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![Official portrait of Rep. Stenholm, Charles W. [D-TX-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000851_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
3,350 records where Rep. Stenholm, Charles W. [D-TX-17] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2002
Designates the Federal building located at Fifth and Richardson Avenues in Roswell, New Mexico, as the Joe Skeen Federal Building.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2002
Child Abduction Prevention Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to increase the authorized term of supervised release after imprisonment to any term of years or life imprisonment for certain sex offenses, including specified offenses involving children. Includes murder committed in perpetration of child abuse or as part of a pattern of assault or torture against children as first degree murder. Increases: (1) maximum penalties for specified offenses involving sexual abuse or exploitation of children; and (2) sentences for kidnaping. Prohibits: (1) traveling into the United States for the purpose of engaging in an illicit sexual act with another (currently, with a juvenile); (2) traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in such sexual conduct; or (3) arranging or facilitating such travel knowing its purpose. Provides for mandatory life imprisonment of a person convicted of a Federal sex offense in which a minor is the victim if the person has a prior sex conviction in which a minor was the victim, unless a death sentence is imposed. Authorizes the interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications in the investigation of kidnaping and specified child sex crimes. Eliminates statutes of limitations for child abduction and specified sex offenses. Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require each Federal, State, and local law enforcement agency to report each case of a missing child under age 21 (currently, 18) reported to such agency to the Department of Justice's (DOJ) National Crime Information Center. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) report on inspections of the records of pornography producers and resulting prosecutions; and (2) assign a DOJ officer to act as national coordinator of the AMBER Alert communications network regarding abducted children. Authorizes State grants for: (1) notification and communication systems along highways for recovery of abducted children; and (2) programs to support AMBER alert communication plans. Authorizes: (1) increased appropriations for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; and (2) the use of COPS (community policing) grants for sex offender registration enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2002
Rural Fire Department Equipment Priority Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Agriculture to use the existing property disposal program of the Forest Service (known as the Federal Excess Personal Property program) to facilitate the reutilization of Department of Defense (DOD) excess personal property by firefighting agencies in rural areas. Requires a DOD transfer of property for such purpose to be given a property disposal priority at least equal to the priority given the military departments and other entities within DOD.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2002
Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to conduct projects consistent with the Implementation Plan for the 10-year Comprehensive Strategy for a Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment, May 2002, developed to reduce hazardous fuels within any areas of Federal land under the jurisdiction of either Secretary that: (1) are outside of Congressionally designated Wilderness Areas; and (2) the appropriate Secretary determines qualify as a fire risk condition class three area. Permits the Secretaries to enter into stewardship contracts with private persons or other public or private entities to perform services to achieve land management goals for the national forests and other Federal lands. Allows the Secretaries to collect monies from a contract so long as collection is secondary to the land management goals the contract is supposed to accomplish. Amends the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 to repeal the Appeals Reform Act (regarding Forest Service decisionmaking and appeals reform). Provides that in any action under any law for writs of prohibitory or mandatory injunction against agency action in which the agency has found that such action is necessary to restore fire-adapted forest or rangeland ecosystems, the reviewing court shall: (1) consider the public interest in avoiding long-term harm to such ecosystems; and (2) give deference to any agency finding, based upon information in its administrative record, that the public interest in avoiding the short-term effects of such action is outweighed by the public interest in avoiding long-term harm to such ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2002
Declares the sense of Congress that the President should designate a National Bread Month in recognition of the significance of bread in American history, culture, and daily diet.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2002
Recognizes September 11 as both a day to remember those taken from their families and a day for Americans to recommit to the Nation, to their freedom, and to each other. Extends deepest sympathies to the countless innocent victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, their families, friends, and loved ones. Honors the heroic actions of first responders, law enforcement personnel, State and local officials, volunteers, and others who aided the innocent victims. Expresses thanks and gratitude to the foreign leaders and citizens of all nations who have assisted and continue to stand in solidarity with the United States against terrorism. Remains resolved to pursue all those responsible for the terrorist attacks and their sponsors until they are discovered and punished.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2002
Congratulates the National Farmers Union for a century of dedicated service to America's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2002
Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to expand the definition of public health pesticides, allowing the exemption (based upon economic return) from fees imposed under reregistration provisions for other pesticide active ingredients for only those that are "minor use" pesticides. Allows a portion of maintenance fees to be used for expedited processing and review of applications that propose the registration of an end use pesticide that is a public health pesticide only if it is a minor use pesticide.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2002
National AMBER Alert Network Act of 2002 - Requires the Attorney General to assign an AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator of the AMBER Alert communications network regarding abducted children. Requires the coordinator to: (1) seek to eliminate gaps in the network; (2) work with States to encourage the development of additional network elements and to ensure regional coordination; and (3) act as the nationwide point of contact for network development and for regional coordination of alerts on abducted children through the network. Directs the Coordinator to: (1) notify and consult with the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning each child abduction for which an AMBER Alert is issued; and (2) establish minimum standards for the issuance of alerts and for the extent of their dissemination (limited to the geographic areas most likely to facilitate the recovery of the abducted child). Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of notification or communications systems along highways for alerts and other information for the recovery of abducted children. Includes among permissible activities the development or enhancement of electronic message boards, and the placement of additional signage, along highways. Directs the Attorney General to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of programs and activities for the support of AMBER Alert communications plans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Prescription Drug Affordability Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise provisions concerning the timing of generic drug availability. Requires applicants (pharmaceutical companies) to register their patents with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within 30 days of approval (or issuance for subsequently issued patents). Makes failure to timely register a bar to civil actions for patent infringement. Requires applications for new drugs (NDA) or abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA) which rely upon investigations not conducted by or for the applicant and which concern a patent that claims both the drug and a method of use or more than one method of use to include a certification on a claim-by-claim basis that the patent is invalid or will not be infringed (known as a Paragraph IV filing/certification) by the new drug's (generic) manufacture and a statement regarding the method(s) of use claim. Prohibits (for subsequently issued patents) an extension of the 30 month stay of FDA approval for any new drug where an ANDA or NDA contains a Paragraph IV filing/certification and the patent holder indicates an intention to bring a patent infringement suit against the new (generic) drug's manufacturer. Makes failure to timely file a civil action for infringement a bar to later action. Requires the first generic applicant with a Paragraph IV filing to forfeit the 180 day marketing exclusivity period to a subsequent generic applicant if the first generic applicant engages in certain behaviors (forfeiture events) which delay or prevent the marketing of the generic drug. Revises notice requirements for Paragraph IV filings to include and protect certain proposed formulation, composition, or method of use information. Excludes an applicants's ability to pay damages from a court's consideration of whether or not to provide injunctive relief before the expiration of the 30 month stay of approval period.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2002
Veterans Right-To-Know Act of 2002 - Requires the Secretary of Defense to identify each developmental or operational test of the Department of Defense (DOD) involving chemical or biological weapons, or defense against such weapons, in which military personnel or civilians were or may have been exposed to actual or simulated hazardous agents, with or without their knowledge or consent. Requires the Comptroller General to establish within the General Accounting Office an Oversight Working Group on Biological and Chemical Testing to: (1) review DOD chemical and biological test activities that involved exposure to military personnel or civilians; (2) report to Congress information concerning Project SHAD (DOD tests to evaluate the effectiveness of shipboard detection and protective procedures against chemical and biological warfare agents) and Project 112 (DOD tests in and around Alaska using chemical and biological agents); (3) continue to review DOD investigations of any other cases of DOD chemical or biological testing; and (4) identify veterans and veterans organizations with significant information involving such test projects and seek to have that information made available to the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) notify any veterans who may have been exposed, with instructions on how to receive a health care evaluation; and (2) review declassified material to determine any lasting health effects that may have been incurred by exposed veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2002
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2002 - Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of specified transactions incident to such travel. Declares that: (1) this prohibition does not authorize the importation into the United States of any goods for personal consumption acquired in Cuba; and (2) the restrictions on authority contained in this Act do not apply in a case in which the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2002
Designates the U.S. Post Office building located at 8624 Ferguson Road in Dallas, Texas, as the Francisco "Pancho" Medrano Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2002
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any physician or other individual from knowingly performing a partial-birth abortion, except when necessary to save the life of a mother that is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury. Authorizes the father, if married to the mother at the time of the abortion, and the maternal grandparents of the fetus, if the mother is under 18 years of age, to obtain specified relief in a civil action, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion. Authorizes a defendant accused of an offense under this Act to seek a hearing before the State Medical Board on whether the physician's conduct was necessary to save the life of the mother. Prohibits the prosecution of a woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed for conspiracy to violate this Act or under provisions regarding punishment as a principal or an accessory or for concealment of a felony.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2002
Building Opportunities for Our Kids Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize additional appropriations to purchase textbooks for use by eligible schools under the schoolwide program of part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) of title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged). Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a Textbook Recycling Program to facilitate the donation of textbooks by any local educational agency (LEA) to any other LEA for use by such eligible schools. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress and the Secretary on the condition of textbooks used in public elementary and secondary schools, separating data for such eligible schools from that for ineligible ones.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2002
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to revise a specified repayment contract with the Tom Green County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 by extending the period for repayment of the San Angelo project's reimbursable construction costs from 40 to 50 years. Allows the Secretary to credit annually against such corporation's repayment obligation that portion of the year's joint operation and maintenance costs which, if the United States had continued to operate the project, would have been allocated to controlling floods and providing fish and wildlife benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2002
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend authority for, and increase the number of, two-year foreign residency waivers a State may request with respect to J visa medical graduate aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Patriotic Purchasing Act of 2002 - Prohibits any foreign corporation that acquires a domestic corporation or partnership on or after the date that is ten years before this Act's enactment from being eligible to be awarded a Federal contract if immediately after such transaction, more than 80 percent of the stock of the acquiring corporation is held by former shareholders or partners of the domestic corporation or partnership. Substitutes 50 percent for 80 percent if: (1) the acquiring corporation does not have substantial business activities in the foreign country in which or under the law of which such corporation is created or organized; and (2) the stock of such corporation is publicly traded and the principal market for trading it is in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Urges the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend to the Postmaster General that a commemorative postage stamp be issued by the U.S. Postal Service each year in honor of Veterans Day.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2002
Establishes a National Commission on Terrorist Acts Upon the United States. Directs the Commission to: (1) investigate facts and circumstances relating to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; and (2) evaluate lessons learned regarding the abilities of the Federal Government, and, if appropriate, of State and local governments and nongovernmental entities to detect, prevent, and respond to such attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2002
National Drought Preparedness Act of 2002 - Establishes the National Drought Council which shall: (1) develop a national drought policy action plan; (2) evaluate Federal drought-related programs; (3) coordinate and prioritize enhancement of the national drought monitoring network; and (4) provide for the development of a drought information delivery system, drought planning models, and drought preparedness plans. Terminates the Council eight years after enactment of this Act. Requires the Director of the National Drought Council to establish the National Office of Drought Preparedness. Establishes within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the Drought Assistance Fund, which shall be used to: (1) assist State, local, tribal, and critical service entities with drought-related activities; and (2) expand the technology transfer of drought and water conservation strategies. Requires: (1) the Director to publish guidelines for administering a national technical and financial drought assistance program; and (2) the Director, the Secretaries of Agriculture, the Interior, and the Army, and other appropriate Federal agency heads to implement integrated drought preparedness plans. Authorizes States, Indian tribes, local governments, and regional, water providers to develop and implement drought preparedness plans. Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the Director of FEMA to reimburse States for qualifying costs incurred in prepositioning wildfire suppression resources.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2002
Restore Fiscal Discipline and Safeguard Social Security Act of 2002 - Amends Federal money and finance law to increase the statutory debt limit to $6.1 trillion. Makes it out of order for the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill or amendment that increases the public debt limit above the new one established by this Act by more than $100 billion, except in specified circumstances. Directs the President to submit to Congress a proposal to bring the budget of the Government (excluding the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund) into balance or surplus by FY 2007. Makes it out of order for the House or the Senate, whenever the most recent CBO report projects an on-budget deficit for any fiscal year, to consider any concurrent resolution on the budget that: (1) sets forth or assumes an on-budget deficit for any such fiscal year larger than such projection; (2) sets forth or assumes a budget that is not in on-budget balance or surplus within four fiscal years, and is not in on-budget balance or surplus for any covered subsequent fiscal year; or (3) contains any reduction in social security benefits. Makes it out of order for the House or the Senate, whenever the most recent CBO report projects both on-budget surpluses (or a balanced budget) and deficits for the fiscal years concerned, to consider any concurrent resolution on the budget that: (1) sets forth or assumes an on-budget deficit for any fiscal year for which the CBO projection is for an on-budget surplus or balance; or (2) contains any reduction in social security benefits. Suspends such requirements during war or low economic growth.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 1199 Pasadena Boulevard in Pasadena, Texas, as the Jim Fonteno Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act of 2002 - Provides that, for purposes of the Federal Communications Commission's regulation relating to station antenna structures in the amateur radio services, any private land use rules applicable to such structures shall be treated as a State or local regulation and subject to the same requirements and limitations of such a regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2002
Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act - Prohibits an agent from: (1) directly or indirectly recruiting or soliciting a student athlete to enter into an agency contract by giving false or misleading information or making a false promise or representation or by providing anything of value to the athlete before entering into such a contract; (2) entering into an agency contract with a student athlete without providing the required disclosure document; or (3) predating or postdating an agency contract. Requires an agent, in conjunction with the signing of an agency contract, to provide to the athlete a separate disclosure document that includes notice that if the athlete signs the contract he or she may lose eligibility to compete as a student athlete in that sport. Requires the student athlete to sign such document before signing the agency contract. Treats a violation of this Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Authorizes civil actions by State attorneys general under specified circumstances. Requires the agent and the athlete, within 72 hours after entering into an agency contract or before the next athletic event in which the athlete may participate, whichever occurs first, to provide notice to the educational institution that the athlete has entered into an agency contract. Grants an educational institution a right of action against an agent for damages caused by such agent's failure to provide such notice. Expresses the sense of Congress that States should enact the Uniform Athlete Agents Act of 2000 drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to protect student athletes and the integrity of amateur sports from unscrupulous sports agents.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2002
Requires the Secretary of State to impose certain sanctions against a foreign country that owes unpaid fully adjudicated parking fines and penalties to New York City, New York, including to: (1) deny the issuance or renewal of any diplomatic license plates for vehicles for that country; (2) withhold certain foreign assistance funds from such country; and (3) reappropriate certain unobligated foreign assistance funds available for the country to pay fully adjudicated parking fines and penalties it owes to New York City.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2002
Urges the President, the United States Trade Representative, and the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make a top U.S. trade priority the resolution of the problems associated with the Russian Federation ban on the importation of U.S. poultry; and (2) urge the Government of the Russian Federation to abide by its negotiated agreement with the United States Government to lift its ban on such imports.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2002
Child Modeling Exploitation Prevention Act of 2002 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit an employer from employing a minor under 17 years old to work in exploitive child modeling. Sets penalties for violations. Includes employment of a minor in violation of such provision within the definition of "oppressive child labor." Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit displaying the image of a child who has not attained the age of 17 years, or offering to provide an image of such a child, with the intent to make a financial gain and without a purpose of marketing a product or service other than the child's image, if such conduct occurs in or affects interstate or foreign commerce. Sets penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2002
Protect Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the sale or rental to a minor of a video game that depicts decapitation, amputation, or mutilation, the killing of humans or human-like beings by the use of an object as a lethal weapon or hand-to-hand fighting, car jacking, the use of illegal drugs, rape or other sexual assault, prostitution, aggravated assault or battery, or any other violent felony.
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 · 30 April 2002
Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) making a visual depiction that is a computer image or computer-generated image of, or that appears virtually indistinguishable from an image of, a minor engaging in specified sexually explicit conduct; (2) offering, agreeing, attempting, or conspiring to provide, sell, receive, or purchase a visual depiction of a minor engaging in such conduct; (3) producing, distributing, receiving, or possessing with intent to distribute, or possessing a visual depiction that is, or is virtually indistinguishable from, that of a pre-pubescent child engaging in such conduct; (4) showing a minor obscene material or child pornography; (5) providing obscene material, child pornography, or other material assistance to facilitate offenses against minors; or (6) employing or coercing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct outside of the United States for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct. Includes the prohibition on the use of materials to facilitate offenses against minors within the scope of enhanced penalties provisions. Authorizes a provider of electronic communication or remote computing services that reasonably believes it has obtained knowledge of facts and circumstances indicating a violation of provisions regarding child pornography to report to the Cyber Tip Line at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which shall forward that report to designated law enforcement agencies. Directs the Attorney General to establish and supervise the development and operation of a comprehensive computerized database to facilitate the identification of child pornography produced with actual children and to facilitate the identification of perpetrators.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Health Care (HEALTH) Act of 2002 - Makes changes to the health care liability system, including compensation for injured patients and other issues arising out of health care law suits. Requires a suit to be brought within three years of the date of injury or one year after the claimant discovers or should have discovered the injury, whichever occurs first. Sets forth requirements and permissible recovery amounts for compensating patient injury, including: (1) the full amount of economic loss without limitation; (2) noneconomic damages as specified; and (3) a fair share rule. Requires the court to supervise payment-of-damage arrangements, limiting contingency fees. Permits the introduction of evidence of collateral source benefits. Limits the availability of punitive damages, requiring clear and convincing evidence of malicious intent to injure or a deliberate failure to avoid substantially certain, unnecessary injury. Prohibits their award for products that comply with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards, absent material and knowing misrepresentation by those submitting required approval or clearance information to the FDA. Authorizes periodic payment of future damages to claimants. Excludes suits for vaccine-related death or injury from the requirements of this Act if otherwise covered under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Preempts State law unless such law imposes greater protections for health care providers and organizations from liability, loss, or damages. .
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Climbing Out of the Deficit Ditch Act of 2002 - Increases the public debt limit. Enforces such limit through a point of order. Provides for specified exceptions, including certification of a balanced budget by FY 2007 or a House-approved presidential plan. Sets forth certification procedures if a balanced budget in FY 2007 is projected by the Budget and Economic Outlook Update (for fiscal years 2003 through 2012), as reported by the Congressional Budget Office (CB0). Requires the President to submit a proposal to balance the budget by such year should the CBO report not project a balanced budget. Requires a separate annual report on a homeland security budget. Requires the House Budget Committee to report a revised concurrent resolution on the budget for FY 2003 (after the President's plan is submitted) instructing committees to reduce outlays or increase revenues or both to balance the budget. Provides for automatic discharge of the legislation implementing the President's proposal should the Committee fail to report. Makes this Act subject to the congressional budget process requirements of the Congressional Budget Act, except as specified.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Assuring Honesty and Accountability Act of 2002 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to extend through FY 2007 the discretionary spending limits (spending caps) for defense and nondefense categories in new budget authority and outlays. Retains (eliminates the expiration of) certain budget enforcement mechanisms. Retains (eliminates the expiration of) pay-as-you-go. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 concerning legislation which: (1) evades specified budget enforcement mechanisms; (2) provides direct spending (to be included in the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis (scoring); and (3) is unreported by committee (for purposes of budget point of order rules). Limits the adjustment required to the discretionary spending limits in new budget authority for FY 2003 when new budget authority to prosecute the war on terrorism is enacted. Requires reports on legislation which provide new budget, spending, or credit authority or otherwise provide an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures to include a projection by CBO of the cost of debt servicing (interest). Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to address issues of emergency spending through: (1) establishing criteria and guidelines; (2) the inclusion of a reserve fund in the President's Budget; and (3) requiring a separate House vote on an emergency designation. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives concerning: (1) budget compliance statements (permitting inclusion of budgetary implications); and (2) justification for budget act waivers (inclusion required for bill consideration).
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
See summary of: H.J.Res. 85
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Amends rule XXI (restrictions on certain bills) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit a bill or joint resolution, amendment, or conference report the enactment of which would result in a deficit in the U.S. unified budget for any fiscal year from being considered as passed or agreed to unless by a vote of at least three-fifths of the Members voting, a quorum being present. Provides that the levels of outlays and revenues for a fiscal year shall be determined on the basis of estimates made by the Committee on the Budget. Waives this act while a declaration of war is in effect or during a military conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2002
Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act - Requires Federal agencies: (1) when publishing a general notice of proposed rulemaking for any proposed rule or for an interpretative rule involving the internal revenue laws, to prepare, make available for public comment, and publish an initial analysis describing the rule's impact on the privacy of individuals; and (2) when promulgating the final rule, to prepare, make publicly available, and publish a final privacy impact analysis that includes a summary of the significant issues raised by and changes made pursuant to public comments on the initial analysis. Requires the head of an agency promulgating a rule that may have a significant privacy impact on individuals or on a substantial number of individuals to use specified techniques to assure that individuals have been given an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking. Requires each agency to: (1) carry out a periodic review of promulgated rules that have such impact to determine whether each such rule can be amended or rescinded in a manner that minimizes such impact while remaining in accordance with applicable statutes; (2) carry out such review in accordance with a plan that provides for the review of each rule every ten years after the rule was published as a final rule; and (3) publish annually a list of the rules to be reviewed. Sets forth provisions governing judicial review of agency compliance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2002
Authorizes the President to award to Dr. Dorothy Height, on behalf of Congress, a congressional gold medal in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2002
Rural Community Hospital Assistance Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) provide for establishment of the rural community hospital (RCH) program; (2) remove certain barriers to establishment of distinct part units by RCH and Medicare critical access hospital (CAH) facilities; and (3) revise the CAH program, making various specified payment-related changes.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2002
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless Congress, by a three-fifths roll call vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each House to increase the public debt limit. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress. Prohibits any bill to increase revenue from becoming law unless approved by a majority of each House. Authorizes waivers of these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect or under other specified circumstances involving military conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2002
Community Workforce Development and Modernization Partnership Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make competitive matching grants to eligible consortia (partnerships) to: (1) help workers improve job skills necessary for employment by businesses in the industry with respect to which the entity was established; (2) help dislocated workers find employment; and (3) upgrade the operating and competitive capacities of businesses that are members of the partnership. Requires such partnerships to include: (1) two or more businesses (or nonprofit organizations representing businesses) facing similar workforce development or business modernization challenges; (2) labor organizations, if such businesses employ workers covered by collective bargaining agreements; and (3) one or more businesses (or nonprofit organizations representing businesses) with resources or expertise that bear on such workforce development and business modernization challenges. Allows inclusion of: (1) State and local governments; (2) educational institutions; (3) labor organizations; or (4) nonprofit organizations. Requires priority consideration for partnerships that: (1) serve dislocated workers or workers threatened with becoming totally or partially separated from employment; (2) include businesses with fewer than 250 employees; or (3) are from a geographic region that has been adversely impacted by the movement of manufacturing operations or businesses to other regions or countries, due to corporate restructuring, technological advances, Federal law, international trade, or other factors. Sets forth partnership program requirements and authorized activities for workforce development and business modernization. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide technical assistance and seed grants to help establish such partnerships; and (2) undertake outreach and promotional activities for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2002
Immigration and Naturalization Service Reorganization Act of 2002 - Abolishes the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish in the Department of Justice the Bureau for Immigration Enforcement which shall perform border patrol, inspection, removal, and other enforcement functions. States that the head of such Bureau shall be the Director for Immigration Enforcement. Establishes in the Department of State an Assistant Secretary of State for Immigration Affairs, an Assistant Secretary of State for Refugee Admissions and Asylum Affairs, and an Assistant Secretary of State for Citizenship and Passport Services. States that such Secretaries shall be under the supervision of an Under Secretary of State for Citizenship, Immigration, and Refugee Admissions. States that the Secretary of Labor shall be responsible for enforcement of immigration laws relating to: (1) verification of employment authorization; and (2) enforcement of terms and conditions of employment. Provides for the transfer and allocation of related appropriations and personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Veterans Judicial Review Improvement Act of 2002 - Amends Federal provisions relating to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) to: (1) hold unlawful and set aside a finding of material fact when not supported by a preponderance of the evidence (currently, only when clearly erroneous); (2) allow the Court to enter a default judgment against the Secretary of Veterans Affairs upon a determination that the Secretary has unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed action on a claim or has failed to plead or otherwise defend; and (3) allow judicial review by the Circuit Court of Appeals of any question of law, or application of law to the facts, that was relied upon by the Court. Directs the Secretary to provide for the expeditious treatment: (1) by the appropriate office of the Veterans Benefits Administration of any claim remanded to that office by the Board of Veterans' Appeals; and (2) by such Board of any claim remanded to the Secretary by the Court. Authorizes the Court, in claims remanded to the Secretary involving compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, or pension, to order the Secretary to pay interim benefits when a decision on such claim is not rendered within 180 days. Authorizes the Court, upon a showing of excusable neglect or good cause, to extend the time for filing a notice of appeal.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
Medicare and Medicaid Nursing Facility Quality Improvement Act of 2002 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise the Federal survey and certification process of skilled nursing facilities. Revises requirements for nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs and for nurse aide competency evaluation programs to state that the prohibition on approval of a program offered by or in a skilled nursing facility which is operating under a waiver, subject to an extended survey, or has been assessed a civil penalty shall not be continued when the facility involved through on-site verification demonstrates compliance with the applicable standards. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) waive the skilled nursing survey and certification process in order to test and implement innovative alternatives to the otherwise applicable survey process; and (2) continue payments for up to one year under certain conditions, pending remediation, to a nursing facility that no longer meets the specified requirements. Requires each State to establish an informal and independent dispute resolution process to allow facilities to settle disputes involving compliance with nursing facility requirements. Requires surveyors to defer to the diagnosis and treatment decisions of the resident's attending physician and of the facility's medical director and requires the Secretary to implement programs to monitor and correct instances of failure of surveyors to do so. Declares that nothing shall be construed as precluding members of survey teams from providing information to faculty and staff on best or innovative practices for assuring quality care in nursing facilities. Requires the Secretary to provide incentives for operators with histories of good compliance to acquire facilities with poor compliance histories. Permits nursing facilities to appeal deficiency determinations. Requires the Secretary to establish a program that rewards skilled nursing facilities that provide the highest quality of care.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2002
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts (except those derived from borrowing or from any surplus within the Federal Old-Age and Survivors and Disability Insurance Trust Funds) for that fiscal year unless the Congress, by a three- fifths roll call vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each House to increase the public debt. Directs the President to submit a budget which conforms to this article's requirements to the Congress. Requires the approval of a majority of each House by roll call vote before any bill to increase revenue may become law. Authorizes Congress to waive these provisions, solely to the extent necessary for additional military funding, when: (1) a declaration of war is in effect; or (2) the United States is engaged in a military conflict which poses a threat to national security as declared by a joint resolution adopted by three-fifths of the whole number of each House. Makes this article effective beginning with FY 2008 or the second fiscal year beginning after its ratification, whichever is later.
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 · 4 March 2002
Reduces from 60 to 55 the minimum age for the receipt of military retired pay for non-regular service.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2002
National Center for Social Work Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center for Social Work Research (and a related advisory council) within the National Institutes of Health to conduct, support, and disseminate targeted research on social work methods and outcomes related to problems of significant social concern.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2002
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 1502 East Kiest Boulevard in Dallas, Texas, as the Dr. Caesar A.W. Clark, Sr. Post Office Building.