Balancing Act of 2004

Bill: 108-hr-3780
Sponsor: Rep. Woolsey, Lynn C. [D-CA-6]
Introduced: 2004-02-04 in the House
Policy area: Families
Subjects: Access to health care
Accreditation (Education)
Administrative procedure
Adoption
Agriculture and Food
Auditing
Authorization
Block grants
Building construction
Caregivers
Child care workers
Child development
Child health
Child nutrition
Class size
Commerce
Community and school
Community development
Community organization
Compensatory education
Competition
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Construction industries
Construction workers
Continuing education
Contractors
Curricula
Day care
Department of Agriculture
Department of Health and Human Services
Diet
Disability insurance
Disabled
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Educational accountability
Educational planning
Elementary and secondary education
Elementary education
Employee benefit plans
Employee health benefits
Employee training
Energy
Energy conservation
Equipment and supplies
Evaluation research (Social action programs)
Exercise
Family day care
Family leave
Federal aid to Indians
Federal aid to child health services
Federal aid to education
Federal employees
Federally-guaranteed loans
Finance and Financial Sector
Fire prevention
Food service
Fruit
Geriatrics
Government Operations and Politics
Government contractors
Government employees' health insurance
Government lending
Government ownership
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Governmental investigations
Grandparents
Grants-in-aid
Health
Health insurance
Higher education
Housing and Community Development
Indian children
Infants
Infrastructure
Insurance premiums
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Labor and Employment
Law
Maintenance and repair
Medicaid
Medical economics
Medically uninsured
Minimum wages
Minorities
Mortgage banks
Mortgage guaranty insurance
Mortgages
Mothers
Native Americans
Nonprofit organizations
Obesity
Parent-school relationships
Parents
Part-time employment
Pension funds
Poor children
Pregnant women
Preschool education
Revolving funds
Safety appliances
Salaries
Scholarships
School lunch program
School-age child care
Secondary education
Secondary mortgage market
Sick leave
Social Welfare
Solar energy
Sports and Recreation
Stocks
Student activities
Teacher education
Teacher salaries
Teacher supply and demand
Teaching materials
Telecommuting
Temporary employment
Transportation and Public Works
Unemployment insurance
Vegetables
Wages
Women
Youth services

Summary:
action_date: 2004-02-04
text: 
Family and Workplace Balancing Act of 2004 - Balancing Act of 2004 - Provides assistance for working families through: (1) family and medical care leave; (2) expanded child care for young children and incentives for child care providers; (3) preschool, in-school, and afterschool nutrition and education; (4) temporary and part-time workers pension and health plan benefits; and (5) encouragement of business use of employee telecommuting. 
 
Family Income to Respond to Significant Transitions Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make five-year grants to a State or local government to pay for the Federal share of the cost of carrying out projects that assist families by providing wage replacement for eligible individuals responding to caregiving needs resulting from the birth or adoption of a son or daughter or other family caregiving needs.
 
Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2003 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to allow employees covered by FMLA to take up to four hours during any 30-day period, and up to 24 hours during any 12-month period, of parental involvement leave to participate in or attend their children's or grandchildren's educational and extracurricular activities. Amends Federal civil service law to apply the same parental involvement leave allowance to Federal employees.
 
Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize additional funds for expanding child care activities for young children less than three years of age.
 
Establishes: (1) the Child Care Provider Development and Retention Grant Program; and (2) the Child Care Provider Scholarship Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allot funds to eligible States (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) for distribution directly, or at State option through local governments, to pay the Federal share of the cost of making grants to eligible child care providers under both such programs. 
 
Healthy Early Education Workforce Grant Program Act - Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to allot funds to eligible States (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) to pay for the Federal share of the cost of providing access to affordable health benefits coverage for: (1) eligible child care providers; and (2) at State option, the spouses, domestic partners, and dependents of such providers. Directs the Secretary to conduct an evaluation of several such funded State programs representing various approaches to increasing the rate of coverage for child care providers. 
 
Child Care Construction and Renovation Incentive Grants Act - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to provide for use of community development block grants to establish child care facilities. Amends the National Housing Act to provide for insurance for mortgages: (1) on new and rehabilitated child care facilities; and (2) for acquisition of or the refinancing of debt on existing child care facilities. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make technical and financial assistance grants to acquire or improve child care facilities or equipment.
 
Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a business child care incentive grant program.
 
Universal Prekindergarten Act - Directs the Secretary of HHS to make grants to State agencies to develop full-day, full-year universal prekindergarten programs for all children three, four, and five years old.
 
Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a universal free school breakfast program without regard to family incomes. Provides that appropriations and expenditures for CNA shall be considered HHS, not Department of Agriculture, functions for budget purposes.
 
Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program of healthy school nutrition environment incentive grants. Revises CNA and NSLA requirements for regulation of competitive foods.
 
Revises NSLA child and adult care food program provisions relating to reimbursements for afterschool dinners and eligibility of private child care centers.
 
Afterschool Education Enhancement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require State educational agencies to give priority to 21st century community learning centers program applications submitted jointly by eligible entities consisting of at least one local educational agency receiving funds under ESEA provisions for disadvantaged students and at least one community-based organization or other public or private entity.
 
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for treatment of employees working at less than full-time under participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans and under group health plans. Expands the definition of employee to include certain individuals whose services are leased or contracted for.
 
United States Business Telework Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to conduct, in not more than five States, a pilot program to raise awareness about telework among employers and to encourage them to offer telework options to employees. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-03-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Chairman.
action_date: 2004-03-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Education Reform.
action_date: 2004-03-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
action_date: 2004-03-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
action_date: 2004-03-11
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
action_date: 2004-03-09
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization.
action_date: 2004-02-10
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H420-421)
action_date: 2004-02-04
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Government Reform, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-02-04
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Government Reform, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-02-04
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Government Reform, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-02-04
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Government Reform, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-02-04
text: Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Government Reform, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2004-02-04
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2004-02-04
text: Introduced in House