United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2001
First Things First Act-Amends the Internal Revenue Code to raise certain highest marginal income tax rates. Amends the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 to: (1) repeal the phaseout of the overall limitation on itemized deductions and restore the phaseout of personal exemptions; and (2) repeal the termination of the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, step-up basis at death, and related items. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the estate tax deduction for family-owned business interests. Establishes the National Priorities Assessment Task Force in the legislative branch. Requires such Task Force to evaluate congressional success in the following areas: (1) the provision of aid and relief to persons injured as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; (2) the security of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds; (3) the provision of a comprehensive prescription drug benefit to Medicare beneficiaries; (4) the provision of Federal funding for school modernization and teacher hiring; and (5) a significant reduction in worst case housing needs.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2001
Home Equity Loss Prevention and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a personal interest deduction (up to $10,000, adjustable for inflation) for individuals. Repeals restrictions on the deduction for education loans.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2001
Displaced Workers Relief Act of 2001 - Authorizes certain groups of workers who have become totally or partially separated (or threatened with total or partial separation) from employment with the airline industry as a result of reductions in service by an air carrier or closure of an airport due to a terrorist action or security measures to petition the Secretary of Labor for a certification of eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance (similar to trade adjustment assistance under the Trade Act of 1974). Provides certain benefits (employment services, job training, and readjustment allowances) to eligible workers meeting certain eligibility requirements. Provides eligible workers who do not meet certain requirements for State unemployment compensation with a limited readjustment allowance under this Act. Provides for payment of premiums for COBRA health care continuation coverage of eligible workers. Authorizes a State to elect to provide medical assistance under its Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act for eligible workers who are not eligible for COBRA health care continuation coverage, and who are uninsured.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2001
Amends specified Federal laws to subject a foreign state (dropping the requirement that it be designated as a state sponsor of terrorism under the Export Administration Act of 1979) or an official of such state to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts with respect to actions for money and punitive damages for personal injury or death as a result of an act of torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or the provision of material support for such acts by such state or such official while acting within the scope his or her employment with such state.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the highest rate of income tax imposed on individual taxpayers to 39.6 percent, and to appropriate to the social security trust funds the resulting revenue increase.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that in light of the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001: (1) the United States steel industry is vital to the national security interests of the United States; and (2) the United States should place a priority on using steel produced in the United States in order to help rebuild our Nation and support any future military efforts in response to such attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2001
September 11th Families Stamp Act - Directs the U.S. Postal Service to issue a semipostal (first-class postage stamp sold at a premium) with the proceeds from its sale going to the September 11th Families Fund to provide assistance, through the Office for Victims of Crime, Department of Justice, to the families of individuals who were killed in the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. Establishes the September 11th Families Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2001
Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act of 2001 - Designates: (1) specified public lands in the Chugach National Forest, Alaska, as National Wilderness Preservation System components; and (2) specified public lands in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska, as wilderness areas or System components. Provides with respect to specified public lands in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska, for: (1) a wilderness designation study; (2) designation as Land Use Designation II lands; (3) designation as restoration lands; and (4) designation as special management areas. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate, or study for designation, as wild, scenic, and recreational rivers specified waters in the Chugach and Tongass National Forests, Alaska.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that the children who lost one or both parents or a guardian in the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center and Pentagon tragedies, including the aircraft crash in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, should be provided with all necessary services and benefits, including foster care assistance, adoption assistance, and medical, nutritional, and psychological care. Urges each responsible Federal agency to put the highest priority on providing such assistance, services, and benefits within 60 days of the determination of the death of the child's parent or guardian.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2001
Declares that in the quest to identify, bring to justice, and punish the perpetrators and sponsors of the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans, including Arab-Americans, American Muslims, and Americans from South Asia, should be protected. Condemns any acts of violence or discrimination against any Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that a National Day of Remembrance should be established to remember those who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and to honor the people of the United States who displayed heroism and courage during and after such attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2001
Medically Underserved Access to Care Act of 2001 - Directs a managed care organization offering a managed care plan to establish and maintain adequate arrangements with a sufficient number, mix, and distribution of health care professionals and providers to assure that covered items and services are available and accessible to each plan enrollee in the organization's service area at a variety of sites within reasonable proximity to the enrollee, and in a manner that accounts for enrollee needs and reasonably assures care continuity. Treats as meeting such requirements any managed care organization serving a medically underserved area that has similar arrangements with health care professionals and providers having a history of serving such areas. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program in the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to enable eligible nongovernmental agencies to develop outreach programs with regard to medically underserved areas. Requires a study to examine the participation of African-American and other minority physicians in managed care organizations and steps that can be taken to increase such participation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2001
Corporate Code of Conduct Act - Requires any national of the United States that employs more than 20 persons in a foreign country, either directly or through subsidiaries, subcontractors, affiliates, joint ventures, partners, or licensees (including any security forces), to take the necessary steps to implement the Corporate Code of Conduct specified by this Act with respect to the employment of those persons. States that such Corporate Code of Conduct requires that a U.S. national comply with certain principles regarding fair employment, international human rights, and the environment. Requires: (1) Federal agency heads to give preference in the award of contracts to entities adopting and enforcing such Code; (2) the Secretary of Commerce to give preference to such entities that are also U.S. exporters with introduction to contacts in foreign countries, and in coordinating trade missions; (3) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade and Development Agency to give such entities preference in providing financing and issuing investment insurance, reinsurance, and guaranties under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; and (4) the Export-Import Bank to give such entities preference in providing guarantees, insurance, and credit, and in participating in extensions of credit. Establishes a private right of action to petition the appropriate Federal official to investigate alleged Code compliance violations. Requires the Secretary of Commerce and others, upon a determination of Code noncompliance, to terminate a contract entered into with the noncomplying entity, and withdraw, suspend, or limit the entity's preference under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2001
Election Weekend Act - Amends Federal law to change the date for the election of President and of Vice President and of Members of Congress to the first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in November in every even numbered year. Expresses the sense of Congress that private employers in the United States should give their employees a day off on either of such days starting in November 2002 to enable them to cast votes in the Federal and other elections held on that day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2001
Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act of 2001 - Amends Federal postal law to provide that any limitation in the Semipostal Authorization Act relating to whether more than one semipostal (a postage stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service, at a premium, in order to help provide funding for a national public interest) may be offered for sale at the same time, shall not apply to the breast cancer research special stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service. Extends the Service's authority to issue such stamps through July 29, 2008. Revises the differential amount of the special rate of postage for the breast cancer research stamp to not less than 15 percent of the regular first-class rate (currently, not to exceed 25 percent of first-class). Requires the special rate to be evenly divisible by five.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2001
Day Laborer Fairness and Protection Act - Requires day labor service agencies to provide notice of the wage rate expected to be paid by each third party employer using their services. Requires the wage rate for such third party employers to equal the rate paid to their permanent employees who perform substantially equivalent work, with due consideration given to seniority, experience, skills and qualifications. Prohibits employers from reducing the wage rate of any employee in order to comply with requirements of this Act. Sets forth requirements for: (1) agency payments to day laborers for excessive processing time; (2) civil damages and criminal penalties for certain employer violations; (3) itemized wage statements, annual earnings summaries, and optional payment schedules; (4) nondiscrimination; (5) adequate seating, restrooms, and water in waiting areas; (6) health care liability for injuries on the job or in transit; (7) agency notices; (8) equitable expenses for day laborer meals, transportation, and equipment; and (9) agency registration with the Secretary of Labor. Prohibits: (1) charges for cashing wage payment checks or for overpayments; and (2) restrictions on worker acceptance of permanent positions (but allows placement fees to agencies by employers). Amends the National Labor Relations Act to make it an unfair labor practice for employers to offer and grant: (1) permanent replacement employee status or other employment preferences to individuals for performing bargaining unit work for the employer during a labor dispute; or (2) any employment preference based on an individual's being employed, or having indicated a willingness to be employed, during a labor dispute, over any employee who was there at dispute commencement, has exercised rights through the labor organization involved in the dispute, and is working for the employer, or has unconditionally offered to return to such work.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2001
Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act of 2001 - Requires a manufacturer of a motor vehicle sold or introduced into commerce in the United States to disclose to the vehicle owner, a repair facility, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the information necessary to diagnose, service, or repair the vehicle. Sets forth protections for trade secrets. States that manufacturer noncompliance with this Act constitutes an unfair method of competition and an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting commerce within the purview of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Authorizes a vehicle owner or repair facility to bring a civil action in Federal district court for violations of this Act without regard to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties. Instructs the FTC to prescribe a uniform methodology for manufacturer disclosure in writing, and on the Internet. Prohibits the FTC from prescribing rules that interfere with the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency regarding motor vehicle emissions control diagnostics systems.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2001
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of Congress, a gold medal to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (posthumously) and his widow Coretta Scott King in recognition of their service to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2001
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service to recommend and the Postmaster General to issue a postage stamp commemorating the Fisk Jubilee Singers (a choral group from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee).
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2001
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2001 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities (including employment agencies, labor organizations, and training programs). Prohibits related retaliation and coercion. Declares this Act inapplicable to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's domestic partner. Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from: (1) collecting statistics on sexual orientation from covered entities; and (2) compelling covered entities to collect such statistics. Prohibits: (1) quotas and preferential treatment; and (2) an order or consent decree for a violation of this Act that includes a quota or preferential treatment. Declares that this Act is inapplicable to: (1) religious organizations; (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Prohibits the imposition of affirmative action for a violation of this Act. Disallows State immunity. Makes the United States or a State liable for remedies to the same extent as under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2001
Victims' Economic Security and Safety Act - Sets forth entitlement standards and implementation guidelines for employee use of emergency leave to address domestic or sexual violence. Permits victims of domestic or sexual violence to substitute existing leave in lieu of emergency leave. Authorizes State use of funds under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) to provide nonrecurrent short-term emergency benefits for emergency leave precipitated by domestic or sexual violence . Amends the Internal Revenue Code relating to approval of State unemployment compensation laws to prohibit denial of compensation where an individual is separated from employment due to circumstances resulting from the individual's experience of domestic or sexual violence. Amends the Social Security Act to include training under this Act for unemployment compensation and TANF personnel. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a grant to a national victim services organization to develop and disseminate a model program for domestic and sexual violence training. Victims' Employment Sustainability Act - Prohibits certain discriminatory employer practices relating to terms or conditions of employment in connection with victims of domestic or sexual violence. Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits denial or restriction of insurance coverage based on the status of the applicant or insured regarding abuse or abuse-related claims. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business related credit for 40 percent of an employer's costs for implementing workplace safety and education programs relating to domestic and sexual violence. Authorizes the Attorney General to provide a grant for a clearinghouse and resource center to provide information and assistance to employers, labor organizations, and advocates on behalf of victims of domestic or sexual violence.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2001
United States-Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Human Dignity Act - Amends Federal law to prohibit the affixation of the "Made in the USA" label to a product (including textile fiber product) from the Northern Mariana Islands unless: (1) each worker producing such product was paid a minimum wage equal to or greater than the wage set by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; (2) the product was manufactured in compliance with all Federal laws relating to labor rights and working conditions; and (3) the factory or other business producing the product does not employ individuals under conditions of indentured servitude. Applies to the Northern Mariana Islands: (1) the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; and (2) the Immigration and Nationality Act. Prohibits any product of the Northern Mariana Islands from entering the customs territory of the United States duty-free or not subject to quota as a product of an insular possession unless specified requirements relating to fair labor practices and country of origin are met. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to authorize the inspection by the Customs Service of any vessel from a foreign port or from a place in any U.S. territory or possession arriving at a port or place in the Northern Mariana Islands. Requires a study of the extent of human and labor rights violations in the Northern Mariana Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2001
Agricultural Credit Act of 2001 - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to exclude from "debt forgiveness": (1) loan rescheduling, consolidation, deferral, or reamortization; (2) a write-down due to natural disaster or family medical condition; or (3) a write-down as part of the resolution of a discrimination complaint against the Secretary of Agriculture. Increases the number of occasions of permitted loan or loan guarantee debt forgiveness per borrower from one to two. Includes as an exception to such limitation an operating loan or loan guarantee to an individual whose payments are current under a specified reorganization plan. Permits excess funds obligated for socially disadvantaged farmers to be reallocated for such use in another State (currently limited to intrastate reallocation). Permits direct operating loans and loan guarantees to be made to persons in areas: (1) affected by a natural disaster or designated emergency; or (2) determined to be suffering from an economic emergency. Revises (shared appreciation arrangement) recapture percentage provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2001
Calls upon Secretary of State Colin Powell to lead the U.S. delegation to South Africa for the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance (WCAR). Urges the Bush Administration to: (1) increase U.S. support for WCAR by providing financial assistance commensurate with the U.S. financial commitment to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and other similar fora; and (2) adopt policy positions at WCAR that seek to advance an enlightened understanding of both the historic and contemporary factors contributing to current-day problems of racism and related intolerance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2001
Social Security Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) pension offset provisions applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to Old-Age and Survivors insurance benefit payments; and (2) windfall elimination provisions with respect to computation of the primary insurance amount of an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2001
Declares that Congress mourns the loss of life caused by several days of civil unrest in July 2001 in Kingston, Jamaica. Urges the Government of Jamaica to encourage a process of reconciliation to help resolve the crisis and to conduct an investigation of the events leading up to the civil unrest that is fair, open, timely, and transparent and that provides every segment of the Jamaican population an opportunity to be heard. Urges the President to: (1) provide, upon the request of the Jamaican Government, technical advice that would help such Government in its investigation of the events leading up to the unrest; (2) continue to cooperate with such Government to halt the illegal transport of firearms and ammunition from the United States to Jamaica; and (3) support the continuation of the democratic process and rule of law in Jamaica.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2001
Mothers and Newborns Health Insurance Act of 2001 - Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give States, subject to specified guidelines, the authority to provide for: (1) optional coverage of pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income, uninsured pregnant women under the State's SCHIP plan; and (2) automatic eligibility and enrollment for child health assistance under such plan for children born to targeted low-income pregnant women receiving such assistance when the child is born until it attains one year of age, so long as the child is a member of the woman's household. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) with respect to the transitional increased Federal matching rate for increased administrative costs related to Medicaid-eligibility determinations of individuals receiving aid or assistance under SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF).
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2001
Salmon Planning Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) providing for peer review of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) biological opinion regarding the Operation of the Federal Columbia River power system, issued December 21, 2000, and any subsequent modification of it (opinion) and submission of a report on the results. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Commerce to publish a determination of whether implementation of the salmon recovery measures in the opinion are sufficient to achieve recovery, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, of the salmon and steelhead populations; and if not, whether partially removing the four lower Snake River dams (the dams) are necessary to restore Snake River salmon and steelhead populations; (2) the Secretary of the Interior to publish a determination of whether partially removing the dams are necessary to meet treaty obligations; and (3) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish a determination of whether partially removing the dams are necessary to meet Federal Water Pollution Control Act requirements. Directs the Comptroller General to study the potential effects of partially removing the dams. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Corps of Engineers, to partially remove the dams if the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior, or the EPA Administrator finds that such action is necessary to meet the aforementioned requirements. Directs the Secretary of the Army to undertake such preliminary engineering, design, construction, and other activities as necessary to remove the dams.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2001
Fisheries Recovery Act of 2001 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act regarding avoiding and minimizing bycatch and bycatch mortality. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to report on progress made in implementing requirements regarding standardized reporting methodology and bycatch reduction. Requires a fishery management plan to close an area to a gear or practice that has been shown to adversely affect essential fish habitat unless the Regional Fishery Management Council (council) determines that closure is not necessary and the Secretary finds that the gear or practice will have a minimal adverse impact on habitat and minimal bycatch. Requires observers on commercial fishing vessels to collect data necessary for the conservation and management of the fishery, subject to specified requirements Modifies: (1) the definition of "overfishing" and "overfished" to include jeopardizing the ecological integrity and sustainability of marine ecosystems; (2) conservation and management measure requirements; and (3) fishery management plan requirements to add ecosystem considerations. Requires each fishery management plan to have a fishery impact statement. Directs the Secretary to develop at least one pilot fisheries ecosystem plan. Requires each council to prepare and submit to the Secretary a Fisheries Ecosystem Plan for each major marine ecosystem within its jurisdiction. Reauthorizes appropriations to carry out the Act. Amends the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act to earmark specified funds for direct industry assistance grants and for activities of the National Marine Fisheries Service that are directly related to implementation of the Magnuson Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2001
Save Our Homes Act - Amends the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 to: (1) mandate itemization and disclosure of the annual percentage rate of mortgage loans and other loans secured by residential real property originated by the lending institution, including the amount of fees and points imposed in connection with loan origination, grouped according to census tract, income level, racial characteristics, age, and gender; and (2) prohibit regulatory exemptions of depository institutions from such reporting requirements. Amends the Truth in Lending Act to: (1) set forth annual percentage rates that define a high-cost mortgage and the attendant rule relating to mortgage discount points in order to apply high-cost loan protections to home purchase loans, and to lower the threshold for high-cost loans; (2) include certain mortgage broker intermediaries within the statutory definition of "creditor"; (3) subject a creditor to liability for mortgage broker violations of this Act; and (4) proscribe designated practices for a high-cost mortgage. Declares unenforceable under both Federal and State law a high-cost mortgage document in which blanks are left to be filled in after the contract is signed. Excludes from participation in mortgage-backed security pools high-cost or conforming home loans in violation of this Act. Prescribes a formula for determining an alternative maximum amount of civil liability for credit or mortgage broker violations involving high-cost mortgages and conforming loans.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2001
Training for Closed Captioners Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to provide grants to no more than 20 eligible entities (approved and accredited court reporting programs) to promote the training of students to become realtime closed captioners. Limits to $1 million the amount of a grant provided to an entity in a fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2001
Youth Service Scholarship Act of 2001 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a Public Service Incentives college scholarship program to reward low- and moderate-income students who have, during high school, and who continue, during college, to make significant public service contributions to their communities. Requires 300 hours of public service by the student: (1) during each of two academic years of secondary school, to be eligible for a scholarship for the first year of college; and (2) during the preceding postsecondary academic year, to be eligible for a second, third, or fourth year. Requires such students to: (1) have been eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; and (2) be eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants in the year in which the scholarships are awarded. Sets the scholarship amount at $5,000 for any academic year during a student's first four years of undergraduate education, and provides for adjustments of such amount in the event of insufficient appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2001
Establishes a Department of Peace, which shall be headed by a Secretary of Peace appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Sets forth the mission of the Department, including to: (1) hold peace as an organizing principle; (2) endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights; and (3) develop policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured mediation of conflict. Establishes in the Department the Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Peace, which shall provide assistance and make recommendations to the Secretary and the President concerning intergovernmental policies relating to peace and nonviolent conflict resolution. Transfers to the Department the functions, assets, and personnel of various Federal agencies. Establishes a Federal Interagency Committee on Peace. Establishes Peace Day. Urges all citizens to observe and celebrate the blessings of peace and endeavor to create peace on such day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2001
Dot Kids Domain Name Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce: (1) jointly with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), to develop a plan for ICANN to establish a kids-friendly top-level Internet domain; (2) to make such plan publicly available; and (3) to enter into appropriate agreement with ICANN to carry out the plan. Requires the domain to be available for voluntary use as a location only of material suitable for minors and the plan to establish a process for soliciting and selecting an operator of the new domain. Requires: (1) full operation of the new domain within six months after contract award; and (2) new domain approval by ICANN. Provides liability protections for any person or entity that operates or maintains the new domain with respect to information provided by a domain registrant. Directs the Secretary to carry out a program to publicize the availability of the new domain and to educate parents of minors regarding the process for utilizing the domain in combination with hardware and software technologies that filter or block unsuitable materials.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2001
Gun Show Loophole Closing and Gun Law Enforcement Act of 2001 - Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2001 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to provide for regulation of firearms transfers at special firearms events (events at which 75 or more firearms are offered or exhibited for sale or exchange if one or more of the firearms has been shipped or transported in, or otherwise affects, interstate or foreign commerce, with an exception). Prohibits a special firearms events frequent operator from organizing, planning, promoting, or operating a special firearms event without meeting specified requirements. Sets forth: (1) responsibilities of special firearms events infrequent operators, transferors other than licensees, and licensees; (2) special firearms event license application requirements; and (3) penalties for violation of this Act. Provides an option for 24-hour background checks at special firearms events for States with computerized disqualifying records and programs to improve State databases. Increases penalties for: (1) serious record keeping violations by licensees; and (2) violations of criminal background check requirements. Gun Law Enforcement Act of 2001 - Authorizes appropriations for: (1) grants to States and local governments to support prosecutions in high gun crime areas; (2) the Attorney General to hire 114 additional Federal firearms prosecutors; (3) additional Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents; (4) gun tracing and youth crime gun interdiction; and (5) grants to research entities developing technologies that limit the use of a gun to the owner.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2001
Microbicide Development Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with respect to research on the development of microbicides to prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of such Centers with respect to research on microbicides to prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2001
Melanie Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of NIH and the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute with respect to postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide for projects for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis and their families. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that there should be established a National Community Health Center Week to raise awareness of health services provided by community, migrant, public housing, and homeless health centers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2001
National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2001 - Establishes the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in the Treasury to promote the development, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable and safe low-income housing.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2001
Tohono O'odham Citizenship Act of 2001 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to recognize persons listed on the official membership roll of the Tohono O'odham Nation, a federally recognized American Indian nation located in Arizona, as U.S. citizens as of the date such listing occurs. Provides that the valid membership credential issued to such listed persons shall be considered, for all purposes subject to Federal law, equivalent to: (1) a certificate of citizenship; and (2) a State-issued birth certificate.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2001
High-Speed Rail Investment Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a limited tax credit to holders of qualified Amtrak bonds. Sets forth definitions, State contribution requirements, and other rules. Requires approval, by the Secretary of Transportation, of qualified Amtrak projects funded by such bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2001
Renters Relief Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable credit (maximum $2,500 per year) for rent in excess of 30 percent of income. Reduces such credit based upon adjusted gross income and area median income (as defined in this Act).
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2001
Amends Federal postal law to repeal the termination date of (thus making permanent) the U.S. Postal Service's authority to issue special postage stamps to help provide funding for breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2001
International Human Rights Equality Resolution - Declares that Congress: (1) condemns all violations of internationally recognized human rights norms based on the real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity of an individual; (2) recognizes that human rights violations abroad based on sexual orientation and gender identity should be punished without discrimination between these and other crimes, regardless of the real or perceived sexual identity of the victims, and that such violations should be given the same consideration and concern as human rights violations based on other grounds in the formulation of policies to protect and promote human rights globally; (3) further recognizes that the protection from human rights abuses, such as torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, is fully embedded in international humanitarian law, regardless of the sexual orientation and gender identity of the victim; and (4) commends nongovernmental human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, as well as the United States Department of State and the United Nations, for documenting the ongoing abuse of human rights on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2001
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a program to assist States and local educational agencies (LEAs) to recruit, train, and hire additional school-based mental health and student service providers, including additional school counselors, psychologists, and social workers (in order to reduce the student-to-counselor ratios nationally, in elementary and secondary schools, to an average of one school counselor for every 250 students, one psychologist for every 1,000 students, and one social worker for every 800 students, as recommended in a report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences relating to schools and health). Directs the Secretary of Education, after reserving certain funds for schools in outlying areas and schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to make program allotments to States according to a specified formula. Requires States to allocate funds from Federal and State shares of program costs to LEAs according to specified formulae.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2001
Preservation of Civil Rights Protections Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal Arbitration Act to modify the definition of "commerce" so as to exclude employment contracts from arbitration provisions (currently, employment contracts of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce are excluded). Makes arbitration clauses in employment contracts unenforceable, with exceptions for: (1) consent by the involved parties after a claim arises; and (2) enforcement of rights or terms of collective bargaining agreements. Provides that this Act shall apply to existing and future employment contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2001
Digital Divide Elimination Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for qualified computer technology or equipment equal to 50 percent of the amount paid for it (up to $500) by any taxpayer allowed an earned income credit. Extends from December 31, 2003, through June 30, 2004, the current enhanced deduction from gross income for charitable contributions of computers for elementary or secondary school purposes. Prescribes a special rule for contributions of computer technology and equipment to a qualified organization made within three years after the taxpayer acquired or constructed the property, if: (1) the property's original use is by the donor or the donee; (2) substantially all of the property's use by the donee is within the United States and, in the case of a qualified educational organization, for educational purposes related to the organization's purpose or function; (3) the property is not transferred by the donee in exchange for money, other property, or services, except for shipping, installation, and transfer costs; and (4) other specified requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2001
Women Immigrants Safe Harbor Act of 2001 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) to exempt battered aliens from the ban on receiving benefits under specified Federal programs, such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) (titles XIX and XVI of the Social Security Act (SSA)) and other Federal assistance. Amends: (1) PRWORA concerning the status as qualified alien for nonimmigrant "U" visa holders; and (2) the Immigration and Nationality Act concerning treatment of family-sponsored battered aliens under the public charge provisions of such Act. Provides that benefits provided to battered aliens are not subject to reimbursement under PRWORA.