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United States · Official source
8,597 records where Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Resource Efficient Appliance Incentives Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit, for a limited time period, for producers of qualified energy efficient clothes washers and energy efficient refrigerators.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Community Solutions Act of 2001 - Title I: Charitable Giving Incentives Package - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a non-itemizer a deduction for charitable contributions. (Sec. 102) Permits tax-free distributions from an individual retirement account made directly to a qualified charity. (Sec. 103) Sets forth a rule for determining the amount of the deduction allowable for a charitable contribution of food inventory. (Sec. 104) Exempts a business entity from civil liability relating to any injury or death that results from the use of equipment, facilities (including tours of such facilities), or vehicles donated by such entity to a nonprofit organization, subject to stated exceptions. Title II: Expansion of Charitable Choice - Charitable Choice Act of 2001 - Includes religious organizations as nongovernmental providers, provided that no Federal, State, or local government funds or other assistance that is received by a religious organization aids the religion, for purposes of programs concerning the: (1) prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency and the improvement of the juvenile justice system; (2) prevention of crime; (3) Federal housing laws; (4) the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (title I only); (5) Older Americans Act of 1965; (6) Child Care Development Block Grant Act of 1990; (7) Community Development Block Grant Program established under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; (8) intervention in and prevention of domestic violence; (9) hunger relief activities of such organizations; (10) Job Access and Reverse Commute grant program; or (11) activities necessary to assist students in obtaining the recognized equivalents of secondary school diplomas and activities relating to non-school-hours programs. States that the receipt by a religious organization of Federal, State, or local government funds is not and should not be perceived as an endorsement by the government of religion or the organization's religious beliefs or practices. Permits a religious organization, in order to aid in the preservation of its religious character and notwithstanding any other provision of law, to require that its employees adhere to the religious practices of the organization. Requires the appropriate Federal, State, or local governmental entity funding any of the above described programs, if a program beneficiary objects to the religious character of the organization from which the beneficiary receives, or would receive, assistance to provide to such beneficiary assistance that: (1) is an alternative, including a nonreligious alternative, that is accessible to the individual; and (2) has a value that is not less than the value of the assistance that the beneficiary would have received from such religious organization. Prohibits discrimination by a religious organization receiving such program assistance against a beneficiary on the basis of religion, a religious belief, or a refusal to hold a religious belief. Title III: Individual Development Accounts - Provides for the establishment of individual development accounts (IDAs) for taxpayers with incomes of up to $20,000 ($25,000 for heads of households and for $40,000 on a joint return) from which expenses may be made for: (1) qualified higher education expenses; (2) qualified first-time homebuyer costs; (3) qualified business capitalization or expansion costs; (4) qualified rollovers; or (5) a qualified final distribution. Provides that an IDA programs shall consist of two components: (1) an IDA to which an eligible individual may contribute cash; and (2) a parallel account to which all matching funds shall be deposited. Defines a "parallel account"as a separate, parallel individual or pooled account for all matching funds and earnings dedicated to an IDA owner as part of a qualified IDA program, the sole owner of which is a qualified financial institution, a qualified nonprofit organization, or an Indian tribe. Requires the qualified financial institution, qualified nonprofit organization, or Indian tribe to deposit all matching funds for each IDA into a parallel account at a qualified financial institution, a qualified nonprofit organization, or an Indian tribe. Establishes an IDA tax credit for a qualified financial institution equal to the IDA investment provided. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) structure and administration of IDA programs; (2) procedures for opening and maintaining an IDA and qualifying for matching funds; (3) deposits by qualified IDA programs; (4) withdrawal procedures; (5) certification and termination of qualified IDA programs; (6) reporting, monitoring, and evaluation (and authorization of appropriations for such activities and implementing the IDA program); and (7) the disregarding of account funds for purposes of certain means-tested Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Calls upon the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp on the subject of autism awareness.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
States that Congress: (1) supports the goals and ideas of Autism Awareness Day and Month; (2) recognizes and commends the parents and relatives of autistic children; (3) supports the goal of increasing Federal funding for aggressive research to learn the root causes of autism; (4) urges the Department of Health and Human Services to continue to press for the swift and full implementation of the Children's Health Act of 2000; (5) stresses the need to begin early intervention services for children with autism; (6) supports the goal of federally funding 40 percent of the costs of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to States and local school districts; (7) urges Federal, State, and local governments to allocate sufficient resources to teacher training initiatives in order to alleviate the shortage of teachers who are skilled in teaching autistic children; and (8) recognizes the importance of worker training programs that are tailored to the needs of developmentally disabled persons, including those with autism.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2001
Public Expression of Religion Act of 2001 - Amends provisions regarding civil actions for deprivation of rights to specify that where the deprivation consists of a violation of a prohibition in the Constitution against the establishment of religion, the remedy shall be limited to injunctive relief. Prohibits the award of attorney's fees with respect to such claims.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2001
Cuban Internal Opposition Assistance Act of 2001 - Instructs the President to: (1) use specified funds to implement assistance for victims of the most extreme political repression and to assist independent nongovernmental opposition organizations inside Cuba; (2) ensure that such funds reach their destination; and (3) authorize issuance of licenses to independent nongovernmental organizations to send monetary remittances to independent nongovernmental opposition organizations to implement specified activities under the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow, through December 31, 2006, a limited credit for energy-efficient building property. Defines such property as a stationary fuel cell power plant that: (1) generates electricity using an electrochemical process; and (2) has an electricity-only generation efficiency greater than 30 percent. Allows, through December 31, 2006, a credit to an individual for nonbusiness energy-efficient building property expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2001
Welcomes the safe return of Arnie Alford, Steve Derry, Jason Weber, and David Bradley from captivity by terrorists in Ecuador and congratulates them for their perseverance in the face of adversity. Extends sympathy to the family of Ron Sander, who was killed by terrorists, and salutes his courage. Supports the U.S. commitment to bringing the killers and the kidnappers to justice. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States must redouble its efforts to prevent future kidnappings.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Lyme Disease Initiative of 2001 - Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, of Agriculture, of the Interior, and of Defense to: (1) establish specified detection test, improved surveillance and reporting system, and prevention goals to provide for a reduction in the incidence and prevalence of Lyme disease and related tick borne infectious diseases; and (2) establish a five-year plan of activities toward achieving those goals, and carry them out. Establishes the Lyme Disease Taskforce to advise the Secretaries with respect to achieving such goals.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Law Enforcement Officers Due Process Act of 2001 - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide grants to law enforcement agencies (agencies) that: (1) have in effect an administrative process or an existing procedure that complies with officer rights requirements; or (2) certify that they will establish, within two years, an administrative process that complies with such requirements. Requires the administrative process to require that an agency that investigates an officer for matters which could reasonably lead to disciplinary action provide recourse for the officer that includes: (1) access to any existing administrative process established by the employing agency prior to disciplinary action; and (2) the right to a hearing before a fair and impartial board or hearing officer, to be represented by an attorney or other officer at such officer's expense, to confront any witness testifying against such officer, and to record all meetings. Permits the immediate suspension with pay of an officer: (1) whose continued presence on the job is considered to be a substantial and immediate threat; (2) who refuses to obey a direct order issued in conformance with the agency's written and disseminated rules and regulations; or (3) who is accused of committing an illegal act. Makes this Act inapplicable to an agency if the Attorney General determines that such agency has in effect an established civil service system, agency review board, grievance procedure, or personnel board which meets or exceeds the minimum standards set forth in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Young Witness Assistance Act of 2001 - Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to State and local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in support of juvenile (17 years of age or younger) and young adult (between 18 and 21 years of age) witness assistance programs. Authorizes grant funds to be used, among other things, for: (1) counseling services to young witnesses of a violent crime; and (2) protective services for young witnesses and their families when a serious threat of harm is made from perpetrators or their associates.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Clean Smokestacks Act of 2001 - Amends the Clean Air Act (CAA) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to achieve specified reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and mercury from powerplants (electric generation facilities with a nameplate capacity of 15 megawatts or more that use a combustion device to generate electricity for sale) by January 1, 2007. Requires powerplants, on the later of the date 30 years after the powerplant commenced operation or five years after this Act's enactment, to comply with the most recent new source performance standards under CAA provisions regarding air quality and emissions limitations and with specified requirements for modified sources.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Justice for United States Prisoners of War Act of 2001 - Requires any Federal court in which an action is brought against a Japanese national by a member of the U.S. armed forces seeking compensation for mistreatment or failure to pay wages in connection with labor performed in Japan for such national as a prisoner of war during World War II to: (1) apply the applicable statute of limitations of the State in which the action is pending; and (2) not construe a specified provision of the Treaty of Peace With Japan as a waiver by the United States of such claims. States that it is U.S. policy to ensure that any war claims settlement terms between Japan and any other country that are more beneficial than terms extended to the United States under the above Treaty are extended to the United States with respect to claims under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to secure information relating to chemical or biological tests conducted by Japan on members of the U.S. armed forces held as prisoners of war during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Makes it unlawful to: (1) import, export, or transport in interstate commerce conventional steel jawed leghold traps and articles of fur derived from animals trapped in such traps; or (2) sell or acquire such a trap transported in violation of such provision. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to reward persons (other than Government employees performing official duties) for information leading to a conviction under this Act. Empowers enforcement officials to detain, search, and seize suspected containers or merchandise and any accompanying documents, to make arrests without warrants with probable cause, and to execute warrants. Subjects seized merchandise to forfeiture.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Providing Annual Pap Tests to Save Women's Lives Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, to extend coverage of screening pap smears and screening pelvic exams to annual examinations regardless of whether a woman is of childbearing age or at high-risk.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Historic Homeownership Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 20 percent (up to a maximum limit of $40,000 for a joint return) of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to the certified rehabilitation of a qualified historic home which has been substantially rehabilitated and which is owned by the taxpayer and used as his or her principal residence. Allows the credit for such expenditures to be taken by a purchaser of the rehabilitated home. Permits, in lieu of the credit, a historic rehabilitation mortgage credit certificate, which may be transferred to a lender in exchange for a reduction in the rate of interest on the loan secured by the building.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Honors the victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory fire on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of such event. Recognizes the historical significance of the Triangle Fire in the struggle for worker safety standards and protection. Commends all the government agencies, labor unions, and industry groups that attempted to aid the victims and played instrumental parts in facilitating lasting improvement in such standards and protections.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
Human Rights Information Act - Requires certain Federal agencies to identify, review, and organize all human rights records, for declassification and public disclosure, if the President determines bona fide a request for them by an individual or entity carrying an official mandate to investigate a pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. Prescribes guidelines under which the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel shall review agency determinations to postpone disclosure of any human rights record. Authorizes postponement of such public disclosures on specified grounds. Requires each Federal agency to identify, review, and organize all human rights records regarding activities occurring in Guatemala and Honduras for declassification and public disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001 - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to increase benefits to railroad employees and their beneficiaries and to revise financing of the pension part (tier II) of the railroad retirement system. Establishes a Railroad Retirement Trust Fund and a Railroad Retirement Investment Trust to manage and invest Fund assets. Abolishes the Railroad Retirement Supplemental Annuity Account and provides for transfer of its funds to the Fund. Provides for transfer to the Fund of certain portions of the Railroad Retirement Account and of Social Security Equivalent Benefit account funds. Transfers to the disbursing agent from the Dual Benefits Payments Account the amount necessary to make dual benefit payments. Requires the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) to calculate the ratio of assets to benefits to determine annual tier II tax rates for employers, employee representatives, and employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt the Fund from taxation. Repeals a supplemental annuity tax that railroad employers pay to finance a benefit for long-time rail employees. Provides for adjustments to railroad employers, employee representatives, and employee tier II tax rates.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to eliminate the provision permitting interstate movement of live fighting birds if the fighting venture is to take place in a State allowing such fights.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act of 2001 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to grant States the option of covering certain categories of eligible women and child resident aliens under the Medicaid and SCHIP programs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
Supports the open letter released by Chinese dissidents and families of political prisoners stating that the release of China's political prisoners would improve Beijing's stature in its bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games. Expresses the view that the International Olympic Committee should not award the 2008 Olympics to Beijing unless the Government of the People's Republic of China releases all political prisoners, ratifies the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), implements the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and observes internationally recognized human rights. Calls for the creation of an international Beijing Olympic Games Human Rights Campaign in the event that Beijing receives the Olympics to focus international pressure on China to grant amnesty to all political prisoners before the Olympics commence. Requests the President, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Summit, to call for the release of all Chinese political prisoners and Chinese ratification of the ICCPR. Recommends that the Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China devote significant resources to monitoring any violations of the rights of political dissidents and prisoners or other increased human rights abuses in preparation for and during the 2008 Olympic Games.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
FDA Tobacco Authority Amendments Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to, among other things: (1) include "nicotine in a tobacco product" in the definition of the term "drug" and to include "a tobacco product" in the definition of the term "device;" and (2) set forth provisions for tobacco products concerning special standards for such products, warnings regarding such products, and a rule of construction regarding farmers and related entities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
Country of Origin Meat Labeling Act of 2001 - Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require country of origin information to be provided by retailers of beef, pork, and lamb to consumers at the final point of sale. Exempts food service establishments from such requirement. States that U.S. designation of origin may only be used if the article is exclusively from an animal born raised, and slaughtered in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Government of the People's Republic of China should stop persecution of all religious practitioners and safeguard fundamental human rights; and (2) the U.S. Government should continue to insist that China adhere to such rights. Urges the Chinese Government to: (1) release from detention all religious practitioners, Falun Gong members, and prisoners of conscience and end torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; (2) allow the Chinese people to pursue their personal beliefs; and (3) adhere to the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
Urges all Contracting States to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction to adopt a resolution recommending that: (1) the Permanent Bureau of The Hague produce and promote practice guides to assist in the implementation and operation of the Convention; and (2) such a proposal to produce practice guides be adopted by the Fourth Special Commission at The Hague in March 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2001
Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to require the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime to ensure that all sums in the Victims of Crime Fund in a fiscal year are in fact obligated in the subsequent fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2001
Condemns the repressive and totalitarian actions of the Cuban Government against the Cuban people. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should: (1) have an action-oriented policy of directly assisting the Cuban people and independent organizations to strengthen the forces of change and to improve human rights within Cuba; and (2) make all efforts necessary at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva in 2001 to obtain passage of a resolution condemning the Government of Cuba for its human rights abuses and to secure the appointment of a Special Rapporteur for Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
America's Better Classroom Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit for qualified public school modernization bonds (qualified school construction bonds and qualified zone academy bonds). Amends the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the application of certain labor standards to projects financed under this Act. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish provisions concerning employment and training activities related to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from the individual's primary insurance amount under such title and the portion of the monthly periodic payment attributable to noncovered service performed after 1956 exceeds $2,000; and (2) provide for a graduated implementation of such provision by specified percentages with respect to incremental amounts above such threshold, up to 100 percent for combined amounts over $3,000.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Marriage Tax Elimination Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to provide that the basic standard deduction on a joint return shall be equal to 200 percent of the dollar amount of an individual who is not married. Provides a schedule for making, by 2005, the maximum taxable income in the lowest married bracket equal to double the maximum taxable income in the lowest single filer bracket. Increases the earned income credit phaseout amount on a joint return by $2,000. Revises IRC provisions relating to limitation based on tax liability and the definition of such liability to provide that the aggregate amount of credits allowed as nonrefundable personal credits shall not exceed the sum of: (1) the taxpayer's regular tax liability for the taxable year reduced by the foreign tax credit; and (2) the tax imposed by the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase by $50,000 the amount of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) payable to a member of the armed forces who died in the performance of duty between November 1, 2000, and March 31, 2001, and who was insured under SGLI for the maximum available amount.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Federal No Frills Prisons Act of 2001 - Prohibits the use of Federal funds to provide the following amenities or personal comforts in the Federal prison system: (1) in-cell television viewing; (2) viewing of a motion picture rated R, X, or NC-17; (3) instruction or training equipment for specified fighting arts, bodybuilding, or weightlifting; (4) an in-cell coffee pot, hot plate, or heating element; or (5) an electric or electronic musical instrument.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) with respect to pensions. (All the following are amendments to the Code, except where the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, ERISA, is mentioned.) Increases: (1) annual dollar Individual Retirement Account (IRA) contribution limits; and (2) benefit and contribution limits, with indexes for inflation. Revises requirements relating to: (1) plan loans for subchapter S owners, partners, and sole proprietors; and (2) specified top-heavy rules. Provides that elective deferrals shall not be taken into account for purposes of limits on certain plan contributions. Repeals specified coordination requirements for deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Revises certain deduction limits for stock bonus and profit sharing trusts and for defined contribution plans. Provides for optional treatment of elective deferrals as after-tax contributions. Allows individuals age 50 or older to make additional contributions to an applicable employer plan (section 401(k) or similar plan). Sets forth requirements relating to equitable treatment for contributions of employees to defined contribution plans. Provides for faster vesting of certain employer matching contributions under the Code and ERISA. Revises: (1) minimum distribution rules; (2) requirements relating to tax treatment of division of section 457 plan benefits upon divorce; and (3) provisions for safe harbor relief for hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans. Permits, under certain conditions, rollovers: (1) from and to various types of plans; (2) of IRAs into workplace retirement plans; and (3) of after-tax contributions in an exempt trust. Sets forth a hardship exception to the 60-day rule. Sets forth requirements for treatment of forms of distribution available under transferor and transferee plans under the Code and ERISA. Revises restrictions on distributions, including the same desk exception. Allows trustee-to-trustee transfers to purchase permissive service credit with respect to governmental defined benefit plans. Allows employers to disregard rollovers for purposes of cash-out amounts, under retirement plan provisions of the Code. Revises minimum distribution and inclusion requirements for section 457 plans. Repeals, for plan years beginning in 2004 and following years, the current liability full funding limit under the Code and ERISA. Revises maximum contribution deduction rules, and applies them to all defined benefit plans. Allows an employer, in determining the amount of nondeductible contributions for any taxable year, to elect not to take into account any contributions to a defined benefit plan except to the extent they exceed the full-funding limitation. Establishes an excise tax for the failure of a defined benefit plan or an individual account plan (except governmental, church, and other specified plans) subject to minimum funding standards to meet specified notice requirements, under the Code and ERISA, for plan amendments which significantly reduce benefit accruals. Makes certain compensation limitations for defined benefit plans inapplicable to governmental and multiemployer plans. Prohibits combining or aggregating a multiemployer plan with any other plan maintained by the employer for the purpose of applying such limitations. Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to protect the investment of employee contributions to 401(k) plans by providing that specified requirements apply to elective deferrals for plan years beginning after December 31, 1998. Requires that pension benefit statements be furnished annually (once every three years for defined benefit plans) or on request. Establishes an excise tax for certain prohibited allocations of stock in an S corporation ESOP. Revises Code and ERISA requirements relating to timing of plan valuations. Allows applicable dividends of ESOPs to be reinvested without loss of dividend deduction. Repeals a transition rule relating to certain highly compensated employees under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Directs the Secretary to modify specified regulations with respect to certain plan participation by employees of tax-exempt entities. Treats the provision of certain retirement planning services by an employer for an employee as a de minimis fringe benefit to the extent it is not treated as a working condition fringe. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide simplified annual filing requirements for retirement plans with assets below a specified amount, if they cover: (1) one participant (an owner and spouse); or (2) fewer than 25 employees. Directs the Secretary to continue to update and improve the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, or any successor program. Repeals a multiple use test. Allows certain alternative ways of satisfying nondiscrimination, coverage, and line of business rules. Exempts plans maintained by any governmental entity from certain nondiscrimination rules. Directs the Secretary to modify specified regulations relating to the notice and consent period regarding distributions. Revises ERISA provisions relating to: (1) annual report dissemination; (2) the National Summit on Retirement Savings; (3) missing participants; (4) Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reduction of premiums for new plans of small employers and of additional premiums for new and small plans; (5) PBGC authority to pay interest on premium overpayment refunds; (6) substantial owner benefits in terminated plans; (7) civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibility; and (8) benefit suspension notices. Prescribes time requirements for plan amendments or annuity contract amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Death Tax Elimination Act - Repeals the estate tax, gift tax, and the tax on generation-skipping transfers, effective January 1, 2011. Provides for annual reductions of the tax until such date. Increases the unified estate and gift tax credit to $1.3 million. Repeals the estate and gift tax provisions applicable to family-owned businesses. Amends provisions concerning the special rules for allocation of the generation-skipping tax (GST) exemption to provide, as a general rule, that: (1) if any individual makes an indirect skip during such individual's lifetime, any unused portion of such individual's GST exemption shall be allocated to the property transferred to the extent necessary to make the inclusion ratio for such property zero; and (2) if the amount of the indirect skip exceeds such unused portion, the entire unused portion shall be allocated to the property transferred. Declares that, if a trust is severed in a qualified severance, the trusts resulting from such severance shall be treated as separate trusts thereafter. Revises valuation rules for gifts for which a gift tax return was filed or deemed allocation made. Provides that, if an allocation of the GST exemption to any transfers of property is deemed to have been made at the close of an estate tax inclusion period, the value of the property shall be its value at such time. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe circumstances and procedures under which extensions of time will be granted to make an allocation of GST exemption or an election not to apply specified allocation requirements to certain lifetime direct skips, indirect skips, or transfers to a particular trust. Increases the permissible number of partners or shareholders in a closely held business for purposes of eligibility for an extension of estate tax payments.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
James Guelff Body Armor Act of 2001 - Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements to provide an appropriate enhancement for any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime in which the defendant used body armor. Expresses the sense of Congress that any such sentencing enhancement be at least two levels. Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit the purchase, ownership, or possession of body armor by violent felons. Makes it an affirmative defense that: (1) the defendant obtained prior written certification from his or her employer that the defendant's purchase, use, or possession of body armor was necessary for the safe performance of lawful business activity; and (2) the use and possession by the defendant were limited to the course of such performance. Sets penalties for violations. Authorizes the head of a Federal agency to donate body armor that is surplus property and in serviceable condition, and that meets or exceeds National Institute of Justice Standard 0101.03, directly to any State or local law enforcement agency. Allows specified officials in the Treasury and Justice Departments to act as the head of a Federal agency. Specifies that the United States shall not be liable for any harm occurring in connection with the use or misuse of any body armor donated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Budget Responsibility and Efficiency Act of 2001 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Conforms provisions of the Rules of the House of Representatives, provisions governing the President's budget, and requirements for certain strategic and performance plans and reports to the biennial framework. Provides a point of order against any measure that contains a specific authorization of appropriations unless such authorization is for each fiscal year in a biennium. Requires the President's budget submission for FY 2004 to identify budget accounts for which an appropriation should be made for each fiscal year of the FY 2004-2005 biennium. Directs congressional committees, during the 108th Congress, to work with the Comptroller General to develop plans to transition program authorizations to a multi-year schedule. Sets forth additional transition requirements. Makes this Act applicable to budget resolutions and appropriations for the biennium beginning with FY 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Children's Protection From Violent Programming Act - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assess the effectiveness of measures to require television broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors to rate and encode programming that could be blocked by parents by use of a V-chip. Authorizes the FCC, if it finds such measures ineffective, to prohibit the distribution of violent video programming during hours when children are reasonably likely to comprise a substantial portion of the audience. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to make it unlawful for any person to distribute to the public any violent video programming not blockable by electronic means specifically on the basis of its violent content. Provides for exemptions for: (1) programming (including news programs and sporting events) the distribution of which does not conflict with the objective of protecting children from the negative influences of violent video programming; and (2) premium and pay-per-view direct-to-home satellite programming. Directs the FCC to impose a forfeiture penalty for violations and to revoke a broadcasting or distribution license of a repeat violator. Requires the FCC to study and report to specified committees on the marketing to children of violent content by the motion picture, music recording, and computer and video game industries.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the $7,000 dollar limitation on contributions to funeral trusts.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Constitutional Amendment - Grants Congress power to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Resolution to Expand Access to Community Health Centers (REACH) Initiative - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that appropriations for consolidated health centers under the Public Health Service Act should be increased by 100 percent over the next five fiscal years in order to double the number of individuals who receive health care services at community, migrant, homeless, and public housing health centers.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Home Energy Generation Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to mandate that: (1) each retail electric supplier make available an electric energy meter capable of net metering to certain retail customers that have installed an energy generation unit intended for net metering; and (2) rates, charges, and contract terms for electric energy sales to customer-generators be the same as those that would be applicable if the customer-generator did not own or operate a qualified generation unit and use a net metering system. Prescribes the manner in which such retail electric suppliers shall calculate the net energy measurement and billing for a customer using a net metering system. Subjects qualified generation units and net metering systems to specified safety, performance, and reliability standards. Authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to: (1) adopt additional control and testing requirements for customer-generators necessary to protect public safety and system reliability; and (2) prohibit additional charges by electric suppliers and local distribution systems for equipment or services for safety or performance additional to those necessary to meet such standards. Sets a deadline for FERC to promulgate: (1) model standards for the physical connection between local distribution systems and qualified generation units and other specified electric generation units; and (2) regulations ensuring simplified contracts will be used for the interconnection of electric energy by electric energy transmission or distribution systems and generating facilities with a power production capacity of 250 kilowatts or less.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Low Income Energy Reinvestment Act - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to earmark for implementation of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 five percent of monies generated from sales, bonuses, royalties, and rentals of public lands (onshore Federal oil and natural gas revenues).
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to provide coverage for qualified individuals participating in approved cancer clinical trials if a group health plan or an issuer offering health insurance coverage in connection with a group health plan or in the individual market otherwise provides coverage to such an individual. Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS), of Labor, and of the Treasury to: (1) analyze cancer clinical research and its cost implications for managed care; and (2) report to Congress an assessment of any incremental cost to group health plans resulting from this Act and any recommendations regarding action on other diseases. Requires the Secretaries of Labor, of the Treasury, and of HHS to ensure coordinated administration of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Andean Adjustment Act of 2001 - Provides for the adjustment to permanent resident status of certain U.S.-resident Colombian and Peruvian nationals (and spouses, children, and certain unmarried sons or daughters).
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Landmine Elimination and Victim Assistance Act of 2001 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Department of Defense should field currently available weapons and other technologies, and use tactics and operational concepts, that provide suitable alternatives to anti-personnel mines and mixed anti-tank mine systems; and (2) the United States should end its use of such mines and join the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 to make permanent (currently terminates on October 23, 2003) the prohibition on the transfer of anti-personnel landmines. Directs the President to establish an interagency working group to develop a comprehensive plan for expanded mine action programs, including victim rehabilitation, social support, and economic reintegration.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Housing Bond and Credit Modernization and Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the required use of certain principal repayments on mortgage subsidy bond financings to redeem bonds; (2) modify the purchase price limitation under mortgage subsidy bond rules based on median family income; and (3) define the term "area median gross income" for low-income housing credit projects.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Expresses the hope that the Ukrainian Government will resolve the investigation of the disappearance and murder of Georhiy Gongadze in a serious, transparent, credible manner. Urges such Government to have a genuine dialogue with the opposition. Encourages the use of constitutional, democratic means to resolve the current crises in a manner consistent with Ukraine's commitments to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Innocence Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize a person convicted of a Federal crime to apply to the appropriate Federal court for DNA testing to support a claim that the person did not commit: (1) the Federal crime of which the person was convicted; or (2) any other offense that a sentencing authority may have relied upon when it sentenced the person with respect to such crime. Sets forth: (1) guidelines for the court to use in ordering DNA testing; (2) post-testing procedures; (3) provisions regarding preservation of evidence; (4) criminal penalties for destroying or altering DNA evidence; and (5) provisions regarding post-conviction DNA testing in State criminal justice systems. Prohibits a State from denying an application for DNA testing made by a prisoner in State custody who is under sentence of death if specified conditions apply. Provides grants to prosecutors for DNA testing programs. Establishes the National Commission on Capital Representation. Withholds funds from States not complying with standards for capital representation. Provides for capital defense incentive grants and resource grants. Increases compensation in Federal cases, and sets forth provisions regarding compensation in State cases, where an individual is unjustly sentenced to death. Adds a certification requirement in Federal death penalty prosecutions. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding the execution of juvenile offenders and the mentally retarded.