United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should use its influence with the Government of Turkey and as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to suggest that the Turkish Government: (1) assure that steps are taken to reopen the Theological School of Halki; (2) provide for the protection and safety of the Ecumenical Patriarch, Patriarchate personnel, and visitors; and (3) establish conditions to ensure that the Patriarchate is free to carry out its religious mission.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2002
Ten Commandments Defense Act of 2002 - Declares reserved to the States the power to display the Ten Commandments on State or local government property. Declares that expressions of religious faith by individual persons upon State property are: (1) protected against Federal laws or regulations respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion; and (2) among those liberties of which no State may deprive any person without due process of law made in pursuance of powers reserved to the States. Requires the courts established by the Congress to exercise judicial power in accordance with such declarations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2002
Congratulates the people of Utah, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, the United States Olympic Team, and the athletes of the world for an outstanding and inspiring 2002 Olympic Winter Games, and thanks the thousands of law enforcement and public safety personnel, military servicemen and women, and volunteers who contributed so much to ensure the Winter Olympics were safe, secure, and friendly.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2002
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to study storage space issues relating to enlarging Pueblo Dam and Reservoir and Sugar Loaf Dam and Turquoise Lake, Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, Colorado, including feasibility, potential costs, benefits, environmental and recreational impacts, and use and operation. Requires the Southeastern Colorado Water Activity Enterprise to participate in and fund such studies. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into contracts with public or private entities supplying water within Project boundaries, for the use of excess water storage and conveyance capacity for nonproject water in certain east slope facilities, subject to existing needs, purposes, and capacities.. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into temporary contracts with any public or private entities operating a water bank established pursuant to Colorado law for use of Project facilities for the impounding, storage, and carriage of nonproject water for irrigation, domestic municipal, industrial, and other beneficial purposes. Allocates contract revenues to annual operations and maintenance costs, then to repayment of the project, and once project costs have been repaid, to the Reclamation Fund for use exclusively for financing extraordinary operations and maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacements of project facilities. Exempts nonproject water under contract from acreage limitations and prohibits the use of excess water storage capacity to increase diversion of nonproject water, as specified. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) enter or renew contracts with the City of Aurora for specified terms for use of extra storage or carrying capacity for the impounding, storage, and carriage of nonproject water for domestic, municipal, industrial, and other beneficial purposes; and (2) enter into contracts with the Pueblo West Metropolitan District for the use of extra water storage and conveyance capacity for nonproject water in certain east slope facilities, use of extra storage or carrying capacity, and the impounding, storage, and carriage of nonproject water for domestic, municipal, industrial, and other beneficial purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2002
Amends the Education Land Grant Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to pay environmental review costs with respect to conveyances under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2002
Schoolchildren's Health Protection Act - Amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit Federal education funding (from programs for which the Secretary or Department of Education has administrative responsibility) to any State or local educational agency that provides to an unemancipated minor, at an elementary or secondary school, postcoital emergency contraception (e.g. the "morning-after pill") or a prescription for such contraception.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2002
Common Sense Critical Habitat Act of 2002 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from designating an area as critical habitat of a species: (1) unless the Secretary finds, based on clear and convincing scientific data, that the area is, or historically has been, occupied by a viable population of the species; or (2) if the Secretary determines that the benefits of not designating the area outweigh the benefits of designating the area. Waives such prohibition with respect to an area if the Secretary finds that failure to designate such area will result in the extinction of the species.
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 · 12 February 2002
Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2002 - Mandates the merger of the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund into the Deposit Insurance Fund. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) and the Federal Credit Union Act to: (1) increase the amount of deposit insurance coverage; (2) couple such increase with an inflation adjustment; and (3) double the amount of deposit insurance for certain retirement accounts. Amends the FDIA to increase the amount of deposit insurance coverage for municipal deposits. Expands the range of authorized investments for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to include Federal agency obligations or comparable obligations authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury. Repeals: (1) independent treatment of each deposit insurance fund with respect to assessments and designated reserve ratio; (2) minimum risk-based assessments for certain at-risk deposit insurance funds; (3) limitations on assessments on deposit insurance funds that fail to meet the designated reserve ratio; and (4) the special rule for recapitalizing undercapitalized funds. Instructs the FDIC Board of Directors to establish annually a designated reserve ratio that falls within a prescribed range. Replaces refund guidelines with rebates to insured depository institutions that are predicated upon DIF balances in excess of specified percentages. Instructs the FDIC to establish a Deposit Insurance Fund Restoration Plan to ensure adequate reserves whenever the actual ratio in the DIF falls below certain criteria. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on FDIC administrative structure, expenses, and certain activities, and further possible changes to the deposit insurance system.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2002
Dave Thomas Adoption Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow for penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans if used to pay adoption expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2002
Commends Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson for: (1) immediately making State Children's Health Insurance Program resources available to States to care for unborn children and pregnant mothers; and (2) recognizing pregnant mothers and unborn children as deserving of concern about their health and well-being.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2002
Sound Science Saves Species Act of 2002 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require a petition to add or remove a species from either the endangered or threatened species list to contain: (1) evidence of the species' known and historic ranges, the most recent population estimates and trends, and the reason that the petitioned action is warranted, including known or perceived threats; (2) a bibliography of scientific literature on the species; and (3) a description of all available data on the species' historical and current range, population, and distribution, an explanation of the methodology used to collect such data, and an identification of the location where it can be reviewed. Requires the Secretary to make specified notifications after receiving such a petition. Sets forth requirements for the independent scientific review of petitions and findings regarding petitions and jeopardy opinions. Limits re-petitions for adding to such lists.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2002
Amends the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 to authorize the President to liquidate blocked assets associated with terrorism and its support and use the proceeds to reimburse the Treasury for compensation of claimants under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2002
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (the Act) to authorize any owner of record of privately owned land, or the Governor of any State, to submit to the Secretary of the Interior a request for specified information regarding the application of the Act to that land, including: (1) a description of the location where the species is known to occur; (2) the presence or absence of species listed or proposed for listing; (3) any regulations or restrictions that may apply under the Act; (4) the impact that any pending proposal to list a species as endangered or threatened could have on the land's use and management; (5) the impact of a designation as critical habitat; (6) a response as to whether any action specified in the request constitutes a prohibited taking of a species and actions that must be taken to avoid such a taking; (7) a description of what other actions relating to the land will constitute a taking; and (8) any other information that could affect the land's use or management. Directs the Secretary to provide a response in writing to the owner or Governor within 90 days. Prohibits the Secretary from enforcing the Act with respect to actions occurring on the land that is the subject of the request unless the Secretary has provided that information. Makes public hearings requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act applicable to hearings under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2002
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to direct the Secretary of the Interior, concurrently with: (1) making a determination that a species is an endangered or threatened species, to designate "survival habitat" of the species (i.e., the specific areas within the geographical area occupied by the species, at the time it is listed, on which are found those physical or biological features that are essential to the conservation of the species and that may require special management considerations or protection); and (2) adoption of the final recovery plan for a species, to designate critical habitat of the species. Requires that survival habitat designated for a species at the time of listing be revised and finalized as critical habitat concurrently with the adoption of the final recovery plan for the species. Directs the Secretary to designate survival habitat based only on the best scientific and commercial data available and after taking into consideration the economic and any other relevant impact. Allows the Secretary to exclude any area from survival habitat upon determining that the benefits of such exclusion outweigh the benefits of the specification unless the Secretary determines that the failure to designate such area will result in the extinction of the species concerned.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2002
Ten Commandments Public Display Resolution of 2002 - Requires the Architect of the Capitol to prominently display the Ten Commandments in the chambers of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that healthy marriages are highly important to the well-being of children, adults, and society in general, and that government policy should seek to reduce the financial penalties against marriage within the welfare system, and should support couples who choose to marry and assist them in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to form and sustain healthy, loving, and productive marriages.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should open a dialogue with the Government of Canada to discuss: (1) the smuggling from Canada into the United States of large quantities of pseudoephedrine, a necessary ingredient in the production of methamphetamines; and (2) methods to restrict the quantity of pseudoephedrine that Canadian manufacturers can package in a single container.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2002
Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to eligible nonprofit community based pregnancy help medical clinics to purchase ultrasound equipment to provide free examinations to pregnant women, under the direction and supervision of a licensed medical physician. Conditions eligibility on a clinic agreeing to provide each examined woman a visual image, the age, and a physical description of the fetus and information on abortion and alternatives.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2002
Expresses support for the efforts of the Ukrainian people to promote democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights in Ukraine. Urges the Government of Ukraine to: (1) enforce impartially the Law on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine, signed by President Leonid Kuchma on October 30, 2001; and (2) meet its commitments on democratic elections, as delineated in the 1990 Copenhagen Document of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with respect to the campaign period and election day; and (3) address issues identified by the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of OSCE in its final report on the 1999 presidential election, such as state interference in the campaign and pressure on the media. Calls upon the Ukrainian Government to allow election monitors from the ODIHR, other participating OSCE states, and foreign and domestic private institutions and organizations full access to all aspects of the parliamentary election process.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2002
Worker's Freedom of Choice Act - Prohibits labor unions or employers subject to valid labor agreements from receiving, soliciting, or accepting payment of dues or fees not related to exclusive representation and core purposes, including collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment (notwithstanding an exception under the National Labor Relations Act relating to union security agreements which require payment of union dues or fees as a condition of employment). Gives a right of civil action to employees who dispute the amount so collected by labor organizations. Requires employers to post notice of such prohibition against labor unions using dues or fees, which are collected as conditions of employment, for any activities not necessary to performing their duties of exclusive representation of employees in dealing with employers on labor-management issues (union duties). Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to require every labor union to attribute and report expenses by function classification, verified by independent audit, in enough detail to allow its members to determine whether such expenses were necessary to perform such union duties. Requires disclosure under such Act to employees required to pay any union dues or fees under a union security agreement as well as to union members. Prohibits labor union retaliation or coercion against any employee for exercising any right granted or protected by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2002
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) supports the goals of Catholic Schools Week; and (2) congratulates Catholic schools, students, parents, and teachers across the Nation for their ongoing contributions to education, and for the key role they play in promoting and ensuring a brighter, stronger future for this Nation.
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
National Border Security Agency Act - Establishes the National Border Security Agency, which shall plan and coordinate Federal border security activities, and act as a focal point for immigration enforcement. Transfers to the Agency the United States Coast Guard, the United States Customs Service, and specified portions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2001
Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to identify specified routes in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico as part of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor of the National Highway System.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2001
National Rural Development Partnership Act of 2001 - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish the National Rural Development Partnership composed of the National Rural Development Coordinating Committee (established by this Act) and State development councils (authorized by this Act). Includes among Partnership purposes: (1) enhancement of State and local rural development capacities; and (2) engagement of Federal, State, local, tribal, and private and nonprofit sectors in such efforts. Provides for State rural development council matching requirements. Terminates the Partnership five years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2001
Fairness to All Vietnam Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to Congress: (1) to identify veterans who died after October 31, 1955, as a result of military operations in southeast Asia whose names are not eligible for inscription on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; and (2) on the feasibility and equitability of revising the eligibility requirements to be more inclusive of such veterans or of creating an alternative means for recognizing them.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2001
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and the Revised Statutes of the United States to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from making a determination that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is an activity that is either financial in nature or incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2001
Extends the tax benefits available under the Internal Revenue Code for services performed in a combat zone to duty performed by a member of the U.S. armed forces in the Republic of Korea from July 1 to December 31, 2000, during which such member was entitled to hardship duty pay.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2001
Supports and commends the contribution of crisis pregnancy centers, their staffs and volunteers. Encourages government agencies at all levels to assist such centers and decries any attempts to prevent their use.
United States · United States Congress · 27 November 2001
Medicare Physician Payment Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to set the conversion factor (update) for payments under the Medicare physician fee schedule for 2002 at 0.9 percent less than the conversion factor for 2001. Declares that this conversion factor and a specified update adjustment factor for a year after 2002 shall be applied as if this Act had not been in effect. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to study and report to Congress on replacing or modifying the use of the sustainable growth rate as a factor in determining the update for such payments such that the factor used more fully accounts for changes in the unit costs of providing physicians' services.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2001
Designates the headquarters and visitors center at Humboldt Bay National Wild Life Refuge located at 1020 Ranch Road in Loleta, California, as the Richard J. Guadagno Headquarters and Visitors Center.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2001
Attorney Fee Payment System Improvement Act of 2001 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) increase from $4,000 to $5,200 the maximum allowable attorney fee; and (2) cap the amount of attorney assessments at $100. Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) to prescribe a fee payment system for attorneys representing individuals filing claims for past-due benefits in the SSI program. Caps attorney fees at 25 percent of such past-due benefits. Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to assess such an attorney up to $100.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2001
Student Freedom of Religious Expression Act - Amends the Revised Statutes of the United States to disallow recovery of attorneys' fees by the prevailing party in any action claiming that a public school or its agent violates the constitutional prohibition against the establishment of religion by permitting, facilitating, or accommodating a student's religious expression.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to tax lifetime annuity payouts and similar payments of life insurance proceeds at dates later than death at capital gains rates. Excludes amounts received under an eligible deferred compensation plan or under a qualified retirement plan. Includes such gains in the calculation of the maximum rate of tax on net capital gains of noncorporate taxpayers when computing the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2001
Securing America From Terrorist Entries Act or the SAFTE Act - Establishes a temporary moratorium on the issuance of immigrant or (non-diplomatic) nonimmigrant visas to aliens who are, or were within 15 years of applying for U.S. admission, citizens or nationals of: (1) Afghanistan; (2) Algeria; (3) Egypt; (4) Lebanon; (5) Saudi Arabia; (6) Somalia; (7) United Arab Emirates; (8) Yemen; or (9) any country designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. Authorizes the Attorney General to grant exceptions. Applies such provisions to aliens with multiple citizenship. Makes the visa waiver program inapplicable to such aliens. Directs the Under Secretary of Transportation to require air carriers in foreign transportation to the United States to provide electronic passenger and crew manifests with specified information prior to U.S. arrival. Requires country of origin inquiry at the point of U.S. arrival. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate deadline waiver authority relating to implementation of machine readable passports. Directs the General Accounting Office to report every six months respecting border and visa security and related matters.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2001
National Junior College for Deaf and Blind at the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind Act - Amends the Education of the Deaf Act of 1986 to direct the Secretary of Education to enter into an agreement with the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind for the establishment and operation of the National Junior College for Deaf and Blind.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2001
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to authorize Federal agencies to respond to emergencies involving personal health and safety without following otherwise required procedures. Directs agencies to subsequently notify the Endangered Species Committee of such exemptions.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2001
Recognizes and commends the efforts of State and local governments and community, religious, and charitable organizations to support military and civilian personnel engaged in the war on terrorism. Encourages the people of the United States: (1) to support such personnel through a united effort to be known as Operation Enduring Support; and (2) as part of such Operation, to support military families, stage patriotic send-off and welcome-home rallies and parades; and volunteer and contribute financial assistance to the Red Cross, United Way, and similar organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2001
Spirit of America Commemorative Coin Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $50 gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the tragic events that occurred at the Pentagon, in New York City, and in Pennsylvania, on September 11, 2001. Establishes the Victims of September 11th Fund which shall consist of amounts from surcharges received from the sale of such coins transferred to the Office for Victims of Crime for individuals who were injured, and to the families of individuals who were killed or injured, in the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2001
Freedom to be a Patriot Act - Prohibits a department or agency of the United States from transferring any Federal funds: (1) to an individual or entity that prohibits the patriotic display of the U.S. flag; or (2) that the head of such department or agency determines are likely to be subsequently transferred to such an individual or entity.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2001
Social Security Benefits Guarantee Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a benefit guarantee certificate, with an accurate annual cost-of-living adjustment, to each individual determined by the Commissioner of Social Security to be entitled to benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2001
Air Piracy Reprisal and Capture Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal criminal code to expand provisions regarding: (1) piracy on the high seas to cover piracy in the skies and on land and, if death results, to authorize imposition of the death sentence; (2) arming or serving on privateers to increase penalties; (3) assault on a commander (as piracy) to cover assault on any airplane officer; (4) conversion or surrender of a vessel to cover aircraft and aircraft officers or service members and, if death results, to provide for the death sentence; and (5) corruption of seamen and confederating with pirates to cover aircraft and to increase penalties. Amends the Revised Statutes of the United States to expand the application of piracy laws to acts committed upon land or in the air. Modifies a provision regarding the commissioning of private vessels for seizure of piratical vessels to authorize the President to instruct the leader of any suitable entity operating under the authority of any letters of marque and reprisal granted by Congress, whether on the high seas, in the skies, or on land, to subdue, seize, and take persons and property, using force as necessary to defend the lives, liberties, and property of U.S. citizens. Deems: (1) property identified as subject to seizure under such a letter subject to confiscation and forfeiture; and (2) any person so identified as subject to seizure subject to court-martial jurisdiction and to transfer into U.S. custody.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2001
September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001 - Authorizes and requests the President to issue letters of marque and reprisal to commission privately armed and equipped persons and entities to seize outside of the United States the person and property of Osama bin Laden, of any al Qaeda co-conspirator, and any conspirator with Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda who are responsible for the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, including any similar planned acts against the United States in the future. Authorizes the President to place a bounty, from amounts appropriated on September 14, 2001, in the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorists Attacks on the United States or from private sources, for the capture, dead or alive, of Osama bin Laden or any other al Qaeda conspirator responsible for the act of air piracy upon the United States on September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2001
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a National Day of Appreciation for Emergency Response and Rescue Workers should be established.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2001
Business Retained Income During Growth and Expansion Act of 2001 or the BRIDGE Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an eligible small business to elect to pay its tax in four equal installments. Limits the maximum amount of tax which may be paid in installments for any taxable year to whichever of the following is the least: (1) the tax imposed for the taxable year; (2) the amount contributed by the taxpayer into a BRIDGE Account during such year; or (3) the excess of $250,000 over the aggregate amount of tax for which an election was made by the taxpayer for all prior taxable years. Limits the above provisions to taxes imposed for taxable years beginning after enactment and before January 1, 2006. Sets forth provisions: (1) defining an eligible small business; (2) setting dates for installment payments and interest payments; (3) establishing BRIDGE accounts; and (4) providing for a study and report.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2001
True American Heroes Act - Authorizes the President to present on behalf of Congress a gold medal to the next of kin or other representation of each officer, emergency worker, or employee of a State and local government agency, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and of the Federal Government, who responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, and perished in the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (including those who are missing and presumed dead).
![Official portrait of Rep. Schaffer, Bob [R-CO-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000112_200.jpg)