hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Comprehensive Holocaust Accountability in Insurance Act

Bill: 108-s-972
Sponsor: Sen. Coleman, Norm [R-MN]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Business records
Civil actions and liability
Claims
Collection of accounts
Commerce
Compensation for victims of crime
Crime and Law Enforcement
Directories
District courts
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Foreign corporations
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
History
Insurance
Insurance companies
Jewish holocaust (1939-1945)
Jurisdiction
Law
Life insurance
Limitation of actions
State laws
Victims of crimes

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: 
Comprehensive Holocaust Accountability in Insurance Act - Authorizes the States to establish information requirements on insurers as a condition of doing insurance business in the host State.
 
Permits a State to require that an insurer provide specified information regarding Holocaust era insurance policies, including policies sold or held.
 
Permits a State to require that an insurer certify that: (1) proceeds of the policy were paid; (2) the beneficiaries of the policy or heirs could not, after diligent search, be located, and the proceeds were distributed to Holocaust survivors or charities; (3) a court of law has certified a plan for the distribution of the proceeds; or (4) the proceeds have not been distributed.
 
Establishes a Federal cause of action for any covered claim brought under this Act against one of several specified foreign insurance companies that arises out of the insurance coverage involved in an original request for payment made by a listed Holocaust victim or the heirs of beneficiaries of such victim.
 
Requires an action brought under this Act to be filed not later than ten years after its enactment. 
 
Lists covered foreign insurance companies.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5665)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5665)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a shorter recovery period for the depreciation of certain restaurant buildings.

Bill: 108-s-973
Sponsor: Sen. Nickles, Don [R-OK]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Taxation
Subjects: Agriculture and Food
Commerce
Depreciation and amortization
Income tax
Restaurants
Tax deductions

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify certain restaurant buildings as 15-year depreciable property.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5665-5666)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to permit certain youth to perform certain work with wood products.

Bill: 108-s-974
Sponsor: Sen. Specter, Arlen [R-PA]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Accident prevention
Child labor
Child safety
Church and education
Commerce
Compulsory education
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Emergency Management
Equipment and supplies
Families
Health
Industrial accidents
Lumber trade
Machinery
Occupational health and safety
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Religion
Religion in the workplace
Religions
Supervisors
Wood
Youth employment

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: 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.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5666)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
Essential Air Service Eligibility Fairness Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-975
Sponsor: Sen. Specter, Arlen [R-PA]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Access to airports
Administrative remedies
Airlines
Commerce
Department of Transportation
Economics and Public Finance
Federal aid to transportation
Government Operations and Politics
Law
Subsidies

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: 
Essential Air Service Eligibility Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends Federal transportation law to revise eligibility requirements with respect to the provision of essential air service subsidies to communities in the 48 contiguous States to prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from providing such assistance to a community that is less than 70 miles from the nearest hub airport or requires a rate of subsidy per passenger in excess of $200, unless such community is greater than 210 miles from the nearest hub airport. Repeals specified provisions of Federal laws with respect to such eligibility requirements. Authorizes a community in which the Secretary has eliminated subsidies or terminated subsidy eligibility (between September 30, 1993, and the enactment of this Act) under specified Federal laws to request the Secretary to review such action. Requires the Secretary after receiving a request for a review to: (1) determine whether the community would have been subject to such elimination of subsidies or termination of eligibility under the distance requirements provided in this Act; and (2) issue a final order with respect to the eligibility of such community for essential air service subsidies under the amended requirements of this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5666-5667)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
Treatment of Children's Deformities Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-977
Sponsor: Sen. Fitzgerald, Peter [R-IL]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Birth defects
Child health
Commerce
Consumer education
Employee health benefits
Families
Finance and Financial Sector
Health insurance
Labor and Employment
Plastic surgery
Standards
Surgery

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Treatment of Children's Deformities Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to set standards requiring that group and individual health insurance and group health plans provide coverage for treatment of a minor child's congenital or developmental deformity or disorder due to trauma, infection, tumor, or disease.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5669-5670)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5668-5669)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
Veterans Housing Fairness Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-978
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Cooperative housing
Economics and Public Finance
Federally-guaranteed loans
Finance and Financial Sector
Home ownership
Housing and Community Development
Mortgages
Single family housing
Veterans' loans

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Veterans Housing Fairness Act of 2003 - Authorizes the use of veterans' housing loan benefits to purchase stock or membership in a development, project, or structure (structure) of a cooperative housing corporation as long as such structure: (1) complies with criteria prescribed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and (2) is a one-family residential unit.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-07-10
text: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held.
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
Broad-Based Stock Option Plan Transparency Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-979
Sponsor: Sen. Ensign, John [R-NV]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Accounting
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Earnings
Economic impact statements
Economics and Public Finance
Employee motivation
Employee ownership
Employee stock options
Executive compensation
Financial statements
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Government Operations and Politics
High technology
Independent regulatory commissions
Industrial research
Information disclosure (Securities law)
International competitiveness
Investors
Labor and Employment
Product development
Recruiting of employees
Science, Technology, Communications
Securities and Exchange Commission
Skilled labor
Standards
Technological innovations

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: 
Broad-Based Stock Option Plan Transparency Act of 2003 - Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require that certain mandatory periodic reports include detailed information regarding stock option plans, stock purchase 
 plans, and other arrangements involving an employee acquisition of an equity interest in the publicly traded company, particularly with respect to the dilutive effect of such plans.
 
 
Requires such reports to include: (1) a discussion, written in &quot;plain English&quot; of the dilutive effect of stock option plans, including tables or graphic illustrations; (2) expanded disclosure of the dilutive effect of employee stock options upon the earnings per share number of the company; (3) prominent placement and increased comparability of all stock options related information; and (4) a summary of the stock options granted to the five most highly compensated executive officers of the company, including any outstanding stock options of those officers.
 
Directs the SEC to study and report to Congress on the effectiveness of the enhanced disclosures in increasing transparency to investors.
 
Prohibits the SEC from recognizing as generally accepted accounting principles for purposes of enforcing the securities laws any accounting standards related to the treatment of stock options that it did not recognize for that purpose before April 1, 2003.
 
Instructs the Secretary of Commerce to report to Congress on a study and analysis of broad-based employee stock option plans, particularly in the high technology and any other high growth industries.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5671)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5670-5671)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
Ballistic Imaging Evaluation and Study Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-980
Sponsor: Sen. Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Ammunition
Assault weapons
Computer matching
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Cost accounting
Cost effectiveness
Criminal investigation
Criminal justice information
Criminal statistics
Data banks
Economics and Public Finance
Evidence (Law)
Federal aid to law enforcement
Finance and Financial Sector
Firearms
Government Operations and Politics
Governmental investigations
Identification devices
Law
Legislation
Packaging
Science, Technology, Communications
Storage

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Ballistic Imaging Evaluation and Study Act of 2003 - Directs the Attorney General to enter into an arrangement with the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences to study the effectiveness of ballistic imaging technology. Prohibits a State from using Federal funds for ballistic imaging technology until the NRC report is transmitted to Congress. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, at a State's request, to waive such prohibition upon a showing that the use would be in the national interest.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5672-5673)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
Business and Taxpayer Procurement Protection Act

Bill: 108-s-981
Sponsor: Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Commerce
Competition
Government contractors
Government procurement

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Business and Taxpayer Procurement Protection Act - Limits any period of Government procurement of property or services using noncompetitive procedures in certain emergency and urgent situations to 90 days. Requires any such procurements that are to be required beyond 90 days to: (1) be subject to full and open competition during such 90-day period; and (2) use competitive procedures.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5673-5674)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5673)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-983
Sponsor: Sen. Chafee, Lincoln [R-RI]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Breast cancer
Community organization
Department of Health and Human Services
Economics and Public Finance
Environmental Protection
Environmental health
Environmental research
Environmentally induced diseases
Federal advisory bodies
Government Operations and Politics
Medical research
Research centers
Research grants
Science, Technology, Communications
Urban affairs
Women

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight consortium centers (each such center shall be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence). States that the centers shall conduct multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5674-5675)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5674)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate opportunities to enhance domestic oil and gas production through the exchange of nonproducing Federal oil and gas leases located in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, in the Flathead National Forest, and on Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Montana, and for other purposes.

Bill: 108-s-984
Sponsor: Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Energy
Finance and Financial Sector
Land transfers
Legislation
Montana
Mountains
National forests
Natural areas
Oil and gas leases
Prospecting
Valuation

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: 
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate opportunities to enhance domestic oil and gas production through: (1) the exchange of nonproducing leases (located in the Lewis and Clark National Forest, the Flathead National Forest, and on Bureau of Land Management land in Montana) for oil and gas lease tracts of comparable value in Montana or in the Western and Central Planning Areas of the Gulf of Mexico on the Outer Continental Shelf; and (2) the issuance of bidding, royalty, or rental credits for Federal onshore oil and gas leases in Montanta or in the Planning Areas in exchange for the cancellation of the nonproducing leases.
 
States that to facilitate such evaluation the terms of nonproducing leases in the Badger-Two Medicine Area (U.S. Forest Service land) shall be suspended for a three-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.
 
Directs the Secretary to submit to congressional committees a report on such evaluation. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5675-5676)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 to adjust the percentage differentials payable to Federal law enforcement officers in certain high-cost areas, and for other purposes.

Bill: 108-s-985
Sponsor: Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT]
Introduced: 2003-05-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: California
Colorado
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Connecticut
Crime and Law Enforcement
Delaware
District of Columbia
Federal law enforcement officers
Florida
Georgia
Governmental investigations
Hours of labor
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Metropolitan areas
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York City
New York State
Ohio
Oregon
Pay equity
Pennsylvania
Personnel management
Promotions
Rhode Island
Salaries
Texas
Urban affairs
Virginia
Washington State
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Amends the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 to revise the special pay adjustments for (percentage differentials payable to) Federal law enforcement officers in specified consolidated metropolitan statistical areas. Includes Capitol Police as law enforcement officers under such Act.
Directs the Office of Personnel Management: (1) to study and report to Congress on the need for, and the potential benefits to be derived from, the establishment of a separate pay, evaluation, and promotion system for Federal law enforcement officers; (2) if it considers it to be appropriate, to implement a demonstration project to determine whether a separate system for such officers would result in improved Federal personnel management; and (3) to submit to Congress its evaluation of the system tested under the demonstration project and recommendations as to whether that system should be continued or extended to other Federal law enforcement officers.
Eliminates the limitation on the aggregate of basic pay and premium pay with respect to availability pay for Federal criminal investigators.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-06-20
text: Committee on Governmental Affairs referred to Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce,  and the District of Columbia.
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5677-5678)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5676-5677)
action_date: 2003-05-01
text: Introduced in Senate
Colombian Temporary Protected Status Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-986
Sponsor: Sen. Reid, Harry [D-NV]
Introduced: 2003-05-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Immigration
Subjects: Alien labor
Aliens
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Civil War
Colombia
Deportation
Immigrants
International Affairs
Labor and Employment
Latin America
Right to travel
Visas

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Columbian Temporary Protected Status Act of 2003 - Expresses the sense of Congress in favor of extending temporary protected status to Columbian nationals in the United States.
Designates Columbia under the Immigration and Nationality Act as a country undergoing an ongoing armed conflict in order to make qualifying Columbians living in the United States eligible aliens for temporary protected status.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5731)
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5730-5731)
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Introduced in Senate
Rural Health Care Fairness and Medicare Equity Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-987
Sponsor: Sen. Dorgan, Byron L. [D-ND]
Introduced: 2003-05-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Economics and Public Finance
Federal-state relations
Government Operations and Politics
Hospital care
Hospitals
Housing and Community Development
Medical economics
Medicare
Rural health
Social Welfare
State finance

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Rural Health Care Fairness and Medicare Equity Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, for discharges occurring in a fiscal year beginning with FY 2004, to compute a standardized amount for hospitals in rural and small urban areas that is equal to the standardized amount computed for the previous fiscal year for hospitals located in a large urban area increased by the applicable percentage increase for the fiscal year involved.
Sets the wage index at 62 percent for discharges occurring in FY 2004, except that hospitals receiving lower payments as a result of such new wage index would be held harmless.
Creates a wage index floor for use in determining payments for discharges occurring in FY 2004 for hospitals with a wage index under 0.85.
Directs the Secretary to publish and use alternative guidelines for geographic reclassification of certain hospitals located in sparsely populated States.
Establishes a floor of 1.00 for the work geographic cost-of-practice index under the physician payment system.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5731-5733)
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for a job training grant pilot program.

Bill: 108-s-988
Sponsor: Sen. Coleman, Norm [R-MN]
Introduced: 2003-05-05 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Economics and Public Finance
Education
Employment of the disadvantaged
Grants-in-aid
Unemployment
Vocational and technical education

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish a job training grant pilot program.
Directs the Secretary of Labor to make such grants to qualified training programs in the following forms: (1) placement grants, upon placement of a qualified graduate in qualifying employment; and (2) retention grants, in an additional amount, upon retention of a qualified graduate in qualifying employment for one year.
Requires the Secretary, in determining the amount of such grants, to consider the economic benefit received by the Government from the employment of the qualified graduate, including increased tax revenue and decreased unemployment benefits or other support obligations. Sets forth criteria for qualified job training programs, qualified graduates, and qualifying employment.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S5733-5734)
action_date: 2003-05-05
text: Introduced in Senate