For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 25, 2004

Statement by the Press Secretary

On Monday, October 25, 2004, the President signed the following bills into law:

H.R. 1533, to amend the securities laws to permit church pension plans to be invested in collective trusts;

H.R. 2608, the which reauthorizes the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program; establishes the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program; and reauthorizes the Office of the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation in the Department of Transportation;

H.R. 2714, the "State Justice Institute Reauthorization Act of 2004;"

H.R. 2828, the "Water Supply, Reliability, and Environmental Improvement Act," to implement water supply technology and infrastructure programs aimed at increasing and diversifying domestic water resources;

H.R. 3858, the "Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplantation Act of 2004," to increase the supply of pancreatic islet cells for research, and to provide for better coordination of Federal efforts and information on islet cell transplantation;

H.R. 4175, the "Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2004," to increase the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of certain service-connected disabled veterans; H.R. 4278, the "Assistive Technology Act of 2004," to support programs of grants to States to address the assistive technology needs of individuals with disabilities;

H.R. 4555, the "Mammography Quality Standards Reauthorization Act of 2004," to amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend provisions relating to mammography quality standards;

H.R. 5185, the "Higher Education Extension Act of 2004," to temporarily extend the programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965;

S. 524, the "Fort Donelson National Battlefield Expansion Act of 2004," to expand the boundaries of the Battlefield to authorize the acquisition and interpretation of lands associated with the campaign that resulted in the capture of Fort Donelson in 1862;

S. 1368, to authorize the President to award a gold medal to Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., and his widow Coretta Scott King in recognition of their contributions to the Nation on behalf of the civil rights movement; S. 2864, the "Family Farmer Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2004;"

S. 2883, the "Prevention of Child Abduction Partnership Act;" and

S. 2896, to modify and extend certain privatization requirements of the Communications Satellite Act of 1962.

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