datamatters24/research-document-archive huggingface dataset:
I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4946
To provide for the orderly termination of the United States Court of Federal 
Claims, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 22, 2004
Mr. HEFLEY (for himself, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. UDALL of Colo-
rado, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. GOODE, and Mr. TANCREDO) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary 
A BILL 
To provide for the orderly termination of the United States 
Court of Federal Claims, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Court 
of Federal Claims Termination Act of 2004’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that—
(1) a fair and efficient Federal judiciary is a 
bedrock of the Nation’s democracy;
(2) at a time of rising deficits and shrinking 
budgets, it is imperative that Federal judiciary re-
sources be used wisely; 
(3) the United States Court of Federal Claims 
operates inefficiently; 
(4) in calendar year 2002, on average, judges 
of the Court of Federal Claims conducted only 1.5 
trials and spent less than 66 hours in a courtroom; 
(5) between calendar years 1997 and 2001, on 
average, Court of Federal Claims judges had 45 
cases on their docket each year; 
(6) by contrast, during the same period, Fed-
eral district court judges had 478 cases on their 
dockets each year; 
(7) a comprehensive study by a respected legal 
scholar concluded that the caseload of the Court of 
Federal Claims could be handled more efficiently by 
Federal district courts; 
(8) transferring the caseload of the Court of 
Federal Claims to the Federal district courts would 
add less than 1 case each year to each Federal dis-
trict judgeship; 
(9) there is no evidence that Federal district 
courts are incapable of handling the caseload of the 
Court of Federal Claims;
(2) The environmental dangers associated with 
off-shore drilling in the Great Lakes for oil and gas 
outweigh the potential benefits of such drilling. 
(3) In accordance with the Submerged Lands 
Act (43 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.), each State that bor-
ders any of the Great Lakes has authority over the 
area between that State’s coastline and the bound-
ary of Canada or another State. 
(4) The States of Illinois, Michigan, New York, 
Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin each have a statutory 
prohibition of off-shore drilling in the Great Lakes 
for oil and gas. 
(5) The States of Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio 
do not have such a prohibition. 
(6) The Canadian Province of Ontario does not 
have such a prohibition, and drilling for and produc-
tion of gas occurs in the Canadian portion of Lake 
Erie. 
(b) ENCOURAGEMENT OF STATE AND PROVINCIAL 
PROHIBITIONS.—Congress encourages—
(1) the States of Illinois, Michigan, New York, 
Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to continue to prohibit 
off-shore drilling in the Great Lakes for oil and gas;
drawer, the payee, the depositor, and any endorser, up to 
the amount described in subsections (b) and (c), as appli-
cable, to the extent of any loss incurred by any recipient 
of a substitute check if that loss occurred due to the re-
ceipt of a substitute check instead of the original check. 
(b) INDEMNITY AMOUNT.—
(1) AMOUNT IN EVENT OF BREACH OF WAR-
RANTY.—The amount of the indemnity under sub-
section (a) shall be the amount of any loss (includ-
ing costs and reasonable attorney’s fees and other 
expenses of representation) proximately caused by a 
breach of a warranty provided under section 4. 
(2) AMOUNT IN ABSENCE OF BREACH OF WAR-
RANTY.—In the absence of a breach of a warranty 
provided under section 4, the amount of the indem-
nity under subsection (a) shall be the sum of—
(A) the amount of any loss, up to the 
amount of the substitute check; and 
(B) interest and expenses (including costs 
and reasonable attorney’s fees and other ex-
penses of representation). 
(c) COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE.—If a loss described 
in subsection (a) results in whole or in part from the neg-
ligence or failure to act in good faith on the part of an 
indemnified party, then that party’s indemnification under
(i) the Treasury of the United States; 
(ii) the United States Postal Service; 
(iii) a State government; or 
(iv) a unit of general local government 
(as defined in section 602(24) of the Expe-
dited Funds Availability Act). 
(3) BANKING TERMS.—
(A) CLAIMANT BANK.—The term ‘‘claim-
ant bank’’ means a bank that submits a claim 
for recredit under section 7 to an indemnifying 
bank. 
(B) COLLECTING BANK.—The term ‘‘col-
lecting bank’’ means any bank handling a check 
for collection except the paying bank. 
(C) DEPOSITARY
BANK.—The term ‘‘de-
positary bank’’ means—
(i) the first bank to which a check is 
transferred, even if such bank is also the 
paying bank or the payee; or 
(ii) a bank to which a check is trans-
ferred for deposit in an account at such 
bank, even if the check is physically re-
ceived and indorsed first by another bank. 
(D) PAYING
BANK.—The term ‘‘paying 
bank’’ means—
fication, recall such article, or provide notice to con-
sumers, as applicable, within the time and in the 
manner prescribed by the Secretary, the Secretary 
shall, by order, require, as the Secretary deems nec-
essary, such person to—
‘‘(A) immediately cease distribution of 
such article; 
‘‘(B) immediately notify all persons—
‘‘(i) producing, manufacturing, pack-
ing, processing, preparing, treating, pack-
aging, distributing, or holding such article; 
or 
‘‘(ii) to which such article has been 
distributed, transported, or sold, to imme-
diately cease distribution of such article; or 
‘‘(C) immediately take the actions specified 
in both subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
‘‘(3) NOTIFICATION
OF
CONSUMERS
BY
SEC-
RETARY.—The Secretary shall, as the Secretary 
deems necessary, provide notice to consumers to 
whom such article was, or may have been, distrib-
uted. 
‘‘(c) HEARING ON ORDER.—The Secretary shall pro-
vide any person subject to an order under subsection (b) 
with an opportunity for a hearing, to be held as soon as
possible but not later than 2 days after the issuance of 
the order, on the actions required by the order and on 
why the article that is the subject of the order should not 
be recalled. 
‘‘(d) POST-HEARING RECALL ORDER.—
‘‘(1) AMENDMENT OF ORDER.—If, after pro-
viding opportunity for a hearing under subsection 
(c), the Secretary determines that there is a reason-
able probability that the article that is the subject 
of an order under subsection (b), if consumed, pre-
sents a threat to public health, the Secretary, as the 
Secretary deems necessary, may—
‘‘(A) amend the order to require recall of 
such article or other appropriate action; 
‘‘(B) specify a timetable in which the recall 
shall occur; 
‘‘(C) require periodic reports to the Sec-
retary describing the progress of the recall; and 
‘‘(D) provide notice to consumers to whom 
such article was, or may have been, distributed. 
‘‘(2) VACATION OF ORDER.—If, after such a 
hearing, the Secretary determines that adequate 
grounds do not exist to continue the actions required 
by the order, the Secretary shall vacate the order.
SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO AFGHANISTAN. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not less 
than 15 percent of the aggregate amount of economic and 
humanitarian assistance authorized to be made available 
to Afghanistan for each of the fiscal years 2003, 2004, 
and 2005 shall be made available for assistance directly 
to Afghan-led local nongovernmental organizations, in-
cluding Afghan women-led organizations, with dem-
onstrated experience in delivering services to Afghan 
women and children to support their programmatic activi-
ties and organizational development. In recognition of the 
appreciating capacity of Afghan-led local nongovernmental 
organizations, including Afghan women-led organizations, 
an appropriate percentage of the aggregate amount of eco-
nomic and humanitarian assistance authorized to be made 
available to Afghanistan for fiscal year 2006 and each sub-
sequent fiscal year shall be made available for assistance 
directly to Afghan-led local nongovernmental organiza-
tions, including Afghan women-led organizations. 
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO UNITED STATES AC-
TIVITIES IN AFGHANISTAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Activities described in subsections 
(b) through (e) that are carried out by the United States 
in Afghanistan shall comply with the applicable require-
ments contained in such subsections.
I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1475
To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
1968 to include private firefighters and rescue squad and ambulance 
crew members for certain benefits. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 27, 2003
Mr. HAYWORTH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 to include private firefighters and 
rescue squad and ambulance crew members for certain 
benefits.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Private Firefighter, 
Ambulance Crew, and Immediate Responder Fairness Act 
of 2003’’.
SEC. 2. BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN PRIVATE SAFETY OFFI-
CERS. 
Paragraph (7) of section 1204 of title I of the Omni-
bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3796b(7)) is amended—
(1) by striking the period and inserting ‘‘and ;’’ 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) any firefighter, rescue squad or am-
bulance crew member who is performing official 
duties for a private company or organization 
that has a contractual agreement or mutual aid 
agreement with a public agency to provide fire 
suppression, rescue, or ambulance services for 
such agency.’’.
Æ
is amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting after 
subsection (c) the following: 
‘‘(d) WORKS OF ARTISTIC PROPERTY CREATED BY 
THE DECEDENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the executor makes the 
election described in paragraph (4), there shall be 
excluded from the gross estate the value of each 
qualified work of artistic property held by the dece-
dent at the time of his death if, by his personal ef-
forts, the decedent created such qualified work of ar-
tistic property. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply unless the decedent held at the time of his 
death not less than 50 of such qualified works of ar-
tistic property. 
‘‘(3) QUALIFIED
WORK
OF
ARTISTIC
PROP-
ERTY.—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term 
‘qualified work of artistic property’ means a—
‘‘(A) painting, 
‘‘(B) drawing, 
‘‘(C) sculpture, 
‘‘(D) sculpture that is in multiple cast, 
carved, or fabricated of 200 or fewer that are 
consecutively numbered by the decedent and
I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1476
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national cemetery 
for veterans in the Colorado Springs, Colorado, metropolitan area. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 27, 2003
Mr. HEFLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 
and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 
national cemetery for veterans in the Colorado Springs, 
Colorado, metropolitan area.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. ESTABLISHMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall establish, in accordance with chapter 24 of title 38, 
United States Code, a national cemetery in the Colorado 
Springs, Colorado, metropolitan area to serve the needs 
of veterans and their families.
(b) CONSULTATION IN SELECTION OF SITE.—Before 
selecting the site for the national cemetery established 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with—
(1) appropriate officials of the State of Colo-
rado and local officials of the Colorado Springs met-
ropolitan area, and 
(2) appropriate officials of the United States, 
including the Administrator of General Services, 
with respect to land belonging to the United States 
in that area that would be suitable to establish the 
national cemetery under subsection (a). 
(c) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT DONATION OF PARCEL 
OF LAND.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs may accept on behalf of the United States 
the gift of an appropriate parcel of real property. 
The Secretary shall have administrative jurisdiction 
over such parcel of real property, and shall use such 
parcel to establish the national cemetery under sub-
section (a). 
(2) INCOME TAX TREATMENT OF GIFT.—For 
purposes of Federal income, estate, and gift taxes, 
the real property accepted under paragraph (1) shall 
be considered as a gift to the United States.
(d) REPORT.—As soon as practicable after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to Congress a report on the establishment of the national 
cemetery under subsection (a). The report shall set forth 
a schedule for such establishment and an estimate of the 
costs associated with such establishment.
Æ
‘‘(2) PAYMENT OF TAX.—If—
‘‘(A) the return of an S corporation shows 
that no tax is required to be paid on an amount 
of recognized built-in gain for any taxable year 
by reason of paragraph (1) because the S cor-
poration anticipates making qualified expendi-
tures during the succeeding taxable year, and 
‘‘(B) as of the close of such succeeding 
taxable year, tax is required to be paid on such 
amount because of the failure to make such ex-
penditures, 
then the tax imposed by this chapter for the first 
taxable year of the nonrecognition period shall be in-
creased by 10 percent of the increase in tax (deter-
mined without regard to this paragraph) for such 
year by reason of the failure to make such expendi-
tures. 
‘‘(3) QUALIFIED
EXPENDITURES.—For pur-
poses of this subsection, the term ‘qualified expendi-
tures’ means—
‘‘(A) amounts chargeable to capital ac-
count for property used in a trade or business 
of the S corporation, 
‘‘(B) payments of principal and interest on 
pre-effective date debt of the S corporation, and
in clauses (i) and (ii), by inserting ‘‘and in the case 
of qualified acupuncturist services furnished at any 
time’’ after ‘‘1999,’’ each place it appears. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section apply to services furnished on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2004. 
SEC. 3. COVERAGE OF ACUPUNCTURIST SERVICES UNDER 
FEDERAL 
EMPLOYEES 
HEALTH 
BENEFIT 
PLANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8902(k)(1) of title 5, 
United 
States 
Code, 
is 
amended 
by 
inserting 
‘‘acupuncturist,’’ after ‘‘nurse midwife,’’ each place it ap-
pears. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) applies with respect to services provided 
after December 31, 2003.
Æ
I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1478
To provide that private land use rules be treated as State or local regulation 
for purposes of certain Federal Communications Commission regulations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 27, 2003
Mr. ISRAEL (for himself, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. ROSS, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. 
BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. BERRY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mrs. MCCARTHY of 
New York, Mr. MOORE, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mrs. JO ANN 
DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. MCNULTY, and Mr. HALL) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide that private land use rules be treated as State 
or local regulation for purposes of certain Federal Com-
munications Commission regulations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Amateur Radio Emer-
gency Communications Consistency Act’’.
SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF PRIVATE LAND USE RULES AS 
LOCAL REGULATION. 
For purposes of the Federal Communications Com-
mission’s regulation relating to station antenna structures 
in the amateur radio services (47 CFR 97.15), any private 
land use rules applicable to such structures shall be treat-
ed as a State or local regulation and shall be subject to 
the same requirements and limitations as a State or local 
regulation.
Æ
I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1479
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the use of completed 
contract method of accounting in the case of certain long-term naval 
vessel construction contracts. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 27, 2003
Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. 
TAYLOR of Mississippi, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow the 
use of completed contract method of accounting in the 
case of certain long-term naval vessel construction con-
tracts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. MODIFICATION OF ACCOUNTING RULES FOR 
CERTAIN NAVAL LONG-TERM CONSTRUCTION 
CONTRACTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 460(e)(1) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to exception for certain 
construction contracts) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at the
end of subparagraph (A), by striking the period at the 
end of subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘, or’’, and by in-
serting after subparagraph (B) the following new subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(C) a qualified naval construction con-
tract for which an election is made under para-
graph (7).’’. 
(b) QUALIFIED NAVAL CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT.—
Section 460(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(7) QUALIFIED
NAVAL
CONSTRUCTION
CON-
TRACT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A taxpayer who owns 
and operates a shipyard may elect to use the 
completed contract method of accounting with 
respect to any qualified naval construction con-
tract for the building, construction, reconstruc-
tion, or rehabilitation of a naval vessel at such 
shipyard. 
‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—
‘‘(i) QUALIFIED
NAVAL
CONSTRUC-
TION
CONTRACT.—For purposes of this 
subsection, the term ‘qualified naval con-
struction contract’ means a contract—
bear the signature or other existing mark of the 
decedent, 
‘‘(E) monoprint or monotype that is a 
unique print or a print pulled in an edition of 
1: a single impression, 
‘‘(F) print that is in a limited edition of 
not more than 200 copies that are signed and 
consecutively numbered by the decedent, or 
‘‘(G) a still photographic image produced 
for exhibition purposes only, existing in a single 
copy that is signed by the decedent, or in a lim-
ited edition of 200 copies or fewer that are 
signed and consecutively numbered by the dece-
dent. 
‘‘(4) ELECTION.—The election under this sub-
section shall be made on or before the due date (in-
cluding extensions) for filing the return of tax im-
posed by section 2001 and shall be made on such re-
turn. 
‘‘(e) CROSS REFERENCES.—
‘‘(1) For executor’s right to be furnished on re-
quest a statement regarding any valuation made by 
the Secretary within the gross estate, see section 
7517. 
‘‘(2) For income in respect of a decedent in the 
case of works of art of the decedent who created 
such property, see section 691.’’.
(b) INCOME
IN RESPECT
OF DECEDENTS.—Sub-
section (a) of section 691 of such Code (relating to inclu-
‘‘(I) entered into by the taxpayer 
with the Federal Government for the 
building, construction, reconstruction, 
or rehabilitation of a naval vessel, and 
‘‘(II) which the taxpayer esti-
mates (at the time such contract is 
entered into) will be completed more 
than 24 months after the contract 
commencement date of such contract. 
‘‘(ii) NAVAL
VESSEL.—For purposes 
of clause (i), the term ‘naval vessel’ means 
any vessel intended to be navigated in, on, 
or under the water. 
‘‘(iii) COMPLETED.—For purposes of 
this paragraph, the term ‘completed’ 
means upon issuance of a letter of accept-
ance or similar document by the Federal 
Government. 
‘‘(iv) ENTERING
CONTRACTS.—For 
purposes of clause (i), a taxpayer shall be 
treated as entering into a contract with the 
Federal Government if the taxpayer is 
specified in the bid for such contract as 
being a member of a team (for purposes of 
performing the work under such contract)
that includes the person who entered into 
such contract. 
‘‘(C) EFFECT OF ELECTION.—An election 
under this paragraph shall apply to all con-
tracts of the taxpayer which are entered into 
during the taxable year in which the election is 
made or any subsequent taxable year. 
‘‘(D) SEPARATE
CONTRACT.—For pur-
poses of applying this paragraph, in the case of 
a qualified naval construction contract which 
covers more than 1 vessel, each vessel covered 
by the contract shall be treated as a separate 
contract for the purpose of applying the com-
pleted contract method, and the gross contract 
price and the total contract costs shall be allo-
cated to each separate vessel contract in accord-
ance with regulations prescribed by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(E) EARNINGS
AND
PROFITS.—Section 
312(n)(6) shall not apply to a taxpayer which 
has made an election under this paragraph with 
respect to a qualified naval construction con-
tract.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to naval vessels for
which a letter of acceptance or similar document is issued 
by the Federal Government after December 31, 2003.
Æ
I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 147
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from the gross 
estate the value of certain works of artistic property created by the decedent. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 7, 2003
Mr. NADLER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude 
from the gross estate the value of certain works of artis-
tic property created by the decedent.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Artists’ Estate Tax 
Fairness Act’’. 
SEC. 2. EXCLUSION FROM GROSS ESTATE OF VALUE OF 
CERTAIN WORKS OF ARTISTIC PROPERTY 
CREATED BY DECEDENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2031 of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 (relating to definition of gross estate)
sion in gross income of recipients of income in respect of 
decedents) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(6) CERTAIN
WORKS
OF
ARTISTIC
PROP-
ERTY.—For purposes of paragraphs (1), (2), and 
(3), a work of artistic property whose value was ex-
cluded from the gross estate of a decedent under 
section 2031(d) shall be treated as a right to receive 
an item of income in respect of a decedent.’’. 
(c) CARRYOVER BASIS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 
1014 of such Code (relating to general rule for basis 
of property acquired from a decedent) is amended by 
striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph (3), by strik-
ing the period at the end of paragraph (4) and in-
serting ‘‘, or’’, and by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) in the case of a work of artistic property 
treated as a right to receive an item of income in re-
spect of the decedent under section 691(a)(6), the 
basis in the hands of the decedent.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (c) 
of section 1014 of such Code (relating to property 
representing income in respect of a decedent) is
amended by striking ‘‘This’’ and inserting ‘‘Except 
as provided by subsection (a)(5), this.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to decedents dying after the date 
of the enactment of this Act.
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