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United States · Official source
6,511 records where Rep. Payne, Donald M. [D-NJ-10] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Calls on Congress to consider and vote on a resolution authorizing the use of force by the U.S. armed forces against Iraq before such force is deployed against Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) small business concerns should continue to play an active role in assisting the military, Federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies, and State and local police by designing and developing innovative products to combat terrorism; and (2) Federal, State, and local governments should aggressively seek out and purchase innovative technologies and services from, and promote research opportunities for, small businesses to improve homeland defense and aid in the fight against terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2002
National Defense Rail Act - Authorizes appropriations for Amtrak security assistance. Requires studies or assessments of: (1) foreign rail transport security programs; (2) the feasibility of passenger, baggage, and cargo screening; (3) existing rail safety regulations; (4) security priorities; and (5) rail crossing delay security issues. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish a national high-speed ground transportation policy; and (2) provide 100 percent financial assistance to develop and implement high-speed rail corridors according to designated priorities, including the elimination of hazards of railway-highway crossings. Requires such projects to comply with specified labor standards, including the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act. Defines the national rail passenger transportation system. Authorizes Amtrak to operate an intercity rail service or route not included in such system. Authorizes additional appropriations for Amtrak for principal and interest, compliance with environmental laws, and improving accessibility for the elderly and persons with disabilities. Repeals the requirement that Amtrak be self-sufficient. Authorizes appropriations for the Northeast Corridor, long and short distance trains, and State-supported routes. Directs the Secretary to re-establish the Northeast Corridor Safety Committee. Revises requirements concerning the Amtrak board of directors. Requires an independent audit of Amtrak operations. Revises requirements of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 concerning loans and loan guarantees. Directs the Secretary to establish a rail passenger cooperative research program, including an advisory board.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2002
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) attempts to boycott Israeli scholars will neither advance truth nor achieve peace; (2) attempts to treat Israeli scholars as pariahs cannot fail to recall horrifying precedents such as the Nazi effort to "purify" German universities (make them "Judenrein") by expelling Jewish students and faculty and the Stalinist slaughter of Yiddish intellectuals; and (3) scholars in the United States and abroad are to be commended for their prompt and resolute defense of their Israeli colleagues and for their commitment to the free exchange of ideas.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2002
Patient Navigator, Outreach, and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration; and (2) the Director of the National Cancer Institute to make grants for model programs to provide services for cancer and chronic diseases to individuals of health disparity populations. Requires that these services: (1) be provided in a culturally competent way; (2) include patient navigators to help with finding services and follow-up care; and (3) include ongoing outreach activities. Conditions grants on the presence of a fee schedule consistent with prevailing rates and a fee discount schedule which provides fee adjustments based on ability to pay. Evaluates services according to a peer-reviewed model according to best practices. Limits the grants to five years.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2002
Highlands Stewardship Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to establish the Highlands Stewardship Area in the Highlands region (an area encompassing nearly 2,000,000 acres extending from eastern Pennsylvania through New Jersey and New York to northwestern Connecticut). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish: (1) within the Department of Agriculture the Office of Highlands Stewardship to implement the strategies of the Highlands Regional Study conducted by the Forest Service in 1990 (study) and the New York-New Jersey Highlands Regional Assessment Update conducted by the Service in 2001 (update); and (2) the Highlands Stewardship Area Work Group to assist with such implementation and to advise the Office and the Secretaries on priorities for projects carried out with assistance under this Act, on land conservation partnership projects, on Highlands region research, and on policy and educational initiatives necessary to implement study and update findings. Authorizes the Office to provide financial and technical assistance to an eligible entity to carry out a project to protect, restore, preserve, promote, or interpret Area resources. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to annually designate land conservation partnership projects that are eligible to receive financial assistance under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2002
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located on Kinderkamack Road in Emerson, New Jersey, as the Gary Albero Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2002
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) African Union (AU) member states should be commended for creating an organization dedicated to establishing democratic and economic reform; (2) the President should encourage domestic and international support of AU and implementation of the New Partnership for African Development plan and should promote private investment and growth in Africa, including public-private partnerships; and (3) the United States should continue economic initiatives that will further economic and social reform in Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2002
Child Support Enforcement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (relating to the deduction for bad debts) to allow a custodial parent to claim unpaid child support payments as a deduction. Bars a delinquent debtor from filing an amended return in any subsequent year to reflect the subsequent payment of unpaid child support. Includes unpaid child support in the gross income of the delinquent debtor. Precludes taxpayer information regarding child support payments from serving as a basis for selecting an individual's tax return for general audit.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2002
Darlene's Law - Amends the Public Health Services Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish and maintain the National Organ Donor Registry. Provides for an opt-in organ donation checkoff on income tax forms. Sets forth notice and disclosure requirements. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer the name and taxpayer identification number of individuals opting for organ donation to the Registry, exempting such disclosure from otherwise applicable prohibitions on the non-tax use of tax form information. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to qualified organ procurement organizations to establish programs coordinating organ donation activities with hospitals to increase the rate of organ donation for such hospitals. Directs the Secretary to establish an interagency task force on organ donation and research. Requires the Secretary to: (1) award peer-reviewed grants for studies and demonstration projects to increase organ donation and recovery rates, including removing financial disincentives; (2) establish an organ donation public awareness program; (3) support model curricula in relevant issues; (4) develop scientific evidence to support increased donation and improve recovery, transportation, and preservation of organs and tissues; and (5) support research to develop a uniform vocabulary, apply information technology, and enhance the skills and technologies used in organ procurement.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2002
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a National Epilepsy Awareness Month should be established and observed with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2002
Recognizes the role of women's sports programs in the development of women's leadership skills and supports the goals of Women's Leadership Through Sports Day.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2002
Omnibus Corporate Reform and Restoration Act of 2002 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to revise standards for pension plan security for defined contribution plans (DCPs). Specifies a waivable limit to the amount of employer stock and real property which may be acquired and held with respect to the individual account each participant or beneficiary, in the case of DCPs that are individual account plans (IAPs) (401(k) and similar plans). Allows employees to diversify assets in employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) after five years (currently ten) and at age 35 (currently 55). Reduces the tax deduction for employer matching contributions to DCPs (other than ESOPs) when such contributions are made in employer securities. Exempts from certain prohibited transaction rules the provision of fiduciary investment advice to participants or beneficiaries who direct their investments. Requires IAPs to provide for plan investment committees, whose members shall be elected by plan participants. Directs the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to study the feasibility of, and options for developing, an insurance system for IAPs. Requires IAP trades in employer securities to be reported to participants and beneficiaries. Amends the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit issuers of equity securities from making loans or other extensions of credit to beneficial owners, officers, or directors. Amends Federal bankruptcy law to increase, from $4,000 to $15,000, the individual maximum limit on priority claims for wages and for contributions to employee benefit plans. Provides criminal penalties for: (1) destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy; and (2) destruction of corporate audit records.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2002
Senior Nutrition Act of 2002 - Amends the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to make a person who is at least 60 years old eligible for the commodity supplemental food program (program) if such person: (1) is eligible for the food stamp program; or (2) has a household income that is not more than 185 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines. Authorizes permanent program appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2002
Early Intervention Improvement Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to revise provisions for early intervention programs for children under age three (infants and toddlers with disabilities, part C). Directs the Secretary of Education to reserve certain funds for incentive grants to reward States meeting performance objectives under part C, as follows: (1) 75 percent of such grants for high-quality programs in general; and (2) 25 percent for high-quality programs that make at-risk infants and toddlers eligible and that provide such services to at least three and one-half percent of children under age three in the State. Revises provisions for transition from part C to part B (Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities). Makes permanent the authorization of appropriations for part C. (The current authorization ends after FY 2002). Revises part C eligibility conditions to include those in families where there is diagnosed serious maternal depression, confirmed parental substance abuse, or documented family violence (including child abuse). Requires all abused or neglected children under age three to be referred to the State's child find system for evaluation and, if appropriate, receipt of early intervention services. Includes parent-child and family therapy among part C services. Includes early intervention personnel training and professional development among State and national activities. Directs the Secretary to make grants for such pre- and in-service training and development. Requires the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council under IDEA to study and report on mechanisms for providing service coordination from birth through age five for infants, toddlers, and children served under part C and preschool grant provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2002
Children's Mental Health Service Expansion Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to establish programs of educational loan forgiveness and scholarships to encourage qualified individuals to provide mental health services to children and adolescents. Sets forth qualifications, including education and licensing requirements. Limits the program to U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents. Grants priority according to financial need, methodology, and willingness to work with high priority populations in the public sector. Treats such grants as equivalent to those of the National Health Service Corps Programs. Authorizes additional grants for clinical and graduate and paraprofessional training to accredited schools and State-licensed mental health organizations, respectively. Gives priority to applicants with the demonstrated ability to collect data on the numbers trained, certain methodology, and programs to increase the numbers of professionals and paraprofessionals serving high priority populations. Requires training to prioritize cultural competency. Amends the Social Security Act to increase the number of child and adolescent psychiatry residents permitted to be paid under the Medicare Graduate Medical Education Program. Extends the Medicare Board eligibility period for residents and fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry. Directs the Administrator to study and report to Congress on the distribution and need of child mental health service professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2002
Immigration Security and Efficiency Enhancement Act of 2002 - Directs the Attorney General to submit to Congress an immigration security and efficiency enhancement plan which shall incorporate: (1) establishment of a central computer application and form database and network, and identification of applications and forms appropriate for electronic submission; (2) implementation of an electronic submission pilot project; and (3) within specified time periods, electronic submission of specified percentages of such applications and forms. Directs the Attorney General to establish within the visa, immigration, border patrol, and naturalization functions of the Department of Justice: (1) an electronic file management and computer information system; and (2) an electronic filing and submission system for applications from certified service providers (as provided for by this Act). Authorizes the Attorney General to provide grants for enhancement of immigration service providers. Directs the National Records Center to create and maintain an electronic database of all closed Immigration and Naturalization Service files.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2002
Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area Act of 2002 - Establishes the Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area in New Jersey. Designates the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, Inc. as the Area's management entity. Directs the Association to submit, and to assist local governments, regional planing organizations, and nonprofit entities in implementing, an area management plan which includes strategies for conservation, funding, management, and development of the Area. Bars the Association from using Federal funds received under this Act to acquire real property, but permits the Association to use any other source of funding, including other Federal funding, intended for the acquisition of real property. Limits Federal funding to 50 percent of any assistance provided. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to: (1) the Area to develop and implement the management plan; and (2) State or local government or nonprofit organizations for treatment of historical objects or structures eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Authorizes the Superintendent of Morristown National Historical Park to provide operational assistance supporting implementation of the management plan to public and private organizations within the Area, including the Association.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2002
Calls for the Government of the United Kingdom to enter into negotiations with the Government of Greece to facilitate the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece before the Olympics in 2004.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2002
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand activities addressing inflammatory bowel disease, emphasizing genetic, animal model, and clinical research. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a national program of prevention and epidemiology concerning such disease, addressing its prevalence and public and professional awareness. Directs the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science to study public and private insurance standards for coverage of inflammatory bowel therapies. Directs the General Accounting Office to study problems inflammatory bowel disease patients have applying for disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2002
Yellowstone Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement the final rule to phase out snowplane use in Grand Teton National Park and snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park, the John. D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, and Grand Teton National Park. Prohibits the Secretary from modifying or superseding any provisions of that final rule.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2002
Calls for the United States to: (1) support the independence of Kosova and the establishment of Kosova as a sovereign and democratic state in which human rights are respected as the only way to lasting peace and stability in the Balkans; (2) recognize the danger that delay in the resolution of Kosova's final status poses for the political and economic viability of Kosova and the future of Southeast Europe; (3) work in conjunction with the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and other multilateral organizations to facilitate an orderly transition to the independence of Kosova; and (4) provide its share of assistance, trade, and other programs to support the government of an independent Kosova and to encourage the further development of democracy and a free market economic system.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2002
Urges the establishment of a National Sarcoidosis Awareness Day on September 24, 2002, to encourage public education on sarcoidosis and support research for better treatment options and a cure.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2002
No Tax Breaks for Corporations Renouncing America Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a foreign entity any reduced rate of withholding tax on any deductible foreign payment under any income tax treaty between the United States and the entity's country unless the entity is predominantly owned by residents of such country. Excepts specified conduit payments. Specifies what constitutes predominant ownership.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2002
Makes January 23, 2002, the effective date of the modification of treatment for retirement annuity purposes of part-time service performed before April 7, 1986, by certain health-care professionals of the Veterans Health Administration pursuant to the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) greater attention should be paid to the negative impact on economic development of the denial of inheritance rights to women, particularly in Africa; (2) programs that focus on ensuring secure inheritance rights to widows and orphans of HIV/AIDS should be considered; (3) ensuring secure inheritance rights for women should be included in strategies addressing violence against women; (4) the rights of widows and other female heads of households to inherit land and property should be included in the priorities of reconstruction; (5) the Secretary of State should examine the issue of women's inheritance rights in Africa in the State Department's annual human rights report; (6) the U.S. Agency for International Development should consider conducting a study of African countries to document the effect of the denial of women's inheritance rights on economic development; and (7) the Annual Day of Acton on Women's Inheritance Rights should be acknowledged and supported.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2002
Building Opportunities for Our Kids Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize additional appropriations to purchase textbooks for use by eligible schools under the schoolwide program of part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) of title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged). Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a Textbook Recycling Program to facilitate the donation of textbooks by any local educational agency (LEA) to any other LEA for use by such eligible schools. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress and the Secretary on the condition of textbooks used in public elementary and secondary schools, separating data for such eligible schools from that for ineligible ones.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2002
Health Disparities Tax Refund Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit taxpayers to designate a portion (not less than $1) or all of any overpayment of tax to the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department's Office of Women's Health. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer to each Office at least once annually 50 percent of the amounts so designated, for use in improving the health of minorities and women respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2002
Family Violence Prevention Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish an Office of Family Violence within the Department of Health and Human Services. Directs the Office to coordinate intra-departmental family violence programs and develop a Federal family violence prevention Internet website. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for the establishment of five family violence research and education centers through grants or contracts with public and nonprofit private entities. Requires such centers to: (1) include both professional and public education; and (2) be linked to national, State, and local resources. Requires one center to be linked to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and another to the National Institute of Mental Health. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory board to make recommendations concerning the centers' research agenda. Requires the Director to award grants to eligible entities, including healthcare delivery systems or training entities, to develop and disseminate family violence education and training curricula, programs, and strategies.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2002
Health Care for Filipino World War II Veterans Act - Requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish hospital and nursing home care and medical services to any individual who is a Commonwealth Army veteran or new Philippine Scout (current law) and who is: (1) residing in the United States; and (2) a U.S. citizen or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Provides a rate of payment equal to the rate provided for active-service veterans and their survivors for: (1) dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of Commonwealth Army veterans or new Philippine Scouts; and (2) veterans' disability compensation for new Philippine Scouts residing in the United States. Provides national cemetery burial benefits for new Philippine Scouts.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2002
Calls upon the President of the United States and the Government of Russia to fulfill their commitments under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to work with the other nuclear powers toward eliminating nuclear weapons in stages that are subjected to careful inspection and verification. Calls for the United States to: (1) renounce the first use of nuclear weapons and permanently end the development, testing, and production of nuclear weapons; (2) seek an agreement with Russia that provides for the mutual and verified destruction of nuclear weapons that are withdrawn under signed treaties and that increases resources to secure and implement the destruction of nuclear warheads and material; (3) strengthen non-proliferation efforts by ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, by refraining from providing nuclear reactor technologies that can be exploited for nuclear weapons purposes to North Korea and urging Russia to refrain from providing such technologies to Iran, by supporting United Nations inspections of suspected nuclear weapons facilities and nuclear weapons materials in Iraq, and by participating in locating and reducing fissile material worldwide and negotiating a ban on its production; (4) enter into an agreement with the other nuclear powers to take nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert, thereby reducing the risk of accidental or unauthorized use and preparing for the ultimate elimination of the warheads; and (5) initiate talks on further reductions of nuclear weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2002
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Night Out (an event intended to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of community participation in crime prevention efforts by having people spend the period from 7 to 10 o'clock p.m. on August 6, 2002, with their neighbors in front of their homes with their lights on). Requests that the President: (1) issue a proclamation calling for appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs; (2) focus appropriate attention on neighborhood crime prevention, community policing, and reduction of school crime by delivering speeches, convening meetings, and directing the administration to make crime reduction an important priority; and (3) coordinate the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the USA Freedom Corps, the Citizen Corps, the National Senior Service Corps, and AmeriCorps to participate by supporting local efforts, neighborhood watches, and local officials, including law enforcement personnel, to provide homeland security and combat terrorism in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2002
National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2002 - Identifies roadless areas within the National Forest System set forth in specified documents as National Forest Inventoried Roadless Areas, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to manage such Areas to maintain their roadless character.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a credit to promote the production and usage of biodiesel fuel. Requires a taxpayer to obtain a certification from the producer of the biodiesel which identifies the product produced in order to utilize the credit. Imposes a tax for biodiesel not used as fuel, but for which a credit was granted. Reduces motor fuel excise taxes on biodiesel mixtures. Provides for transfers of funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to the Highway Trust Fund in amounts equivalent to the reductions that would occur but for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Declares that Congress joins the international community in supporting peace and democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and an end to the plunder of its natural resources.. Calls for the President to: (1) direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations (UN) to work to bring before the UN Security Council a resolution imposing sanctions against the sale of diamonds mined in the Congo unless the diamonds are certified as not funding the conflict there; (2) urge the Security Council to give priority to steps to control the illegal harvesting of timber in the Congo; and (3) send U.S. representatives to advise leaders of the Congo, countries whose armed forces occupy it, and countries whose support sustains rebel groups operating there that peace in the Congo is in their national security interests and that continued strife there threatens to impede the war against terrorism. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the UN and the international community should condemn combatants in the Congo for failing to abide by the 1999 Lusaka Peace Accords and for inflicting suffering on civilians; and (2) the U.S. Government should not grant a visa to any individual (or family members) suspected of committing war crimes in the Congo and should transfer any such individual found in the United States to the jurisdiction of the International War Crimes Tribunal for prosecution.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2002 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the Federal minimum wage to: (1) $5.75 an hour beginning 30 days after enactment of this Act; (2) $6.25 an hour during the year beginning on January 1, 2003; and (3) $6.65 an hour beginning January 1, 2004. Makes Federal minimum wage requirements applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Sets forth a transition period during which a specified minimum wage there shall be gradually increased to equal the Federal minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth that a plan or other arrangement shall not cease to count as a cafeteria plan solely because qualified benefits under such plan include a health flexible spending arrangement under which not more than $500 of unused health benefits may be carried forward to the next year or paid as compensation. Sets forth rules for determining whether or not such benefits shall be included or excluded from income.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2002
Rejection of Social Security Privatization Act of 2002-States that Congress hereby commits: (1) to preserve the guaranteed, lifelong, inflation-protected benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to retirees, disabled workers and their families, and the survivors of deceased workers; and (2) therefore to reject the President's plans to partially privatize Social Security, as well as other proposals to privatize Social Security, and any and all proposals that would threaten the ability of the Social Security Trust Funds to sustain the lifelong, guaranteed, inflation-protected benefits provided under SSA.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2002
Profiting from Access to Computer Technology (PACT) Act - Child PACT Act - Directs each Federal agency to: (1) safeguard and identify educationally useful Federal equipment that it no longer needs or that has been declared surplus; (2) transfer such equipment, either directly or through the General Services Administration (GSA), to educational recipients or nonprofit refurbishers; and (3) encourage employees with computer expertise to assist in providing maintenance and technical support for the recipients of such equipment, connecting school classrooms to the Internet, and helping teachers to learn to use computers to teach.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2002
Pension Protection Act of 2002 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to direct the Secretary of Labor to undertake enforcement actions with respect to requirements for pension plan participation, vesting, benefit accrual, and funding, including an appropriate enforcement response in connection with a report on oversight of certain cash balance plan lump sum distributions. Directs the Secretary, with the Secretary of the Treasury, to develop improved guidance for defined benefit plan administrators, with respect to requirements for such plans which express accrued benefits in the form of an account balance, including further assistance relating to all factors involved in determining lump sum distributions of accrued benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2002
Establishes a National Commission on Terrorist Acts Upon the United States. Directs the Commission to: (1) investigate facts and circumstances relating to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; and (2) evaluate lessons learned regarding the abilities of the Federal Government, and, if appropriate, of State and local governments and nongovernmental entities to detect, prevent, and respond to such attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2002
Hour's Pay for an Hour's Work Act of 2002 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to condition an exemption from overtime requirements for certain drivers upon their being paid at least the minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2002
Children's Health Coverage Improvement Act of 2002 - Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to provide for grants to promote innovative outreach and enrollment efforts under SCHIP.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2002
National Drought Preparedness Act of 2002 - Establishes the National Drought Council which shall: (1) develop a national drought policy action plan; (2) evaluate Federal drought-related programs; (3) coordinate and prioritize enhancement of the national drought monitoring network; and (4) provide for the development of a drought information delivery system, drought planning models, and drought preparedness plans. Terminates the Council eight years after enactment of this Act. Requires the Director of the National Drought Council to establish the National Office of Drought Preparedness. Establishes within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the Drought Assistance Fund, which shall be used to: (1) assist State, local, tribal, and critical service entities with drought-related activities; and (2) expand the technology transfer of drought and water conservation strategies. Requires: (1) the Director to publish guidelines for administering a national technical and financial drought assistance program; and (2) the Director, the Secretaries of Agriculture, the Interior, and the Army, and other appropriate Federal agency heads to implement integrated drought preparedness plans. Authorizes States, Indian tribes, local governments, and regional, water providers to develop and implement drought preparedness plans. Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the Director of FEMA to reimburse States for qualifying costs incurred in prepositioning wildfire suppression resources.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2002
Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 2002 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act with respect to determining entitlement to and the amount of any monthly benefit, including any lump-sum death payment, payable under OASDI on the basis of the wages and self-employment income of any individual. Deems such an individual to have been paid (according to a specified formula) during each month during which the individual was engaged for at least 80 hours in providing care to a dependent relative without monetary compensation for up to five years of such service. Makes this Act inapplicable in the case of any monthly benefit or lump-sum death payment if a larger benefit or payment would be payable without its application.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require license applications for new drug and biological product to assess such drug's or product's safety and effectiveness for relevant pediatric subpopulations, including dosage. Permits extrapolation from adult studies where the course of the disease and the effects of the drug are sufficiently similar in all populations. Permits deferral of such assessments if adult studies are completed earlier and the applicant submits a plan for or a description of planned or ongoing pediatric studies. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to specify a date for submission of pediatric assessments if a drug's or product's use or need in the pediatric populations so dictates. States that drugs or products with delayed assessments will be deemed misbranded and subject to seizure and injunctive proceedings, though not penalties. Permits full waiver of such assessments if: (1) studies are highly impracticable or impossible and the evidence suggests that the drug or product would be ineffective or unsafe in all pediatric age groups; or (2) there is no meaningful therapeutic advantage or benefit in the pediatric population and little risk if used as labeled. Permits partial waivers at the request of an applicant for a specific pediatric subpopulation if any of the full waiver grounds apply to that subpopulation or reasonable attempts for a pediatric formulation for that subpopulation have failed. Requires labels of these drugs or products to reflect such waivers.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Teacher Education for Autistic Children Act of 2002 - TEACH Act of 2002 - Authorizes additional appropriations for: (1) training of special education teachers with expertise in autism spectrum disorders (ASD); and (2) improving results for children with ASD, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a refundable tax credit for education and training relating to ASD. Amends IDEA to require local educational agencies receiving IDEA assistance to report on autism early intervention activities. Directs the Secretary of Education: (1) acting through the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, to establish and provide administrative support for a task force on ASD; (2) with the Secretary of Labor, to study and report to Congress on the effectiveness of Federal vocational training programs in providing appropriate assistance to individuals with ASD; and (3) to make grants to each State that establishes and operates at least one State autism ombudsman office.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2002
Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act - Prohibits an agent from: (1) directly or indirectly recruiting or soliciting a student athlete to enter into an agency contract by giving false or misleading information or making a false promise or representation or by providing anything of value to the athlete before entering into such a contract; (2) entering into an agency contract with a student athlete without providing the required disclosure document; or (3) predating or postdating an agency contract. Requires an agent, in conjunction with the signing of an agency contract, to provide to the athlete a separate disclosure document that includes notice that if the athlete signs the contract he or she may lose eligibility to compete as a student athlete in that sport. Requires the student athlete to sign such document before signing the agency contract. Treats a violation of this Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Authorizes civil actions by State attorneys general under specified circumstances. Requires the agent and the athlete, within 72 hours after entering into an agency contract or before the next athletic event in which the athlete may participate, whichever occurs first, to provide notice to the educational institution that the athlete has entered into an agency contract. Grants an educational institution a right of action against an agent for damages caused by such agent's failure to provide such notice. Expresses the sense of Congress that States should enact the Uniform Athlete Agents Act of 2000 drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to protect student athletes and the integrity of amateur sports from unscrupulous sports agents.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2002
Stolen Asset Recovery Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to submit annual reports to specified congressional committees on: (1) the possibility that assets stolen or misappropriated from foreign countries and their people by any senior foreign political figure, family member, or associate may be held in an account at a U.S. financial institution; (2) Government efforts and plans to identify such assets; (3) identification mechanisms available to the Government; and (4) legislation that could be enacted to facilitate the identification and return of such assets. Directs the Secretary to: (1) urge each international financial institution to provide a copy of audit reports or other information concerning the use of the funds loaned by the institution to governments in which corruption was or is a serious problem; and (2) release such information to the public and include such information in each annual report.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2002
Hormone Disruption Research Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to establish a comprehensive research program on the impact and occurrence of hormone disrupting chemicals as they affect human, ecological, and wildlife health. Requires the program to: (1) compile scientifically valid information, with an emphasis on the effect of low doses during critical life stages and the extent of human and wildlife exposure; (2) research the mechanisms by which such chemicals interact with biological systems as well as their screening and tracking; and (3) include the participation of the U.S. Geological Survey. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Hormone Disruption Research Interagency Commission. Establishes a Hormone Disruption Research Panel within the Institute.