United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Housing Bond and Credit Modernization and Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the required use of certain principal repayments on mortgage subsidy bond financings to redeem bonds; (2) modify the purchase price limitation under mortgage subsidy bond rules based on median family income; and (3) define the term "area median gross income" for low-income housing credit projects.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
United Nations Rapid Deployment Act of 2001 - Requires the President to direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations (UN) to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States to urge the UN to: (1) establish a United Nations Rapid Deployment Police and Security Force (UNRDPSF) that is rapidly deployable under the authority of the UN Security Council, and that meets other specified requirements; (2) recruit UNRDPSF personnel; and (3) provide equitable and reliable funding. Requires the President, in order to promote the development of human and material resources for UN peacekeeping operations as recommended by the August 2000 Report of the Panel on UN Peace Operations (Brahimi Report), to: (1) direct the Secretary of State and the U.S. representative to the UN to encourage UN member nations to enter into partnerships with one another to form Rapid Deployment Brigades which could develop operational capabilities to fully deploy peacekeeping operations within a specified time; and (2) direct the Secretary of Defense to study the advisability of and feasibility of using interim combat brigade teams as part of the Rapid Deployment Brigades.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Innocence Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize a person convicted of a Federal crime to apply to the appropriate Federal court for DNA testing to support a claim that the person did not commit: (1) the Federal crime of which the person was convicted; or (2) any other offense that a sentencing authority may have relied upon when it sentenced the person with respect to such crime. Sets forth: (1) guidelines for the court to use in ordering DNA testing; (2) post-testing procedures; (3) provisions regarding preservation of evidence; (4) criminal penalties for destroying or altering DNA evidence; and (5) provisions regarding post-conviction DNA testing in State criminal justice systems. Prohibits a State from denying an application for DNA testing made by a prisoner in State custody who is under sentence of death if specified conditions apply. Provides grants to prosecutors for DNA testing programs. Establishes the National Commission on Capital Representation. Withholds funds from States not complying with standards for capital representation. Provides for capital defense incentive grants and resource grants. Increases compensation in Federal cases, and sets forth provisions regarding compensation in State cases, where an individual is unjustly sentenced to death. Adds a certification requirement in Federal death penalty prosecutions. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding the execution of juvenile offenders and the mentally retarded.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Sudan Peace Act - Declares that Congress: (1) condemns violations of human rights on all sides of the conflict in Sudan (including the Government of Sudan), the ongoing slave trade there, the Government's use and organization of "murahalliin" (or "mujahadeen"), Popular Defense Forces (PDF), and regular Sudanese Army units into raiding and slaving parties in Bahr al Ghazal, the Nuba Mountains, Upper Nile, and Blue Nile regions, and its aerial bombardment of civilian targets; and (2) recognizes that the use of raiding and slaving parties is a tool for creating food shortages as a systematic means to destroy the societies, culture, and economies of the Dinka, Nuer, and Nuba peoples in a policy of low-intensity ethnic cleansing. Authorizes the Secretary of State to utilize Department of State personnel for the support of ongoing negotiations, and eventual implementation of a peace settlement, between the Government of Sudan and opposition forces. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United Nations (UN) should be used as a tool to facilitate peace and recovery in Sudan. Directs the President to develop a contingency plan to provide, outside UN auspices, the greatest amount of U.S. Government and privately donated relief to all affected areas in Sudan, including the Nuba Mountains, Upper Nile, and the Blue Nile regions, in the event the Government of Sudan imposes a ban on Operation Lifeline Sudan air transport relief flights.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Federal Living Wage Responsibility Act - Requires the Federal government and any employer under a Federal contract or subcontract exceeding $10,000 to pay each of their respective workers: (1) an hourly wage (or salary equivalent) necessary for such employee to earn, while working 40 hours a week on a full-time basis, the amount of the Federal poverty level for a family of four; and (2) an additional amount, based on the locality in which a worker resides, sufficient to cover the costs to such worker to obtain any fringe benefits not provided by the worker's employer. Exempts employers that are: (1) small business concerns; or (2) nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, if the ratio of the total compensation of the chief executive officer to that of the full-time equivalent of their lowest-paid employee is not greater than 25 to 1. Directs the Secretary of Labor to enforce this Act. Makes Federal contractors that are part of a pattern or practice of violations of such wage requirements subject to Federal contract suspension, a five-year ineligibility period, and liability for Government costs of obtaining a replacement contractor. Provides for judicial review of the Secretary's determinations, and authorizes the President to suspend the provisions of this Act in times of emergency. Allows an aggrieved worker to bring a civil action against an employer for appropriate relief for a violation of this Act, if the employer has not paid or reinstated the worker as a result of the administrative action.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Clean Diamonds Act - Prohibits the import of diamonds into the United States unless the exporting country is implementing a system of controls on the export or import of rough diamonds that meets specified requirements, consistent with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 adopted on December 1, 2000, or a future international agreement which implements such controls and to which the United States is a signatory. Sets forth both civil and criminal penalties for violations of the requirements of this Act. Prohibits the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Export-Import Bank from engaging in certain transactions in connection with projects or exports to countries violating the requirements of this Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should take steps to negotiate an international agreement to eliminate the trade in diamonds used to support conflict in the country or regions in which such diamonds are mined. Provides a waiver for the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Affordable HIV/AIDS Medicines for Poor Countries Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to encourage developing countries (including sub-Saharan African countries) and pharmaceutical companies to make HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals and medical technologies available to people who live in such countries without charge or at affordable prices. Sets forth certain restrictions and limitations, including that: (1) appropriated funds made available to U.S. agencies may not be obligated to seek the revocation or revision of any intellectual property or competition law or policy of a developing country (including any sub- Saharan African country) that regulates HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals or medical technologies if such law or policy promotes access to such drugs and technologies by the country's population; and (2) the USTR may not initiate a proceeding in the World Trade Organization (WTO) challenging any law or policy of a developing country (including a sub-Saharan African country) that promotes access by HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals or medical technologies by the population of the country. Requires the President to direct the U.S. representative to the WTO to urge the WTO and member countries to exempt developing countries (including sub-Saharan African countries) from the application of any provision of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights or any other international agreement relating to intellectual property rights that would prohibit or restrict such countries from establishing or implementing any law or policy that promotes access to HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals or medical technologies to their population.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2001
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Conforming Amendments of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require group health plans to provide coverage for post-mastectomy reconstructive surgery.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Social Security Benefits Restoration Act of 2001 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to eliminate provisions that reduce primary insurance amounts for individuals receiving pensions from noncovered employment.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Teaching Fellows Act of 2001 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to make competitive matching grants to States for Teaching and Partnership Fellows programs of scholarships for prospective public school teachers. Provides for scholarships: (1) under the Teaching program, for high school seniors and second-year college students, to encourage them to enter the teaching field and become career educators; and (2) under the Partnership program, for individuals, such as teaching assistants and others currently in the education field, to complete a bachelor's degree with a State license or certification in education, through partnerships among associate-and-bachelor-degree-granting institutions. Requires scholarship recipients to repay specified amounts if they do not fulfill certain obligations to teach in their State's public elementary or secondary schools, under such Federal Teaching and Partnership Fellows program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Steel Revitalization Act of 2001 - Directs the President to impose quotas, tariff surcharges, or other measures on, and to negotiate enforceable voluntary export restraint agreements with respect to, imports of steel products in order to ensure that: (1) the tonnage of iron ore, coke and coke products, semifinished steel, and pig iron imported into the United States during any month does not exceed the average tonnage of each product that was imported monthly into the United States during the 36-month period preceding July 1997; and (2) the share of domestic consumption of any other applicable steel product in the United States derived from imports during any month does not exceed the average monthly share of domestic U.S. consumption of that steel product during any month in the 36-month period preceding July 1997. Authorizes the Customs Service to refuse entry into the U.S. customs territory for a five-year period of any steel products that exceed their allowable levels. Establishes: (1) the Steel Retiree Health Care Board in the Department of Labor; (2) the Steelworker Retiree Health Care Trust Fund; and (3) the Health Care Benefit Costs Assistance Program. Sets forth the functions of the Board, including to: (1) provide, under the Health Care Benefit Costs Assistance Program, for payments to designated steelworker group health plans to assist in the funding of qualified retiree health benefits under such plans; and (2) establish policies for the investment and management of the Steelworker Retiree Health Care Trust Fund that provides for prudent investments and low administrative costs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on steel sold by the manufacturer, producer, or importer (such taxes to be deposited into the Steelworker Retiree Health Care Trust Fund). Amends the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Act of 1999 to increase the aggregate amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding (including additional costs of such loans) at any one time under Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Program or with respect to a single qualified steel company. Requires the Loan Guarantee Board to approve or deny an application for a guarantee within 45 days after its receipt. Authorizes any person who acquires another person that produces any of the specified categories of steel products contained in this Act to apply to the Secretary of Commerce for a grant to defray the costs necessary to bring, and maintain, the resulting entity into compliance with U.S. environmental laws. Requires the Secretary to make a determination whether or not such mergers will promote the retention of at least 80 percent of the jobs of the steel workers and production of capacity of such steel products. Sets forth penalties for failure to achieve such retention levels.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Ukrainian American Veterans Charter Act - Grants a Federal charter to the Ukrainian American Veterans, Incorporated (a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York).
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Notch Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for the computation of minimum Old Age Insurance benefits for individuals who reached age 65 in or after 1979 and to whom applies the 15-year transition period for the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55 percent to five percent and keyed to the year an individual became eligible for such benefits between 1979 and 1988. Allows such beneficiaries, in the alternative, to receive lump sum payments over four years totaling $5,000. Provides that any additional spending resulting from this Act shall not be counted as direct spending for purposes of budgetary limits in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages to: (1) add nonretaliation requirements; (2) increase penalties; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Directs the Secretary to provide for certain studies, information, a national summit, guidelines, awards, and assistance for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria. Establishes the Alexis Herman National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect certain pay information.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Treatment of Children's Deformities Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to set standards requiring that group and individual health insurance and group health plans provide coverage for treatment of a minor child's congenital or developmental deformity or disorder due to trauma, infection, tumor, or disease.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal provisions which make persons convicted of drug offenses ineligible to receive student financial assistance for a certain period.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Morris K. Udall Arctic Wilderness Act of 2001 - Designates specified lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Biomedical Revitalization Resolution of 2001 - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that funding for the National Institutes of Health should be increased by $3.4 billion in FY 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Breast Cancer Prescription Drug Fairness Act of 2001 - Requires each participating manufacturer of a covered outpatient drug to make available for purchase by each pharmacy a covered outpatient drug: (1) in an amount equal to the aggregate amount of the covered outpatient drug sold or distributed by the pharmacy to Medicare beneficiaries (including the amount sold or distributed to Medicare beneficiaries in a hospice program); and (2) at a price equal to the lower of either the lowest price paid for the drug by the Federal Government or the manufacturer's best price for the drug.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Safety Valve Fairness Act of 2001 - Makes retroactive the court's authority to apply sentencing guidelines instead of mandatory sentences to drug offenders who were first time, nonviolent drug offenders who were not leaders or organizers, did not use a firearm, and provided the Government with all the information they had about the offense.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Global Democracy Promotion Act of 2001 - Declares that, in eligibility determinations for certain assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, foreign nongovernmental organizations shall not be: (1) ineligible for such assistance solely on the basis of health or medical services (including counseling and referral services) provided by them with non-U.S. Government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided, and would not violate U.S. Federal law if provided in the United States; and (2) subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. Government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Quality After-School Expansion Act of 2001 - Amends the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act (part I of title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) to reauthorize and revise requirements for grants for programs for before- and after-school center activities and services that address educational, health, social service, cultural, and recreational needs of communities. Makes small cities and disadvantaged suburban communities (as well as inner cities and rural communities) eligible if they have a substantial need for expanded learning opportunities because they: (1) lack resources to establish or expand such centers; or (2) have other related needs. Provides for allocation of grant funds to State educational agencies (SEAs) (current law provides for direct grants to public elementary or secondary schools or consortia). Reserves funds for continuation grants to existing grantees, specified territories, programs for Indian children, and evaluation and national activities. Requires SEAs to award competitive grants to eligible local entities acting on behalf of public elementary or secondary schools. Allows a portion of funds to be used for State-level activities and evaluation. Requires SEAs to establish performance indicators and acceptable goals of progress to evaluate the effectiveness of programs under this Act. Requires each local grantee to use: (1) at least a portion of its grant to implement or expand before- and after-school learning opportunities; and (2) the remainder to carry out not less than three among a list of specified activities. (Current law requires centers to include at least four of specified activities.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Authorizes the printing as a House document of an updated version of House Document 101-117 (as revised by the Library of Congress) entitled "Black Americans in Congress, 1870-1989."
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that rates of compensation for U.S. civilian employees should be adjusted at the same time, and in the same proportion, as are such rates for members of the uniformed services.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2001
Calls for the United States, at the 57th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, to solicit co-sponsorship for, and take the lead in organizing multilateral support to obtain passage of, a resolution calling upon the Government of the People's Republic of China to end its human rights abuses in China and Tibet.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Conservation and Reinvestment Act - Establishes the Conservation and Reinvestment Act Fund (CRAF). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit into the CRAF certain Outer Continental Shelf revenues, undisbursed impact assistance and coastal conservation amounts, and interest earned on CRAF investments. Allocates CRAF funds among coastal States for impact assistance and coastal conservation, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and Federal aid to a certain wildlife restoration fund. Provides for CRAF funding of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978, the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Maritime Heritage Act of 1994, Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Agreements, and a specified program for payments in lieu of taxes and refuge revenue sharing. Expresses the intent of Congress that amounts made available under this Act are to supplement, and not to detract from, annual appropriations for the National Park Service. Prohibits the expenditure of funds under this Act if such an expenditure diminishes benefit obligations of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, or the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to require local educational agencies, if they choose to treat certain IDEA funds as local funds, to use them to provide additional funding for programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Truthfulness, Responsibility, and Accountability in Contracting Act - Prohibits any Federal agency from making a decision to privatize, outsource, contract out, or contract for the performance of a function currently performed by the agency or to conduct a study to convert a function from Federal to contractor performance. Allows an agency to contract out a function not then performed by Federal employees if such function would be performed under contract by the blind or handicapped. Authorizes any agency to apply to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for a waiver of such prohibition on specified grounds. Requires each agency to establish a centralized system for reporting on its contracting efforts during the preceding and current fiscal years. Requires any agency decision to privatize, outsource, or contract out for the performance of a function, after expiration of the prohibition enacted by this Act, to be based on the results of a public-private competition process meeting specified requirements. Requires an agency either to conduct a new public-private competition or to convert a function to performance by Federal employees if a report indicates that: (1) contracting out costs exceed costs of performance by Federal employees; or (2) contracting out fails to meet quality control standards. Directs the Secretary of Labor to survey and report to specified congressional committees on the wages and quantifiable benefits provided by contractors to non-Federal personnel working under contract.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act of 2001 - Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to revise and reauthorize title VI subtitle B, Education for Homeless Children and Youth. Prohibits States receiving funds under such Act from segregating homeless children and youth solely on the basis of their homeless status. Directs the Coordinator of Education of Homeless Children and Youth in each State to identify schools or programs that so segregate, and provide technical assistance and support to them in removing barriers and promptly integrating. Requires schools to: (1) enroll immediately any homeless child or youth seeking enrollment, even if the records normally required for enrollment cannot be produced; (2) immediately contact the school such child or youth last attended to obtain academic and other records; and (3) promptly refer any such child or youth who needs immunizations or immunization or health records to the liaison for assistance in obtaining them. Requires local education agencies (LEAs) to coordinate their services (including expedited assistance) with agencies responsible for sheltering homeless families and youth. Requires local liaisons to ensure that: (1) homeless children and youth are identified by school personnel and through coordination with other agencies; and (2) enrollment disputes are mediated in a prescribed way. Makes the school of origin the default interpretation of the best interest of the child regarding school placement, unless this is contrary to the wishes of the child's parents or guardians, or contrary to an unaccompanied youth's wishes. Requires LEAs that seek to receive such funds to conduct an assessment of the educational and related needs of homeless children and youth. Directs the Secretary of Education to create and disseminate a public notice of the educational rights of homeless children and youth.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Childhood Assistance, Research and Education Amendments of 2001, or the DMD CARE Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to: (1) expand and intensify programs of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (the National Institutes) with respect to research and related activities concerning Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD); (2) award grants or contracts to public or nonprofit entities for at least three DMD research centers of excellence; and (3) provide for donation, collection, and preservation of tissues and genetic materials for such research. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee to coordinate all Federal DMD health programs and activities. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants and cooperative agreements for the collection, analysis, and reporting of DMD data. Requires the establishment through the CDC of at least three regional centers of excellence in DMD epidemiology. Directs the Secretary to establish a DMD education and information program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Veterans' Compensation Equity Act of 2001 - Permits service-disabled former military personnel who are retired with 20 or more years of creditable service and are age 65 or older to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Men's Health Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services an office to be known as the Office of Men's Health. Requires a report.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Energy Emergency Response Act of 2001 - Amends the following Acts to provide increased funding through FY 2005 for energy programs: (1) the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981(for home energy grants); (2) the Energy Conservation and Production Act (for weatherization assistance); and (3) the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (for State energy conservation grants). Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA) to: (1) mandate that each Federal agency undertake a comprehensive review of practicable measures for increasing energy and water conservation, and for using renewable energy sources; (2) allow as an approved benefit ancillary to an energy savings or performance contract those savings resulting from reduced operation and maintenance costs at replacement facilities; and (3) repeal the termination dates governing the authority to enter into energy savings performance contracts (thus extending such authority indefinitely).
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2001 - 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, 2002; and (3) $6.65 an hour beginning January 1, 2003. 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 · 14 February 2001
Teaching Children to Save Lives Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to State agencies to award grants to local agencies and targeted schools or school districts for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training in targeted localities. Requires such training to use nationally recognized training courses, and to be in public schools which include students in any of grades six through 12. Requires such grants to be used to: (1) ensure, in conjunction with local efforts, that training sites have the ability to start up; and (2) foster community partnerships among public and private organizations to help provide such training.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Veterans Comprehensive Hepatitis C Health Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, during the first year after the enactment of this Act, to provide a blood test for the Hepatitis C virus to: (1) each veteran who served on active military duty during the Vietnam era, or who is considered to be "at risk," and who is enrolled to receive veterans' medical care and requests such care or is otherwise receiving a physical examination or any other care or treatment from the Secretary; and (2) any other veteran who requests such test. Requires the Secretary, after such period, to provide such test to any veteran who requests it. Requires the Secretary to provide followup tests and appropriate treatment for any veteran who tests positive. Prohibits a copayment from being charged for such treatment. Provides funding for Department Hepatitis C detection and treatment programs, beginning with FY 2001. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a standardized Department policy with respect to such virus; and (2) annually take appropriate outreach actions to notify untested veterans. Directs the Secretary to establish at least one and no more than three additional Hepatitis C centers of excellence within the Department health care network. Provides funding.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Persian Gulf War Illness Compensation Act of 2001 - Amends a veterans' benefits program of compensation for disabilities occurring in veterans of the Persian Gulf War to: (1) require such disabilities, to be compensable, to occur before December 31, 2011, or such later date as prescribed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; (2) define an "undiagnosed illness" in such veterans as one manifested by specified symptoms or signs the cause, etiology, or origin of which cannot be specifically and definitely identified; and (3) include an undiagnosed illness having such a symptom or sign within the presumption of being service-connected and therefore treatable as a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Prescription Reimportation, Improvement, Correction, and Enhancement Act - Amends Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act provisions concerning the importation by pharmacists and wholesalers of certain prescription drugs with respect to: (1) testing and labeling; (2) nondiscrimination; and (3) a study and report. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Permanent Partners Immigration Act of 2001 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include permanent partners (as defined by this Act) within the scope of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Childproof Handgun Act of 2001 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a licensed manufacturer from manufacturing a handgun that cannot be personalized (i.e., integrated with a device or feature that allows it to be fired only by a particular individual, that is incapable of being readily deactivated, and that may allow the handgun to be personalized to an addition individual), except for an individual acting under the authority of the United States or any State department or agency, or of a political subdivision of a State. Sets penalties and an effective date (depending upon the findings of a report of commercial feasibility). Requires the Director of the National Institute of Justice to conduct a study of the state of the technology involved in personalizing firearms, determine whether such technology will be commercially feasible within five years after this Act's enactment date, and report to Congress. Sets forth factors to be considered in determining commercial feasibility. Directs the Attorney General, acting through the Director, to make grants to applicants that submit an application that meets specified requirements for the purpose of reducing violence caused by firearms through the development and improvement of personalized handgun technology. Limits the period of a grant to two years.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2001 - Entitles domestic partners of Federal employees to benefits available to spouses of Federal employees. Specifies certifications required for benefit eligibility, filing requirements regarding partnership dissolution, and confidentiality requirements. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exemption for employer contributions to accident and health plans to domestic partners under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to modify the formula for determining the amount of reduced monthly OASDI benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent receiving monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan. Declares that such benefit reductions shall be equal to the lesser of: (1) the amount by which the total amount of the combined monthly benefit (before reduction) and monthly pension exceeds $1,200, adjusted for inflation; or (2) an amount equal to two-thirds of the amount of any such monthly pension plan payment.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Personal Watercraft Responsible Use Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to withhold up to ten percent of grants made to a coastal State for development and administration of a management program for the land and water resources of its coastal zone in each fiscal year unless such State implements certain enforceable policies prohibiting a person from operating a personal watercraft in excess of no-wake speed in its coastal waters. Requires a coastal State's management program to include provisions that designate sensitive areas of its coast with respect to the enforcement of such policies in such areas. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish certain guidelines and standards for the operation of personal watercraft, consistent with the enforceable policies, in the national boating safety program. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation, subject to the availability of appropriations, to make recreational boating law enforcement grants to States that have: (1) implemented a recreational boating safety program incorporating the national guidelines and standards for personal watercraft; and (2) adopted the enforceable policies under this Act, if the State is a coastal State. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation, subject to the availability of appropriations, to make grants to States to support the activities of collaborative task forces to minimize conflicts between personal watercraft and other recreational and commercial users.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal criminal code to allow an individual to file a petition for expungement of a record of conviction for a nonviolent criminal offense if such individual has: (1) never been convicted of another violent offense; (2) fulfilled all requirements of the sentence of the court in which conviction was obtained; (3) remained free from dependency on or abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance for a minimum of one year and has been rehabilitated, to the court's satisfaction, if so required by the terms of supervised release; (4) obtained a high school diploma or completed a high school equivalency program; and (5) completed at least one year of community service. Authorizes an individual convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor to file an expungement petition. Directs the court, in ruling on such petition, after determining petitioner eligibility, to weigh the petitioner's interests against the best interests of justice and public safety. Authorizes the Department of Justice to maintain a nonpublic manual or computerized index of expunged records, to be made available only to Federal and State law enforcement personnel who have custody of such records for limited disclosure purposes. Requires the restoration of expunged records of individuals subsequently convicted of any Federal or State offense.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Student Loan Relief Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate the 60-month limit on student loan interest deductions; and (2) increase the student loan interest deduction income limitation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Declares that Federal funding for diabetes research should be increased in accordance with the recommendations of the Diabetes Research Working Group so that a cure for juvenile diabetes can be found.
![Official portrait of Rep. Payne, Donald M. [D-NJ-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000149_200.jpg)