In the Oval Office on Tuesday morning, Bush signed the
so-called "can spam" legislation. Passed by Congress
earlier this month, the measure outlaws the persistent
techniques used by e-mailers who send tens of millions of
messages each day to peddle their products and services.
The bill
supplants anti-spam laws already passed in some states,
including California. It also encourages the Federal Trade
Commission to create a do-not-spam list of e-mail
addresses and includes penalties for spammers of up to
five years in prison in rare circumstances.
In the
afternoon, the president went to the Department of Housing
and Urban Development to sign the American Dream
Downpayment Act. It is aimed at helping families that can
afford monthly mortgage payments but not the initial costs
associated with buying a house.
Three-fourths of non-minority Americans own their own
homes, but less than half of blacks, Hispanics and other
minorities do. Through grants to state and local
governments, low-income families would receive an average
of about $5,000 to be help cover downpayment and closing
costs on a first home.
"That's
not right, and this country needs to do something about
it," Bush said, citing of a minority homeownership rate of
under 50 percent.
The other
bills Bush was signing or holding photo sessions on:
• PEDIATRIC EQUITY RESEARCH
ACT: The legislation signed previously by Bush gives
the Food and Drug Administration additional authority to
require pediatric studies to ensure safe use of medicines
in children. It allows the FDA to require testing of drugs
for use in children when drug firms do not test them
voluntarily.
• AVIATION SPENDING: The
Bush administration agreed to shield all air traffic
control jobs from privatization for a year to get Congress
to approve a $60 billion aviation spending bill. It calls
for self-defense training for flight attendants and giving
cargo pilots permission to carry guns. The legislation,
signed previously by Bush, provides $14 billion for
airport construction projects, including $140 million to
help small communities attract and retain air service, and
$308 million to ensure air service to isolated
communities. It also sets aside $2 billion for airports to
install bomb-screening machines as part of automated
bag-handling systems to speed luggage checks.
• BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM:
The measure establishes a national museum of black history
and culture as part of the Smithsonian Institution. Rep.
John Lewis, D-Georgia, and a former civil rights leader,
had introduced legislation in each Congress since 1988 to
create the museum. Bush was signing it Tuesday afternoon
in the Oval Office. The estimated $400 million initial
price tag would be split evenly between federal government
and private sources. The bill authorizes $17 million in
the first year to start the project. Bush's signature
clears the way for fund raising and for the Smithsonian
Board of Regents to choose a site.
• VETERANS BENEFITS: The
bill Bush was signing Tuesday expands benefits for
disabled veterans, their surviving spouses and children.
It gives more money to disabled veterans to adapt their
homes and cars to their living conditions, changing the
car grant from $9,000 to $11,000, and increasing the
housing grants from $48,000 to $50,000 for the most
severely disabled veterans and from $9,250 to $10,000 for
less severely disabled veterans.
• HOMETOWN HEROES SURVIVORS
BENEFITS: The measure, signed previously by Bush,
offers federal aid to the families of fire, police and
emergency medical personnel who die of heart attacks or
strokes on duty. Under the federal Public Safety Officers
Benefits program at the Justice Department, families of
these workers can receive a one-time benefit of $267,494
when their relative is killed or permanently disabled in
the line of duty. |
