United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide emergency protections for retiree health benefits. Prohibits group health plans from making post-retirement reductions of retiree health benefits. Requires group health plans to adopt provisions barring post-retirement reductions in retiree health benefits. Requires group health plans to restore benefits reduced after retirement. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to waive or vary such requirements, if a plan sponsor applies for such exemption, upon finding that compliance would: (1) be adverse to the interests of plan participants in the aggregate; (2) not be administratively feasible; and (3) cause substantial business hardship to the sponsor. Establishes the Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program and its Board. Authorizes the Program, through its Board, to guarantee loans provided by private banking and investment institutions to eligible plan sponsors to assist them in meeting obligations under this Act to restore benefits reduced after retirement. Authorizes the Secretary to assess civil penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Education Technology Equity Act of 2001 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to: (1) reserve half of one percent of funds authorized under this Act for FY 2002 through 2006 for grants to Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia; (2) reserve one percent of such funds for the Secretary of the Interior to carry out programs for Indian children; and (3) allocate the remainder of such funds to States according to a formula based in part on eligibility under the national school lunch program. Requires each State educational agency seeking a grant under this Act to submit an application providing assurances that the State will provide technical assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) in developing a comprehensive system for the acquisition and use of technology and technology-enhanced curricula, instruction, and administrative support services. Requires each LEA seeking a grant to submit an application which includes: (1) the student to computer ratios; (2) the Internet connectivity of schools to be served; and (3) a plan for the acquisition and use of technology. Requires each LEA receiving a grant to use such funds to purchase computers for classrooms and related activities (teacher training, computer maintenance and support, home computer use by students).
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Registered Nurses and Patients Protection Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to limit the number of overtime hours which employers may require of licensed health care employees, including registered nurses but not doctors.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Small Business Contract Equity Act of 2001 - Sets forth procedures for the bundling of procurement contracts that the Administrator of the Small Business Administration determines would result in the displacement of small business concerns. Permits waivers for unusual or unexpected exigencies. Amends the Small Business Act to prohibit agencies that fail to attain small business procurement participation goals from awarding or soliciting offers for bundled contracts. Requires such agencies to meet such goals relating to small businesses generally, those owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and those owned and controlled by women.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Increases the biweekly contribution payable by the Government for a Federal employee or annuitant enrolled in a Federal employee health insurance plan.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2001 - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to prescribe parameters for block grants to States and territories to implement at their option media campaigns promoting responsible fatherhood. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with a nonprofit fatherhood promotion organization to: (1) develop and distribute a media campaign that addresses the issue of responsible fatherhood to States, local governments, public agencies, and private entities; and (2) develop a national clearinghouse to assist States and community efforts to promote and support responsible fatherhood by disseminating information regarding media campaigns and programs instituted by States using grant funds under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Breast Cancer License Plate Matching Grant Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the purpose of assisting the States with the costs of establishing programs under which: (1) the State involved develops a vehicle license plate that displays a message devised by the State to indicate support for programs that respond to the problem of breast cancer; (2) from fees paid by residents of the State for such license plates, the State reserves funds for assisting individuals who have breast cancer in paying the costs of receiving treatment for the cancer, carrying out programs of research regarding the prevention or treatment of breast cancer, and carrying out activities to educate the public on breast cancer; and (3) the State carries out activities to make residents of the State aware of the license plate and the relationship between the license plate and breast cancer programs. Provides for matching funds and authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2001
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) there should be a legal public holiday honoring Cesar E. Chavez; and (2) public elementary and secondary schools across the nation should be required to designate a day to remember Chavez's life and work.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2001
Expresses: (1) the sense of the House of Representatives that the artwork displayed in the Capitol, the Capitol Visitor Center, and the House office buildings should also represent the contributions of women to American society; and (2) full support of the House for the efforts of the House Fine Arts Board, the Joint Committee on the Library, and the Architect of the Capitol to incorporate into their regular plan for the Capitol, the Capitol Visitor Center, and the House office buildings a selection of displayed artwork that is more fully representative of such contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Equal Protection School Finance Act - Provides for a system to help equalize funding for education within States. Makes a State ineligible for Federal funds administered by the Department of Education to support elementary and secondary education unless the coefficient of variation of per pupil expenditures in local educational agencies statewide for elementary and secondary education is greater than ten percent. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide such funding to a noncompliant State if that State submits a plan which the Secretary determines will bring the State into compliance within five years. Sets forth procedures for compliance reporting, certification, and challenges. Directs the Secretary to reallocate to compliant States, and States developing or implementing compliance plans, any funds that are not distributed to noncompliant States.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Arsenic Reduction in Drinking Water Act - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the maximum contaminant level for arsenic in drinking water to be: (1) ten parts per billion effective October 1, 2003; and (2) three parts per billion effective October 1, 2006. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to public water systems serving fewer than 10,000 people to assist such systems in meeting the drinking water standards for arsenic.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Medicare Early Access and Tax Credit Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals Age 62-to-65 Years of Age) (Medicare buy-in) entitling to the same Medicare benefits as an individual entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) an enrolled individual age 62 to 65 who: (1) would be eligible for such benefits if 65; but (2) is not eligible for benefits under a Federal health insurance program or a group health plan (other than merely through a Federal or State COBRA continuation provision) . Provides for the determination and payment of monthly premiums under the new part D program. Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund to hold the premiums paid pursuant to this Act. Provides for oversight and accountability concerning the status of the Trust Fund. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide access to Medicare benefits to displaced workers age 55-to-62 and their spouses. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to provide for COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation benefits for certain retired workers who lose retiree health coverage. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide an individual with a tax credit for 50 percent of certain COBRA continuation coverage premiums and Medicare buy-in premiums.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Clean Smokestacks Act of 2001 - Amends the Clean Air Act (CAA) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to achieve specified reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and mercury from powerplants (electric generation facilities with a nameplate capacity of 15 megawatts or more that use a combustion device to generate electricity for sale) by January 1, 2007. Requires powerplants, on the later of the date 30 years after the powerplant commenced operation or five years after this Act's enactment, to comply with the most recent new source performance standards under CAA provisions regarding air quality and emissions limitations and with specified requirements for modified sources.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Encourages: (1) Americans to demonstrate their support for veterans on Memorial Day and Veterans Day by treating those days as special days of remembrance; (2) houses of worship and other institutions to ring bells at noon on such Days; and (3) people to then observe a moment of silence in recognition of veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
21st Century Higher Education Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 196 (HEA) to revise and to extend and increase the authorization of appropriations of HEA programs, including: (1) Pell Grants; (2) Federal Trio Programs; (3) Gear Up; (4) Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants; (5) College Work-Study; and (6) Strengthening and Developing Institutions. Establishes new HEA programs, including: (1) Byrd Honors Teacher Scholarships; (2) Dual Degree Achievement; (3) Community College Opportunity; (4) College Preparation; (5) Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans; (6) Collaborative Centers of Excellence in Teacher Preparation; and (7) a demonstration program in recruiting and preparing teachers. Tribal College or University Teacher Loan Forgiveness Act - Establishes a new HEA program of specified Federal student loan repayment or cancellation for individuals who teach for up to five years in Tribal Colleges or Universities. Access to High Standards Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish Advanced Placement (AP) programs of assistance grants to increase the access of low-income students to AP high school courses and AP tests to earn advanced placement and credits at institutions of higher education. Dropout Prevention Act - Establishes a new ESEA assistance grant program to address school dropout problems, including a coordinated national strategy and a national school dropout prevention initiative. NTIA Digital Network Technology Program Act - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Organization Act to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish within NTIA's Technology Opportunities Program a digital network technologies program to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible institutions to provide educational instruction in digital network technologies. Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to eligible Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to make at least 15 annual grants for buildings or structures listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places, if the grantee agrees to provide funds derived from non-Federal sources in an amount equal to 25 percent of the grant.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Reading Readiness Act of 2001 - Amends the Head Start Act to require Head Start programs to include a strong focus on reading readiness. Requires research, demonstration, and evaluation activities to: (1) determine whether every Head Start program is providing participating children the tools necessary to succeed in school, including reading readiness; and (2) review current best practices of Head Start programs with respect to reading readiness. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to selected Head Start applicants to carry out current best practices in reading readiness activities. Allows Head Start programs that demonstrate by community assessment that all reasonable attempt has been made to enroll children whose families' incomes are below the poverty line to make eligible for program participation children whose families' incomes are no greater than 150 percent of the poverty line. Directs the Secretary to implement an outreach campaign to promote enrollment in Head Start programs and Early Head Start programs. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Secretary should allow Head Start grantees that find evidence of community need to modify the use of their current grants so as to enroll infants and toddlers without obtaining a separate Early Head Start grant; and (2) Congress should appropriate sufficient funds to carry out the Head Start Act so that all eligible children may participate.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
No Taxation Without Representation Act of 2001 - States that notwithstanding any other provision of law, the community of American citizens who are residents of the District constituting the seat of government of the United States shall have full voting representation in the Congress. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax exemption to District of Columbia residents for years during which such residents do not have full voting representation in the Congress.
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 · 22 March 2001
Community Development Block Grant Renewal Act - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1972 to increase the amount of community development assistance targeted to low- and moderate-income families, including job creation and area and economic development activities.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Global Access to HIV/AIDS Medicines Act of 2001 - Prohibits funds appropriated to U.S. Federal agencies from being expended to seek, through negotiation or otherwise, the revocation or revision of intellectual property law or policy of a developing country that regulates HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals or medical technologies, if such law or policy: (1) promotes access to HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals or medical technologies to the country's population; and (2) provides adequate and effective intellectual property protection consistent with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. Includes among such developing countries any sub-Saharan African country five percent or more of whose population is infected with HIV, or whose government has declared a national emergency with respect to HIV/AIDS. Encourages such developing countries to implement policies designed to address the underlying causes of the HIV/AIDS crisis by making efforts to encourage practices that will prevent further transmission and infection and to stimulate development of the infrastructure necessary to deliver adequate health services, including policies that provide an incentive for public and private research on, and development of, vaccines and other medical innovations that will combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2001 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to outline requirements for equal protection of voting rights in Federal elections and voting rights in State and local elections. Establishes a grant program to provide equal protection of voting rights with regard to States and localities. Creates the Commission on Voting Rights and Procedures to study and report to the President and Congress on specified issues with respect to elections for Federal, State, and local office, including alternative voting methods, ballot designs, ballot uniformity, and absentee voting, in order to develop specific recommendations of best practices in voting and election administration.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Constitutional Amendment - States that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Provides that, when the legislatures of an additional three States ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, the House of Representatives shall take any legislative action necessary to verify the ratification of such Amendment as a part of the Constitution.
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 · 21 March 2001
Pacific Salmon Recovery Act - Requires the Secretary of Commerce, subject to appropriations, to provide financial assistance for salmon conservation and habitat restoration activities to: (1) Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California, and Idaho (qualified States); and (2) tribal governments in such States and Alaska Native villages or regional or village corporations that are involved in salmon management and recovery or conservation activities and have the organizational capability to maximize the benefits of assistance provided under this Act (qualified tribal governments). Allocates 85 percent of assistance per fiscal year equally among such States and 15 percent among qualified tribal governments. Requires qualified States, to receive assistance under this Act, to submit a Salmon Conservation and Salmon Habitat Restoration Plan to the Secretary. Directs qualified tribal governments, to receive such assistance, to enter into memoranda of understanding with the Secretary regarding use of the assistance. Requires funds allocated to qualified States to be used for local and regional projects. Permits the use of assistance outside the jurisdiction of the recipient if the assisted activity will provide conservation benefits to naturally produced salmon in streams of concern to the recipient. Requires States to match, in the aggregate, financial assistance provided under this Act. Directs States seeking assistance under this Act to establish citizens advisory committees or other similar fora for the public to participate in obtaining and using assistance under this Act. Requires qualified tribal governments to hold public meetings to receive recommendations on the use of such assistance. Includes: (1) Lahontan cutthroat trout and bull trout within the definition of "salmon" for purposes of applying this Act in Oregon; and (2) bull trout within such definition for purposes of applying this Act in Washington and Idaho. Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 to extend the authorization of appropriations for capitalizing the Northern and Southern Funds under the 1999 Pacific Salmon Treaty Agreement through FY 2004. Directs the President, for U.S. citizens who served as employees of the International Pacific Salmon and North Pacific Fisheries Commissions who worked in Canada during the course of such employment, to: (1) calculate the difference in amount between the valuation of the Commissions' annuity for each employee's payment in U.S. and Canadian currency for past and future annuity payments; and (2) compensate such employees for past and future benefits resulting from the exchange rate inequity.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
National Education Technology Corps Act (NET Corps Act) - Amends the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 to establish a National Education Technology Corps (NET Corps) as part of the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program, using VISTA volunteers and others with appropriate expertise, in partnerships to facilitate use of information technology in schools, libraries, and community centers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a business-related tax credit for employers for assistance to the NET Corps through their employees' services either as volunteers or as participants in partnerships.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to eliminate the provision permitting interstate movement of live fighting birds if the fighting venture is to take place in a State allowing such fights.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
Provides that the remarriage of the surviving spouse of a veteran after age 55 shall not bar the payment of veterans' dependency and indemnity compensation to which such spouse was previously entitled.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 2001 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from: (1) excluding or restricting benefits for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services; (2) denying eligibility based on use or potential use of such items or services; (3) providing monetary payments or rebates to a covered individual to encourage acceptance of less than the minimum protections available; (4) penalizing, reducing, or limiting a professional's reimbursement because the professional prescribed such drugs or devices or provided such services; or (5) providing incentives to a professional to induce the professional to withhold drugs, devices, or services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
High Performance Schools Act of 2001 - Establishes the High Performance Schools Program, in the Department of Energy, to assist school districts in the production of high performance elementary and secondary school buildings that are healthful, productive, energy efficient, and environmentally sound. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make program grants to State energy offices for: (1) program participation promotion and administration; and (2) subgrants to qualified school districts to implement such school building construction and renovation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
Teacher Sabbatical Leave Grants Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to State and local educational agencies to pay for one-half of the salaries of teachers who use approved sabbatical leave to pursue courses of study to improve their classroom teaching.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
Antique Firearm Safety Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to eliminate the exclusion of antique firearms from the definition of a "firearm" subject to Federal firearms provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
FDA Tobacco Authority Amendments Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to, among other things: (1) include "nicotine in a tobacco product" in the definition of the term "drug" and to include "a tobacco product" in the definition of the term "device;" and (2) set forth provisions for tobacco products concerning special standards for such products, warnings regarding such products, and a rule of construction regarding farmers and related entities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
High Performance Schools Research Act - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish a research program to investigate how the characteristics of the physical environment of elementary and secondary schools affect student educational achievement. Requires merit-based, competitive awards for research projects that focus on quantifying such effects of lighting, noise, temperature and ventilation, general upkeep, and other such characteristics.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Funding Act of 2001 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2002 and 2003 for U.S. voluntary contributions to the United Nations Population Fund. Withholds from the U.S. voluntary contribution to the UNFPA amounts allocated by the UNFPA for the country program in China, if the Secretary of State certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the UNFPA country program in China does not: (1) focus on improving the delivery of voluntary family planning information and services; (2) conform with the human rights principles affirmed at the International Conference on Population and Development with the support of 180 nations including the United States; (3) operate only in counties of China where all quotas and targets for the recruitment of program participants have been abolished and the use of coercive measures has been eliminated; (4) operate in consultation with and under the oversight and approval of the UNFPA executive board, including the U.S. representative; (5) subject itself to regular, independent monitoring to ensure compliance with the principles of informed consent and voluntary participation; and (6) suspend operations in project counties found to be in violation of program guidelines.
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
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from the individual's primary insurance amount under such title and the portion of the monthly periodic payment attributable to noncovered service performed after 1956 exceeds $2,000; and (2) provide for a graduated implementation of such provision by specified percentages with respect to incremental amounts above such threshold, up to 100 percent for combined amounts over $3,000.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Infant Crib Safety Act - Makes it unlawful for any commercial user to: (1) manufacture, sell, or contract to sell any full-size or nonfull-size crib which is unsafe for any infant; or (2) sell, contract to sell or resell, lease, sublet, or otherwise place in the stream of commerce any such crib which is not new and is unsafe for any infant. Makes it unlawful for any lodging facility to offer or provide such an unsafe crib. Presumes as unsafe a crib which does not conform to specified standards in the Code of Federal Regulations and the American Society for Testing Materials Voluntary Standards, unless labeled as dangerous for an infant and not intended to be used for one. Authorizes a fine and injunction against violators of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Authorizes the printing as a House document of an updated version of House Document 101-238 (as revised by the Library of Congress) entitled "Women in Congress, 1917-1990."
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
NTIA Digital Network Technology Program Act - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Organization Act to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish within NTIA's Technology Opportunities Program a digital network technologies program to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements (assistance) to eligible institutions to provide educational instruction in digital network technologies. Makes the following institutions eligible for such assistance: (1) a historically Black college or university; (2) a Hispanic-, Alaska Native-, or Native Hawaiian-serving institution; (3) a tribally controlled college or university; or (4) an institution determined to have enrolled a substantial number of minority, low-income students who received assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Provides a matching funds requirement. Prohibits an institution that receives assistance exceeding $2.5 million from receiving further assistance until every other eligible institution has received assistance under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grants program to help States and local educational agencies recruit, train, and hire 100,000 additional teachers over a seven-year period in order to: (1) reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and (2) improve teaching in the early grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Child Handgun Injury Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations governing the design, manufacture, performance of, and commerce in, handgun discharge protection products to reduce or prevent unreasonable risk of injury to children from the unintentional discharge of handguns. Requires a minimum safety standard that ensures that such a product: (1) is of adequate quality and construction to prevent children from operating a handgun; and (2) cannot be removed except through the use of a key, combination, or other method of access made possible by the manufacturer. Directs the Secretary to: (1) consider products that are not detachable but are permanently installed and incorporated into the design of a handgun; and (2) consider using test protocols relating to poison prevention packaging standards. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) require the manufacturer to recall, repair, replace, or provide refunds with respect to, a handgun discharge protection device which has been designed, manufactured, transferred, or delivered in violation of this Act; and (2) make inspections to ascertain compliance. Prohibits: (1) a licensed manufacturer or importer from selling, transferring, or delivering to any person any handgun without a product that meets the standard; and (2) a licensed dealer from selling, transferring, or delivering to any person any handgun without the product supplied to the dealer by the licensed manufacturer or importer. Makes exceptions for Federal, state, and local governments. Requires warning labels for handguns. Provides for enforcement of this Act through civil penalties, firearms license revocation, a private right of action, and criminal penalties. Allows State law to afford greater protection to children regarding handguns than is afforded by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
States' Right To Innovate in Health Care Act of 2001 - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXII (State Comprehensive Health Care and Cost Containment Demonstration Projects) to allow a limited number of States to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for a planning grant and a demonstration grant to achieve a cost-effective delivery system of universal, comprehensive health care with simplified administration.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Small Business Telecommuting Act - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to conduct, in not more than five of the SBA's regions, a pilot program to raise awareness about telecommuting among small business employers and to encourage such employers to offer telecommuting options to employees. Requires the Administrator to make special efforts to conduct outreach to businesses owned by or employing individuals with disabilities, including disabled American veterans, and agencies, groups, or organizations that aid such individuals. Terminates such program after two years.
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
James Guelff Body Armor Act of 2001 - Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements to provide an appropriate enhancement for any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime in which the defendant used body armor. Expresses the sense of Congress that any such sentencing enhancement be at least two levels. Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit the purchase, ownership, or possession of body armor by violent felons. Makes it an affirmative defense that: (1) the defendant obtained prior written certification from his or her employer that the defendant's purchase, use, or possession of body armor was necessary for the safe performance of lawful business activity; and (2) the use and possession by the defendant were limited to the course of such performance. Sets penalties for violations. Authorizes the head of a Federal agency to donate body armor that is surplus property and in serviceable condition, and that meets or exceeds National Institute of Justice Standard 0101.03, directly to any State or local law enforcement agency. Allows specified officials in the Treasury and Justice Departments to act as the head of a Federal agency. Specifies that the United States shall not be liable for any harm occurring in connection with the use or misuse of any body armor donated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Revitalizing Cities Through Parks Enhancement Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to qualified community organizations to develop as open space municipally owned vacant lots in urban areas.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Heather French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act - Encourages all Federal, State, and local departments and agencies and other entities and individuals to work toward the national goal of ending homelessness among veterans within a decade. Establishes within the Department of Veterans Affairs the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) support the continuation within the Department of at least one center to monitor the structure, process, and outcome of Department programs addressing homeless veterans; and (2) assign veterans receiving specified services provided in, or sponsored or coordinated by, the Department as being within the "complex care" category. Directs the Secretary to: (1) make grants to Department health care facilities and to grant and per diem providers for the development of programs targeted at meeting certain special needs of homeless veterans; (2) require certain officials to initiate a plan for joint outreach to veterans at risk of homelessness; (3) carry out two treatment trials in integrated mental health services delivery; (4) ensure that each Department primary care facility has a mental health treatment capacity; (5) carry out a program of transitional assistance grants to eligible homeless veterans; and (6) make technical assistance grants to aid nonprofit community-based groups in applying for homeless program grants. Extends through FY 2006 the homeless veterans reintegration program.
![Official portrait of Rep. Millender-McDonald, Juanita [D-CA-37]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000714_200.jpg)