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 · 20 March 2001
National Right-to-Work Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that is a union security agreement, to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
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 · 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
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 · 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 · 7 March 2001
Disapproves a specified rule submitted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration relating to ergonomics, and declares that such rule shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 1030 South Church Street in Asheboro, North Carolina, as the W. Joe Trogdon Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Medicaid Safety Net Hospital Continued Preservation Act of 2001 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to repeal specified reductions after FY 2000 and thereby extend certain modifications to disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments provided under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000. Increases the Medicaid DSH allotment for the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Neighbor to Neighbor Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code respecting charitable contributions to: (1) allow non-itemizing taxpayers a limited charitable deduction; (2) exclude charitable deductions from the income-based limitation on itemized deductions: (3) repeal the special limitation on charitable contributions of capital gain property; (4) extend the excess contribution carryover period; and (5) allow tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for qualifying charitable purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth provisions for: (1) a small employer (100 or fewer employees) retirement plan; (2) a credit for the expenses of establishing such a plan; and (3) a model small employer retirement plan.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Hope for Children Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the expenses allowable towards the adoption credit. Renames such credit as the "Tom Bliley adoption credit."
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Childhood Assistance, Research and Education Amendments of 2001, or the DMD CARE Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to: (1) expand and intensify programs of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (the National Institutes) with respect to research and related activities concerning Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD); (2) award grants or contracts to public or nonprofit entities for at least three DMD research centers of excellence; and (3) provide for donation, collection, and preservation of tissues and genetic materials for such research. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee to coordinate all Federal DMD health programs and activities. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants and cooperative agreements for the collection, analysis, and reporting of DMD data. Requires the establishment through the CDC of at least three regional centers of excellence in DMD epidemiology. Directs the Secretary to establish a DMD education and information program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to modify the formula for determining the amount of reduced monthly OASDI benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent receiving monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan. Declares that such benefit reductions shall be equal to the lesser of: (1) the amount by which the total amount of the combined monthly benefit (before reduction) and monthly pension exceeds $1,200, adjusted for inflation; or (2) an amount equal to two-thirds of the amount of any such monthly pension plan payment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act , the Internal Revenue Code, and Medicare supplemental policy provisions to prohibit health plans and insurers, with respect to protected genetic information, from discriminating in enrollment, eligibility, contribution rates, and premium rates based on such information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate because of protected genetic information.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2001
Deposit Insurance Fairness and Economic Opportunity Act - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to set forth a schedule under which the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shall transfer annually to the Financing Corporation (FICO), for payment of FICO interest obligations, such amounts as exceed 1.40 percent of the total estimated deposits insured by the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund, respectively, when amounts in both Funds exceed that percentage.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage, with regard to hospital stays in connection with breast cancer treatment, from: (1) covering less than 48 hours after mastectomies or less than 24 hours after lymph node dissections; or (2) requiring plan or issuer authorization for prescribing any length of stay. Prohibits: (1) denying eligibility, enrollment, or renewal to avoid these requirements; (2) providing payments or rebates to women; or (3) penalizing or providing incentives to providers. Applies the same requirements to issuers in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2001 - Adjusts the basic Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity amount for surviving spouses, age 62 or over, of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent (current law), for months beginning on or before the enactment of this Act; (2) 40 percent of such pay, for months beginning after enactment of this Act until October 2004; (3) 45 percent of such pay for months beginning after September 2004 and before October 2011; and (4) 55 percent of such pay for months after September 2011. Adjusts similarly the percentage amounts of SBP supplemental annuity authorized to be provided for such surviving spouses. Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure appropriate adjustments in the computation of retired pay reductions for such supplemental annuities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Fairness for National Guard Technicians Act - Requires National Guard military technicians (dual status) who are eligible, at the time dual status is lost, to an unreduced retirement annuity and are age 60 or older to be separated no later than 30 days after such status is lost. Requires such technicians who are not eligible to an unreduced annuity or who are not under age 60 at such time to be offered the opportunity to either reapply for a dual status position or apply for a civil service position that is not a technician position. States that a technician shall be considered to lose dual status upon: (1) being separated from the Selected Reserve; or (2) ceasing to hold the military grade specified for the technician position held.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Gifted and Talented Students Education Act of 2001 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies to assist local educational agencies to develop or expand gifted and talented education programs through one or more of the following activities: (1) professional development programs; (2) technical assistance; (3) innovative approaches and curricula; and (4) emerging technologies, including distance learning.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2001
Blind Empowerment Act of 2001 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to increase, by specified increments over five years, the level of earnings demonstrating the ability of a blind person to engage in substantial gainful activity for purposes of determining disability insurance benefit payments.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) purchase the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Complex in Dixon, Illinois, and related personal property; (2) designate the Complex as the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site; (3) enter into a cooperative agreement with the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Foundation for the management, operation, and use of the Site; and (4) complete a general management plan for the Site.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Montgomery GI Bill Improvements Act of 2001 - Amends Federal basic educational assistance provisions (the Montgomery GI Bill) to authorize enhanced educational assistance to a member of the armed forces who, after September 30, 2001: (1) first enters on active duty; (2) reenlists or continues to serve on active duty; (3) serves a continuous period of active duty of four years; or (4) serves and is discharged or released for a service-connected disability, at the convenience of the Government (after serving at least 42 months of such duty), or due to a reduction in force. Limits to 36 months the period for such enhanced assistance. Requires the payment of educational expenses under such program. Provides: (1) a monthly stipend for approved programs of education; and (2) tutorial assistance. Increases the monthly rates of basic educational assistance. Repeals, with respect to such assistance: (1) a required monthly reduction in pay for individuals who do not elect to participate in such assistance program; (2) a provision authorizing individuals to elect not to receive such assistance; (3) the requirement that participants complete the requirements of a high school diploma or equivalency certificate prior to the end of their initial obligated period of service in order to be eligible to receive such assistance; and (4) provisions limiting an individual's opportunity to withdraw an election not to enroll in such assistance program. Authorizes an individual entitled to basic educational assistance to receive an accelerated payment of such allowance, beginning on March 1, 2002, under certain conditions. Authorizes the use of basic educational assistance for training for technological occupations offered by entities other than educational institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
School and Library Construction Affordability Act - Makes inapplicable to contracts for the construction and repair of schools and libraries the requirements of: (1) the Davis-Bacon Act (which requires that the locally prevailing wage rate be paid to various classes of laborers and mechanics working under federally-financed or federally-assisted contracts for construction, alteration, and repair of public buildings or public works); and (2) the Copeland Act (which requires the Secretary of Labor to regulate contractors and subcontractors engaged in the construction or repair of public buildings, public works, or federally-financed or federally-assisted buildings or works).
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Uniformed Services Tax Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to declare that a member of the uniformed services shall be treated as using a principal residence while away from home on qualified official extended duty (in excess of 90 days or for an indefinite period) in determining the exclusion of gain from the sale of such residence, but only if the taxpayer owned and used the property as a principal residence for any period before such extended duty.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2001
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits Federal expenditures (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding revenues (except those derived from borrowing) for any fiscal year unless three-fifths of the whole number of each House of Congress provides for a specific excess of expenditures over revenues by a rollcall vote. Authorizes Congress to waive such prohibition when a declaration of war is in effect or under other specified circumstances involving military conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2001 - Permits retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation. Repeals a special compensation program for certain severely disabled military retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
National Language Act of 2001 - Makes English the official language of the U.S. Government. Requires the Government to conduct its official business in English, including publications, income tax forms, and informational materials. Provides that this Act shall not apply to the use of a language other than English for religious purposes, for training in foreign languages for international communication, to programs in schools designed to encourage students to learn foreign languages, or by persons over age 62. Repeals the Bilingual Education Act. Terminates the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs in the Department of Education. Repeals provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 regarding bilingual election requirements and regarding congressional findings of voting discrimination against language minorities, prohibition of English-only elections, and other remedial measures. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require that all public ceremonies in which the oath of allegiance is administered pursuant to such Act be conducted solely in English. Specifies that this Act shall not preempt the law of any State.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
Broadband Internet Access Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the broadband credit which shall be the sum of: (1) the current generation broadband credit; plus (2) the next generation broadband credit. Defines terms.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Amends Federal employee provisions to include the following as an employee, for purposes of authorized enrollment under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: (1) a member of the armed forces who began service before June 7, 1956, and retired after a minimum of 20 years of such service or by reason of a service-connected disability; and (2) the surviving widow or widower of such member. Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide FEHB coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Declares that Congress has determined that a person born in the United States to a mother who is not a U.S. citizen, national, or immigrant, and is eligible to become or is a citizen or national of a country of which either of his or her natural parents is a citizen or national, shall not be a U.S. citizen solely by reason of U.S. birth.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Community Protection Act of 2001- Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize qualified law enforcement officers (including qualified retired officers) carrying the photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the individual is, or was, employed as a law enforcement officer, notwithstanding State or local laws, to carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Specifies that this Act shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that: (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Citizens' Self-Defense Act of 2001 - Declares that a person not prohibited under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act from receiving a firearm shall have the right to obtain firearms for security and to use firearms in defense of: (1) self or family against a reasonably perceived threat of imminent and unlawful infliction of serious bodily injury; (2) self or family in the course of the commission by another person of a violent felony against the person or a member of the person's family; and (3) the person's home in the course of the commission of a felony by another person. Authorizes persons whose rights under this Act have been violated to bring an action in U.S. district court against the United States, any State, or any person for damages, injunctive relief, and such other relief as the court deems appropriate. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the award of attorney's fees; and (2) the statute of limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Notch Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for the computation of minimum Old Age Insurance benefits for individuals who reached age 65 in or after 1979 and to whom applies the 15-year transition period for the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55 percent to five percent and keyed to the year an individual became eligible for such benefits between 1979 and 1988. Allows such beneficiaries, in the alternative, to receive lump sum payments over four years totaling $5,000. Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, when estimating any additional spending under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) resulting from this Act, to decrease the adjusted discretionary spending limits for budget authority and outlays for FY 2002 set forth in such Act by the increase in direct spending estimated to result from enactment of this Act for that fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Self-Employed Health Affordability Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the deduction allowed for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to 100 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Social Security Benefits Tax Relief Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 85 percent (second tier) taxation of Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits. Appropriates, from the general fund, to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund amounts equal to the reduction in revenue lost because of the repeal. Requires an annual report concerning the funds transferred from the general fund to the Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
Firearms Heritage Protection Act of 2001 - Prohibits civil actions from being brought against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm or ammunition, or a component thereof, that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce (a firearm), or a trade association of such manufacturers or sellers, for damages resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm. Requires dismissal of any such action that is pending on the date of this Act's enactment. Specifies exceptions with respect to actions against persons who transfer a firearm knowing that it will be used to commit a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime, or actions brought against a seller for negligent entrustment or negligence per se.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2001
IRA Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the annual limitation on deductible individual retirement account contributions to $5000.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2000
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2001 - Makes appropriations for the legislative branch for FY 2001. Title I: Congressional Operations - Congressional Operations Appropriations Act, 2001 - Makes appropriations for the Senate for: (1) a payment to Nancy Nally Coverdell, widow of Paul D. Coverdell, late a Senator from Georgia; (2) expense allowances; (3) representation allowances for the Majority and Minority Leaders; (4) salaries of specified officers, employees, and committees (including the Committee on Appropriations); (5) agency contributions for employee benefits; (6) inquiries and investigations; (7) the U.S. Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control; (8) the Offices of the Secretary, Sergeant at Arms, and Doorkeeper of the Senate; (9) miscellaneous items; (10) the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account; and (11) official mail costs. (Sec. 1) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1965 to require, with respect to semiannual statements of expenditures by the Secretary of the Senate and the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, each report of the Secretary of the Senate (except for specified expenditures) to be compiled at a summary level for each Senate office authorized to obligate appropriated funds. (Sec. 2) Amends the Federal Pay Comparability Act of 1970 to provide for locality pay adjustments for Senate employees in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore, Maryland consolidated metropolitan statistical area consistent with executive branch, judicial branch, and other legislative branch employees. (Sec. 3) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1999 to require agency contributions for employees of Senate Hair Care Services to be paid from the appropriations account for Salaries, Officers, and Employees in lieu of the Senate Hair Care Services Revolving Fund. (Sec. 4) Establishes the Senate Health and Fitness Facility Revolving Fund. Requires the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) to deposit in the Fund any amounts received: (1) as dues or other assessments for use of the Senate Health and Fitness Facility; and (2) from the operation of the Senate waste recycling program. Makes such amounts, under specified conditions, available to the AOC, without fiscal year limitations, for payment of the Facility's costs. (Sec. 5) Authorizes for each fiscal year, beginning in FY 2002, a specified expense allowance for the Chairmen of the Majority and Minority Policy Committees, to be paid only as reimbursement for actual expenses incurred, under specified conditions. Declares that such amounts shall not be reported as income and shall not be allowed as a deduction under the Internal Revenue Code. (Sec. 6) Permits the head of the employing office of a Senate employee, upon termination of the employee's employment, to authorize payment of a lump sum for the employee's accrued annual leave if certain conditions are met. Requires the employee, if reemployed as an Senate employee before the end of the period covered by the lump sum payment, to refund an amount equal to the leave pay for the period between the reemployment date and the expiration of the lump sum period. (Sec. 7) Requires agency contributions for employees of the Joint Economic Committee to be paid from the Senate appropriations account for Salaries, Officers, and Employees. (Sec. 8) Amends Federal law with respect to the United States Senate Collection to: (1) revise the categories of collectibles from items of art, fine art, and historical items to make them works of art, historical objects, documents, or material relating to historical matters; and (2) change its name from mandatory to discretionary (allowing for a change of name without statutory mandate). Makes appropriations for the House of Representatives for: (1) House leadership offices; (2) Members' representational allowances; (3) committee employees; (4) officers and employees; (5) specified allowances and expenses; and (6) the House Child Care Center. (Sec. 101) Authorizes the Chief Administrative Officer of the House to enter into: (1) contracts for the acquisition of severable services for a period that begins in one fiscal year and ends in the next to the same extent as the head of an executive agency under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949; and (2) multi-year contracts for the acquisition of property and nonaudit-related services to the same extent as executive agencies under such Act. (Sec. 102) Amends the House Employees Position Classification Act to permit new House employees to be placed above the minimum step of the appropriate House compensation level. (Sec. 103) Makes amounts appropriated under this Act for "House of Representatives Salaries and Expenses - Members' Representational Allowances" available for FY 2001 only. Requires amounts remaining after all payments are made under such allowances for FY 2001 to be deposited in the Treasury and used for deficit reduction or, if there is no Federal budget deficit, for reducing the Federal debt. (Sec. 104) Appropriates a specified sum for payment to the Prince William County Public Schools for educational services for the son of Evelyn Gibson, widow of Detective John Michael Gibson, U.S. Capitol Police. Makes appropriations for: (1) the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies of 2001, and the Joint Economic and Taxation Committees; (2) the Office of the Attending Physician; (3) the Capitol Police Board; (4) the Capitol Guide Service and Special Services Office; (5) the Office of Compliance; (6) the Congressional Budget Office; (7) the AOC for salaries and expenses, Capitol buildings and grounds, Senate and House office buildings, and the Capitol power plant; (8) the Library of Congress for Congressional Research Service (CRS) salaries and expenses; and (9) the Government Printing Office (GPO) for congressional printing and binding. (Sec. 105) Requires the Secretary of Defense, upon request, to provide protective services on a non-reimbursable basis to the U.S. Capitol Police for the inauguration of the President-elect and Vice President-elect, and for the joint session of Congress held to receive the President's State of the Union address. (Sec. 107) Requires: (1) the Chief Administrative Officer of the Capitol Police, or when there is no such Officer, the Capitol Police Board to appoint certifying officers to certify all vouchers for payment from funds made available to the Capitol Police. Specifies the accountability of such certifying officers, and provides for enforcement of their liability. (Sec. 108) Establishes within the Capitol Police an Office of Administration to be headed by a Chief Administrative Officer, who shall be appointed by the Comptroller General and serve at the Comptroller General's pleasure. Specifies the areas of the Officer's responsibility regarding the Capitol Police such as budgeting, financial management, information technology, and human resources. Provides that: (1) as of the beginning of FY 2002, unless otherwise determined by the Comptroller General, the Chief Administrative Officer will cease to be an employee of the General Accounting Office and will become a Capitol Police employee; and (2) the Capitol Police Board shall assume all of the Comptroller General's responsibilities under this title. (Sec. 109) Modifies the annual salary of the Chief of the Capitol Police from level IV of the Executive Schedule to level ES-4 of the Senior Executive Service. (Sec. 110) Authorizes the Congressional Budget Office, to the same extent as executive agencies under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, to enter into: (1) contracts for procurement of severable services beginning in one fiscal year and ending in the next; and (2) multi-year contracts for acquisition of property and services. (Sec. 111) Authorizes appropriations to the Clerk of the House for congressional printing and binding services. Requires: (1) the Clerk to study and report to specified congressional committees on the needs of the House for congressional printing and binding services during FY 2002, 2003, and succeeding fiscal years, including an analysis of the most cost-effective program or programs for providing printed or other media-based publications for House uses; and (2) the committees to review the study and prepare regulations or other materials (including proposals for legislation) appropriate to enable the Clerk to carry out such services. Title II: Other Agencies - Appropriates funds for salaries and expenses for: (1) the Botanic Garden; and (2) the Library of Congress for salaries and expenses, the Copyright Office, Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and furniture and furnishings. Specifies administrative provisions for the Library of Congress identical or similar to corresponding provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2000. (Sec. 206) Reduces the obligational authority of the Library from FY 2001 levels for reimbursable and revolving fund activities funded from sources other than appropriations to the Library in appropriation Acts for the legislative branch. (Sec. 207) Amends Federal law to authorize the AOC, within 90 days after acquisition of certain real property for the Library of Congress, to transfer a limited amount of funds to the entity from which the property was acquired. (Sec. 208) Authorizes the Librarian of Congress to convert to permanent positions 84 indefinite, time-limited positions in the National Digital Library Program authorized in the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1996 for the Library of Congress. Authorizes the Librarian to fill these permanent positions through the non-competitive conversion of the incumbents in the indefinite-not-to-exceed positions to permanent positions. (Sec. 209) Authorizes the Librarian of Congress, during FY 2001 and ensuing fiscal years, to transfer to and among available accounts, subject to the approval of specified congressional committees, amounts appropriated to the Library from funds for the purchase, installation, maintenance, and repair of furniture, furnishings, and office and library equipment. (Sec. 210) Allows any employee of the Library of Congress Child Development Center, who elects by certain dates to be covered by this section, to be credited under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for service as a Center employee, subject to specified conditions. Sets forth provisions making such individuals eligible for: (1) FERS survivor annuities and disability benefits; (2) contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan; and (3) Federal health and life insurance coverage. Makes appropriations for: (1) the AOC for Library buildings and grounds; and (2) salaries and expenses of the GPO's Office of Superintendent of Documents and for the General Accounting Office. Title III: General Provisions - Sets forth authorized or prohibited uses of funds appropriated by this Act identical or similar to corresponding provisions of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2000. (Sec. 305) Sets forth Buy American requirements. (Sec. 308) Prohibits any appropriation contained in this Act for the AOC or the Botanic Garden from being obligated or expended for a construction contract in excess of $100,000, unless such contract requires liquidated damages according to a specified formula for contractor caused delay. (Sec. 309) Amends Federal law to extend for one year the availability of funds for the Senate art collection. (Sec. 310) Amends the 1999 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act to extend: (1) the pilot Russian Leadership Program in the Library of Congress through FY 2001; and (2) the permanent Program (in its presidentially designated executive agency) and its Advisory Board through FY 2002. (Sec. 311) Allows any State to request the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress to approve the replacement of a statue the State has provided for display in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol, under certain terms and conditions. Directs the AOC, upon the Committee's approval, to relocate within the Capitol any of the statues received from the States before this Act's enactment, and to provide for the reception, location, and relocation of such statues received hereafter. (Sec. 312) Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1993 to increase the amount of funds that may be accepted and made available for obligation by the AOC for constructing, equipping, and maintaining the National Garden. Allows the AOC to solicit, receive, accept, and hold amounts under the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1989 in excess of such increased amount. Prohibits AOC expenditure of such amount (and interest thereon) without approval in appropriations Acts as required by such Act. (Sec. 313) Establishes in the legislative branch the Center for Russian Leadership Development, which shall establish a program to enable emerging political leaders of Russia at all levels of government to gain significant, firsthand exposure to the American free market economic system and the operation of American democratic institutions through visits to governments and communities at comparable levels in the United States. Requires the Center to establish a program under which it shall annually award grants to government or community organizations in the United States that seek to establish programs to host such Russian nationals. Limits: (1) the stay of each grant recipient to 30 days; and (2) the number of such grant recipients to 3,000 in any fiscal year. Specifies the use of such grants. Establishes the Russian Leadership Development Center Trust Fund in the Treasury. Applies the same administrative provisions to the Center as those of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1989 concerning the John C. Stennis Center for the Public Service Training and Development. Authorizes the Library of Congress to provide administrative, legal, financial management, and other appropriate services to the Center. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 314) Requires the Comptroller General to submit an assessment to Congress which contains an analysis of the new computer performance levels being proposed by the President under the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 1998. Title IV: Emergency Fiscal Year 2000 Supplemental Appropriations - Makes emergency FY 2000 supplemental appropriations for: (1) the Capitol Police Board; (2) the AOC for Capitol buildings and grounds and the House office buildings; and (3) the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2000
Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to wildfire danger that: (1) Federal forest and land management agencies should enact a cohesive strategy to reduce the overabundance of forest fuels; and (2) the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior should prepare for publication a public lands national fire strategy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2000
Veterans' Oral History Project Act - Requires the Director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress to establish an oral history program to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of American war veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2000
TMDL Regulatory Accountability Act of 2000 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) solicit public comment on revisions to regulations pertaining to the national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) program and the water quality planning and management program published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2000; (2) solicit State comments on the impact of such revisions on implementation and effectiveness of State programs; and (3) maintain a record of public comments and publish a response in the Federal Register. Directs the Administrator to transmit to Congress an analysis of the monitoring data needed for development and implementation of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) which shall address data gaps identified by the Comptroller General in a March 2000 report entitled "Water Quality, Key EPA and State Decisions Limited By Inconsistent and Incomplete Data." Requires the Administrator to make arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to study and report on the scientific bases underlying the development of TDMLs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Administrator, with respect to the economic analysis performed on regulatory changes identified by the Comptroller General in the June 2000 report entitled "Clean Water Act: Proposed Revisions to EPA Regulations to Clean Up Polluted Waters," to prepare certain statements and analyses required under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 with respect to: (1) significant regulatory actions that may result in expenditures by State, local, and tribal governments or the private sector of $100 million or more annually; and (2) selection of a least costly, most cost-effective, or least burdensome alternative. Requires the Administrator to conduct analyses of the effects of the revisions to the regulations pertaining to the NPDES and water quality planning and management on small entities. Directs the Administrator to review the information provided or developed under this Act and consider whether the revisions to such regulations should be changed. Requires an explanation to Congress of the decision to change or not to change such revisions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2000
Recognizes the 210th anniversary of the establishment of the Coast Guard. Commends: (1) the Coast Guard's effectiveness in protecting the public, the environment, and U.S. economic and security interests; and (2) the men and women serving in the Coast Guard. Expresses support for the Coast Guard in its efforts to remain "Semper Paratus" Always Ready -- as it moves forward to meet the demands of the 21st century.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2000
Great Smoky Mountains Clean Air Act of 2000 - Amends the Clean Air Act to identify aggregate emission reduction objectives in connection with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) powerplants. Sets a modernization deadline for outdated TVA powerplants. Prohibits TVA from increasing hydroelectric energy generation in order to achieve such mandated objectives if the increase would require a drawdown of any contiguous lake or reservoir between Memorial Day and August 1.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2000
Expresses the sense of the Congress that privately owned Japanese companies that used prisoners of war as slave labor during World War II, or the successors of such companies, should: (1) reimburse those former prisoners or their survivors for the labor performed for the commercial interests of such companies; and (2) compensate such prisoners or their survivors for whatever brutality the companies inflicted on them during the period of forced labor.
![Official portrait of Rep. Taylor, Charles H. [R-NC-11]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000067_200.jpg)