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United States · Official source
3,859 records where Rep. Petri, Thomas E. [R-WI-6] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2002
Designates the Federal building located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest in the District of Columbia, and known as the J. Edgar Hoover Federal Building, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation Building.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2002
Back to School Tax Relief Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a taxpayer whose adjusted gross income is $20,000 or less ($40,000 in the case of a joint return) to deduct up to $3,000 in qualified elementary and secondary education expenses. Defines qualified elementary and secondary education expenses and adjusted gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2002
Amends Federal transportation law with respect to urbanized area formula grants for capital projects and the planning and improvement costs of equipment, facilities, and associated capital maintenance items for use in mass transportation. Makes a special rule for FY 2003 authorizing the Secretary of Transportation to make such grants from FY 2003 funds to finance the operating cost of equipment and facilities for use in mass transportation in an urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000 as determined under the 2000 Federal decennial census of population, if: (1) the urbanized area had a population under 200,000 in the 1990 census; (2) a portion of the area was a separate urbanized area with a population under 200,000 in the 1990 census; or (3) the area was not designated as a urbanized area in the 1990 census. Limits such amounts: (1) for the first two described areas to the amount apportioned in FY 2002 to such areas; and (2) for urbanized areas that, for the first time, exceeded 200,000 in population according to the 2000 census, to the amount apportioned for FY 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2002
Acknowledges the American Road and Transportation Builders Association for its 100th Anniversary. Commends the many achievements of the transportation construction industry and encourages the Association to continue its tradition of excellence in service to the transportation construction industry and to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2002
Establishes a Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board which shall work under the general oversight of the Comptroller General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to consider and recommend accounting concepts and standards for the Government that provide a frame of reference for resolving accounting issues.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2002
District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 2002 - Authorizes the establishment of the District of Columbia Scholarship Corporation as a private, nonprofit corporation to administer, publicize, and evaluate a District scholarship program and determine elementary and secondary student and school eligibility. Establishes a District of Columbia Scholarship Fund, to be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury. Provides for a seven-member Corporation Board of Directors, with six members appointed by the President from House and Senate nominees, and one member appointed by the District Mayor. Authorizes the Corporation to award tuition scholarships and enhanced achievement scholarships to District students in kindergarten through grade 12 with family incomes not exceeding 185 percent of the national poverty line. Allows scholarships to be used for tuition, fees, and appropriate transportation to public, private, or independent schools (or beyond-school-hours enhancement programs) in the District and specified neighboring counties and cities in Maryland and Virginia. Requires the following order of scholarship award priorities to students who: (1) have received such a scholarship in a previous year (in the program's second and subsequent years); (2) District school or kindergarten enrollees; (3) victims of school violence; and (4) other eligible students. Requires use of a lottery whenever amounts are insufficient to provide a scholarship for each student in one of these categories. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report on the District scholarship program. Provides for expedited judicial review of challenges to such program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2002
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Pledge of Allegiance, including the phrase "One Nation, under God," reflects the historical fact that a belief in God permeated the founding and development of our Nation; (2) the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals's ruling is inconsistent with the U.S. Supreme Court's First Amendment jurisprudence that the Pledge and similar expressions are not unconstitutional expressions of religious belief; (3) such phrase should remain in the Pledge; and (4) the Ninth Circuit should agree to rehear this ruling en banc in order to reverse this constitutionally infirm and historically incorrect ruling.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2002
Citizen Involvement in Campaigns Act of 2002 - Permits an individual a tax credit of up to $200 ($400 in the case of a joint return), equal to the verified amount of certain political contributions the individual made during the taxable year. Denies a deduction for any amount taken into account in determining the credit permitted in this Act. Allows a deduction of up to $600 ($1200 for a joint return). Allows the deduction whether or not a taxpayer itemizes other deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2002
Peace Corps Charter for the 21st Century Act - Amends the Peace Corps Act to require all recruiting of volunteers to be undertaken solely by the Peace Corps. Conditions the President's authority to detail or assign Peace Corps volunteers to certain Federal and State agencies and other entities upon a determination that such a detail or assignment does not contradict the standing of such volunteers as being independent from foreign policy-making and intelligence collection. Requires the Director of the Peace Corps, before implementing any new initiative, to consult with the Peace Corps National Advisory Council and to report to Congress on: (1) the initiative's objectives and costs, and any impact it may have on existing programs and the safety of volunteers; (2) the status of security procedures in any country in which the Peace Corps operates programs or is considering doing so; (3) student loan forgiveness programs currently available to Peace Corps volunteers; and (4) initiatives the Peace Corps intends to pursue in order to solicit requests from eligible countries where the presence of volunteers would facilitate a greater understanding of the world and of diverse cultures and systems of government, including peoples from countries with substantial Muslim populations. Requires the Director to develop a training program for all Peace Corps volunteers in the education, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases. Increases Peace Corps volunteer readjustment allowances to $200 a month. Establishes a program to award grants to private nonprofit corporations in the District of Columbia to serve as incubators for returned Peace Corps volunteers seeking to use their knowledge and expertise to undertake community-based projects.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2002
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any physician or other individual from knowingly performing a partial-birth abortion, except when necessary to save the life of a mother that is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury. Authorizes the father, if married to the mother at the time of the abortion, and the maternal grandparents of the fetus, if the mother is under 18 years of age, to obtain specified relief in a civil action, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion. Authorizes a defendant accused of an offense under this Act to seek a hearing before the State Medical Board on whether the physician's conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother. Prohibits the prosecution of a woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed for conspiracy to violate this Act or under provisions regarding punishment as a principal or an accessory or for concealment of a felony.
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
Fed Up Higher Education Technical Amendments of 2002 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), and the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, to make various technical revisions that incorporate the results of the Fed Up Initiative to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers to access to student aid programs. Revises the definition of institution of higher education (IHE) to include one that admits as regular students those who have been home-schooled (as well as high school graduates or those with equivalency certificates), thus providing that such home-schooled students are eligible for HEA student aid. Makes students attending nonprofit foreign veterinary schools eligible for the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) student loan program if the school does not meet certain requirements, but only if: (1) it was certified as eligible by the Secretary of Education; and (2) students complete their clinical training at an approved veterinary school in the United States. Allows IHEs to make mandatory reports on teacher preparation program quality by electronic means. Eliminates a requirement that new forbearance agreements between lenders and borrowers be in writing; but requires lenders to notify borrowers of their terms. Allows financial aid professionals to use professional judgment in reevaluating the student financial need of a ward of the court. Requires students withdrawing from an IHE to return only HEA title IV grant aid amounts exceeding 50 percent of the total (if more than $50). Permits Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to apply for Federal HSI grants without waiting two years between applications. Authorizes the use of HEA title VII funds for: (1) Federal scholarship aid to low-income and minority students for summer institutes to prepare for law school; and (2) Thurgood Marshall Fellowships to attend law school. Provides that an IHE is in compliance with requirements to provide students with certain information, including voter registration material, if it does so through an e-mail message or an Internet address. Extends through September 30, 2003, HEA exemptions, for IHEs having low student loan default rates, from requirements that the disbursement of loan proceeds be: (1) in multiple installments; and (2) delayed for 30 days after classes start for first-time undergraudate borrowers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Recreational Marine Employment Act of 2002 - Amends the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act with respect to employer liability for death and disability compensation payable to longshore, harbor workers, and other specified marine employees not otherwise covered by State workers compensation laws. Excludes from the definition of employee any individuals employed by or at, or engaged in the construction or maintenance of, a recreational marine facility or structure. Expands the range of individuals whose work is concerned with recreational vessels who do not qualify as employees, including people who principally buy and sell such vessels. Makes such exclusions contingent on the employer's being in compliance with a State workers' compensation law. (Presently they are contingent on workers' being covered under such a law). Modifies requirements for third part actions against vessels for negligence to apply them only to injuries to maritime workers who do not qualify as seamen under specified Federal law. (Presently they apply to injuries to all persons covered under the Act).
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Chronic Wasting Disease Support for States Act of 2002 - Defines "chronic wasting disease" as a transmissible disease of the nervous system afflicting deer and elk. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish and maintain the official national database for surveillance and monitoring data regarding chronic wasting disease. Makes the database available to Federal and State agencies, Indian tribes, foreign governments, institutions of higher education, and international wildlife authorities. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (through the U.S. Geological Survey) and the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) to develop surveillance and monitoring programs to identify: (1) the rate of infection; (2) the cause and extent of the spread of the disease; and (3) areas promoting spread of the disease. Requires the Secretaries to cooperate with State and tribal agencies in developing the monitoring programs. Authorizes the Secretaries to establish standards for the collection and assessment of data. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to allocate funds to State and tribal agencies for developing and implementing disease management strategies based upon: (1) the relative scope of incidence of the disease; (2) expenditures on disease management; (3) comprehensive and integrated programs for disease management between wildlife and agricultural agencies; and (4) rapid response to outbreaks. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (through the U.S. Geological Survey) to expand and accelerate research on the disease. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture: (1) to provide for the upgrading of Federal laboratories approved to process samples from the surveillance and monitoring programs; and (2) expand and accelerate research on the disease through the Agricultural Research Service and Cooperative State Research grant programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2002
Honors and commends the Lao Veterans of America, Laotian and Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War who served with or assisted the United States Armed Forces, and their families for their historic contributions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2002
Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Response Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Survey, to establish and coordinate a national research program to assess chronic wasting disease (the transmissible animal disease that afflicts deer and elk). Includes among program elements requirements that the Secretary: (1) provide States with technical and financial assistance and timely information to prevent disease expansion; (2) design a national program for disease monitoring and surveillance; (3) conduct research to determine how the disease is transmitted; (4) develop new non-lethal detection and diagnostic methods to identify the disease in free-ranging cervid populations; (5) develop safe methods of disposal of infected carcasses; (6) instruct Federal land managers to determine the presence of the disease, the likelihood of transmission to adjacent non-Federal lands, and management options for infestations; and (7) develop a public outreach and education strategy for the hunting community and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Date Certain Tax Code Replacement Act - Prohibits the imposition of any tax by the Internal Revenue Code: (1) for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2005; and (2) in the case of any tax not imposed on the basis of a taxable year, on any taxable event or for any period after December 31, 2005. Excepts the: (1) tax on self-employment income (chapter 2 of the Code); (2) Federal Insurance Contributions Act (chapter 21 of the Code); and (3) Railroad Retirement Tax Act (chapter 22 of the Code). Establishes the National Commission on Tax Reform and Simplification to review: (1) the present structure and provisions of the Code; (2) whether the tax systems of other countries could provide more efficient and fair methods of funding government revenue requirements; (3) whether the income tax should be replaced with a tax imposed in a different manner or on a different base; and (4) whether the Code can be simplified, absent wholesale restructuring or replacement. Requires a Commission report to Congress on review results, with recommendations for Code reform and simplification. Terminates the Commission 90 days after such report. Authorizes appropriations (with interim funding). Declares that any new Federal tax system should be approved by Congress in its final form before July 4, 2005, and, if not, Congress should be required to vote to reauthorize the Code.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2002
Abortion Non-Discrimination Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Federal Government, and any State or local government that receives Federal financial assistance, from discriminating against any health care entity because (in addition to current prohibited reasons) the entity refuses to provide coverage of, or pay for, induced abortions. Expands the definition of "health care entity" to include (in addition to physicians) other health professionals, a hospital, a provider sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, and any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2002
Requires the Secretary of State to impose certain sanctions against a foreign country that owes unpaid fully adjudicated parking fines and penalties to New York City, New York, including to: (1) deny the issuance or renewal of any diplomatic license plates for vehicles for that country; (2) withhold certain foreign assistance funds from such country; and (3) reappropriate certain unobligated foreign assistance funds available for the country to pay fully adjudicated parking fines and penalties it owes to New York City.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) President Bush should be commended for renouncing the U.S. signature from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a step toward protecting American service-members and citizens from the possibility of unwarranted and politically-motivated prosecutions; (2) President Bush should be encouraged to remain steadfast in his intention of protecting such individuals from the unchecked power of the ICC; and (3) Congress should take all steps necessary to grant appropriate authority to the President to defend the American people from the threat of arrest, prosecution, and conviction by the ICC.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2002
TRIO Education Access Act of 2002 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide definitions of different campus and different population for purposes of Federal TRIO programs for disadvantaged students.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Honors the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Nation's first charter school. Commends the charter school movement and charter schools, teachers, parents, and students across the Nation for their ongoing contributions to education and improving and strengthening the Nation's public school system. Supports the goals of National Charter Schools Week.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2002
Instructional Materials Accessibility Act of 2002 - Directs Secretary of Education to: (1) develop and publish instructional materials accessibility standards for the national electronic file format to be used by publishers of instructional materials in the preparation of electronic files suitable for efficient conversion into specialized formats; (2) establish a National Instructional Materials Accessibility Advisory Committee to provide technical expertise and guidance in creating such national electronic file format; (3) periodically review and amend such standards to reflect technological advances or changes; and (4) establish a National Instructional Materials Access Center. Requires State educational agencies, as a condition for receiving Federal financial assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to develop and implement statewide plans and make contracts with publishers to ensure that instructional materials for classroom use in elementary and secondary schools are made available in specialized formats to individuals who are blind or have other print disabilities at the same time such materials are provided to individuals without such disabilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to provide or improve their capacity to prepare or obtain instructional materials in specialized formats, including the national electronic format. Provides for enforcement of rights of children and parents under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2002
Authorizes the President to award to Dr. Dorothy Height, on behalf of Congress, a congressional gold medal in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2002
Syria Accountability Act of 2002 - Prohibits the President from exporting any item on the United States Munitions List or Commerce Control List of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations, providing any U.S. assistance to U.S. businesses with respect to investment or other activities, or conducting Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Trade Development Agency programs in or with respect to Syria. Directs the President to impose two or more specified sanctions against Syria. Requires maintenance of such prohibition and sanctions until the President certifies that Syria meets specified requirements, including that it: (1) does not support international terrorist groups; (2) has withdrawn all of its military personnel from Lebanon; (3) has ceased the development and deployment of ballistic missiles and biological and chemical weapons; (4) is no longer in violation of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 661 and subsequent relevant resolutions; (5) has made substantial progress in negotiations aimed at a peace agreement with Israel and a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon; and (6) is respecting the sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon as required under UN Security Council Resolution 520. Authorizes the President to provide development assistance to Syria and Lebanon if these six requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2002
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2004, the duty on fixed-ratio gear changers for truck-mounted concrete mixers.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2002
Educational Grants for Great Starts Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish a pilot program to: (1) support before-school activities that advance student academic achievement and that encourage establishing of, or increasing participation in, school breakfast programs; and (2) evaluate the effect before-school activities have on school breakfast program participation. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to make such program grants to seven State agencies to conduct pilot projects in 17 elementary schools in each such State through subgrants to local educational agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2002
American Servicemember and Citizen Protection Act of 2002 - Urges the President to formally rescind the signature approving the Statute of the International Criminal Court made on behalf of the United States and to take necessary steps to prevent the Court's establishment. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for the establishment or operation of the Court. Declares that any action taken by or on behalf of the Court: (1) against any member of the U.S. armed forces shall be considered an act of aggression against the United States; or (2) against any U.S. citizen or national shall be considered an offense against the law of nations. Sets forth both civil and criminal penalties against any person who knowingly violates the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2002
Working Toward Independence Act of 2002 - Amends title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of the Social Security Act to amend State work participation requirements. Revises work or alternative self-sufficiency requirements for a parent or caretaker receiving TANF assistance. Directs States to establish for each recipient family a family sufficiency plan (in lieu of the currently required State Individual Responsibility Plans). Authorizes States to design activities and develop methods for monitoring and reviewing such plans. Revises State plan requirements and directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to establish TANF performance measures. Requires the Secretary to make bonus grants to each State that has achieved formulated employment goals. Caring for Children Act of 2002 - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to specify consumer education information States are required to collect and disseminate. Requires States to certify to child care service quality and demonstrate: (1) child care services coordination; (2) encouragement of partnerships with private and other public entities; and (3) how the State is addressing child care for children with special needs. Specifies State required activities to improve the quality of child care services and authorizes States to determine family income level eligibility requirements for such services. Authorizes the Secretary, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education to authorize innovative State demonstration projects involving individual programs, or integrating multiple public assistance, workforce development, and other programs to support working families.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Uniform Securities Disclosure Act - Amends the Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act, respectively, to extend Federal securities registration and reporting requirements to specified mortgage-backed and other housing-related securities, and subordinate obligations under such Acts.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Honors the life and work of Susan B. Anthony.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2002
Housing Affordability for America Act of 2002 - Amends specified housing-related Acts with respect to: (1) home investment partnerships; (2) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance for single and multifamily housing, and health care facilities; (3) supportive housing for elderly and disabled families; (4) section 8 rental housing assistance; (5) public housing; (6) Hope VI revitalization assistance; (7) homeless housing programs; (8) Native American housing; (9) housing impact analysis; (10) community development block grants; (11) housing counseling programs; (13) housing opportunities for persons with AIDS; and (14) Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) guarantee fees.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2002
Fuel Price Stability Act of 2002 - Amends Clean Air Act reformulated gasoline provisions to allow the Governor of Illinois, Indiana, or Wisconsin to allow the sale or dispensing in a covered area (one of certain ozone nonattainment areas) in such State of conventional gasoline or reformulated gasoline that is not certified for such area if: (1) the gasoline is certified by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for sale in any other region of the country; and (2) the Governor finds that reduced availability of reformulated gasoline certified for the area has resulted, or is likely to result, in a significant price increase for such gasoline in that area.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2002
Recognizes: (1) the President's call to double the number of Peace Corps volunteers as an opportunity to improve understanding between the United States and the world; and (2) the need to double Peace Corps funding by 2007.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2002
Consistent Public Land Laws Enforcement Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the National Park Service Organic Act, and other Federal law to classify as a Class B misdemeanor a violation of any regulation concerning the management, use, and protection of National Park System lands, National Forest lands, and other public lands. Makes a person guilty of a Class A misdemeanor (subject to a higher fine and/or imprisonment) for the knowing and willful violation of any such regulation. Provides authority to adjudge persons who commit such a violation to pay all costs of the proceedings. Allows fines so collected to be used to: (1) cover the costs of improvement, protection, or rehabilitation of the public lands rendered necessary by such violation; and (2) increase public awareness of such regulations and other requirements concerning public land use.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2002
Museum and Library Services Act of 2002 - Amends the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) and the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) to extend authorizations of appropriations and revise programs under such Acts. Amends MLSA to establish the National Museum and Library Services Board, within the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). (Eliminates a National Museum Services Board.) Requires the IMLS Director to: (1) ensure coordination with certain activities under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), and other Federal activities; and (2) conduct and publish analyses of museum and library services impact. Revises requirements for annual national awards to outstanding libraries and museums that have made significant contributions in service to their communities. Includes specified entities under the term museum, for MLSA purposes. Revises museum services activities. Amends LSTA to provide for: (1) an increased portion for administrative costs; (2) an increased alternative minimum allotment to States under certain conditions; (3) State plans once every five years, as determined by the IMLS Director; (4) additional uses of grants to States for library programs; and (5) recruitment of library and information science personnel under the program of national leadership grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Repeals requirements under the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Act relating to Commission responsibilities to: (1) advise the IMLS Director; and (2) meet with the National Museum Services Board, which is eliminated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2002
Responsible Student Financial Assistance Assurance Act of 2002 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide that only those students who have committed drug offenses during the period they were receiving student grant, loan, or work assistance shall have their eligibility for such assistance suspended upon conviction for such an offense.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2002
Pension Security Act of 2002 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require individual account plans, including those with cash or deferred arrangements under IRC section 401(k), to furnish quarterly pension benefit statements to plan participants and beneficiaries with rights to direct investments. Requires individual account plan administrators to give 30 days notice (except in specified circumstances) to plan participants and beneficiaries before a period (lockdown, blackout) in which their ability to divest or diversify assets control over their account assets will be limited. Provides that, during such lockdown periods, employers are not exempt from liability for failing in fiduciary duty with respect to individual account plan investments; but states that this loss of exemption from liability is not triggered by any limitations or restrictions on employee ability to divest or diversify assets, if such limitations or restrictions are disclosed to participants and beneficiaries through summary plan description or materials describing specific investment alternatives under the plan. Amends ERISA and IRC to prohibit individual account plans from acquiring or holding employer securities with respect to which there is any restriction on divestment by a participant or beneficiary after the participant has completed three years of plan participation. Exempts employee stock ownership plans (ESOPS) from this prohibition. Allows ERISA prohibited transaction exemptions under specified conditions to: (1) a fiduciary adviser's providing certain investment advice to an employee benefit plan or to a participant or beneficiary of such plan; (2) sale, acquisition, or holding of securities or other property (including any lending of money or other extension of credit associated with these) pursuant to such advice; and (3) direct or indirect receipt of fees or other compensation by the fiduciary adviser or an affiliate in connection with providing such advice. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit certain insider trading during pension plan transaction suspension periods.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2002
Highway Funding Restoration Act - Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to require that obligations for Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for FY 2003: (1) meet a specified minimum level; and (2) be distributed in accordance with that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2002
Expresses Congress' profound sorrow of the death of the Honorable Henry Reuss and extends its condolences to his family, especially his wife Margaret. Expresses its profound gratitude to the Honorable Henry Reuss and his family for the service that he rendered to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2002
Urges the Government of Laos to: (1) ensure that all adult citizens of Laos are able to vote and run for public office regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, economic standing, or political affiliation; (2) allow its citizens to assemble and peacefully protest against the Government and public officials and to organize themselves into political parties; and (3) allow unrestricted access by international human rights and election monitors.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2002
Civil Air Patrol Homeland Security Benefits Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include as a "public safety officer" for purposes of provisions governing death benefits a volunteer civilian member of the Civil Air Patrol engaged in: (1) active service rendered in performance or support of operational missions of the Patrol under the direction of the Department of the Air Force and performed consistent with written authorization that specifies a finite assignment; or (2) travel to or from such service.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2001
Pipeline Infrastructure Protection to Enhance Security and Safety Act - Amends Federal transportation law "one-call notification system" provisions concerning notification to underground facility operators of excavations to: (1) require participation by government operators; and (2) encourage the adoption of the "Common Ground" report. Revises pipeline safety provisions to require the Secretary of Transportation: (1) when assessing the security and safety of pipeline facilities, to assess the vulnerabilities of such facilities to terrorist attacks; (2) when prescribing minimum safety standards for pipeline transportation and for pipeline facilities, to include in such standards a requirement that pipeline facility operators participate in a public safety program; and (3) to establish pipeline public education and safety standards. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to develop and implement a cooperative program of research, development, and demonstration to ensure the integrity of pipeline facilities. Requires the establishment of a Pipeline Integrity Technical Advisory Committee to develop a cooperative pipeline facility integrity program. Establishes a pipeline controller certification qualification program. Requires a pipeline facility operator to provide: (1) geospatial data appropriate for use in the National Pipeline Mapping System; (2) identification of the person with primary operational control; (3) develop and implement terrorism security programs; and (4) with a condition deemed potentially unsafe condition to take necessary corrective actions. Authorizes to pipelines: (1) technical assistance; and (2) security recommendations. Requires a coordinated environmental review process for pipeline repair and rehabilitation projects. Permits withholding from the public certain pipeline information that could reveal the systemic vulnerability of a pipeline to attack.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2001
Rural Equity Payment Index Reform Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a minimum geographic cost-of-practice index value for physicians' services furnished under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2001
Amends the Clean Air Act to allow the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to approve a provision in a State implementation plan controlling or prohibiting the use of a motor vehicle fuel or additive only if such control requires the use of either Federal clean burning gasoline (regarding which the Administrator is directed to establish requirements under this Act, replacing those for fuel currently called "reformulated gasoline") or low Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) gasoline (as defined in this Act) for use during the high ozone season. Permits previously approved plan provisions effecting such controls to remain in effect for four years after enactment of this Act only if the State reevaluates the provisions and establishes that their benefits in terms of air quality improvement, consistent supply, production costs, and stable prices exceed the benefits of modifying them to require the use of Federal clean burning fuel or low RVP gasoline. Repeals reformulated gasoline oxygen content requirements. Prohibits, effective January 1, 2006, the introduction into commerce of any fuel containing methyl tertiary butyl ether. Requires that, beginning in 2003, gasoline sold in the United States be comprised of a specified percentage of renewable fuel (ethanol or biomass-derived fuel or other fuel used to reduce the quantity of fossil fuel present in gasoline). Provides for adjustment of such percentage in a State and a program of credits for use and exchange by refiners, blenders, and importers. Expresses the sense of Congress in support of the promotion of ethanol as the primary renewable fuel. Directs the Administrator to conduct a study of emissions and air quality changes attributable to this Act's amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2001
Systemic Passenger Infrastructure and Network Overhaul through Financial Freedom Act - Transfers title to all property of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) consisting of the main line of the Northeast Corridor between the District of Columbia and Boston, Massachusetts, and the Autotrain to the Secretary of Transportation in consideration of the cancellation of a certain note and mortgage between Amtrak and the U.S. Government for the acquisition and improvement of such property and certain other rail properties. Directs the Secretary to provide for the competitive selection of an entity or entities to maintain and dispatch service operations on the main line of the Northeast Corridor between the District of Columbia and Boston, Massachusetts, and for the Autotrain, until the Secretary makes a determination for the disposition of such operations, including: (1) transfer of such operations to an interstate compact consisting of the States of the Northeast Corridor; (2) transfer of such operations to a new quasi-governmental corporation or to a private sector corporation; or (3) retention of ownership by the Secretary, with competitive franchising, by one or more entities, of the management and dispatching of service. Requires the Secretary to retain, and Amtrak to transfer to the Secretary, all amounts appropriated by the U.S. Government for FY 2002 for Amtrak that have not been provided to it, as well as those funds that have been.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2001
Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), through the United States Geological Survey, to establish a nutrient and sediment monitoring network for the Upper Mississippi River Basin. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish guidelines for related data collection and storage activities; (2) inventory the sediment and monitoring efforts of governmental and nongovernmental entities for the purpose of creating a baseline understanding of overlap, data gaps, and redundancies; and (3) collaborate with other public and private monitoring efforts in establishing the monitoring program. Directs the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a water resources assessment of the Basin. Requires the Director of the United States Geological Survey to establish: (1) a computer modeling program of nutrient and sediment sources in the Basin; and (2) an Internet-based system to distribute information about nutrient and sediment loss reduction projects and nutrient and sediment levels in the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2001
National Aviation Capacity Expansion Act - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to implement the redesign and reconstruction of Chicago O'Hare International Airport in Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois, in accordance with a specified runway redesign plan, and the development of a south suburban airport in the Chicago metropolitan region, by facilitating approval, funding, construction, and implementation of such plan and suburban airport. Requires all environmental reviews, analyses, and opinions related to issuance of permits, licenses, or approvals relating to such plan or airport to be conducted on an expedited basis. States that approval by the Administrator of an airport layout plan submitted by Chicago that includes the runway redesign plan shall: (1) provide that any runway located more than 2500 feet south of existing runway 9R-27L shall not begin construction before January 2011; and (2) be subject to the condition that noise impact of aircraft operations at O'Hare after the year in which the first new runway is first used will be less than that in 2000. Prohibits the consideration of such a plan unless it includes public roadway access through the western boundary of O'Hare to passenger terminal and parking facilities. Directs the Administrator to give priority consideration to a letter of intent application submitted by the State of Illinois (or a political subdivision thereof) for construction of the suburban airport. Sets forth requirements regarding the construction of the runway redesign plan as a Federal project on or after July 1, 2004. Requires the withholding of all airport grant funds for O'Hare (other than grants involving national security and safety) until January 1, 2026, unless specified conditions with respect to operations at Merrill C. Meigs Field have been met.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2001
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to include Christmas tree farming as agriculture under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2001
Over-the-Road Bus Security and Safety Act of 2001 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to private operators of over-the-road buses for specified system-wide security improvements to their operations, including the reimbursement of extraordinary security-related costs incurred since September 11, 2001. Requires the Secretary to impose a fee of $0.25 for each bus trip of a passenger if the cost of the trip is more than $5 to pay for the cost of carrying out this Act.