hyperdemocracy/usc-billstatus huggingface dataset:
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1705
Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2003-10-02 in the Senate
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Administrative remedies
Apprenticeship
Armed Forces and National Security
Arts, Culture, Religion
Civil actions and liability
Civil rights enforcement
Commerce
Congress
Congressional agencies
Congressional employees
Consent decrees
Damages
Disciplining of employees
Discrimination in employment
Dismissal of employees
Employee rights
Employment agencies
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Federal employees
Federal libraries
Federal officials
Fines (Penalties)
Government Operations and Politics
Government liability
Homosexuality
Injunctions
Labor and Employment
Labor unions
Labor-management committees
Law
Legal fees
Library of Congress
Military personnel
Minorities
Occupational retraining
Position classification
Presidential appointments
Recruiting of employees
Religion
Religious liberty
Reverse discrimination in employment
Sexual orientation
Small business
State employees
Unfair labor practices
Whistle blowing

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2003 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities (including employment agencies, labor organizations, and training programs). Prohibits related retaliation and coercion. 
Declares this Act inapplicable to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's domestic partner. Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from: (1) collecting statistics on sexual orientation from covered entities; and (2) compelling covered entities to collect such statistics. Prohibits: (1) quotas and preferential treatment; and (2) an order or consent decree for a violation of this Act that includes a quota or preferential treatment. Declares this Act inapplicable to: (1) religious organizations; (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans.
Prohibits the imposition of affirmative action for a violation of this Act. Disallows State immunity. Makes the United States or a State liable for remedies to the same extent as under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12382-12383)
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Introduced in Senate
NICS Improvement Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1706
Sponsor: Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2003-10-02 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Aliens
Ammunition
Armed Forces and National Security
Arrest
Auditing
Automation
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Computer networks
Confidential communications
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Court records
Criminal justice information
Criminal statistics
Department of Justice
Drug abuse
Drug addiction
Due process of law
Economics and Public Finance
Electronic data interchange
Electronic government information
Expatriation
Families
Family violence
Federal aid to Indians
Federal aid to law enforcement
Federal-state relations
Firearms
Firearms control
Fugitives from justice
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Health
Identification of criminals
Illegal aliens
Immigration
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Juries
Law
Medical records
Mental illness
Military discharges
Minorities
Pardons
Right of privacy
Right to counsel
Science, Technology, Communications
State courts
User charges

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: 
NICS Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require: (1) the head of each Federal agency that has records relating to persons for whom receipt of a firearm would violate Federal or State law to provide that information to the Attorney General for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); (2) the agency, upon being made aware that the basis under which a record was made available no longer applies, to correct the record and notify the Attorney General; and (3) the Department of Homeland Security to make available to the Attorney General records relevant to a determination that a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm and information about a change in such person's status for removal from NICS, where appropriate.
 
Directs the Attorney General to make grants to: (1) States and Indian tribal governments to establish or upgrade information and identification technologies for firearms eligibility determinations; and (2) States for use by the State court system to improve the automation and transmittal to Federal and State record repositories of criminal history dispositions, records relevant to determining whether a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, court orders, and mental health adjudications or commitments.
 
Requires: (1) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to study and evaluate NICS operations and to report annually to Congress and to specified States regarding best practices; and (2) the Comptroller General to conduct an audit of the expenditure of all funds appropriated for criminal records improvement to determine how the funds were expended.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Introduced in Senate
Providing Our Support to Troops Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1707
Sponsor: Sen. Stabenow, Debbie [D-MI]
Introduced: 2003-10-02 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Air cargo
Armed forces abroad
Government Operations and Politics
Military operations
Military personnel
Postal service
Transportation and Public Works
War casualties

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: 
 Providing Our Support to Troops Act of 2003 - Allows personal correspondence or certain parcels to be mailed free of postage if such matter is: (1) sent from within an area served by a U.S. post office; (2) addressed to an active-duty member of the armed forces or a civilian authorized to use postal services at military installations who holds a position or performs a function in support of military operations; and (3) addressed either to such an individual at a military post office established in an overseas area where the armed forces are engaged in operations involving armed conflict against a hostile foreign force, or to an individual who is hospitalized for a disease or injury resulting from service in such an area.
 
Prohibits the free mailing privilege for any mail matter containing any advertising.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S12384)
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12383-12384)
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Introduced in Senate
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act

Bill: 108-s-1708
Sponsor: Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2003-10-02 in the Senate
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Economics and Public Finance
Federal-state relations
Government Operations and Politics
Government trust funds
Job hunting
Labor statistics
Part-time employment
Railroad employees
State laws
Transportation and Public Works
Unemployment
Unemployment insurance

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: 
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act - Amends the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (TEUCA) to: (1) extend the TEUC program; (2) provide for additional weeks of TEUC benefits; (3) revise unemployment rate triggers for TEUC benefit periods; and (4) provide for regular unemployment compensation for certain individuals based on part-time work or an alternative base period.
 
Extends the TEUC program through weeks of unemployment ending before July 1, 2004. Provides a phase-out period for individual payments up to weeks beginning after December 31, 2004.
 
Increases to 26 weeks an eligible individual's TEUC payments. Provides for an additional seven weeks of payments, for a total of 33 weeks, for individuals in high-unemployment States (TEUC-X). (Current law provides 13 weeks of regular TEUC payments, with an additional 13 and total 26 in TEUC-X States.)
 
Revises requirements for determining TEUC-X States, using certain triggers based on insured unemployment rates and on total unemployment rates.
 
Establishes a program of payments to States to provide regular unemployment compensation benefits for individuals who otherwise would be ineligible because: (1) the base period does not count wages earned in the most recently completed calendar quarter; or (2) the individuals seek or are available for less than full-time work. 
 
Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to provide a temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Introduced in Senate
Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1709
Sponsor: Sen. Craig, Larry E. [R-ID]
Introduced: 2003-10-02 in the Senate
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Arts, Culture, Religion
Books
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
Commerce
Computers
Congress
Congressional oversight
Congressional reporting requirements
Crime and Law Enforcement
Criminal investigation
International Affairs
Law
Libraries
Publishers and publishing
Right of privacy
Science, Technology, Communications
Searches and seizures
Sunset legislation
Terrorism
Warrants (Law)
Wiretapping

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: 
Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2003 (SAFE Act) - Amends the USA PATRIOT Act to modify provisions regarding roving wiretaps under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to require that: (1) an order approving an electronic surveillance specify either the identity of the target or the place to be wiretapped; and (2) surveillance be conducted only when the suspect is present at the place to be wiretapped.
 

 
Revises provisions governing search warrants authorized under the USA PATRIOT ACT to: (1) limit the authority to delay notice of the issuance of such a search warrant to circumstances where providing immediate notice of the warrant will endanger the life or physical safety of an individual, result in flight from prosecution, or result in the destruction of or tampering with the evidence sought under the warrant; and (2) require such delayed notification to be issued not later than seven days (currently, within a "reasonable period") after execution, with extensions by the court for additional periods of up to seven days each time that the court finds reasonable cause to believe that notice of the execution of the warrant would have such consequences. Requires the Attorney General, every six months, to report to Congress summarizing the requests made by the Department of Justice for delays of notice and extensions of delays. Sunsets the delayed notice authority and reporting requirement on December 31, 2005. 
 
Amends FISA to require, with respect to access by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to business records for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations, that there be specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or an agent thereof. 
 
 Provides that libraries shall not be treated as wire or electronic communication service providers under provisions granting counterintelligence access to provider subscriber information, toll billing records information, or electronic communication transactional records.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-04-07
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3903-3905)
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S12384-12385)
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12384)
action_date: 2003-10-02
text: Introduced in Senate
Children's Health Insurance Accountability Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1710
Sponsor: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2003-10-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Access to health care
Administrative procedure
Administrative remedies
Child health
Chronically ill
Commerce
Congress
Congressional investigations
Congressional reporting requirements
Consumer complaints
Consumer education
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Labor
Disabled
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Emergency medicine
Employee health benefits
Families
Family medicine
Federal aid to child health services
Federal preemption
Finance and Financial Sector
Government Operations and Politics
Grievance procedures
Health insurance
Health insurance continuation
Health maintenance organizations
Health surveys
Hospital care
Insurance companies
Labor and Employment
Law
Managed care
Medicaid
Mental health services
Poor children
Quality of care
Social Welfare
Standards
State laws
Terminal care
Youth

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: 
Children's Health Insurance Accountability Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish standards for the health quality improvement of children in managed care plans and other health plans.
 
Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and of Labor to coordinate their application of such standards with respect to group health plans under PHSA and ERISA, respectively.
 
 Directs the Secretary of HHS to report on: (1) the unique characteristics of patterns of illness, disability, and injury in children; (2) the development of measures of quality of care and outcomes related to the healthcare of children; and (3) the access of children to primary mental health services and the coordination of managed behavioral health services. 
 
Requires the General Accounting Office (GAO) to report on: (1) the structure and performance of non-governmental health plans, Medicaid managed care organizations, and specified plans and programs under the Social Security Act, serving children with special health care needs; (2) the structure and performance of non-governmental plans in serving children as compared to Medicaid managed care organizations; (3) the emphasis that private managed care health plans place on primary care and the control of services as it relates to care and services provided to children with special health care needs; and (4) health plan activities that address the unique health needs of adolescents.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Community Economic Development Expertise Enhancement Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1711
Sponsor: Sen. Corzine, Jon S. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2003-10-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Subjects: Affordable housing
Bank loans
Building construction
Church and social problems
Commerce
Community development
Community development banking
Community organization
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Depressed areas
Economics and Public Finance
Evaluation research (Social action programs)
Federal advisory bodies
Government Operations and Politics
Grants-in-aid
Housing and Community Development
Infrastructure
Labor and Employment
Mentoring
Nonprofit organizations
Rural economic development
Social Welfare
Urban affairs
Urban economic development

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: 
Community Economic Development Expertise Enhancement Act of 2003 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to increase the capacity and expertise of qualifying community-based economic development organizations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct an assessment of such organizations' capability needs; and (2) establish the Advisory Council on Community Economic Development. Directs the President to include with each annual budget request a report regarding Federal financial support for community economic development.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S12449-12451)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12449)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Independent Counsel Reform Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1712
Sponsor: Sen. Lieberman, Joseph I. [D-CT]
Introduced: 2003-10-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Appellate courts
Conflict of interests
Congressional investigations
Criminal investigation
Department of Justice
Economics and Public Finance
Evidence (Law)
Federal employees
Federal officials
Frivolous lawsuits
Government Operations and Politics
Government ethics
Grand jury
Impeachments
Judges
Judicial tenure
Law
Lawyers
Legal ethics
Misconduct in office
Obstruction of justice
Perjury
Pleas (Criminal procedure)
Prosecution
Self-incrimination
Special prosecutors
Subpoena
Term limits
Transfer of employees
Vice Presidents
Witnesses

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: 
Independent Counsel Reform Act of 2003 - Rewrites the Independent Counsel (IC) statute to: (1) limit application of the statute to the President, Vice President, Level I positions of the Executive Schedule (Cabinet members, the Commissioner of Social Security, and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board), and the President's Chief of Staff; (2) expand to 120 days the period of time in which the Attorney General must conduct a preliminary investigation; (3) authorize the Attorney General to convene grand juries and issue subpoenas in a preliminary investigation; (4) heighten the evidentiary threshold for seeking appointment of an IC from &quot;reasonable&quot; to &quot;substantial&quot; grounds; (5) require the IC to serve on a full-time basis; (6) limit the scope of inquiry to matters &quot;directly&quot; related to the IC's prosecutorial jurisdiction; (7) delete provisions authorizing expansion of the IC's prosecutorial jurisdiction; (8) require the IC to submit a budget for each year to the Attorney General and the General Accounting Office; (9) require the courts of the United States to expedite consideration and review of matters relating to an IC's investigation and prosecution; (10) delete the requirement directing an IC to advise the House of Representatives of any information that may support impeachment; and (11) terminate an IC's term at the end of two years after appointment, with the possibility of an extension for good cause or to compensate for dilatory tactics. 
Amends the Federal judicial code to: (1) extend to three years the period of service of judges assigned to the division of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that appoints ICs; and (2) require the Chief Justice to assign three judges for such division by a lottery of all circuit court judges.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S12453-12458)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12452-12453)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Introduced in Senate
Small Business Credit Liquidity Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1713
Sponsor: Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME]
Introduced: 2003-10-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Commerce
Subjects: Economics and Public Finance
Federally-guaranteed loans
Finance and Financial Sector
Government lending
Small business

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: 
Small Business Credit Liquidity Act of 2003 - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to authorize the Small Business Administration (SBA), in order to encourage lenders to increase the availability of small business financing by improving lender access to reasonable funding sources, to provide a credit enhancement guarantee of, or a commitment to guarantee, a portion of the principal and interest on securities issued and managed by not less than two qualified entities authorized and approved by the SBA. Requires the SBA to set and maintain standards for qualified entities, including standards relating to delinquency, default, liquidation, and loss rates.
 
Makes the SBA's credit enhancement guarantees second-loss guarantees, available only after the full payment of guarantees offered by the qualified entities authorized to act as issuers and managers of pools or trusts of loans. Provides loan pool or trust requirements and credit enhancement limits for FY 2004 through 2006. Directs the SBA to charge and collect a fee from issuers based on the SBA's guaranteed amount of issued securities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. (text of measure as introduced: CR S12460-12461)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12458-12460)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Introduced in Senate
FHA Multifamily Loan Limit Adjustment Act of 2003

Bill: 108-s-1714
Sponsor: Sen. Corzine, Jon S. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2003-10-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Housing and Community Development
Subjects: Apartment houses
Condominium (Housing)
Cooperative housing
Disasters
Economics and Public Finance
Emergency Management
Families
Federal aid to housing
Federally-guaranteed loans
Finance and Financial Sector
Housing for the aged
Moderate income housing
Mortgages
Rental housing
Residential rehabilitation
Social Welfare
Urban affairs
Urban renewal

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: 
FHA Multifamily Loan Limit Adjustment Act of 2003 - Amends the National Housing Act to increase high-cost area and project-based additional mortgage loan limits for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages for: (1) rental housing; (2) cooperative housing; (3) rehabilitation and neighborhood conservation housing; (4) moderate income and displaced family housing; (5) housing for the elderly; and (6) condominiums. 
 
Increases: (1) &quot;amount per space&quot; rental housing mortgage limits; and (2) certain cooperative housing mortgage limits.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S12461-12462)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12461)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Introduced in Senate
A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize  the use of funds made available for nonpoint source management programs for projects and activities relating to the development and implementation of phase II of the storm water program of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Bill: 108-s-1716
Sponsor: Sen. Chafee, Lincoln [R-RI]
Introduced: 2003-10-03 in the Senate
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Subjects: Drainage
Economics and Public Finance
Federal aid to water pollution control
Infrastructure
Storm drains
Water Resources Development

Summary:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: 
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to permit States to use funds from grants for nonpoint source management programs for projects or activities relating to phase II storm water program implementation, including management programs.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (text of measure as introduced: CR S12468)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S12468)
action_date: 2003-10-03
text: Introduced in Senate