highway and transit projects; and (2) the Secretary of Transportation is encouraged to apply available funds to select projects that are in the development phase, eligible under specified highway transportation laws, and that employ a PPP strategy.
(Sec. 541) Amends Federal postal law to extend through December 31, 2005, the mandate to the U.S. Postal Service for a special first-class mail postage rate as a convenient way for the public to contribute to funding for breast cancer research.
(Sec. 544) Oklahoma City National Memorial Act Amendments of 2003 - Amends the Oklahoma City National Memorial Act of 1997 to prescribe guidelines for the administration of the Memorial by the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation. Dissolves the Oklahoma City National Memorial Trust. Authorizes appropriations.
Title VI: General Provisions (Departments, Agencies, and Corporations)
- Sets forth requirements for the use of appropriations by designated departments, agencies and corporations.
(Sec. 617) Sets restrictions upon the use of appropriations, including the mandate that any Federal department, agency, or instrumentality administer in good faith, a written policy designed to ensure that all workplaces are free from discrimination and sexual harassment and are not in violation of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
(Sec. 618) Prohibits appropriations from being made available for the salary of any Federal staffer or personnel that restrains other Federal personnel from communication or contact with congressional personnel regarding the employment of such other officer or employee, or pertaining to the department or agency of such other officer or employee.
(Sec. 628) Prohibits the use of funds by OPM or any other Federal department or agency to prohibit any agency from using appropriated funds as it sees fit to contract independently with private companies to provide online employment applications and processing services.
(Sec. 632) Amends Federal law to extend from October 1, 2003, to October 1, 2004, the authorization for the franchise fund pilot programs in six executive agencies.
(Sec. 633) Prohibits, with specified exceptions, including exceptions for law enforcement and supervisory purposes, the use of funds made available in this or any other Act by any Federal agency to collect personally identifiable information relating to an individual's access to or use of Federal or nongovernmental Internet sites.
(Sec. 634) Prohibits the use of appropriations under by this Act to enter into a contract providing prescription drug coverage, unless it also provides for contraceptive coverage. Exempts specified religious plans.
(Sec. 637) Prohibits the expenditure of appropriations under by this Act for FY 2004 for the purchase of a product or service offered by Federal Prison Industries, Inc., unless the purchasing agency determines that such offered product or service provides the best value to the buying agency pursuant to Government-wide procurement regulations.
(Sec. 638) Requires each Federal department and agency to evaluate the creditworthiness of an individual before issuing him or her a Government purchase or travel charge card. Prohibits the department or agency from issuing such a card to an individual who either lacks a credit history or is found to have an unsatisfactory credit history. Prescribes conditions for the issuance of a restricted-use charge, debit, or stored value card made in accordance with specified agency procedures.
(Sec. 639) Amends the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000, as amended by the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2002 to extend from December 31, 2003, until December 31, 2005, the authority under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), in the case of any violation of any requirement for the reporting of receipts and disbursements by treasurers of political committees, to: (1) find (after written notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the record) that a person committed such a violation on the basis of information obtained pursuant to specified procedures; and (2) based on such finding (subject to judicial review), require the person to pay a civil money penalty in an amount determined under a schedule of penalties the FEC establishes and publishes, which takes into account the amount of the violation involved, the existence of previous violations by the person, and such other factors as the FEC considers appropriate.
(Sec. 640) Increases to 4.1 percent the adjustment in rates of basic pay for Federal employees under certain statutory pay systems, including civilian employees in the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.
(Sec. 641) Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to allow certain political committee reports and statements to be posted by priority or express mail having a delivery confirmation or delivered to an overnight delivery service with an on-line tracking system, if posted or delivered no later than the 15th day before an election. Makes the date on the proof of delivery to the delivery service the equivalent of a U.S. postmark and therefore of the filing date.
(Sec. 642) Authorizes Federal departments and agencies to use funds appropriated for official travel to participate in the fractional aircraft ownership pilot program, if consistent with OMB Circular A-126 regarding official travel for Government personnel.
(Sec. 646) Prohibits the use of funds to implement or enforce restrictions or limitations on the Coast Guard Congressional Fellowship Program, or to implement certain proposed or final OPM regulations relating to the detail of executive branch employees to the legislative branch.
(Sec. 647) Prohibits funds appropriated under this Act from being used to convert to contractor performance an activity or function of an executive agency that is performed by more than ten Federal employees unless specified conditions have been met.
(Sec. 648) Requires each Federal department or agency head to transfer to or reimburse the FAA an amount of funds (up to a total of $6 million altogether) made available by this or any other Act to ensure the operation of the Midway Atoll Airfield by the FAA pursuant to an operational agreement with the Department of the Interior.
Division G: Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations, 2004
- Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 -
Title I: Department of Veterans Affairs
- Makes FY 2004 appropriations to the Department of Veterans Affairs (Department) for: (1) veterans' compensation, pensions, and readjustment benefits; (2) veterans' insurance and indemnities; (3) veterans' housing, education, and vocational rehabilitation loan accounts, including Native American and homeless veterans; (4) veterans' medical care; (5) medical and prosthetic research; (6) medical administration; (7) departmental administration; (8) the National Cemetery Administration; (9) the Office of Inspector General; (10) construction; (11) the parking revolving fund; and (12) grants to States for construction of extended care facilities and State veterans cemeteries.
Sets forth authorized uses of, and limitations on, funds made available under this title.
(Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse the "General operating expenses" account from the National Service Life Insurance Fund, the Veterans' Special Life Insurance Fund, and the United States Government Life Insurance Fund for the cost of administration of the insurance programs financed through those accounts.
(Sec. 108) Directs the Department to continue until October 1, 2004, the Franchise Fund pilot program for providing administrative support services to designated Federal agencies. Extends program funding through such date.
(Sec. 110) Requires for FY 2004 that funds available in any Department appropriation or fund for salaries and other administrative expenses shall be available to reimburse specified service costs provided by the Offices of Resolution Management and Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication.
(Sec. 111) Prohibits the use of appropriations made by this title for: (1) entering into any new lease of real property with an estimated annual rental of over $300,000, unless the Secretary submits a report which the congressional appropriations committees approve within 30 days after submission; or (2) hospitalization or treatment for non-service-connected disability or illness unless the individual provides accurate insurance and annual income information.
(Sec. 113) Obligates funds appropriated under this title for information technology initiatives to support the Department's enterprise architecture.
(Sec. 114) Prohibits the use of funds in this Act to implement specified provisions of the Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Preparedness Act of 2002 that: (1) establish medical emergency preparedness centers at Department medical centers; and (2) add an Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Operations, Preparedness, Security, and Law Enforcement Functions.
(Sec. 115) Deposits and transfers receipts that would otherwise be credited to the Veterans Extended Care Revolving Fund, the Medical Facilities Revolving Fund, the Special Therapeutic and Rehabilitation Fund, the Nursing Home Revolving Fund, the Veterans Health Services Improvement Fund, and the Parking Revolving Fund to the Medical Care Collections Fund and to the Medical Care account.
(Sec. 116) Directs the Secretary to conduct a program of recovery audits for the fee basis and other hospital-related service contracts.
(Sec. 117) Authorizes enhanced-use leasing proceeds in the Medical Care Collection Fund to be transferred to construction accounts and used for Department medical facility construction or improvements.
(Sec. 118) Makes "medical services" amounts available for: (1) recreational facilities; and (2) funeral expenses for beneficiaries receiving Department care.
(Sec. 119) Authorizes and specifies medical account transfers.
(Sec. 122) Rescinds specified medical care unobligated balances.
Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Makes FY 2004 appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for: (1) public and Indian housing; (2) the Public Housing Capital and Operating Funds; (3) revitalization of severely distressed public housing (HOPE VI); (4) Native American housing block grants; (5) Indian and Native Hawaiian housing loan guarantees; (6) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS; (7) the Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development; (8) empowerment zones and enterprise communities; (9) community development block grants and loan guarantees; (10) urban development action grants; (11) brownfields redevelopment; (12) the HOME investment partnerships program; (13) homeless assistance grants; (14) housing for the elderly and for persons with disabilities; (15) flexible subsidy fund; (16) manufactured housing fees trust fund; (17) the Federal Housing Administration; (18) the Government National Mortgage Association; (19) housing policy development and research; (20) fair housing activities; (21) the Office of Lead Hazard Control; (22) management and administration; (23) the Working Capital Fund; (24) the Office of Inspector General; and (25) the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
Rescinds specified amounts: (1) of recaptured rental housing assistance budget authority; and (2) from the consolidated fee fund.
(Sec. 201) States that 50 percent of budget authority amounts, or in lieu thereof 50 percent of the cash amounts associated with such budget authority, that are recaptured from certain "qualified projects" under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1988 shall be rescinded, or in the case of cash, remitted to the Treasury, and such non-rescinded or non-remitted amounts shall be used by State housing finance agencies or local governments or local housing agencies for certain approved projects. Authorizes the Secretary to use up to 15 percent of such non-rescinded or non-remitted amounts as refinancing incentives for project owners.
(Sec. 202) Prohibits funds under this Act from being used during FY 2004 to investigate or prosecute under the Fair Housing Act any otherwise lawful activities aimed at achieving or preventing government or court action.
(Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make housing for persons with AIDS grants to any State that qualified in a prior fiscal year but does not qualify in FY 2004 due to decreased AIDS cases in non-metropolitan areas of the State.
(Sec. 204) Declares, with respect to FY 2004 assisted living facility section 8 rental payments, that a family residing in an assisted living facility in Oakland, Macomb, Wayne, or Washtenaw Counties, Michigan, may be required to pay rent in an amount exceeding 40 percent of its monthly adjusted gross income.
(Sec. 205) Requires HUD to grant awards on a competitive basis.
(Sec. 206) Makes HUD funds subject to the Government Corporation Control Act or other restrictions available, without regard to limitations on administrative expenses, for legal services and services and facilities of the Federal National Mortgage Association, Government National Mortgage Association, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Federal Financing Bank, Federal Reserve banks, Federal Home Loan banks, and any insured bank within the meaning of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
(Sec. 207) Limits HUD spending to amounts set forth in budget estimates submitted to Congress.
(Sec. 208) Authorizes HUD corporations and agencies subject to the Government Corporation Control Act to make necessary FY 2003 expenditures without regard to fiscal year limitations. Limits the use of collections of these corporations and agencies (with specified exceptions) to new loan or mortgage purchase commitments only to the extent expressly provided for in this Act, unless they are in support of other forms of assistance provided in this or prior appropriations Acts.
(Sec. 209) Prohibits the obligation or expenditure by HUD of funds provided in this title for technical assistance, training, or management improvements unless HUD provides the appropriations committees with a description of each proposed activity and budget estimates of the associated costs (by January 15, 2004, for FY 2004).
(Sec. 210) Exempts public housing agencies in Alaska, Iowa, or Mississippi from the requirement of having a public housing resident or section 8 recipient on the board of directors. Requires such public housing agencies to establish advisory boards that include public housing tenants and section 8 recipients.
(Sec. 211) Directs the Secretary to: (1) report quarterly regarding all uncommitted, unobligated, and excess funds in each HUD program; and (2) report annually regarding the number of federally assisted units under lease and the per unit cost of these units to HUD.
(Sec. 212) Directs the Secretary, in managing and disposing of any HUD-held multifamily property that is occupied primarily by elderly or disabled families in FY 2004, to maintain any section 8 rental assistance payments that are attached to such dwelling units. Authorizes the Secretary, if such payments are not feasible, to contract for project-based rental assistance payments with an owner or owners of other existing housing properties or provide other rental assistance.
(Sec. 214) Allocates certain FY 2004 housing funds for persons with AIDS from: (1) Wilmington, Delaware, on behalf of the Wilmington, Delaware-Maryland-New Jersey Metropolitan Division of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, to New Jersey based on the number of AIDS cases in the New Jersey portion of the metropolitan area or division; and (2) from Raleigh, North Carolina, on behalf of the Raleigh-Carey, North Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area, to Wake County, North Carolina. Requires that the allocations be used in such Areas.
(Sec. 215) Amends the National Housing Act revise the debenture interest calculation formula for certain mortgage insurance claims paid in cash.
(Sec. 216) Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to rename the Interagency Council on the Homeless as the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.
(Sec. 217) Amends part C (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services) of the Social Security Act to provide for limited information sharing between the National Directory of New Hires and specified housing assistance programs in order to determine the employment and income of housing program participants.
(Sec. 218) States that: (1) Hawaii may elect by July 31, 2004, to distribute community development block grant funds to units of general local government located in nonentitlement areas (Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui Counties); and (2) if Hawaii fails to make such election, the Secretary shall beginning in FY 2005 make grants to such units.
(Sec. 219) Directs the Secretary to issue a proposed rulemaking with respect to new requirements for the disposition of HUD-held multifamily housing projects, including dispositions made after a State or municipality has exercised its right of first refusal.
(Sec. 220) Amends the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 to permit the Housing Authority of Baltimore City to use certain rehabilitation funds for demolition and new construction purposes.
(Sec. 221) Makes certain funds for housing for the elderly and for supportive housing for persons with disabilities available for maintaining and disposing of HUD properties.
(Sec. 222) Directs the Secretary to conduct negotiated rulemaking with representatives from interested parties for purposes of any changes to the formula governing the Public Housing Operating Fund. Requires final rule issuance by July 1, 2004.
(Sec. 223) Requires HUD to submit its FY 2005 congressional budget justifications to the appropriations committees using the identical structure provided under this Act and in accordance with the direction included in the joint explanatory statement of the managers accompanying this Act.
Title III: Independent Agencies
- Makes FY 2004 appropriations for: (1) the American Battle Monuments Commission; (2) the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; (3) the Department of the Treasury, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund Program Account; (4) the Consumer Product Safety Commission; (5) the Corporation for National and Community Service; (6) the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; (7) the Department of Defense-Civil for cemeterial expenses, Army; (8) the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; (9) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; (10) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); (11) the Hazardous Substance Superfund, including transfers of funds; (12 ) the Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Office of Environmental Quality; (13) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General; (14) the General Services Administration, Federal Citizen Information Center Fund; (15) the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness; (16) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); (17) the National Credit Union Administration; (18) the National Science Foundation; (19) the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation; and (20) the Selective Service System.
Title IV: General Provisions
- Sets forth conditions and limitations on the obligation and expenditure of funds appropriated or made available under this Act.
(Sec. 410) Expresses the sense of Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act should be American-made.
(Sec. 411) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for any program, project, or activity, when it is made known to the Federal entity or official to which the funds are made available that the program, project, or activity is not in compliance with any Federal law relating to risk assessment, the protection of private property rights, or unfunded mandates.
(Sec. 414) Encourages all Departments and agencies funded under this Act, within the limits of existing statutory authorities and funding, to expand their use of "E-Commerce" technologies and procedures in the conduct of their business practices and public service activities.
(Sec. 417) Amends the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Act of 1958 with respect to FY 2004 appropriations to: (1) replace the "human space flight" category with a "space flight capabilities" category; and (2) provide for full cost accounting.
(Sec. 418) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to implement any policy prohibiting the Directors of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks from conducting outreach or marketing to enroll new veterans within their respective Networks.
(Sec. 419) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act to apply, in a numerical estimate of the benefits of an agency action prepared pursuant to Executive Order No. 12866 or section 312 of the Clean Air Act, monetary values for adult premature mortality that differ based on the age of the adult.
(Sec. 420) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) no veteran should wait more than 30 days for an initial doctor's appointment; and (2) human dosing studies of pesticides raises ethical and health questions.
(Sec. 422) Prohibits funds under this Act for NASA to be used for voluntary separation incentives that would result in the loss of skills related to the safety of the Space Shuttle or the International Space Station, or independent safety oversight.
(Sec. 423) Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to increase State reimbursements for community development block grant technical and administrative costs in nonentitlement areas.
(Sec. 424) Revises provisions respecting a certain National Academy of Sciences study.
(Sec. 425) Amends the Clean Air Act with respect to designations of areas for PM 2.5 and submission of implementation plans for regional haze to require: (1) the Governor of each State to submit designations for the July 1997 PM 2.5 national ambient air quality standards for each area within the State by February 15, 2004; (2) EPA to promulgate such designations by December 31, 2004; and (3) the State to submit required implementation plan revisions within three years of the EPA promulgation. States that such provisions shall not preclude implementation of regional haze agreements and recommendations stemming from the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission Report (June 1996), including the submission of State implementation plan revisions by Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, or Wyoming by December 31, 2003.
(Sec. 426) Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to treat the Pioneer Homes in Alaska (located in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan, Palmer, and Sitka) as a State veterans home.
(Sec. 427) Makes specified NASA funds available to the families of the astronauts who died on the Space Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003.
(Sec. 428) Sets forth provisions respecting EPA emissions regulation of non-road engines under 50 horsepower, with specified exceptions for California and other States.
Title V: Pesticide Products and Fees -
Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to revise registration and maintenance fee requirements for pesticides.
Modifies certain timing requirements concerning the submission of product-specific data and other regulatory action.
Increases and then decreases the maximum amount of maintenance fees payable by registrants, including small businesses, through FY 2008.
Extends the EPA authority to collect maintenance, but not tolerance, fees throughFY 2008. (Maintenance fees are assessed on already registered or reregistered pesticides; tolerance fees are assessed on pesticides used on food or animal feed which are subject to more stringent regulatory requirements.)
Directs the Administrator of EPA to assess and collect covered pesticide registration service fees for applications submitted from FY 2004 onward. (Registration fees would apply to new pesticide applications only.)
Sets forth the Administrator's responsibilities concerning the publication and revision of the schedule of registration service fees, including a mandatory increase by FY 2006.
Permits the waiver or reduction of these fees for minor uses or small businesses. Provides for partial fee refunds when an application is withdrawn or at the Administrator's discretion.
Establishes the Pesticide Registration Fund in the Treasury to collect registration fees. Limits the use of these funds to associated regulatory costs, except for limited earmarks for worker protection and the review of new inert ingredients.
Prohibits the assessment of registration fees in FY 2004 through 2006 if the amount appropriated for the Office of Pesticide Programs is less than the amount appropriated for that Office for FY 2002.
Provides for judicial review if the Administrator fails to make a determination on an application before the expiration of the applicable decision time review period.
Terminates the registration service fee after FY 2010, with a phase out occurring during the final two years.
Division H: Miscellaneous Appropriations and Offsets -
Miscellaneous Appropriations and Offsets Act, 2004 - Makes appropriations for FY 2004, including rescissions and transfers of funds.
(Sec. 101) Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to eliminate the limit on the amount of Commodity Credit Corporation funds the Secretary of Agriculture is required to use for the conservation security program for FY 2003 through 2013.
(Sec. 102) Rescinds specified funds for FY 2004 for "Emergency Preparedness and Response, Disaster Relief."
Appropriates additional funds in specified Federal law for: (1) Forest Service, Wildland Management for hazardous fuels reduction, hazard mitigation, and rehabilitation activities of the Forest service in southern California; (2) Forest Service, State and Private Forestry for hazard mitigation, fuels reduction, and forest health protection and mitigation activities on State and private lands in southern California; (3) the Department of Agriculture, Emergency Watershed Protection Program to carry out additional activities in response to the recent wildfires in southern California, including the provision of technical and financial assistance to respond to the tree mortality emergency in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego and San Bernardino Counties, California; (4) the tree assistance program in southern California; (5) the emergency conservation program in southern California; and (6) the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund for the livestock indemnity program in southern California.
Designates such funds as an emergency requirement pursuant to
H. Con. Res. 95
(108th Congress), the budget resolution for FY 2004.
(Sec. 103) Appropriates additional funds to remain available through FY 2005 for the Office of Justice Programs - State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance for discretionary grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Programs for reimbursement to State and local law enforcement entities for security and related costs, including overtime, associated with the 2004 Presidential Candidate Nominating Conventions.
(Sec. 104) Appropriates funds to establish and fund a bipartisan Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program.
Requires the Commission to recommend to the appropriate congressional committees and the President a program to greatly expand the opportunity for students at institutions of higher education in the United States to study abroad, with special emphasis on studying in developing nations. Requires the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Defense to develop such a program that assists a diverse group of students and meets the growing need of the United States to become more sensitive to the cultures of other countries.
(Sec. 105) Prohibits funds made available under this Act from being obligated or expended to implement any measures to reduce overfishing and promote rebuilding of fish stocks managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan other than such measures set out in a specified final NOAA rule.
(Sec. 106) Appropriates additional funds for the: (1) Supreme Court of the United States for care of the building and grounds; and (2) State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, for the University of Southern Mississippi Rural Law Enforcement Training Initiative, the Mississippi University for Women Institutional Security Program, and the City of Jackson, Mississippi, Public Safety Automated Technologies Program.
(Sec. 108) Requires the Secretary of Defense to make certain transfers of funds.
(Sec. 109) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997, effective immediately after the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, with respect to the medical care program for members of the armed forces and their dependents, to allow designated providers to market health care services to, and enroll, covered beneficiaries who do not have other primary health insurance coverage (other than Medicare coverage) covering basic primary care and inpatient and outpatient services.
(Sec. 110) Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 to require the Department of Defense (DOD) contracts entered into under the demonstration project for contractors employing persons with disabilities, and related subcontracts, to be credited toward the attainment of goals established under the Small Business Act regarding the extent of the participation of disadvantaged small business concerns in DOD contracts and subcontracts.
(Sec. 111) Provides that the prohibition against the use of appropriated funds in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2004 for certain cost studies exceeding 30 months duration shall not apply to a cost study of a multifunction activity for which DOD had solicited proposals as of the enactment of such Act.
(Sec. 112) Makes certain amounts available to DOD for the Defense Health Program for: (1) acquisition of Linear Accelerator Radiation Therapy equipment and associated operating software for Walter Reed Army Medical Center; and (2) the Defense and Veterans Head Injury Program.
(Sec. 113) Requires: (1) the Secretary of Defense to study and report to Congress by June 1, 2004, on issues related to the consolidation of the storage of mercury contained in the National Defense Stockpile; and (2) a decision to consolidate the storage of mercury to a site that currently does not store mercury contained in the National Defense Stockpile to occur no earlier than 180 days after the date of the report.
(Sec. 114) Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to transfer specified funds available in the Iraq Freedom Fund to carry out the classified project described in the classified annex accompanying Public Law 107-206 and acquire such interests in real property as he deems necessary to carry out such project.
(Sec. 115) Makes specified funds provided for the National Defense Sealift Fund for construction of additional sealift capacity available for the construction of a Port of Philadelphia marine cargo terminal for high-speed military sealift and other military purposes.
(Sec. 116) Provides that the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in St. Petersburg, Florida, shall, after the end of the service of C. W. Bill Young as a Member of Congress, be designated as the C. W. Bill Young Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
(Sec. 117) Requires the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to proceed with the construction of the False Pass, Alaska, project, in accordance with the Report of the Chief of Engineers, dated December 29, 2000.
(Sec. 118) Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to: (1) design the Central Riverfront Park project on the Ohio Riverfront in Cincinnati, Ohio; (2) use any remaining available funds from specified appropriations for the Hamlet City Lake, North Carolina, project to provide assistance in carrying out any authorized water-related infrastructure projects in Richmond County, North Carolina; and (3) snag and clear existing debris including trees in Deep River, near Lake Station, Indiana.
(Sec. 121) Amends the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2004 to increase funds to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in rural Nevada.
(Sec. 122) Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to: (1) use any funds remaining available from the Savannah Harbor Deepening Project, Savannah, Georgia, for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project; (2) proceed with the construction of the Columbia River Channel Improvements Oregon and Washington project in accordance with a specified Report of the Chief of Engineers; and (3) use previously appropriated funds to proceed with design of and initiate construction to complete the Stillwater, Minnesota, Levee and Flood Control project.
(Sec. 125) States that out of funds made available in the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2004, to the Western Area Power Administration, up to a certain amount collected by the Administration to recover purchase p ower and wheeling expenses shall be credited to the Construction, Rehabilitation, Operation and Maintenance, Western Area Power Administration account as offsetting collections.
(Sec. 126) States that out of funds provided for the development of the new molecular imaging probes in the statement of managers to accompany
H.R. 2754
, a certain amount shall be provided to the University of California, Los Angeles for the continued efforts for PET imaging, systems biology, and nanotechnology.
(Sec. 127) Prohibits the obligation of appropriations to pay, on behalf of the United States or any U.S. contractor or subcontractor, to post a bond or fulfill any other financial responsibility requirement relating to closure or post-closure care and monitoring of Sandia National Laboratories and properties held or managed by such Laboratories before implementation of closure or post-cloture monitoring.
Bars the State of New Mexico or any other entity from enforcing against the United States or any U.S. contractor or subcontractor a requirement to post bond or any other financial responsibility requirement relating to such closure or post-closure care and monitoring of such Laboratories in New Mexico and properties held or managed by them.
(Sec. 128) Prohibits until January 1, 2005, the Federal commission (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) with the authority to regulate the material designated as 11e.(2) byproduct material by the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2004 or by the Energy Policy Act of 2003 from allowing or otherwise permitting any facility to receive or dispose of such material if the facility is located in a State that has an application pending under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to regulate such material.
(11e.(2) byproduct material is defined by the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2004 as the material in the concrete silos at the Fernald uranium processing facility currently managed by the Department of Energy and the ore processing residual materials in the Niagara Falls Storage Site subsurface waste containment structure managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program. Regulation of such byproduct material is vested in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or an Agreement State, as appropriate, for the purpose of disposition of the material in an NRC-regulated or Agreement State-regulated facility.)
(Sec. 129) Revises the conference report on
H.R. 6
(the Energy Policy Act) to change the Universities of Mississippi and of Oklahoma to Mississippi State University and Oklahoma State University as the Centers for Biomass-Based Energy for which certain appropriations are authorized for a resource center to further develop bioconversion technology using low-cost biomass for the production of ethanol for FY 2004 through 2006.
(Sec. 130) Appropriates additional funds for the Department of Energy for: (1) the Coralville, Iowa, project, which is to utilize alternative renewable energy sources; (2) Biological Sciences at DePaul University; (3) the Cedars-Sinai Gene Therapy Research Program; (4) the Hartford Hospital Interventional Electrophysiology Project; (5) the Energy Center of Wisconsin Renewable Fuels Project; (6) the Wind Energy Transmission Study; (7) the White Pine County, Nevada, Public School System biomass conversion heating project; (8) the Lead Animal Shelter Animal Campus renewable energy demonstration project; (9) establishment of a Hawaii Hydrogen Center for Development and Deployment of Distributed Energy Systems; and (10) the Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition for biomass restoration and science-based restoration.
(Sec. 133) Provides an additional amount to remain available until expended for: (1) the Construction, General account of the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2004; and (2) the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
(Sec. 135) Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to extend from December 31, 2003, through December 31, 2004, the President's discretionary program to provide certain technical and financial assistance to States and local governments to assist in the implementation of predisaster hazard mitigation measures.
(Sec. 136) Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend the National Flood Insurance Program from December 31, 2003, through June 30, 2004.
(Sec. 137) Amends the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 to deem that a fishing agreement between the owner, charterer, or managing operator (or a representative) of a fishing vessel and each seaman employed on it that complies with specified requirements of such Act is in compliance with such requirements as they existed before November 25, 2002. Repeals the condition that such a fishing agreement not have been subject to an action before June 20, 2002, alleging a breach of such requirements (thereby deeming such an agreement to be in compliance even if it were subject to such an action).
(Sec. 139) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 to provide that acquisition of additional land to be included in the Congaree Swamp National Park shall not affect the classification of the Park under the Clean Air Act.
Amends the Expansion and Wilderness Act to rename the Congaree Swamp National Monument Wilderness as the Congaree National Park Wilderness.
(Sec. 140) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 regarding the use of funds for Federal land acquisition by the National Park Service for Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, the New Jersey Pinelands Preserve, and the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Allows the use of such funds for a grant to any land management entity (currently, only to a governmental land management entity) for the acquisition of lands without regard to any restriction on the use of funds provided through the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965.
(Sec. 141) Amends the Delaware and Lehigh Navigation Canal National Heritage Corridor Act of 1988 to extend the Delaware and Lehigh Navigation Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission through November 18, 2007.
(Sec. 143) Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004 to reallocate funds under the heading "Indian Health Service, Indian Health Services" for the Alaska Federation of Natives sobriety and wellness program for competitive merit-based grants. Reallocates such funds for use by RuralCap for alcohol treatment and related transitional housing for homeless chronic inebriates in Anchorage, Alaska.
(Sec. 144) Amends such Act with respect to: (1) across-the-board rescissions to provide that such requirements shall not apply to amounts in such Act designated as emergency requirements by
H. Con. Res. 95
(108th Congress) budget resolution for FY 2004 (and so exempt from enforcement of such resolution with respect to the resulting new budget authority, outlays, and receipts); and (2) appropriations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Land and Water Claim Settlements and Miscellaneous Payments to Indians, to apply such across-the-board rescission, and any subsequent one for FY 2004, only to the first dollar amount in the paragraph. Makes the distribution of the latter rescission at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, who shall report on it and the rationale for it to the congressional appropriations committees.
(Sec. 145) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge consisting of certain acres of land that: (1) as of the enactment of this Act is owned by the United States; (2) was formerly in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's inventory; and (3) is located in Leflore, Holmes, Humphreys, Sharkey, Warren, and Washington counties, Mississippi.
Requires the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to design and construct a multiagency wildlife and environmental interpretive and education center at a location in the South Delta area of Mississippi to be determined by the Secretary's site selection and feasibility study.
Designates: (1) the Bogue Phalia Unit of the Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge as the Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge; and (2) the Central Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge Complex as the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
Authorizes appropriations. Earmarks appropriations for the center.
(Sec. 146) Authorizes appropriations for purposes of the authority of the Secretary of Energy under the Energy Policy Act of 2003 (EPA) to enter into agreements with one or more holders of a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under such Act or the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act of 1976 to issue Federal guarantee instruments with respect to loans and other debt obligations for a qualified infrastructure project. Amends EPA, upon its becoming law, to: (1) allow the Secretary of Energy to enter into agreements with an entity the Secretary determines is qualified to construct and operate a liquefied natural gas project to transport liquefied natural gas from Southcentral Alaska to West Coast States; and (2) modify the conditions under which the Secretary may issue a Federal guarantee instrument for such project to require the Secretary to certify that there exists a qualified entity to perform such construction and operation. Limits the loan guarantees to one qualified project.
Provides that the total amount of principal that may be guaranteed for such project may not exceed a principal amount in which the cost of loan guarantees exceeds $2 billion.
Redefines qualified infrastructure project to include liquification plants and liquified natural gas tankers for transportation of liquefied natural gas from Southcentral Alaska to the West Coast.
(Sec. 147) Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to define "immediate family member" as a person related to a deceased employee that was a member of the employee's household at the time of death.
Provides that if an employee appointed under the local hire program established by such Act dies in the performance of any assigned duties on or after October 1, 2002, the Secretary of the Interior may pay or reimburse reasonable expenses, regardless of when those expenses are incurred, for: (1) the preparation and transportation of the employee's remains to a location in Alaska selected by the surviving head of household; or (2) transporting immediate family members and their baggage and household goods to a community in Alaska selected by the surviving head of household.
(Sec. 148) Makes appropriations for the establishment of the Office of Native Hawaiian Relations within the Office of the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) effectuate and implement the special legal relationship between the Native Hawaiian people and the United States; (2) continue the process of reconciliation with them; and (3) fully integrate the principle and practice of meaningful, regular, and appropriate consultation with the Native Hawaiian people by assuring timely notification of and prior consultation with them before any Federal agency takes any actions that may have the potential to significantly affect Native Hawaiian resources, rights, or lands.
(Sec. 149) Amends Federal law to authorize, commencing during FY 2011 and under other specified conditions, the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation to lease (for an initial 25-year term with an option for an additional 25-year term) to the Northern Border Pipeline Company tribally-owned land on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation for one or more interstate gas pipelines.
(Sec. 150) Fern Lake Conservation and Recreation Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to acquire for addition to the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park specified lands which contain Fern Lake and its surrounding watershed located in Bell County, Kentucky, and Claiborne County, Tennessee.
Requires the Secretary, upon making such acquisition, to convey the Lake, along with the dam and appurtenances associated with the withdrawal and delivery of water from the Lake, to the City of Middlesboro, Kentucky.
(Sec. 151) Vests authority and responsibility in the Attending Physician to Congress for overseeing and coordinating the use of medical assets in response to a bioterrorism event and other medical contingencies or public health emergencies occurring within the Capitol Buildings or the U.S. Capitol Grounds, including the authority to enact quarantine and to declare death. Requires such actions to be carried out in close cooperation and communication with the Commissioner of Public Health, Chief Medical Examiner, and other Public Health Officials of the District of Columbia government.
(Sec. 152) Authorizes the Architect of the Capitol to enter into an agreement to acquire by lease any portion of the real property located at 499 South Capitol Street Southwest in the District for the use of the U.S. Capitol Police.
(Sec. 153) Provides for up to 12 Senators to be appointed to meet annually with representatives of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China for discussion of common problems in the interest of relations between the United States and China. Refers to the appointed Senators as the "United States group" of the United States Senate-China Interparliamentary Group.
Authorizes appropriations for: (1) each fiscal year to assist in meeting the expenses of the United States group; and (2) FY 2004 to assist in meeting the official expenses of the United States Senate-China Interparliamentary Group, including conference room, hospitality, and food and food-related expenses.
Makes appropriations for FY 2004 for the United States Senate-China Interparliamentary Group.
(Sec. 154) Provides for up to 12 Senators to be appointed to meet annually with representatives of the Federation Council of Russia for discussion of common problems in the interest of relations between the United States and Russia. Refers to the appointed Senators as the "United States group" of the United States Senate-Russia Interparliamentary Group.
Authorizes appropriations for: (1) each fiscal year to assist in meeting the expenses of the United States group; and (2) FY 2004 to assist in meeting the official expenses of the United States Senate-Russia Interparliamentary Group, including conference room, hospitality, and food and food-related expenses.
Makes appropriations for FY 2004 for the United States Senate-Russia Interparliamentary Group.
(Sec. 155) Authorizes for each fiscal year to be expended from the Senate contingent fund a limited amount for the Chaplain of the Senate, under specified conditions.
Repeals authority under the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996 for the Office of the Chaplain Revolving Fund. Remits any remaining amounts in such Fund to the general fund of the Treasury.
(Sec. 156) Establishes in the House of Representatives the House of Representatives Revolving Fund.
(Sec. 157) Requires the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to recompute the liability for monthly benefits guaranteed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) which are payable (without regard to this section) with respect to each participant and beneficiary under the Republic Steel Retirement Plan in connection with its termination on September 30, 1986.
Requires the Corporation, in recomputing such liability and by December 31, 2003, to increase it by: (1) the amount of the liability for nonguaranteed benefits under the LTV Steel Supplemental Pension Plan, as in effect with respect to such participant or beneficiary on January 1, 2001; and (2) the amount of the liability for nonguaranteed benefits payable through the trust established in connection with the Republic Steel Plan under ERISA as in effect to such individual on that date. Specifies certain benefits to be disregarded in making the recalculations.
(Sec. 158) Appropriates funds to the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund for certain family housing initiatives, under certain conditions. Rescinds specified funds available in the Foreign Currency Fluctuations, Construction, Defense account.
(Sec. 159) Appropriates an additional amount to carry out the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Limits the allocation to any territory to no more than one/tenth of one percent of funds available for requirements payments to States under the Act.
(Sec. 160) Designates the U.S. courthouse located at 333 Lomas Blvd. N.W. in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the Pete V. Domenici United States Courthouse.
(Sec. 161) Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to consult with Alaska Native corporations on the same basis as Indian tribes under Executive Order No. 13175.
(Sec. 162) Earmarks specified FY 2004 Highway Trust Fund amounts for: (1) reconstruction of the Treasure Island Bridge in Treasure Island, Florida; and (2) necessary road improvements and design of a plaza at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
(Sec. 163) Amends the Japanese Imperial Government Disclosure Act of 2000 to extend the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial Government Records Interagency Working Group from December 27, 2003, through December 27, 2004.
(Sec. 164) Requires allocation of the funds made available for Alaska Natives for Native American Housing Block Grants in title II of Division G of this Act to the same Native Alaskan Indian housing block grant recipients that received the funds in FY 2003.
(Sec. 165) Appropriates additional funds for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Community Development Fund to remain available until expended for a grant to the Anchorage Museum in Anchorage, Alaska, for facilities construction.
(Sec. 166) Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to use Federal leasing authority to lease military family housing in the National Capital Region to key and essential personnel for continuity of government purposes.
(Sec. 167) Appropriates additional funds for FY 2004 for specified purposes to the Departments of Energy, of Transportation, of Veterans Affairs, of Education, of Housing and Urban Development, of Labor, and of Health and Human Services, as well as the Small Business Administration, the President (for Bilateral Economic Assistance, Independent States of the Former Soviet Union), the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
(Sec. 168) Rescinds specified funds from unobligated balances of amounts made available in Public Law 107-38, Public Law 107-117, and in appropriations Acts for the DOD. Requires the OMB Director to determine the amounts to be rescinded from each account to be reduced, and so notify the congressional appropriations committees. Exempts from such rescission any amounts appropriated or otherwise made available in Public Law 107-38 for certain disaster recovery activities and assistance related to the terrorist acts in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.
Rescinds across-the-board an amount equal to 0.59 percent of: (1) the budget authority provided (or obligation limitation imposed) for FY 2004 for any discretionary account in Divisions A through H of this Act and in any other FY 2004 appropriations Act (except any FY 2004 supplemental appropriations Act, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2004, or the Military Construction Appropriations Act, 2004); (2) the budget authority provided in any advance appropriation for FY 2004 for any discretionary account in any prior fiscal year appropriation Act; and (3) the contract authority provided in FY 2004 for any program subject to limitation contained in any division or appropriations Act subject to such budget authority.
Provides that such rescission shall be applied proportionately, according to certain specifications.
Requires the OMB Director to report to the congressional appropriations committees on the account and amount of each such rescission.
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Bill titles: Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and for other purposes.; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004; DC School Choice Incentive Act of 2003; Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004; Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2004; Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 2004; Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2004; Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2004; Department of State and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2004; Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004; Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004; Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004; District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2004; Fern Lake Conservation and Recreation Act; Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2004; HELP Commission Act; Judiciary Appropriations Act, 2004; Millennium Challenge Act of 2003; Miscellaneous Appropriations and Offsets Act, 2004; Oklahoma City National Memorial Act Amendments of 2003; Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003; Sun Grant Research Initiative Act of 2003; Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004
Links for more info on the vote: congress.gov
