United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Civil Rights for International Travelers Act - Prohibits U.S. Customs Service inspectors or other officials from subjecting travelers to detentions and searches based on the traveler's race, religion, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation, except when acting upon specific information that a particular traveler suspected of engaging in specific illegal activity is described by one or more of such characteristics. Requires all Customs Service inspectors and other similar officials to undergo periodic training on the procedures for detention and searches of travelers, with particular emphasis on the prohibition against profiling of travelers based on such characteristics.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Domestic Spirits Tax Equity Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a distilled spirits wholesaler a distilled spirits wholesalers credit equal to the product of: (1) the number of cases of bottled distilled spirits which were bottled in the United States and which are purchased by such wholesaler during the taxable year directly from the distiller or importer of such spirits; and (2) the average tax-financing cost per case for the most recent calendar year ending before the beginning of such taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2001
Farmers to Africa and the Caribbean Basin Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Farmers for Africa and Caribbean Basin Program to provide grants for exchange programs with African-American and other American farmers and other agricultural specialists and (sub-Saharan) African, Caribbean Basin, and other developing-nation farmers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2001
Authorizes the President to present a congressional gold medal to Peter F. Drucker in recognition of his accomplishments as a journalist, a writer, an economist, and a philosopher.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2001
Dairy Consumers and Producers Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to include Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania within the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact. Eliminates: (1) the Compact's termination date; and (2) certain restrictive authority respecting non-Compact milk. States that only Ohio may join such Compact. Eliminates and revises specified provisions regarding Compact implementation, duration, restricting authority, and Commodity Credit Corporation compensation. States that Congress consents to the Southern Dairy Compact entered into by Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. States that only Florida, Nebraska, and Texas may join such Compact. Limits price regulatory authority to Class I fluid milk unless otherwise consented to by the Congress. Provides for Commodity Credit Corporation compensation. Sets forth the Southern Dairy Compact. States that Congress consents to: (1) the Pacific Northwest Dairy Compact proposed for California, Oregon, and Washington; and (2) the Intermountain Dairy Compact proposed for Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Limits price regulatory authority to Class I fluid milk. Provides for Corporation compensation. States that such Compacts shall be the same as the Southern Dairy Compact with specified differences.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2001
Consumer Debit Card Protection Act - Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to mandate that any check card issued by a financial institution to a consumer bear the legend "Check Card" in prominent typeface and in a conspicuous place on the card's face. Limits to $50 any consumer liability for unauthorized electronic fund transfers where the relevant cards do not necessitate a unique identifier, such as a photograph, fingerprint, or retina scan. Conditions such liability upon timely notification to the consumer of liability for such transfers and of the advisability of prompt reporting of any loss, theft, or unauthorized use of a card code or other means of access. Permits distribution to consumers of electronic fund transfer cards without unique identifiers only if certain validation requirements are met. Mandates that any financial institution which issues consumer check cards maintain a 24-hour notification system which includes a toll-free telephone number at which personnel are continuously accessible to accept reports of theft, loss, or unauthorized use. Prohibits consumer liability for fees for insufficient funds due to an unauthorized electronic fund transfer executed by the use of a card lacking a protective device to serve as a unique identifier of the rightful consumer. Requires prompt re-crediting of the consumer's account for any fee imposed before receipt of the consumer's notice of an unauthorized electronic fund transfer.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2001
PILT and Refuge Revenue Sharing Permanent Funding Act - Provides permanent funding for the following programs: (1) Bureau of Land Management Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT); and (2) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's refuge revenue sharing program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2001
Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to revise provisions relating to access and choice for small business employers with respect to medical care for their employees. Establishes rules governing association health plans (group health plans whose sponsors are trade, industry, professional, chamber of commerce, or similar business associations), including requirements relating to certification, sponsors and boards of trustees, participation, coverage, plan documents, contribution rates, benefit options, applications for certification, notice for voluntary termination, corrective actions, and mandatory termination. Requires association health plans which provide health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage to maintain certain reserves and comply with other solvency provisions. Directs the Secretary of Labor to apply for appointment, and carry out specified duties, as trustee of any such insolvent association health plans which provide health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage. Allows a State to impose a contribution tax on any association health plan commencing operations in such State after the enactment of this Act. Requires association health plans to include in their summary plan descriptions, in connection with each benefit option, a description of the form of any solvency or guarantee fund protection secured under ERISA or applicable State law. Revises provisions relating to treatment of: (1) single employer arrangements; and (2) certain collectively bargained arrangements. Sets forth provisions for association health plans with respect to: (1) enforcement; (2) cooperation between Federal and State authorities; and (3) treatment of certain existing health benefit programs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that ancestors and lineal descendants of past or present members of the armed forces shall be taken into account in determining whether a veterans' organization is exempt from tax.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
Requires the American Battle Monuments Commission to proceed expeditiously with the construction of the National World War II Memorial at the dedicated Rainbow Pool site in the District of Columbia. Declares that: (1) the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Commemorative Works Act, and any other law pertaining to the siting and design of the Memorial have been met; and (2) the decision to construct the Memorial at such site, decisions implementing this Act, and decisions about design are final, conclusive, and not subject to administrative or judicial review.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
National Museum of African American History and Culture Act of 2001 - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution the National Museum of African American History and Culture to be operated as a center for scholarship and a location for museum training, public education, exhibits, and collection and study of items and materials relating to the life, art, history, and culture of African Americans form slavery and the era of reconstruction to the Harlem renaissance, the civil rights movement, and beyond. Establishes the National Museum of African American History and Culture Council. Requires the Council to appoint a Director to manage the Museum. Authorizes the Council to plan, design, reconstruct, renovate, and expand the Arts and Industries Building to house the Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to impose on an electing Alaska Native Settlement Trust, other than its net capital gain, the lowest rate of tax imposed by section one of the IRC (currently, 15 percent). Provides that in the case of an electing Settlement Trust with a net capital gain for the taxable year, a tax is imposed on such gain at the rate of tax which would apply to such gain if the taxpayer were subject to a tax on its other taxable income at only the lowest rate. Provides for the tax treatment of distributions to beneficiaries. Sets forth information reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2001
Authorizes the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor former President John Adams and his wife Abigail, former President John Quincy Adams and his wife Louisa, and their legacy of public service.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2001
Good Samaritan Tax Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth a rule for determining the amount of the deduction allowable for a charitable contribution of food inventory.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
FHA Multifamily Housing Mortgage Loan Limit Adjustment Act of 2001 - Amends the National Housing Act to increase multifamily project mortgage loan limits for: (1) rental housing; (2) cooperative housing; (3) rehabilitation and neighborhood conservation housing; (4) housing for moderate income and displaced families; (5) housing for the elderly; and (6) condominiums.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Access to Cancer Therapies Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend Medicare coverage to all oral drugs prescribed for use as an anticancer agent for a medically accepted indication.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) mandate a single national average standardized payment amount for inpatient hospital services furnished, regardless of whether in an urban or non-urban area, under the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for discharges occurring in FY 2002 and thereafter; and (2) establish a minimum factor of .925 as a floor for area wage adjustment factors used under the PPS for inpatient and outpatient hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Artists' Contribution to American Heritage Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a fair market value (determined at time of contribution) deduction for charitable contributions of literary, musical, artistic, scholarly compositions, or the copyright created by a qualifying donor. Exempts certain non-personal letters and memorandum from such treatment. Limits such increased deduction to the donor's artistic adjusted income (as defined by this Act).
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend, for purposes of determining exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence, the five-year determination period for: (1) members of the uniformed services or the Foreign Service serving on qualified extended duty (at least 50 miles from such residence or residing in Government quarters); or (2) an employee serving for more than 90 days on assignment abroad.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2001
FERS Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Buyback Act of 2001 - Includes service as a temporary or intermittent Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation employee of at least one year's duration, performed after December 31, 1988 and before January 1, 2001, whether performed over a continuous period or otherwise, as creditable service under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), but only if such employee later becomes subject to FERS and such service is not credited for purposes of any benefit under any other retirement system established by U.S. law (disregarding the Social Security Act and provisions of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS)). Requires such employee to deposit to the credit of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund an amount equal to 1.3 percent of basic pay for such service. Requires any deposit made more than five years after the later of October 1, 2001, or the date on which the employee first becomes a Federal employee following the period of temporary or intermittent FDIC service to include interest. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for crediting such service to an individual who has separated from the Government. Requires recomputation of an annuity or a survivor annuity to take into account such service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2001
Reforestation Tax Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction to a taxpayer who has a qualified timber gain in an amount equal to the qualified percentage of such gain. Decreases the amortization period for reforestation expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2001
Authorizes the President to award to Brian Lamb, on behalf of Congress, a congressional gold medal in recognition of his contributions to the Nation in establishing C-SPAN, C-SPAN II, C-SPAN III, C-SPAN.org, and C-SPAN Radio.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2001
American Hospital Preservation Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by Federal law commonly referred to as the (Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP) Benefits Improvement and Protection Act, to: (1) increase (restore the full) market basket update for inpatient prospective payment services hospitals; and (2) maintain the indirect medical education adjustment percentage at 6.5 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Employee Educational Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permanently extend the exclusion from gross income of employer-provided educational assistance; and (2) restore the exclusion for such assistance on the graduate level.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Structured Settlement Protection Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on persons acquiring structured settlement payments in factoring transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Nurse Reinvestment Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the nursing profession, highlight the advantages and rewards of nursing, and encourage individuals from diverse communities and backgrounds to enter the nursing profession; and (2) award grants to designated eligible entities in order to increase the number of nurses. Establishes a fast-track nursing school faculty training program. Establishes a National Nurse Service Corps Scholarship program that provides scholarships to individuals seeking nursing education in exchange for service by such individuals in areas with nursing shortages. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the exclusion from gross income of accounts received under the National Nursing Service Corps Scholarship Program. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for nurse education training payments to qualified entities. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to temporarily increase the matching rate for Medicaid nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to increase from 4.25 percent to ten percent the amount of TANF funds a State may transfer to carry out State programs under SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) for FY 2002. Amends SSA title XX to: (1) increase the authorization of appropriations for States and territories for FY 2001, 2002, and succeeding fiscal years; and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to compile information on State activities carried out under SSA title XX and report it annually to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Downed Animal Protection Act - Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to make it unlawful for any stockyard owner, market agency, or dealer to buy, sell, give, receive, transfer, market, hold, or drag any nonambulatory livestock unless such livestock has been humanely euthanized. Imposes civil and criminal penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Publicly Traded Partnership Equity Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include distributions from publicly traded partnerships as qualifying income of regulated investment companies. Excludes such distributions from the source-based inclusion limitation applicable to other partnerships. Applies specified passive activity provisions for publicly traded partnerships to regulated investment companies.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions concerning designated settlement funds to exempt from tax any designated settlement fund established for the principal purpose of resolving and satisfying present and future claims relating to asbestos. Sets forth special rules concerning asbestos liability losses.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Electric Power Industry Tax Modernization Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a governmental unit to make an irrevocable election to terminate certain tax-exempt bond financing for electric output facilities. Sets forth provisions concerning independent transmission companies. Provides for the exclusion from gross income as contributions to capital of certain amounts received by electric utilities. Revises the special rules concerning the tax treatment of nuclear decommissioning costs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2001
Helping Children Succeed by Fully Funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to authorize and make appropriations for FY 2002 through 2007 for IDEA part B programs of assistance for education of all children with disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to taxation of U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporations, to permanently extend the subpart F exemption (which excludes such income from the shareholder's foreign personal holding company income) for active financing (banking, financing, or similar business) income earned on business operations overseas. (Thus permits American financial services firms doing business abroad to defer U.S. tax on their earnings from their foreign financial services operations until such earnings are returned to the U.S. parent company.)
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude contributions of any qualified conservation contribution or capital gain real property made for conservation purposes from the application of the special limitation on contributions of capital gain property and from the application of the five-year carryover limitation. Repeals specified property location restrictions on the estate tax exclusion for property subject to a qualified conservation easement.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2001
Welcomes the safe return of Arnie Alford, Steve Derry, Jason Weber, and David Bradley from captivity by terrorists in Ecuador and congratulates them for their perseverance in the face of adversity. Extends sympathy to the family of Ron Sander, who was killed by terrorists, and salutes his courage. Supports the U.S. commitment to bringing the killers and the kidnappers to justice. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States must redouble its efforts to prevent future kidnappings.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Directs the Secretary of Labor, in accordance with specified provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, to issue a final rule relating to ergonomics.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the petition filing deadline for certain alien spouses and children seeking to adjust to permanent resident status.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Work Opportunity Improvement Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permanently extend the work opportunity credit; (2) permanently extend the temporary incentives for employing long-term family assistance recipients; and (3) redefine the term "qualified food stamp recipient" to raise the upper age limit from 25 to 51.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2001
Working Americans' Tax Rebate Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a refund of up to five percent of the income tax otherwise payable for taxable year 2000. Treats each individual as having made a payment against his or her income tax for the first taxable year beginning in 2000 in an amount equal to five percent of the amount of such individual's net income tax. States that the amount treated as paid shall not be less than the lesser of: (1) the amount of the taxpayer's net income tax for such taxpayer's first taxable year beginning in 2000; or (2) $100 ($50 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return). Sets the maximum amount treated as paid at $500 ($250 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return). Makes estates, trusts, and nonresident alien individuals ineligible for such refund.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Historic Homeownership Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 20 percent (up to a maximum limit of $40,000 for a joint return) of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to the certified rehabilitation of a qualified historic home which has been substantially rehabilitated and which is owned by the taxpayer and used as his or her principal residence. Allows the credit for such expenditures to be taken by a purchaser of the rehabilitated home. Permits, in lieu of the credit, a historic rehabilitation mortgage credit certificate, which may be transferred to a lender in exchange for a reduction in the rate of interest on the loan secured by the building.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
America's Better Classroom Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit for qualified public school modernization bonds (qualified school construction bonds and qualified zone academy bonds). Amends the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the application of certain labor standards to projects financed under this Act. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish provisions concerning employment and training activities related to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Live Performing Arts Labor Relations Amendments - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to exempt, from a prohibition against employer or labor organization boycotts, any leaders, contractors, purchasers of live entertainment or live music, promoters, producers, or persons similarly engaged or involved in an integrated production or performance of any kind in the live entertainment industry. Allows employers who hire, or contract for the services of, persons engaged in the live performing arts to make agreements covering such persons with labor organizations of which performing artists are members (provided that certain unfair labor practices are not involved), even if the majority status of such labor organization has been previously established or such agreement requires membership in such labor organization as a condition of employment. Revises definitions of: (1) employer, to include purchasers of live musical performance services regardless of whether the performer is an independent contractor, employer, or employee of another employer; and (2) employee, to include independent contractors (other than employers) engaged to perform live musical services.
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
Railroad Track Modernization Act of 2001 - Amends Federal rail transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a program of capital grants to Class II and Class III railroads to rehabilitate, preserve, or improve railroad track (including roadbed, bridges, and related track structures) used primarily for freight transportation to a standard to accommodate 286,000 pound rail cars in a safe and efficient manner. Authorizes the Secretary to also make grants to supplement direct loans or loan guarantees (including for paying credit risk premiums, lowering rates of interest, or providing for a holiday on principal payments) for projects primarily benefitting non-Class I freight railroad carriers. Sets forth certain prevailing wage requirements with respect to projects financed by such grants.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Transportation Tax Equity and Fairness Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the special fuel excise tax on railroads and inland waterway transportation. Subjects diesel fuel used in trains to the additional tax for the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund.
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
Quality Cheese Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit: (1) using Federal funds to amend specified regulations to include dry ultra-filtered milk, milk protein concentrates, or casein in the definition of "milk" or "nonfat milk" as specified in the domestic natural standards for cheese and cheese products; and (2) amending such regulations and definitions to include wet ultra-filtered milk until 60 days after submission of the study required by this Act. Requires a study of the impact of wet ultra-filtered milk's use on dairy farmers.
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
Budget Responsibility and Efficiency Act of 2001 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Conforms provisions of the Rules of the House of Representatives, provisions governing the President's budget, and requirements for certain strategic and performance plans and reports to the biennial framework. Provides a point of order against any measure that contains a specific authorization of appropriations unless such authorization is for each fiscal year in a biennium. Requires the President's budget submission for FY 2004 to identify budget accounts for which an appropriation should be made for each fiscal year of the FY 2004-2005 biennium. Directs congressional committees, during the 108th Congress, to work with the Comptroller General to develop plans to transition program authorizations to a multi-year schedule. Sets forth additional transition requirements. Makes this Act applicable to budget resolutions and appropriations for the biennium beginning with FY 2006.
![Official portrait of Rep. Houghton, Amo [R-NY-31]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/cd375c1d1b0b554995c377c2856cb497_200.jpg)