The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Rep. Buyer, Steve [R-IN-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001203_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
1,238 records where Rep. Buyer, Steve [R-IN-4] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from $18 to $9 (its pre-1991 level) the per-barrel tax on beer.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Requires the American flags on all Federal office buildings to be lowered to half-staff each year in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service in Emittsburg, Maryland.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Solid Waste Interstate Transportation Act of 2001 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit a landfill or incinerator (facility) from receiving out-of-State municipal solid waste (MSW) for disposal or incineration unless the waste is received pursuant to a new or existing host community agreement or an exemption from this prohibition (which may be limited by the State). Establishes conditions for exemptions. Authorizes States to establish limits on the amount of out-of-State waste received annually for disposal at each facility. Allows a State to limit the amount of out-of-State MSW received annually at each facility to the amount received during 1995 if the State has enacted a comprehensive, statewide recycling program. Prohibits State limits from conflicting with permits or host community agreements that set higher (or no) limits. Sets the limitation amount for any facility that began receiving documented out-of-State waste before enactment of this Act at the amount received during 1993. Prohibits discrimination against shipments of such waste on the basis of State of origin. Allows States to require that a permit issued for a new facility or an expansion include an annual limitation of not less than 20 percent on the total quantity of out-of-State MSW relative to the total waste received by the facility. Requires percentage limitations to be uniform for all facilities and not discriminate against out-of-State waste according to the State of origin.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001 - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to increase benefits to railroad employees and their beneficiaries and to revise financing of the pension part (tier II) of the railroad retirement system. Establishes a Railroad Retirement Trust Fund and a Railroad Retirement Investment Trust to manage and invest Fund assets. Abolishes the Railroad Retirement Supplemental Annuity Account and provides for transfer of its funds to the Fund. Provides for transfer to the Fund of certain portions of the Railroad Retirement Account and of Social Security Equivalent Benefit account funds. Transfers to the disbursing agent from the Dual Benefits Payments Account the amount necessary to make dual benefit payments. Requires the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) to calculate the ratio of assets to benefits to determine annual tier II tax rates for employers, employee representatives, and employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt the Fund from taxation. Repeals a supplemental annuity tax that railroad employers pay to finance a benefit for long-time rail employees. Provides for adjustments to railroad employers, employee representatives, and employee tier II tax rates.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Marriage Tax Elimination Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide that the basic standard deduction on a joint return shall be equal to 200 percent of the dollar amount of an individual who is not married. Provides a schedule for making, by 2005, the maximum taxable income in the lowest married bracket equal to double the maximum taxable income in the lowest single filer bracket. Increases the earned income credit phaseout amount on a joint return by $2,000. Revises IRC provisions relating to limitation based on tax liability and the definition of such liability to provide that the aggregate amount of credits allowed as nonrefundable personal credits shall not exceed the sum of: (1) the taxpayer's regular tax liability for the taxable year reduced by the foreign tax credit; and (2) the tax imposed by the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase by $50,000 the amount of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) payable to a member of the armed forces who died in the performance of duty between November 1, 2000, and March 31, 2001, and who was insured under SGLI for the maximum available amount.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify qualified leasehold improvement property (defined as certain improvements made to an interior portion of nonresidential real property) as ten-year property for depreciation purposes under the Accelerated Cost Recovery System.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) with respect to pensions. (All the following are amendments to the Code, except where the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, ERISA, is mentioned.) Increases: (1) annual dollar Individual Retirement Account (IRA) contribution limits; and (2) benefit and contribution limits, with indexes for inflation. Revises requirements relating to: (1) plan loans for subchapter S owners, partners, and sole proprietors; and (2) specified top-heavy rules. Provides that elective deferrals shall not be taken into account for purposes of limits on certain plan contributions. Repeals specified coordination requirements for deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Revises certain deduction limits for stock bonus and profit sharing trusts and for defined contribution plans. Provides for optional treatment of elective deferrals as after-tax contributions. Allows individuals age 50 or older to make additional contributions to an applicable employer plan (section 401(k) or similar plan). Sets forth requirements relating to equitable treatment for contributions of employees to defined contribution plans. Provides for faster vesting of certain employer matching contributions under the Code and ERISA. Revises: (1) minimum distribution rules; (2) requirements relating to tax treatment of division of section 457 plan benefits upon divorce; and (3) provisions for safe harbor relief for hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans. Permits, under certain conditions, rollovers: (1) from and to various types of plans; (2) of IRAs into workplace retirement plans; and (3) of after-tax contributions in an exempt trust. Sets forth a hardship exception to the 60-day rule. Sets forth requirements for treatment of forms of distribution available under transferor and transferee plans under the Code and ERISA. Revises restrictions on distributions, including the same desk exception. Allows trustee-to-trustee transfers to purchase permissive service credit with respect to governmental defined benefit plans. Allows employers to disregard rollovers for purposes of cash-out amounts, under retirement plan provisions of the Code. Revises minimum distribution and inclusion requirements for section 457 plans. Repeals, for plan years beginning in 2004 and following years, the current liability full funding limit under the Code and ERISA. Revises maximum contribution deduction rules, and applies them to all defined benefit plans. Allows an employer, in determining the amount of nondeductible contributions for any taxable year, to elect not to take into account any contributions to a defined benefit plan except to the extent they exceed the full-funding limitation. Establishes an excise tax for the failure of a defined benefit plan or an individual account plan (except governmental, church, and other specified plans) subject to minimum funding standards to meet specified notice requirements, under the Code and ERISA, for plan amendments which significantly reduce benefit accruals. Makes certain compensation limitations for defined benefit plans inapplicable to governmental and multiemployer plans. Prohibits combining or aggregating a multiemployer plan with any other plan maintained by the employer for the purpose of applying such limitations. Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to protect the investment of employee contributions to 401(k) plans by providing that specified requirements apply to elective deferrals for plan years beginning after December 31, 1998. Requires that pension benefit statements be furnished annually (once every three years for defined benefit plans) or on request. Establishes an excise tax for certain prohibited allocations of stock in an S corporation ESOP. Revises Code and ERISA requirements relating to timing of plan valuations. Allows applicable dividends of ESOPs to be reinvested without loss of dividend deduction. Repeals a transition rule relating to certain highly compensated employees under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Directs the Secretary to modify specified regulations with respect to certain plan participation by employees of tax-exempt entities. Treats the provision of certain retirement planning services by an employer for an employee as a de minimis fringe benefit to the extent it is not treated as a working condition fringe. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide simplified annual filing requirements for retirement plans with assets below a specified amount, if they cover: (1) one participant (an owner and spouse); or (2) fewer than 25 employees. Directs the Secretary to continue to update and improve the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, or any successor program. Repeals a multiple use test. Allows certain alternative ways of satisfying nondiscrimination, coverage, and line of business rules. Exempts plans maintained by any governmental entity from certain nondiscrimination rules. Directs the Secretary to modify specified regulations relating to the notice and consent period regarding distributions. Revises ERISA provisions relating to: (1) annual report dissemination; (2) the National Summit on Retirement Savings; (3) missing participants; (4) Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reduction of premiums for new plans of small employers and of additional premiums for new and small plans; (5) PBGC authority to pay interest on premium overpayment refunds; (6) substantial owner benefits in terminated plans; (7) civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibility; and (8) benefit suspension notices. Prescribes time requirements for plan amendments or annuity contract amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from taking any action or using any funding to finalize, implement, or enforce the proposed rule entitled "Hours of Service of Drivers" published by FMCSA in the Federal Register on May 2, 2000. Authorizes the Secretary and FMCSA to proceed through all stages of the rulemaking (other than adoption of a final rule) for the proposed rule, including issuing a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking. Declares that a final rule shall not take effect until 180 days after it is sent to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Constitutional Amendment - Grants Congress power to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Declares Executive Order 13166, "Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency," to be null and void. Prohibits the use of funds for the promulgation or enforcement of an executive order that creates an entitlement to services provided in a language other than English.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Reservists Tax Relief Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the deduction, as a trade or business expense, of certain expenses of members of a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces incurred in connection with such service.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Disapproves a specified rule submitted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration relating to ergonomics, and declares that such rule shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2001
American Land Sovereignty Protection Act - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from nominating any Federal lands for inclusion on the World Heritage List unless: (1) commercially viable uses of nominated lands and lands within ten miles will not be adversely affected; (2) the Secretary has reported to Congress on the lands' natural resources and the impact of inclusion on existing and future uses of such lands; and (3) such nomination is specifically authorized by law. Requires the Secretary to object to the inclusion of any property in the United States on the list of World Heritage in Danger unless the Secretary: (1) has reported to Congress on the necessity for such inclusion, the associated natural resources, and the impact of inclusion on existing and future uses of such property; and (2) is specifically authorized to assent to the inclusion by a joint resolution of Congress. Prohibits any Federal official from nominating any lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere Reserve. Nullifies any such designation before enactment of this Act unless the Biosphere Reserve: (1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted after enactment of this Act and before December 31, 2003; (2) consists solely of federally owned lands; and (3) is subject to a management plan that ensures that the use of intermixed or adjacent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted as a result of that designation. Prohibits any Federal official from nominating, classifying, or designating any Federal land for a special or restricted use under any international conservation agreement unless specifically authorized by law. Provides that any such nomination, classification, or designation of private or State or local lands shall have no force or effect without the owner's consent or specific authorization by State or local law, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Veterans' Hospital Emergency Repair Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out major medical facility projects at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers for improving, renovating, and updating patient care facilities. Requires the Secretary to use FY 2002 or 2003 appropriated funds for such purpose. Limits to $25 million the cost of any single project. Requires an independent board within the Department to review projects before their selection.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), after July 1, 2001, from making any reallocations of amateur radio service and amateur satellite service frequency bands, diminishing the secondary allocations of such bands, or making additional allocations within such bands that would substantially reduce their utility unless at the same time the FCC provides equivalent replacement spectrum.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a deduction (based on years of continuous coverage) for eligible long-term care insurance premiums for a taxpayer, spouse, and dependents, including accelerated deduction percentages for persons who are 55 years old; and (2) long-term care insurance to be offered under cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements. Allows an income-adjusted (limited) credit for eligible individuals with long-term care needs. Sets forth specified requirements for qualifying long-term care insurance contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Veterans' Opportunities Act of 2001 - Increases the maximum annual Reserve Officers' Training Corps award while continuing eligibility for benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill program. Includes certain outreach services within veterans' work-study opportunities. Includes as an "educational institution," for purposes of veterans' educational assistance, private entities teaching a profession or education in a technology occupation. Revises the incremental GI bill contributions required from active-duty personnel. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) provide increased transition assistance to members of the armed forces; and (2) maintain overseas veterans assistance offices. Requires veterans' pre-separation counseling to occur as soon as possible within 18 months preceding an anticipated retirement. Increases certain education and training outreach services available for separating military personnel and veterans. Directs the Secretary to ensure that the outreach needs of veterans' dependents are fully addressed, including through the use of the Internet and announcements in veterans publications and through the media. Increases the maximum available benefits for veterans' burial expenses, family coverage under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, automobile and adaptive assistance benefits for certain disabled veterans, and veterans' specially adapted housing. Allows real property used for farming, ranching, or similar agricultural purposes to be excluded from the value of a veteran's estate for purposes of pension eligibility for veterans who are permanently and totally disabled from a non-service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Adjustment Act - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prescribe a formula for periodic adjustments to the maximum amount of deposit insurance coverage, including an inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Hope for Children Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the expenses allowable towards the adoption credit. Renames such credit as the "Tom Bliley adoption credit."
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Childhood Assistance, Research and Education Amendments of 2001, or the DMD CARE Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to: (1) expand and intensify programs of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (the National Institutes) with respect to research and related activities concerning Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD); (2) award grants or contracts to public or nonprofit entities for at least three DMD research centers of excellence; and (3) provide for donation, collection, and preservation of tissues and genetic materials for such research. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee to coordinate all Federal DMD health programs and activities. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants and cooperative agreements for the collection, analysis, and reporting of DMD data. Requires the establishment through the CDC of at least three regional centers of excellence in DMD epidemiology. Directs the Secretary to establish a DMD education and information program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Farm and Ranch Risk Management Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual engaged in an eligible farming or commercial fishing business a deduction for any taxable year of up to 20 percent of taxable income attributable to the eligible farming or commercial fishing business which was paid in cash by the taxpayer to a Farm and Ranch Risk Management Account (FARRM Account). Includes distributions from a FARRM account in the taxpayer's gross income, and subjects to a special ten percent surtax any distributions not made within five years of contribution. Establishes a tax on excess contributions, but exempts the taxpayer from the tax on certain prohibited transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a postage stamp honoring American farm women.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Recognizes the Boy Scouts of America for the public service it performs through its contributions to the lives of the nation's boys and young men.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
Project Exile Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Act of 2001 - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to direct the Attorney General to provide firearms sentencing incentive grants to eligible States that: (1) demonstrate that they have implemented laws requiring that any person who uses or carries a firearm in any violent crime or serious drug trafficking crime be sentenced to not less than five years in prison (without the possibility of parole) in addition to the punishment provided for such crime, or requiring that any person who possesses a firearm, having at least one prior conviction for a violent crime, be sentenced to five years' imprisonment (without the possibility of parole); or (2) can demonstrate that they have in effect an equivalent Federal prosecution agreement; and (3) demonstrate that they have or will implement a public awareness and community support program that seeks to build support for, and warns potential violators of, such firearms sentencing laws; and (4) provide assurances that they will coordinate with Federal prosecutors and Federal law enforcement agencies and will allocate resources to reduce crime in high-crime areas. Sets forth allowable uses for such grants, including to: (1) support law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, probation officers, correctional officers, the juvenile justice system, the improvement of criminal history records, or case management programs involving the sharing of information about serious offenders; (2) carry out such a public awareness and community support program; and (3) build or expand correctional facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2001 - Provides that: (1) whoever engages in conduct that violates specified provisions of the Federal criminal code, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, or specified articles the Uniform Code of Military Justice (conduct constituting certain Federal violent crimes) and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury to, a child who is in utero, shall be guilty of a separate offense; and (2) the punishment for that separate offense shall be the same as that provided under Federal law for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother. Specifies that a violation of such provisions does not require proof that: (1) the person engaging in the conduct had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant; or (2) the defendant (or accused) intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child. Directs that if the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall be punished as provided under the Federal criminal code for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being. Prohibits imposition of the death penalty for an offense under this Act. Bars prosecution under this Act: (1) of any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman, or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law; (2) for conduct relating to any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or (3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Education Act - Authorizes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct a temporary education center for educating people about the Memorial. Requires the center to remain for ten years, after which Congress may reevaluate the continuing need for the center. Sets forth conditions for the use of excess coin funds under the United States Veterans Commemorative Coin Act of 1993 in the construction of such center, including that the Fund provide detailed information with respect to the use of such funds.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Child Custody Protection Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit transporting an individual under age 18 across a State line to obtain an abortion and thereby abridging the right of a parent under a law in force in the State where the individual resides requiring parental involvement in a minor's abortion decision. Makes an exception if the abortion was necessary to save the life of the minor. Specifies that neither the minor transported nor her parent may be prosecuted or sued for a violation of this Act. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution for, or to a civil action based on, such a violation that the defendant reasonably believed that before the individual obtained the abortion, the parental consent or notification or judicial authorization that would have been required had the abortion been performed in the State where the individual resides, took place. Authorizes any parent who suffers legal harm from a violation to obtain appropriate relief in a civil action. Defines "parent" to include a guardian, legal custodian, or person standing in loco parentis who has care and control of the minor, and with whom the minor regularly resides, who is designated by such law as a person to whom notification, or from whom consent, is required.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) purchase the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Complex in Dixon, Illinois, and related personal property; (2) designate the Complex as the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site; (3) enter into a cooperative agreement with the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Foundation for the management, operation, and use of the Site; and (4) complete a general management plan for the Site.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2001 - Amends Federal bankruptcy law governing: (1) conversion of bankruptcy petitions; (2) abusive creditor practices; (3) debt reaffirmation and credit counseling; (4) domestic support obligations; (5) personal injury claims resulting from drug- or alcohol-impaired operation of a motor vehicle or vessel; (6) Federal criminal law enforcement with regard to abusive reaffirmations of debt; (7) fraudulent bankruptcy schedules; (8) education and retirement benefits; and (9) nondischarge from a debt for restitution or damages awarded in a civil action against the debtor for willful or malicious injury that caused personal injury or death of an individual. Prescribes guidelines regarding: (1) discouragement of bankruptcy abuse; (2) general and small business bankruptcy; (3) bankruptcy data dissemination and bankruptcy tax provisions; (4) ancillary and other cross-border cases to incorporate the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency; and (5) financial contracts and transfers entered into with an insolvent insured depository institution before its conservatorship or receivership. Reenacts Chapter 12, Adjustment of Debts of a Family Farmer with Regular Annual Income. Prescribes guidelines for insolvent health care businesses and related patients' rights. Mandates appointments and extensions for certain additional temporary bankruptcy judgeships. Prescribes additional consumer credit disclosures.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to increase the maximum amount of marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments that an agricultural producer may receive for crop year 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Family Heritage Preservation Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the estate tax, gift tax, and tax on generation-skipping transfers.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Uniformed Services Tax Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to declare that a member of the uniformed services shall be treated as using a principal residence while away from home on qualified official extended duty (in excess of 90 days or for an indefinite period) in determining the exclusion of gain from the sale of such residence, but only if the taxpayer owned and used the property as a principal residence for any period before such extended duty.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
States that Congress, on behalf of the American people, extends its birthday greetings and best wishes to Ronald Reagan on his 90th birthday.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2001 - Permits retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation. Repeals a special compensation program for certain severely disabled military retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Arctic Coastal Plain Domestic Energy Security Act of 2001- Declares that it is the policy of the United States to permit exploration, development, production, and transportation of oil and gas resources in a designated area of the Coastal Plain Study Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program. Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 to repeal the prohibition against production of oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and any leasing or development leading to such production. States that Congress determines that the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program and activities authorized by this Act are compatible with the purposes for which the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was established, and that no further findings or decisions are required to implement this determination. States that this Act is the sole authority for Coastal Plain leasing. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) designate a maximum total of Coastal Plain acreage as "Special Areas" and close them to leasing if the Secretary determines that they require special management and regulatory protection; and (2) permit leasing in those Special Areas by setting lease terms that restrict surface use and occupancy but permit the use of horizontal drilling technology from lease sites located outside the Special Areas. Declares that this Act constitutes the Secretary's sole authority to close Coastal Plain lands to oil and gas leasing and to exploration, development, and production. Directs the Secretary to grant rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for oil and gas transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Community Protection Act of 2001- Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize qualified law enforcement officers (including qualified retired officers) carrying the photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the individual is, or was, employed as a law enforcement officer, notwithstanding State or local laws, to carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Specifies that this Act shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that: (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Firearms Heritage Protection Act of 2001 - Prohibits civil actions from being brought against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm or ammunition, or a component thereof, that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce (a firearm), or a trade association of such manufacturers or sellers, for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm. Requires dismissal of any such action that is pending on the date of this Act's enactment. Specifies exceptions with respect to actions against persons who transfer a firearm knowing that it will be used to commit a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime, or actions brought against a seller for negligent entrustment or negligence per se.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2000
Calls upon the President to: (1) take all appropriate action to provide relief from injury caused by steel imports; and (2) immediately request the U.S. Trade Commission to commence an expedited investigation for positive adjustment of such steel imports under section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2000
RU-486 Patient Health and Safety Protection Act - Restricts the prescribing of the drug mifepristone (commonly referred to as RU-486, to be marketed as Mifeprex) to physicians who meet specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2000
Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to make a building located on a military installation available for use as a polling place in any Federal, State, or local election for public office. Requires such building to continue to be made available for such use unless the Secretary provides advance notification to Congress of the reasons for discontinuing such availability. Authorizes a State to make a facility of the reserves available for such purpose, with the same continuation or notification requirement. Amends the Revised Statutes to authorize the use of military installations or reserve facilities for such purposes. Requires an installation or facility that was made available for a Federal election during 1998 to be made available for the general election for Federal office in November 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2000
Small Business Liability Relief Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to provide that certain small businesses shall be liable for response costs as non-owners or operators only if the total of material containing a hazardous substance that the business arranged for disposal, transport, or treatment of, or accepted for transport, was greater than 110 pounds of liquid material or 200 pounds of solid material. Makes such exemption to liability inapplicable in cases where the substance could contribute significantly to response costs or where the business has failed to comply with an administrative subpoena or request for information or has impeded a response action. Applies this exemption only to activities taking place before this Act's enactment date. Makes a person liable for response costs for municipal solid waste (MSW) as a non-owner or operator only if the person is not an owner, operator, or lessee of residential property from which all of the person's MSW was generated, or a certain small business or tax-exempt organization that generated all its MSW, with respect to the facility concerned. Provides for liability if a person has failed to comply with an administrative subpoena or request for information or has impeded a response action. Makes persons that commence a contribution action liable to the defendant for all reasonable costs of defending the action if the defendant is not liable based on the above- described exemptions. Adds to the list of parties eligible for expedited final settlements certain persons and small businesses that demonstrate an inability or limited ability to pay response costs. Revises conditions of eligibility for such settlements for de minimis parties. Establishes a moratorium on litigation under CERCLA for recovery or contribution of response costs from any person eligible for an expedited settlement within a specified time frame.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2000
Congratulates and honors home educators and home schooled students for their contributions to educational quality. Supports the goals of National Home Education Week.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2000
Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Act of 2000 - Title I: Personnel Matters - Revises pay adjustment authority for nurses employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to require the director of such Department health-care facility to use third-party industry wage surveys in making such adjustments. Prohibits any adjustment from reducing the rate of basic pay applicable to any nurse grade. Prohibits a director, in determining whether to carry out an adjustment, from considering the absence of a current recruitment or retention problem for personnel in that position. Requires a director to make such determination based on whether there is a significant pay-related staffing problem for such position at that facility. Authorizes the Department's Under Secretary for Health to modify any adjustment determination made by a facility director. Requires each director to report annually to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on staffing for covered positions at that facility. Requires the Secretary to report annually on such staffing to the congressional veterans' committees. Makes annual (currently terminated in 1993) a reporting requirement from the Secretary to the veterans' committees regarding pay adjustments. Requires the Under Secretary to ensure that: (1) the director of a geographic service area, in formulating policy for the provision of patient care, consult regularly with a senior nurse executive(s); and (2) the director of a health-care facility include a registered nurse on any committee providing recommendations or decisions on medical center operations or policies affecting clinical services, clinical outcomes, budget, or resources. (Sec. 102) Increases the special pay for dentists for: (1) full-time status; (2) completing a post-graduate year of accredited hospital-based training; (3) length-of-service pay; (4) scarce specialty pay; (5) service in a geographic location in which there exists extraordinary difficulties in the recruitment and retention of qualified dentists; and (6) service in certain executive positions. Credits toward civil service retirement calculations 25 percent of the special pay for length-of-service pay for each two years that the dentist completes as a dentist in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). (Sec. 103) Exempts VHA pharmacists from a required ceiling on special salary rates for certain VHA health professionals. (Sec. 104) Requires a physician assistant with appropriate experience to advise the Under Secretary on all matters relating to the utilization and employment of VHA physician assistants. (Sec. 105) Revises generally provisions regarding the temporary appointment of graduates of physician assistant training programs. Provides a three-year term for temporary full-time appointments of certain medical support personnel (with authorized renewals for additional three-year periods). (Sec. 106) Requires VHA social workers to be licensed or certified to independently practice social work in a State (with an authorized waiver on an individual basis for a reasonable period). (Sec. 107) Amends the Department of Veterans Affairs Employment Reduction Assistance Act of 1999 to: (1) revise the number of authorized participants in a plan for voluntary separation incentive payments; (2) revise the percentage of required agency contributions to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund to cover such payments; and (3) extend payment authority through 2002. Title II: Construction Authorization - Authorizes the Secretary to carry out major medical facility projects at Department medical centers in Palo Alto, California, Miami, Florida, and Long Beach, California. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a renovation project at the Department medical center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. (Sec. 202) Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 and 2002 for the Construction, Major Projects, account for such projects. Title III: Military Service Issues - Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) a protocol is used during at least one clinical evaluation of a patient to identify pertinent military experiences and exposures that may contribute to the health of the patient; and (2) such information is included in the patient's medical records. Requires a report from the Secretary to the veterans' committees on the feasibility and desirability of using a computer-based system in conducting such evaluations. (Sec. 302) Directs the Secretary to contract with an appropriate entity to conduct a follow-up study on post-traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans. Requires a report to the veterans' committees. Title IV: Medical Administration - Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a pilot program in not more than four geographically dispersed areas to improve access to and coordination of inpatient care of eligible veterans. Terminates the pilot program on September 30, 2005. Authorizes the Secretary, under such program to pay the cost of hospital care and medical services furnished on an inpatient basis in a non-Department hospital to a veteran participant. Directs the Secretary to limit program care and services to general medical and surgical services, and to require that such services be provided only upon preauthorization by the Secretary. Makes eligible for the program a veteran who: (1) is enrolled to receive medical services from a nearby Department outpatient clinic; (2) has received care within 24 months preceding the veteran's application for program enrollment (3) requires such care and services for a non-service-connected condition and could not receive such care and services from a Department clinic; and (4) elects to receive such care and services under an entitled health plan. Directs the Secretary to ensure that at least 15 percent of program participants are veterans without a health care plan. Requires two reports from the Secretary to the veterans' committees on program implementation and operation. Limits to $50 million the total authorized program expenditure for any fiscal year. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the payment of veterans' disability compensation for veterans who are disabled during participation in a compensated work therapy program. (Sec. 403) Extends through December 31, 2005, the authority of the Secretary to establish nonprofit research and education corporations. (Sec. 404) Authorizes the Secretary to furnish temporary lodging in Fisher houses (guest houses) or other appropriate facilities, in connection with the examination, care, and treatment of a veteran, to: (1) a veteran who must travel a significant distance to receive such care and treatment; and (2) a family member and others who accompany such veteran and provide familial support. Authorizes the Secretary to establish charges for such lodging. (Sec. 405) Extends through 2004 an annual reporting requirement describing activities of the Committee on Care of Severely Chronically Mentally Ill Veterans. (Sec. 406) Excludes from the right of the Department to recover certain costs from a State for veterans' care facilities not so used for at least 20 years the establishment and operation of an outpatient clinic at such a facility. (Sec. 407) Prohibits the Secretary from entering into an enhanced-use lease of Department property until 90 days after notifying the veterans' committees of the intention to designate property for such use. (Sec. 409) Authorizes the Secretary to employ veterans claims examiners (also known as veterans service representatives) on a fee basis. Requires two reports on the implementation of such authority. (Sec. 410) Directs the Secretary to release a reversionary interest in certain real property in Johnson City, Tennessee, previously transferred to the State of Tennessee.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Taiwan and its people deserve appropriate participation in the United Nations and other international organizations such as the World Health Organization; and (2) the United States should fulfill its commitment made in the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review to support more actively Taiwan's membership in appropriate international organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2000
Recognizes the Boy Scouts of America for the public service it performs through its contributions to the lives of the nation's boys and young men.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2000
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to increase the maximum amount of marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments that an agricultural producer may receive for crop year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a Liberty Day should be celebrated annually in the United States as a remembrance of both the freedom that Americans were given in the Declaration of Independence and the rights and liberties that Americans were given in the Constitution; and (2) elected and previously-elected representatives of the people who voluntarily give of their time to speak to Americans about those founding documents deserve our thanks.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2000
Veterans Claims Assistance Act of 2000 - Amends Federal veterans benefits provisions to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to take specified steps to assist claimants. Requires the Secretary: (1) to notify a claimant whose application is incomplete of the evidence necessary to complete the application (existing law), including the information and medical and lay evidence necessary to substantiate the claim and, as part of such notice, to indicate which portion of such evidence is to be provided by the claimant and which portion the Secretary will attempt to obtain on behalf of the claimant; (2) to make reasonable efforts to assist in obtaining evidence necessary to establish a claimant's eligibility for a benefit (but allows the Secretary to decide a claim without providing such assistance when no reasonable possibility exists that such assistance will aid in the establishment of eligibility) and to obtain relevant records that the claimant adequately identifies to the Secretary and authorizes the Secretary to obtain; and (3) to inform the claimant whenever the Secretary is unable to obtain such records and to request the claimant to notify the Secretary if the claimant intends to obtain such records independently. Requires, in the case of a veteran's claim for disability compensation, the Secretary to: (1) obtain the claimant's existing service medical records and, if the claimant has furnished sufficient information, other relevant service records, existing records of relevant medical treatment or examination of the veteran at Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities or at the expense of the Department, and specified information to be furnished by other agencies; and (2) provide a medical examination or obtain a medical opinion when the evidence of record before the Secretary establishes that the claimant has a current disability or has current symptoms and that there was an event, injury, or disease (or combination thereof) during the claimant's active military, naval, or air service capable of causing or aggravating the claimant's current disability or symptoms, but is insufficient to establish service-connection. (Sec. 4) Places on the claimant the burden of proving entitlement to benefits (currently, of submitting evidence sufficient to justify a belief by a fair and impartial individual that the claim is well grounded). (Sec. 5) Prohibits any Federal department or agency from imposing any charge for providing to the Secretary information for purposes of determining benefit eligibility. (Sec. 6) Provides for: (1) the applicability of provisions of this Act concerning the burden of proof to claims filed before, and not final as of, the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) the readjudication of claims for benefits that were denied, because the claims were not well grounded, during the period between July 14, 1999, and this Act's enactment date.