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United States · Official source
1,371 records where Rep. Baldacci, John Elias [D-ME-2] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress
United States · United States Congress
United States · United States Congress
United States · United States Congress
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2002
Expresses continued support for U.S. forestry, lumber, wood, paper, and allied product industries. Urges the President to impose appropriate protections for these industries against the unfair trade practices of the People's Republic of China.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that a Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month should be established.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2002
Direct Support Professional Recognition Resolution - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Government and the States should make it a priority to ensure a stable, quality direct support workforce for individuals with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities that advances national commitment to community integration for such individuals and personal security for them and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that a commemorative postage stamp should be issued in honor of our Nation's small business concerns.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2002
Medicare Beneficiary Skilled Nursing Protection Act of 2002 - Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 to extend for three years the temporary increase in the nursing component of the Federal prospective payment rate. Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 to extend for three years the increase in the skilled nursing facility adjusted Federal per diem rate under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2002
Aquatic Invasive Species Research Act - Requires the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop and conduct a marine and fresh-water research program to support efforts to detect, prevent, and eradicate invasive species in the Aquatic Ecosystem. Requires the program to: (1) develop standardized protocols for conducting ecological and pathway surveys of nonnative aquatic species; (2) create baseline ecological information of the aquatic ecosystem and pathways; (3) designate the number and location of survey sites required; (4) conduct laboratory and field-based marine and fresh-water research experiments on a range of taxonomic groups to identify the relationship between the introduction and establishment of nonnative aquatic species; and (5) analyze the data collected. Directs the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to convene a workshop with appropriate researchers. Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to: (1) require that ecological and ballast water discharge surveys examine other potential modes of introducing nonnative aquatic species by ship into the Aquatic Ecosystem, including hull fouling; (2) rename the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse as the National Pathway and Ecological Surveys Database; (3) expand the purview of the database to include ballast water management, delivery practices of ships entering United States ports and their compliance with existing regulations; and (3) make the database widely available to the public. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish marine and fresh-water research, development, and demonstration programs with respect to environmental soundness screening and dispersal barrier research. Reauthorizes the ship pathway technology demonstration program. Requires the Coast Guard and the EPA to develop a research program to support implementation of standards to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by ships into the Aquatic Ecosystem. Requires the National Science Foundation to establish a grant program for institutions of higher education to carry our research programs in systematics and taxonomy.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2002
National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2002 - Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to require the Invasive Species Council (Council) to coordinate with the Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force (Task Force) to combat aquatic invasive species. Requires the Task Force to recommend to appropriate Federal agencies additions to the list of aquatic invasive species. Requires the Task Force, the Council, and the Secretary of State to coordinate activities to ensure that international efforts to prevent and manage aquatic invasive species are coordinated with U.S. policies. Establishes minimum invasive species prevention requirements for all vessels entering U.S. ports. Requires the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to promulgate regulations for ballast water management standards and certification procedures. Directs the Task Force to publish a priority pathway management program. Prohibits the importation of live aquatic organisms not in trade without specified screening and approval. Requires the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to construct and maintain a national dispersal barrier program to contain and control aquatic nuisances. Declares that a State with a rapid response contingency strategy shall be eligible to receive emergency funding to implement rapid response measures for aquatic invasive species under specified circumstances. Requires the Task Force, with concurrence of the Council, to encourage the development of regional rapid response contingency strategies and develop a State model for such. Requires the Council, in coordination with the Task Force and the heads of the appropriate Federal agencies, to establish a Federal rapid response team for the ten regions of the Standard Federal Regional Boundary System. Requires the Task Force to establish a national subcommittee on nutria. Provides for expansion of the Brown Tree Snake Control Program and Aquatic Nuisance Species Program information, education and outreach activities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2002
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2002 - Adjusts the basic Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity amount for surviving spouses, age 62 or over, of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent (current law), for months beginning on or before the enactment of this Act; (2) 40 percent of such pay, for months beginning after enactment of this Act until October 2005; (3) 45 percent of such pay for months beginning after September 2005 and before October 2012; and (4) 55 percent of such pay for months after September 2012. Adjusts similarly the percentage amounts of SBP supplemental annuity authorized to be provided for such surviving spouses. Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure appropriate adjustments in the computation of retired pay reductions for such supplemental annuities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2002
Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide: (1) emergency financial assistance to agricultural producers who have incurred qualifying 2001 or 2002 crop losses due to weather or related conditions; and (2) payments to livestock producers who have incurred 2001 and 2002 losses in an emergency-designated county, with set-asides for the American Indian livestock program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2002
Recognizes September 11 as both a day to remember those taken from their families and a day for Americans to recommit to the Nation, to their freedom, and to each other. Extends deepest sympathies to the countless innocent victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, their families, friends, and loved ones. Honors the heroic actions of first responders, law enforcement personnel, State and local officials, volunteers, and others who aided the innocent victims. Expresses thanks and gratitude to the foreign leaders and citizens of all nations who have assisted and continue to stand in solidarity with the United States against terrorism. Remains resolved to pursue all those responsible for the terrorist attacks and their sponsors until they are discovered and punished.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2002
Community Protection Against Wildfire Act of 2002 - Requires that at least 85 percent of the funds made available to implement the National Fire Plan go to hazardous fuels reduction projects and other wildfire control efforts on Federal lands in the wildland-urban interface (certain geographic areas conducive to wildfire that contain homes). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to States and Indian tribes for various purposes, including: (1) the promotion of optimal firefighting efficiency; and (2) the expansion of outreach and education programs. Requires the Secretaries concerned (the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior or appropriate Federal land managers) to promulgate regulations limiting the diameter of trees that may be removed as part of any wildfire control effort using Federal funds. Permits the Secretary concerned to grant an exception to such limitation for extraordinary circumstances. Allows the Secretary concerned to provide cost-share grants and cooperative agreements to establish Restoration and Value-Added Centers to augment community-based restoration projects on Federal lands. Prescribes that the Centers shall provide technical assistance to small enterprises or micro-enterprises in specified areas. Authorizes the Secretary concerned to enter into partnerships and cooperative agreements with specified groups in creating and maintaining the Centers. Requires the Secretary concerned to provide cost-share grants and/or cooperative agreements equaling 75 percent of each Center's operating costs, not to exceed $1,000,000 annually per Center.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2002
Family Farmers and Family Fishermen Protection Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal Bankruptcy Code to reenact Chapter 12, Adjustment of Debts of a Family Farmer with Regular Annual Income (thus reinstating permanently family farmer bankruptcy relief). Provides periodic adjustments for inflation of the debt limit for family farmers. Cites circumstances under which the claim of a governmental unit that arises from the disposition of a farm asset used in the debtor's farming operation shall be treated as an unsecured claim not entitled to priority. Increases from $1.5 million to $3.237 million the maximum aggregate debt that permits a farming operation to qualify as a family farming operation for debt adjustment purposes. Decreases from 80 percent to 50 percent the minimum percentage of aggregate, noncontingent liquidated debts arising out of such farming operation. Repeals the requirement that a family farmer and spouse receive over 50 percent of income from farming operations in the year before a bankruptcy petition is filed. Prohibits: (1) retroactive assessment of disposable income; and (2) post-confirmation modification of a bankruptcy plan that would increase the amount of payments that were due before such modification. Requires debtor's consent for post-confirmation increase in payments. Extends Chapter 12 coverage to family fishermen whose aggregate debts do not exceed $1.5 million, of which at least 80 percent of aggregate noncontingent, liquidated debts arise out of a commercial fishing operation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2002
Congratulates the National Farmers Union for a century of dedicated service to America's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Veterans Health Care Funding Guarantee Act of 2002 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for FY 2004 120 percent of the amount obligated during FY 2002; and (2) adjust the amount provided after FY 2004 based on the number of enrolled veterans and the number of others eligible for and provided care and the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Repeals, as of October 1, 2003, requirements for the prior congressional approval of funding for Department major medical facilities projects or leases.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Animal Fighting Enforcement Act - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to increase the imprisonment penalty for animal fighting violations from one year to two years. Makes it unlawful to ship in interstate commerce a knife, gaff, or other sharp instrument used in cockfighting. Revises enforcement provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop State-wide lifespan respite care programs. Defines "lifespan respite care" to mean a coordinated system of accessible community-based respite care services for family caregivers regardless of the individual's age, race, ethnicity, or special need. Requires the Secretary to establish a review panel to make recommendations on applicants. Permits the use of funds for respite care services and training programs. Limits grants to five years. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a National Resource Center on Lifespan Respite Care to maintain a national database and provide training, technical assistance, and information.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Calls on Congress to consider and vote on a resolution authorizing the use of force by the U.S. armed forces against Iraq before such force is deployed against Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2002
National Naval Force Structure Policy Act - States that it is U.S. policy to rebuild as soon as possible the size of the U.S. Navy fleet to no fewer than 375 vessels in active service, including 15 aircraft carrier battle groups and 15 amphibious ready groups.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2002
Small Business Drought Relief Act - Amends the Small Business Act to include drought within the definition of "disaster" for purposes of disaster loans provided to small businesses through the Small Business Administration (SBA). Authorizes such loan assistance for farm- and nonfarm-related small businesses affected by droughts. Requires the SBA to respond in writing to a State governor regarding its determination concerning the provision of disaster loan assistance within 30 days after receiving such governor's certification that small businesses in that State have suffered economic injury as a result of a disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2002
Drug Importation Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to permit an individual who is not in the business of importing prescription drugs to import prescription drugs which appear to be approved, non-narcotic, and produced by a registered producer. Provides for a program where a pharmacist who is not otherwise permitted to import a prescription drug may do so when a drug meets the above standard. Excludes controlled substances and biological products. States that alternative labeling may be required.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2002
Native American Sacred Lands Act - Requires managers of Federal lands to: (1) accommodate access and use by Indian religious practitioners; (2) prevent significant damage to Indian sacred lands; and (3) consult with Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations before taking significant actions concerning such lands. Prohibits undertakings likely to cause significant damage to Indian sacred lands. Grants Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations the right to petition the department or agency with administrative jurisdiction to have Federal lands designated as unsuitable for certain undertakings. Permits appeals through the Federal agency appeals board or in U. S. district courts. Provides relief through monetary damages, injunctions, or mandamus. Provides for the withdrawal of lands determined to be unsuitable. Requires Federal land use plans to be modified accordingly. Protects the confidentiality of information in a petition as it pertains to traditional cultural practice, religion, or the significance and location of sacred land. Imposes criminal penalties for violations of such confidentiality. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to assist Indian tribes in activities under this Act. Requires the Secretary to consult with Indian tribes in developing regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2002
Child Support Enforcement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (relating to the deduction for bad debts) to allow a custodial parent to claim unpaid child support payments as a deduction. Bars a delinquent debtor from filing an amended return in any subsequent year to reflect the subsequent payment of unpaid child support. Includes unpaid child support in the gross income of the delinquent debtor. Precludes taxpayer information regarding child support payments from serving as a basis for selecting an individual's tax return for general audit.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2002
Veterans Emergency Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make grants to States for programs to assist veterans and their spouses and dependents suffering financial hardship as a result of an emergency. Prohibits any State from receiving more than five percent of the total funds appropriated, or more than $1 million, in any fiscal year. Defines an emergency as an illness or accident resulting in interruption or loss of employment, a fire or other disaster resulting in loss of a residence, or another event or condition as determined by a State.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2002
Senior Nutrition Act of 2002 - Amends the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to make a person who is at least 60 years old eligible for the commodity supplemental food program (program) if such person: (1) is eligible for the food stamp program; or (2) has a household income that is not more than 185 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines. Authorizes permanent program appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2002
Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $250 to $500 the maximum above-the-line deduction allowed for classroom supply expenses incurred by elementary and secondary school teachers, effective after December 31, 2001. Expands such deduction to include qualified professional development expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2002
Executive Accountability Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to negate, in specified cases, the performance-based compensation exception to the $1,000,000 limitation on deductible compensation paid by publicly held corporations. Includes in gross income funded deferred compensation of a corporate insider if the insider's corporation funds its defined contribution plan with employer stock, with specified exceptions. Includes in gross income the net unrealized built-in gain on options held by a corporate insider to acquire stock in an expatriate corporation or in any member of an expanded affiliated group which includes such corporation. Applies the golden parachute excise tax to certain cases of deferred compensation paid by a corporation to a corporate insider after such individual has left the firm if the stock value of the corporation has recently suffered a major decline or the corporation has recently declared bankruptcy.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2002
Children's Mental Health Service Expansion Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to establish programs of educational loan forgiveness and scholarships to encourage qualified individuals to provide mental health services to children and adolescents. Sets forth qualifications, including education and licensing requirements. Limits the program to U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents. Grants priority according to financial need, methodology, and willingness to work with high priority populations in the public sector. Treats such grants as equivalent to those of the National Health Service Corps Programs. Authorizes additional grants for clinical and graduate and paraprofessional training to accredited schools and State-licensed mental health organizations, respectively. Gives priority to applicants with the demonstrated ability to collect data on the numbers trained, certain methodology, and programs to increase the numbers of professionals and paraprofessionals serving high priority populations. Requires training to prioritize cultural competency. Amends the Social Security Act to increase the number of child and adolescent psychiatry residents permitted to be paid under the Medicare Graduate Medical Education Program. Extends the Medicare Board eligibility period for residents and fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry. Directs the Administrator to study and report to Congress on the distribution and need of child mental health service professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2002
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to make available to Amtrak a loan guarantee in the amount of $270 million for Amtrak capital expenditures and operating expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2002
Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) under which each individual who is entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or eligible to enroll under Medicare part B (Supplemental Medical Insurance) is entitled to obtain qualified prescription drug coverage. Outlines standard coverage benefit packages for FY 2005. Includes for the standard package a monthly premium of $25, an annual deductible of $100, a coinsurance of 20 percent and an annual out-of-pocket spending limit of $2,000. Directs the Secretary to negotiate fair prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers. Provides for accelerated generic drug competition. Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) with respect to: (1) inclusion of the costs of certain military services to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries in the calculation of Medicare+Choice payment rates; (2) specialized Medicare+Choice plans for special needs beneficiaries; and (3) continuous open enrollment and disenrollment at any time. Revises requirements for Medicare: (1) part A concerning rural health care, inpatient hospital services, skilled nursing facility services, and hospices; (2) part B concerning physicians services and other services; and (3) part A and B concerning home health services and direct graduate medical education. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) with respect to certain Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment adjustments and the Q-I1 program. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to add requirements for interstate Internet sellers of prescription drugs. Establishes within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health the Office of Rare Diseases. Amends the Public Health Services Act with respect to promotion of the pharmacist profession.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2002
Skills and Training Promotion Act - Authorizes Federal payments to States for certain portions of a State's special unemployment assistance for individuals participating in qualified worker training programs. Provides for payment agreements between the Secretary of Labor and States that: (1) have a State unemployment compensation law approved by the Secretary; and (2) are required by State law to pay such special assistance to such trainees.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2002
No Tax Breaks for Corporations Renouncing America Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a foreign entity any reduced rate of withholding tax on any deductible foreign payment under any income tax treaty between the United States and the entity's country unless the entity is predominantly owned by residents of such country. Excepts specified conduit payments. Specifies what constitutes predominant ownership.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2002
Expresses support for the goals and ideas of National KidsDay as established by the National KidsDay Alliance. Recognizes the importance of children to the future of our country and believes the adults who spend meaningful time with children are making an investment in the future of our great Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2002
Makes January 23, 2002, the effective date of the modification of treatment for retirement annuity purposes of part-time service performed before April 7, 1986, by certain health-care professionals of the Veterans Health Administration pursuant to the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2002
Border Commuter Student Act of 2002 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish as a category of nonimmigrant alien student a national of Canada or Mexico who commutes to study (including vocational or nonacademic studies) in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2002
Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include demonstration, education, and other programs concerning cancer survivorship among the activities of the National Cancer Institute (Institute) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Requires the Director of NIH to: (1) expand and coordinate NIH activities related to cancer survivorship; and (2) establish an Office on Survivorship within the Institute. Creates the position of Associate Director for Survivorship. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, to: (1) study the health challenges associated with cancer survivorship and carry out projects and interventions; and (2) make grants for the monitoring and evaluation of cancer care and survivorship.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2002
Federal Air Traffic Controllers Annuity Computation Act of 2002 - Allows Federal air traffic controllers to elect to have their Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuities computed under provisions similar to CSRS annuity computation provisions applicable to law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nuclear materials couriers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2002
Building Opportunities for Our Kids Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize additional appropriations to purchase textbooks for use by eligible schools under the schoolwide program of part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) of title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged). Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a Textbook Recycling Program to facilitate the donation of textbooks by any local educational agency (LEA) to any other LEA for use by such eligible schools. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress and the Secretary on the condition of textbooks used in public elementary and secondary schools, separating data for such eligible schools from that for ineligible ones.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2002
See summary of: H.Con.Res. 179
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2002
Mammography Quality Standards Reauthorization Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend funding for the mammography facilities certification program through FY 2007. Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a temporary certificate to facilities seeking reaccreditation and awarded an accreditation extension for specified reasons, including inability of accrediting body to complete the process in time and unforeseen situations which cause the facility to be unable to meet the reaccreditation timeframes, but do not compromise the quality of mammography. Requires the Comptroller General to evaluate the Mammography Quality Standards Act, including the demonstration program's frequency of inspections, accessibility of services, and the role of States as both accreditation and certification bodies. Directs the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study health professional training in the area of mammography.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2002
Brownfield Site Redevelopment Assistance Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to make grants for projects to alleviate or prevent conditions of excessive unemployment, underemployment, blight, and infrastructure deterioration associated with brownfield sites. Defines a "brownfield site," with exceptions, as real property the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance or pollutant. Allows inclusions of sites otherwise excluded from consideration if: (1) financial assistance will protect human health and the environment, promote economic development or enable the creation of parks, greenways, or other property used for nonprofit purposes, or promote eco-industrial development; (2) they were contaminated by a controlled substance; (3) they are certain low-risk petroleum-contaminated sites; or (4) they are mine-scarred. Defines eco-industrial development as development conducted in a manner in which businesses cooperate with each other and the local community to share resources efficiently (such as information, materials, water, energy infrastructure, and natural habitat) with the goals of economic gains, improved environmental quality, and equitable enhancement of human resources in businesses and local communities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2002
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Night Out (an event intended to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of community participation in crime prevention efforts by having people spend the period from 7 to 10 o'clock p.m. on August 6, 2002, with their neighbors in front of their homes with their lights on). Requests that the President: (1) issue a proclamation calling for appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs; (2) focus appropriate attention on neighborhood crime prevention, community policing, and reduction of school crime by delivering speeches, convening meetings, and directing the administration to make crime reduction an important priority; and (3) coordinate the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the USA Freedom Corps, the Citizen Corps, the National Senior Service Corps, and AmeriCorps to participate by supporting local efforts, neighborhood watches, and local officials, including law enforcement personnel, to provide homeland security and combat terrorism in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2002
Fed Up Higher Education Technical Amendments of 2002 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), and the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, to make various technical revisions that incorporate the results of the Fed Up Initiative to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers to access to student aid programs. Revises the definition of institution of higher education (IHE) to include one that admits as regular students those who have been home-schooled (as well as high school graduates or those with equivalency certificates), thus providing that such home-schooled students are eligible for HEA student aid. Makes students attending nonprofit foreign veterinary schools eligible for the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) student loan program if the school does not meet certain requirements, but only if: (1) it was certified as eligible by the Secretary of Education; and (2) students complete their clinical training at an approved veterinary school in the United States. Allows IHEs to make mandatory reports on teacher preparation program quality by electronic means. Eliminates a requirement that new forbearance agreements between lenders and borrowers be in writing; but requires lenders to notify borrowers of their terms. Allows financial aid professionals to use professional judgment in reevaluating the student financial need of a ward of the court. Requires students withdrawing from an IHE to return only HEA title IV grant aid amounts exceeding 50 percent of the total (if more than $50). Permits Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to apply for Federal HSI grants without waiting two years between applications. Authorizes the use of HEA title VII funds for: (1) Federal scholarship aid to low-income and minority students for summer institutes to prepare for law school; and (2) Thurgood Marshall Fellowships to attend law school. Provides that an IHE is in compliance with requirements to provide students with certain information, including voter registration material, if it does so through an e-mail message or an Internet address. Extends through September 30, 2003, HEA exemptions, for IHEs having low student loan default rates, from requirements that the disbursement of loan proceeds be: (1) in multiple installments; and (2) delayed for 30 days after classes start for first-time undergraudate borrowers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2002
National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2002 - Identifies roadless areas within the National Forest System set forth in specified documents as National Forest Inventoried Roadless Areas, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to manage such Areas to maintain their roadless character.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Safe and Fair Enforcement and Recall for Meat and Poultry Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act, respectively, to: (1) require a person, other than a household consumer, who has reason to believe meat or poultry products to be adulterated or misbranded to so notify the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) provide the Secretary with authority for voluntary and mandatory nondistribution and recall, withdrawal of inspectors from violating facilities, and civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Prescription Drug Comparative Effectiveness Act of 2002 - Directs the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to study, analyze, and report to Congress on valid scientific evidence regarding the comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, relative to other drugs and treatments, of prescription drugs that account for high levels of expenditures or use by individuals entitled to benefits under titles XVIII (Medicare) or XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Accuracy in Pharmaceutical Advertisements Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to impose civil penalties for misbranding prescription drugs through a direct-to-consumer advertisement should the person fail to correct or cease such advertisement after receiving written notice from the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the prevalence of such advertisements and other, specified particulars.