United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2002
Arming Pilots Against Terrorism Act - Amends Federal law to direct the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security to establish a program to: (1) deputize qualified volunteer pilots of passenger aircraft as Federal flight deck officers; and (2) provide training, supervision, and equipment for such officers. Directs the Under Secretary to authorize flight deck officers to carry firearms and to use force, including lethal force, when they judge the security of an aircraft is at risk. Shields air carriers from liability for damages in Federal or State court arising out of the actions or omissions of a flight deck officer defending a plane from criminal violence or air piracy. Shields flight deck officers from liability except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2002
National Capital Area Physician Emergency Assistance Act - Permits physicians licensed in Virginia, Maryland, or the District of Columbia to provide services to victims of emergencies in any of such jurisdictions regardless of the jurisdiction of their licensure whenever and wherever a public health emergency is declared by the relevant Governor or Mayor or by the President for the entire National Capital Area. Protects physicians from liability for all but willful, criminal, or reckless misconduct, gross negligence, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of others while performing such volunteer emergency service. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide an advance registration system for physician volunteers which verifies their credentials, licences, and hospital privileges.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2002
Recognizes the contributions of older Americans to U.S. communities by their effort and active involvement in sharing their business expertise and experience. Honors them for their continued interest and enthusiasm in contributing to the American workforce.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2002
Declares that Congress: (1) appreciates the mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea and the United States and Japan; (2) commends the Korea/Japan 2002 Federation International Football Association (FIFA) World Cup organizers for their attention to security precautions; and (3) recognizes the cooperation of the President of the Republic of Korea, Kim Dae-Jung, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, in hosting the World Cup competition.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Colombia Antiterrorism Act of 2002 - Supports the democratically elected Government of Colombia and the Colombian people as they strive to protect their democracy from terrorism and the scourge of illicit narcotics. Deplores the continuing criminal terrorist acts of murder, abduction, and extortion by United States-designated foreign terrorist organizations in Colombia against U.S. citizens, the civilian population of Colombia, and Colombian authorities. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should designate a high-ranking official to coordinate all U.S. assistance to the Government of Colombia to ensure clarity of U.S. policy and the effective delivery of U.S. support. Makes certain Department of State funds for assistance to the Government of Colombia available to support a unified campaign against illicit narcotics trafficking, terrorist activities, and other threats to the national security of Colombia. Authorizes appropriations to the President to support such campaign.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Securing Access, Value, and Equality in Health Care Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a tax credit in an amount equal to the amount paid for qualified health insurance, subject to stated limitations. Requires persons who receive payments for health insurance coverage of an individual to make certain information returns. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make advance payments to the provider of an individual's qualified health insurance equal to the Secretary's estimate of the amount of credit allowable for the eligible individual.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Alzheimer's Disease Research, Prevention, and Care Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the purposes of the National Institute on Aging to include conducting programs regarding Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. Requires the Director of the Institute to: (1) undertake an Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Initiative, including accelerating the discovery of new risk and protective factors, rapidly identifying therapies and preventive interventions, and implementing effective prevention and treatment strategies; (2) establish and support a national consortium for cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's; and (3) conduct, or make grants to conduct, research concerning early detection and diagnosis, the relationship between Alzheimer's and vascular disease, and interventions designed to help caregivers. Authorizes the Director to establish a National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center to facilitate collaboration among Alzheimer's Disease Centers and Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Recognizes the devastating impact of fragile X on thousands of people in the United States and their families. Calls for increased research. Supports National Fragile X Research Day and associated activities.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Expresses support for the goals of: (1) Autism Awareness Month; (2) increased Federal funding of autism research; and (3) early intervention services. Commends: (1) parents and relatives of autistic children for their sacrifice and dedication; and (2) the Department of Health and Human Services for swift implementation of the Children's Health Act of 2000, particularly for establishing Centers of Excellence for autism research.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2002
Department of Veterans Affairs Reorganization Act of 2002 - Increases from six to seven the number of authorized Assistant Secretaries of the Department of Veterans Affairs and adds Department operations, preparedness, security, and law enforcement to their required functions.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health, should conduct or support research on the effectiveness of medical screening techniques for ovarian cancer, including the use of proteomic patterns in blood serum in combination with other techniques. Requires a report to Congress and the inclusion of such technique in Federal health care programs and group and individual health plans if it proves effective.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2002
Debt Relief Enhancement Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to commence efforts immediately within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other appropriate multilateral development institutions to modify the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative so that the amount of debt stock reduction approved for a country eligible for debt relief shall be sufficient to reduce, by a specified deadline, the net present value of the outstanding public and publicly guaranteed debt of the country, and the annual payments due, to levels determined according to certain formulae. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the options and costs associated with expanding debt relief under the Initiative to poor countries not eligible for inclusion in it. Authorizes the President to reduce amounts owed to the United States (or any Federal agency) by an eligible country as a result of: (1) certain guarantees issued under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (2) credits extended or guarantees issued under the Arms Export Control Act; or (3) any obligation (or portion of it) to pay for purchases of U.S. agricultural commodities guaranteed by the Commodity Credit Corporation under specified export credit programs. Prescribes other specified conditions and prohibitions with respect to country eligibility. Requires any country otherwise eligible to receive debt cancellation under the modifications to the Initiative made by this Act, among other things, to agree to: (1) ensure that the financial benefits of debt cancellation are applied to programs to combat HIV/AIDS and poverty; and (2) implement transparent and participatory policymaking and budget procedures, good governance, and effective anticorruption measures. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (including the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative), the Arms Export Control Act, and the Export Administration Act of 1979 to modify specified prohibitions on assistance to countries to include countries that have failed to cooperate with the United States on efforts to combat international terrorism.
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 · 11 April 2002
Expresses Congress' heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the courageous people of Iran for their brave expressions of support following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Recognizes and supports the people of Iran in their daily struggle for democracy, reform, human rights, economic prosperity, and the rule of law. Urges the President to: (1) support the Iranian people and their legitimate aspiration for freedom and democracy; (2) continue to pursue areas of common interest with the Iranian people while taking an uncompromising stance on terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and human rights of Iranian citizens; and (3) use all diplomatic means to support the Iranian people's demand for an immediate release of all political prisoners and for removal of the ban on freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2002
Combat Pay for Combat Risk Act of 2002 - Dictates that a member of the Armed Forces of the United States who is entitled to special pay for being subject to hostile fire or imminent danger as part of Operation Enduring Freedom (or any successor operation) shall be treated in the same manner as if the individual were in a combat zone for the following provisions of the Internal Revenue Code: (1) those relating to the special rule where a deceased spouse was missing in action; (2) those pertaining to exclusion of certain combat pay for soldiers; (3) those relating to income taxes of members of the Armed Forces upon death; (4) those pertaining to members of the Armed Forces dying in combat zone or by reason of wounds suffered in the combat zone; (5) those defining wages relating to combat pay (to apply to remuneration paid after the passage of the Act); (6) those dealing with taxation of phone service for soldiers from a combat zone; (7) those pertaining to a joint tax return where an individual is missing in action; and (8) those relating to time for performing certain acts postponed due to service in a combat zone.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2002
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, as of December 1, 2002, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled adult children, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Requires each such increase to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Amends the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 to make as one of its purposes encouraging the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) to develop, assess, and implement effective outreach methods and tools to ensure that at least 50 percent of all microenterprise assistance authorized under such Act for developing countries be used to assist the poorest of the poor, that is, those persons living in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty line or whose average daily living expenses are equal to, or less than, the equivalent of one dollar per day. Directs the Administrator of AID to take certain actions to increase the involvement of the Peace Corps in microenterprise initiatives to assist the poorest of the poor. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that, in carrying out sustainable poverty-focused microenterprise development grant assistance programs under the Act, 50 percent of all microenterprise resources be targeted to very poor entrepreneurs. Declares that, in order to maximize the sustainable development impact of microenterprise development grant assistance authorized under the Act, the Administrator of the agency primarily responsible for administering such assistance shall establish a monitoring system that, among other things, adopts the widespread use of proven and effective poverty assessment tools to identify the poorest of the poor and ensure that they receive needed microenterprise credits, loans, and assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Rare Diseases Orphan Product Development Act of 2002 - Amends the Orphan Drug Act to authorize appropriations for FY 2002 through 2006 for grants and contracts for the development of drugs for rare diseases and conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Rare Diseases Act of 2002 - Amends the Pubic Health Service Act to: (1) establish an Office of Rare Diseases at the National Institutes of Health; and (2) provide for rare disease regional centers of excellence. Sets forth the duties of such Office and regional centers, including research and educational duties. Defines rare disease as any disease or condition affecting less than 200,000 persons in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2002 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit certain employee group health plans or related insurances providing both medical-surgical and mental health benefits from imposing mental health treatment limitations or financial requirements unless comparable limitations and requirements are imposed upon medical-surgical benefits. States that the foregoing shall not be construed as requiring a group health plan (or related insurances) to: (1) provide any mental health benefits; (2) prevent the medical management of mental health benefits; or (3) require the provision of specific mental health services, except to the extent that failure to provide such services would result in a disparity between the coverage of mental health and medical-surgical benefits. Exempts specified small employers from such requirements. Requires that, in the case of a group health plan that offers a participant or beneficiary two or more benefit package options, the coverage requirements shall be applied separately with respect to each such option. Provides that, in the case of a plan or insurance providing in-network mental health benefits, out-of-network mental health benefits need not be provided at parity to medical-surgical benefits, as long as in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and the plan or insurance provides reasonable access to in-network providers and facilities. Requires a General Accounting Office study of such requirements' effects upon health insurance costs, access, and quality and a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Refugee Protection Act of 2002 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to refugee provisions to limit summary inspection procedures to emergency migration situations in which numbers of arriving aliens substantially exceed inspection capacities. Grants the Attorney General sole authority to make such determination, which shall last 90 days unless extended after consultation with the appropriate congressional committees. Revises provisions respecting inspection of aliens seeking U.S. admission, including requiring: (1) an alien to be informed of certain rights prior to removal or withdrawal of his or her admission application, and (2) review of a removal order by an immigration judge, with the right of the alien to personally appear and be represented (at his or her expense). Exempts from expedited removal procedures certain Western Hemisphere nationals or unaccompanied children. Revises the procedure used to determine whether an applicant for asylum has a credible fear of persecution. Eliminates certain: (1) limitations on judicial review of exclusion orders or asylum claims; (2) time limits on asylum applications; (3) numerical limitations on asylee adjustments; and (4) numerical limitations on population control-related refugee admissions. Makes certain mandatory asylee detention provisions discretionary. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) develop alternatives to detention of asylum seekers, including supervised shelters and noninstitutional settings for minors; (2) enter into contracts with nongovernmental agencies for alternative detention programs; and (3) establish a National Legal Orientation Support and Training Center. Requires asylum seekers not eligible for parole or alternative detention to be detained only in Immigration and Naturalization Service or approved facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Central American Security Act - Amends the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act to: (1) extend permanent resident status adjustment provisions to qualifying Salvadoran, Guatemalan, and Honduran nationals; and (2) revise the application filing deadline. Permits certain pending applications filed by Salvadoran or Guatemalan nationals to be converted to an application for status adjustment under the Act. Amends the Act to: (1) authorize the Attorney General to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility; and (2) provide for issuance of immigrant visas to certain spouses and children. States that applicants for relief: (1) shall not be granted a waiver from any security or criminal background investigation required by the Act; and (2) shall submit fingerprints to the appropriate Federal agencies. Provides for the limited reopening of certain orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal by certain Cuban, or Nicaraguan nationals.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Pet Safety and Protection Act - Amends the Animal Welfare Act regarding sources of research facility dogs and cats, to prohibit a research facility from using, or a person (as defined by this Act) from selling or donating, a dog or cat for research or education purposes that was not obtained from specified dealers, public pounds, owners, or Department of Agriculture-licensed research facilities. Establishes monetary penalties for related violations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Jobs for Veterans Act - Entitles the following to priority under certain job training programs funded by the Department of Labor (Department): (1) a veteran; (2) the spouse of any veteran who died of a service-connected disability; (3) the spouse of a member serving on active duty who is listed as missing in action, captured in the line of duty by a hostile force, or forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power; and (4) the spouse of any veteran who has a total service-connected disability rating or who died while a disability so evaluated was in existence. Requires any Federal personal property and nonpersonal services procurement contract of $100,000 or more to contain a provision requiring the contractor to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment disabled veterans, veterans who served on active duty during a war or campaign for which a campaign badge has been authorized, and veterans who, while serving on active duty, participated in a military operation for which a service medal was awarded. Directs the Secretary of Labor to carry out a program of performance incentive awards to States to encourage the improvement and modernization of veterans' employment, training, and placement services. Establishes within the Department an Assistant and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training, with specified duties. Requires the assignment of regional administrators, and State directors, for veterans' employment and training. Requires States to employ a sufficient number of disabled veterans' outreach specialists and local veterans' employment representatives. Establishes the President's National Hire Veterans Committee to take certain actions to facilitate the employment of veterans and disabled veterans. Expresses the sense of Congress commending veterans' and military service organizations. Requires a study to quantify the economic benefit attributable to veterans employment and training services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Encourages employers who employ members of the National Guard or reserves to provide a pay differential benefit and an extension of employee benefits while such members serve on active duty, and commends employers who already provide such benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2002
Medicare Safety Net Access Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise the payment for certain Federally qualified health center (FQHC) services furnished to an individual enrolled with a Medicare+Choice organization under Medicare part C (Medicare+Choice), allowing for supplemental reimbursement, among other changes. Amends Medicare+Choice to add additional Medicare+Choice contract requirements. Amends SSA title XI with respect to criminal penalties for acts involving Federal health care programs, particularly illegal remunerations (kickbacks). Exempts from the prohibition against such remunerations any remuneration: (1) between a FQHC (or an entity controlled by such a health center) and a Medicare+Choice organization pursuant to a specified written agreement; and (2) between a certain kind of public or nonprofit private health center entity and any individual or entity providing goods, items, services, donations, loans, or a combination, to such health center entity pursuant to an agreement, if such agreement produces a community benefit that will be used by the health center entity to maintain or increase the availability or accessibility, or enhance the quality, of services provided to a medically underserved population served by the health center entity. Amends Medicare to provide for coverage of additional FQHC services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish standards relating to the exception for health center entity arrangements to described anti-kickback penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2002
Requires the death gratuity paid upon the active-duty death of a member of the armed forces to be increased at the same time and by the same percentage that military retired and retainer pay is increased for a cost-of-living adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2002
Genomic Research and Diagnostic Accessibility Act of 2002 - Revises Federal patent law to extend the exemption from infringement liability for research on genetic sequence information (any order listing of nucleotides composing a portion of an organism's genetic code). Excludes from such exemption (thus subjecting to infringement liability) any individual or entity that is directly engaged in the commercial manufacture, commercial sale, or commercial offer for sale of a drug, medical device, process, or other product using such patent for or patent use of genetic sequence information. Exempts medical practitioners or related health care entities from patent infringement remedies by reason of their performance of genetic diagnostic, prognostic, or predictive tests. Repeals patent infringement liability with respect to certain medical activities of persons or their employees or agents who are engaged in the commercial development, manufacture, sale, importation, or distribution of a machine, or composition of matter or the provision of pharmacy or clinical laboratory services (other than clinical laboratory services provided in a physician's office). Requires funding agreements with small business firms or nonprofit organizations to contain appropriate provisions that require the contractor, within 30 days after applying for a patent on a subject invention which involves a patent for, or a patent for use of, genetic sequence information, to make that information public. Subjects Federal agencies to a similar requirement when applying for patents on genetic sequence information.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2002
Genomic Science and Technology Innovation Act of 2002 - Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to conduct, or contract with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct, a study that assesses the impact of Federal policies, including intellectual property policies, on the innovation process for genomic technologies. Requires such study to: (1) identify and quantify the effects of innovation policy on genomic science and technology innovation; (2) consider alternative levels of intellectual property protection genomic materials may receive and the likely impact on each element of the innovation pipeline; and (3) assess the net impact of Federal innovative policies.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should condemn the practice of execution by stoning and should call upon the international community to recognize such practice as a gross violation of human rights. Calls for the President to: (1) formally communicate this sense of Congress to governments imposing such punishment; and (2) urge Nigerian President Obasanjo to suspend the sentence of death by stoning imposed on Safiya Hussaini and take steps to ensure that Nigeria acts in accordance with international human rights standards.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2002
Declares that Congress supports the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) in condemning the sexual exploitation of children by humanitarian aid workers. Urges the UN Office of Investigative Oversight Services to investigate sexual exploitation of refugees by such workers of both non-governmental organizations and government-sponsored agencies. Urges the President to: (1) affirm the U.S. commitment to protecting the well-being and human rights of women and girls; and (2) instruct the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Secretary of Agriculture to review the distribution of food assistance to refugee communities to ensure that the provision of U.S. humanitarian assistance is respectful of the human rights of women and girls and supports young girls identified as victims of sexual exploitation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2002
Revises Federal veterans' programs to: (1) include care for newborn children among medical services provided under the Department of Veterans Affairs health care program for an enrolled woman veteran; (2) require outpatient dental care for all former prisoners of war (currently, only those interned for at least 90 days); (3) set the pay for the Director of Nursing Service at the maximum rate payable to a Senior Executive Service (SES) member; (4) prohibit a veteran's honorable service certificate from being awarded on behalf of a veteran convicted of a Federal or State crime; (5) repeal a limitation on the number of non-career SES members serving in the Department; (6) repeal a requirement for at least five years of continuous Federal service prior to appointment as a Department Deputy Assistant Secretary; (7) allow the Department's operation and maintenance revolving supply fund to be used for medical supplies, equipment, and services for the Department of Defense; and (8) include Spanish or Latino individuals under the definition of a "minority group member" for purposes of reporting requirements of the Department's Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2002
Flight 93 National Memorial Act - Establishes a memorial at the September 11, 2001, crash site of United Airlines Flight 93 in the Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, to honor the passengers and crew of Flight 93. Establishes a Flight 93 Advisory Commission to assist with consideration and formulation of plans for such a memorial.
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
Health Care Antitrust Improvements Act of 2002 - Delineates the relationship between the antitrust laws and negotiations between groups of health care professionals and health plans and health care insurance issuers. Applies the rule of reason standard to negotiations between a health plan and two or more physicians. Awards attorneys' fees to a substantially prevailing plaintiff in certain actions only when the defendant's conduct was unreasonable or in bad faith. Authorizes health care cooperative ventures negotiating with a health plan to file notification with the Attorney General, thereby limiting any potential recovery from conduct within the scope of such notification to actual damages (not punitive or treble). Prohibits tying arrangements (linking the participation in one product line to participation in another) between a health plan and health care professional, except as specified. Directs the Attorney General to establish: (1) at least six demonstration projects where health care professionals in project site States may act together to jointly negotiate contracts and agreements with health plans to provide health care items and services for which benefits are provided under such health plans; and (2) an Advisory Committee on Health Plan Negotiations. Excludes from this Act any negotiations or agreements between health care professionals and health plans pertaining to the provision of benefits under Federal programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP (State children's health insurance program), uniformed services' or veterans' medical care, Federal employees' health benefits, and Indian health care.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2002
Preserving Patient Access to Physicians Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to the Medicare physician payment update system, to: (1) specify the update to the single conversion factor for 2003; (2) prescribe an update for years beginning with 2004; (3) direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an index that reflects the weighted-average input prices for physicians' services for a year; and (4) require the Secretary to estimate annually a productivity adjustment factor reflecting estimated growth in multifactor productivity attributable to both labor and nonlabor factors. (Thus eliminates the sustainable growth rate (SGR) payment update system).
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2002
Requires the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to designate New Jersey Task Force 1 as part of the National Urban Search and Rescue System.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2002
Amends the charter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States to make eligible for membership in such organization an individual who served honorably in an area which entitled such individual to hostile fire or imminent danger special pay. Includes charitable activities within such organization's authorized purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2002
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to repeal the Medicare caps on certain outpatient physical therapy services.
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
Amends the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 to revise the special pay adjustments for (percentage differentials payable to) Federal law enforcement officers in specified consolidated metropolitan statistical areas.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2002
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act - Prohibits a person from: (1) slaughtering a horse for human consumption; (2) importing to, or exporting from, the United States horseflesh or horses for human consumption; or (3) selling, bartering, transferring, receiving, or distributing horseflesh or horses for human consumption. Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) criminal and civil penalties; (2) enforcement authority of the Secretary of Agriculture; (3) placement of confiscated horses; (4) euthanasia of unplaceable or severely injured or diseased horses; (4) funding of animal rescue facilities; and (5) exemptions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2002
Urges General Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan to repeal: (1) the Blasphemy Law; (2) Martial Ordinance XX; and (3) the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan declaring Ahmadis "not Muslims" under the law. Appeals to General Musharraf to release prisoners jailed under Ordinance XX and the Blasphemy Law. Encourages the General to eliminate the requirement to declare one's religion when applying for a passport or swear to exclusive statements regarding religion, admission to an educational institution, obtaining the national identity card, or employment. Calls upon the President and the Secretary of State to: (1) raise violations of the freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief, at every appropriate level with representatives of the Government of Pakistan; and (2) include experts on religious liberty on U.S. delegations to Pakistan and to appropriate regional and international meetings.
![Official portrait of Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000522_200.jpg)