United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2001
Early Treatment for HIV Act of 2001 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of providing Medicaid coverage for certain low-income HIV-infected individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2001
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 2719 South Webster Street in Kokomo, Indiana, as the Elwood Haynes "Bud" Hillis Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2001
Condemns the Taliban's policy of forcing Afghan Hindus and other non-Muslims to wear a yellow identity symbol. Demands that the Taliban regime revoke its order and conform its laws to all basic international civil and human rights standards. Calls on the Government of Pakistan to use its influence to demand that the Taliban revoke the policy.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Animal Health Protection Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to restrict the importation, entry, or further movement in the United States, or order the destruction or removal, of animals (including livestock) and related conveyances and facilities for reasons of livestock pest or disease control, or humane treatment. Authorizes related activities respecting exportation, interstate movement, cooperative agreements, enforcement and penalties, seizure, and quarantine and disease and pest eradication. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) establish a veterinary accreditation program; and (2) enter into reimbursable fee agreements for preclearance abroad of animals or articles for movement into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Trade Law Reform Act of 2001 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to repeal the requirement that the cause of serious injury (or threat) be substantial to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with an article that is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities with respect to the President's taking action to facilitate efforts by such industry to make a positive adjustment to the import competition. Defines "cause" to mean a cause that contributes significantly to serious injury (or threat) to the domestic industry but need not be equal to or greater than any other cause. Revises certain factors the International Trade Commission (ITC) must consider when investigating whether an imported article is a substantial cause of serious injury (or threat) to the related domestic industry. Repeals, similarly, the requirement that such injury be substantial. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise various factors that the ITC must consider in making material injury determinations in countervailing duty and antidumping duty proceedings. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to implement a steel import notification and monitoring program. Requires a person to have a steel import notification certificate before entering certain steel products into the United States. Authorizes certain entities or groups of workers which are representative of a domestic industry that produces an article like or directly competitive with an imported article to file a request to monitor such imports if serious injury to the domestic industry is caused or threatened. Applies this Act to goods from Canada and Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 2001 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use funding under COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing efforts; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for the costs associated with seeking a college or graduate school education. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; and (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other public and private entities. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding termination of grants for hiring officers. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for units of local government with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted specifically for retention of police officers.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Calls on the President to continue to delay granting Mexico-domiciled motor carriers authority to operate in the United States beyond the commercial zone until: (1) the President and the Secretary of Transportation certify to Congress, among other specified things, that such carriers (buses and trucks) will comply with U.S. motor carrier safety, driver safety, vehicle safety, and environmental laws and regulations, that the United States is able to enforce such laws and regulations at the U.S.-Mexico border and in each State, and that granting such operating authority will not endanger the health, safety, and welfare of U.S. citizens; and (2) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifies to Congress that all necessary steps have been taken to ensure that the manufacturer, owner, and operator of Mexico-domiciled trucks operating outside a commercial zone comply with any Clean Air Act notice, certification, disclosure requirements, or environmental standards to the same extent that such requirements or standards apply to any heavy-duty truck or heavy-duty engine regulated by the EPA. Calls on the Governments of Mexico and the United States to: (1) agree to uniform application to U.S.- and Mexico-domiciled motor carriers and drivers of the highest standards regarding safety, environmental protection, and driver competency, licensing, and hours of service; (2) improve truck and bus inspection and enforcement programs and their coverage; and (3) consider truck and bus safety to be of paramount importance to the relationship between the United States and Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Declares that Congress: (1) believes strongly that an economically stable Republic of Korea is in the best overall foreign policy and economic interests of the United States; (2) believes that economic policies and practices effectively limiting U.S. manufacturers' access to the Korean automotive sector are inconsistent with the general trend toward a market-oriented approach, and that the relationship between the United States and the Republic of Korea has been, and will continue to be, significantly harmed by unfair treatment of imports of U.S. motor vehicles; (3) calls on the Republic of Korea to immediately end the practices that have led to the disparity in market access and to meet its commitments contained in the 1998 Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the United States; and (4) calls on the United States Trade Representative, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of State to monitor and report to Congress on steps that have been taken to end the disparity in market access for imported U.S. motor vehicles in the Republic of Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2001
Gas Price Spike Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the sale of any crude oil, natural gas, or products thereof a tax equal to the applicable percentage of the windfall profit on such sale. Defines "applicable percentage." Establishes a credit for the purchase of U.S.- made fuel efficient passenger vehicles. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to the operator of a mass transit system to assist the operator in reducing fares paid by passengers using the system which shall be paid for by revenues from the windfall profits tax. Establishes an independent board to be known as the Reasonable Profits Board to make reasonable profit determinations with respect to the windfall profit tax.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2001
Nazi Benefits Termination Act of 2001 - Denies Federal public benefits to individuals who have been participants in Nazi persecution. Authorizes the Attorney General, if an individual who has applied for or is receiving a Federal public benefit may have been such a participant, to provide an opportunity for a hearing on the record with respect to the matter. Requires an immigration judge who finds that the respondent has been a participant in Nazi persecution to: (1) promptly issue an order declaring the respondent to be ineligible for any Federal public benefit and prohibiting any person from providing such a benefit to the respondent; and (2) transmit a copy of the order to any governmental entity or person known to be providing such a benefit. Authorizes the Attorney General to review any finding or conclusion made or order issued and to complete such review within 30 days (otherwise such finding, conclusion, or order shall be final). Provides for the appeal of findings or orders by an aggrieved party to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2001
Antibiotic Resistance Prevention Act of 2001 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 2002 through 2006 for carrying out certain top priority action items designated in the Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan (developed by an interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance in 1999) and within the jurisdiction of the Department of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
National Museum of African American History and Culture Act of 2001 - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution the National Museum of African American History and Culture to be operated as a center for scholarship and a location for museum training, public education, exhibits, and collection and study of items and materials relating to the life, art, history, and culture of African Americans form slavery and the era of reconstruction to the Harlem renaissance, the civil rights movement, and beyond. Establishes the National Museum of African American History and Culture Council. Requires the Council to appoint a Director to manage the Museum. Authorizes the Council to plan, design, reconstruct, renovate, and expand the Arts and Industries Building to house the Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the treatment of certified diabetes educators recognized by the National Certification Board of Diabetes Educators as certified providers for purposes of outpatient diabetes education services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2001
Designates the Federal building and U.S. courthouse located at 121 West Spring Street in New Albany, Indiana, as the Lee H. Hamilton Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2001
Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 2001 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to define "high speed data service" as a service capable of transmitting electronic information at a rate generally not less than 384 kilobits per second in at least one direction. Prohibits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and each State from regulating the rates, charges, terms or conditions for, or entry into the provision of, any high speed data service or Internet access service, or to regulate the facilities used in the provision of such service. Prohibits the FCC from requiring an incumbent (established) local exchange carrier to: (1) provide unbundled access to any network elements used in the provision of any high speed data service, other than those elements described in FCC regulations; or (2) offer for resale at wholesale rates any high speed data service. Requires each incumbent local exchange carrier to provide: (1) Internet users with the ability to subscribe to and have access to any Internet service provider that interconnects with such carrier's high speed data service; (2) any Internet service provider with the right to acquire necessary facilities and services to facilitate such interconnection; and (3) any Internet service provider with the ability to collocate equipment in order to achieve such interconnection. Includes high speed data service or Internet access service within the definition of "incidental interLATA services" permitted for a Bell operating company.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2001
American Hospital Preservation Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), as amended by Federal law commonly referred to as the (Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP) Benefits Improvement and Protection Act, to: (1) increase (restore the full) market basket update for inpatient prospective payment services hospitals; and (2) maintain the indirect medical education adjustment percentage at 6.5 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Get Arsenic Out of Our Drinking Water Act - Provides that effective on the date of enactment of this Act, the rule establishing a maximum contaminant level (MCL) and MCL Goal for arsenic in drinking water published by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on January 22, 2001, shall have the force and effect of law.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Physician Availability Act of 2001 - Requires each non-Federal hospital with a specified participation agreement under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, participating under title XIX (Medicaid) of such Act, or receiving Federal funds, and with at least 100 licensed beds, to have a qualified physician available in the hospital (other than in the emergency department) 24 hours a day, seven days a week to attend to the hospital's inpatients. Provides for enforcement, including through civil penalties and suspension or disqualification from Medicare or Medicaid.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the water boundaries established in the 1923 Lausanne Treaty of Peace, the 1932 Convention and Protocol Between Italy and Turkey, and the 1947 Paris Treaty of Peace, under which the Dodecanese islands and adjacent islets were ceded by Italy to Greece, are the borders between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea; and (2) any party, including Turkey, objecting to such boundaries should seek redress in the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Calls upon the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a postage stamp commemorating the members of the armed forces who have been awarded the Purple Heart.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2001
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2001 - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that: (1) constitutes a crime of violence under Federal law or a felony under State or Indian tribal law; and (2) is motivated by prejudice based on the race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim or is a violation of the hate crime laws of the State or tribe. Directs the Attorney General to give priority for assistance to crimes committed by offenders who have committed crimes in more than one State and to rural jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the extraordinary investigation or prosecution expenses. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to assist State, local, and Indian law enforcement officials with such extraordinary expenses. Directs the Office of Justice Programs to: (1) work closely with funded jurisdictions to ensure that the concerns and needs of all affected parties are addressed; and (2) award grants to State and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. Prohibits specified offenses involving actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to study and provide sentencing enhancements for adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes. Amends the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to require the crime data to be collected and published by the Attorney General to include data about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on gender.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2001
Allows Federal construction services contractors or recipients of Federal financial assistance for a construction project to require every contractor or subcontractor on the construction project to agree to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more labor organizations, for a specific project only and under certain conditions. Defines a project labor agreement as a prehire collective bargaining agreement in the construction industry that: (1) establishes the basic terms and conditions of employment for the duration of the project; and (2) is binding upon all construction employers operating on the project site.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2001
Rural Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 2001- Directs the Attorney General, through the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Affairs, to make a grant annually to the National Center for Rural Law Enforcement (if the Center's Executive Director makes certain certifications) to be used to develop an education and training program for criminal justice or law enforcement agencies in rural areas. Includes among program purposes: (1) the development and delivery of management, forensic, and computer education and training for employees of such agencies; and (2) the delivery of assistance (in a consulting capacity) to criminal justice agencies in the development and coordination of programs, training, and research relating to crime in rural areas. Permits the Center to use grant funds to enhance the program, including: (1) by providing educational opportunities for rural law enforcement agencies; and (2) through coordination with institutions of higher education to encourage and deliver programs of study with those institutions for employees of such agencies. Directs the Center to establish eight regional centers comprised of specified States. Requires that all funds for such regional centers be distributed by, and each regional center submit a budget request to, the Center.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Payday Borrower Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act with respect to any deferred deposit loan (payday loan) in which credit is extended by a payday lender, for a specified period of time, upon the lender's receipt of: (1) a check made by the borrower for the amount of the credit extended, the presentment or negotiation of which will be deferred by agreement of the parties for such specified period; or (2) authorization from the borrower for the payday lender to initiate an electronic fund transfer at the end of the specified period from the borrower's account for the amount of the credit extended. Prohibits the business of making payday loans in any State unless expressly authorized by State law meeting the requirements of this Act. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to prohibit insured depository institutions from making: (1) payday loans except in full compliance with State law and at an interest rate less than 36 percent; or (2) any loan to a payday lender to finance payday loans unless that lender is in full compliance with specified Federal and State law. Sets forth State licensing and regulatory procedure requirements for payday loans, including the provision of civil and criminal penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Deposit Insurance Stabilization Act - Amends the Deposit Insurance Funds Act of 1996 to make the effective date for the merger of the Bank Insurance Fund with the Savings Association Insurance Fund 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to authorize the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to impose a fee upon an uninsured depository institution that experiences a net increase in new insured deposits in excess of a percentage the Corporation determines appropriate. Repeals the minimum assessment requirements for semiannual assessments under the risk-based assessment system for any depository insurance fund.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Requires the American flags on all Federal office buildings to be lowered to half-staff each year in honor of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service in Emittsburg, Maryland.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2001
Secret Evidence Repeal Act of 2001 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the Attorney General to provide advance notice to an alien and the presiding officer in any immigration proceeding in which classified information is intended to be used. Limits such information's use to: (1) terrorist activity deportation; or (2) opposition to an alien's admission or relief from removal upon certification that such information could not be developed from open sources and that an agency declassification request has been made. Provides: (1) for Federal district court review of classified material upon Attorney General or alien request; and (2) that the court will issue an order indicating any unclassified summary of such material that may be used in the immigration proceeding. Applies the provisions of the Classified Information Procedures Act to an immigration proceeding under district court review in the same manner as a criminal proceeding subject to such Act. Amends the Act to entitle an alien, subject to the classified information provisions of this Act, who is subject to arrest and detention for removal or deportation to: (1) non-federally provided counsel; (2) examine all evidence, present evidence, and question witnesses; (3) have a complete record of the proceeding kept; and (4) judicial review. Exempts an alien who is a lawful permanent resident, parolee, or asylee from the security and related removal provisions. (Such provisions provide for limited hearings and use of nondisclosed information.) Provides for transitional application of information access provisions to alien detainees and aliens seeking immigration benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Arsenic Reduction in Drinking Water Act - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the maximum contaminant level for arsenic in drinking water to be: (1) ten parts per billion effective October 1, 2003; and (2) three parts per billion effective October 1, 2006. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to public water systems serving fewer than 10,000 people to assist such systems in meeting the drinking water standards for arsenic.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Solid Waste Interstate Transportation Act of 2001 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit a landfill or incinerator (facility) from receiving out-of-State municipal solid waste (MSW) for disposal or incineration unless the waste is received pursuant to a new or existing host community agreement or an exemption from this prohibition (which may be limited by the State). Establishes conditions for exemptions. Authorizes States to establish limits on the amount of out-of-State waste received annually for disposal at each facility. Allows a State to limit the amount of out-of-State MSW received annually at each facility to the amount received during 1995 if the State has enacted a comprehensive, statewide recycling program. Prohibits State limits from conflicting with permits or host community agreements that set higher (or no) limits. Sets the limitation amount for any facility that began receiving documented out-of-State waste before enactment of this Act at the amount received during 1993. Prohibits discrimination against shipments of such waste on the basis of State of origin. Allows States to require that a permit issued for a new facility or an expansion include an annual limitation of not less than 20 percent on the total quantity of out-of-State MSW relative to the total waste received by the facility. Requires percentage limitations to be uniform for all facilities and not discriminate against out-of-State waste according to the State of origin.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Justice for United States Prisoners of War Act of 2001 - Requires any Federal court in which an action is brought against a Japanese national by a member of the U.S. armed forces seeking compensation for mistreatment or failure to pay wages in connection with labor performed in Japan for such national as a prisoner of war during World War II to: (1) apply the applicable statute of limitations of the State in which the action is pending; and (2) not construe a specified provision of the Treaty of Peace With Japan as a waiver by the United States of such claims. States that it is U.S. policy to ensure that any war claims settlement terms between Japan and any other country that are more beneficial than terms extended to the United States under the above Treaty are extended to the United States with respect to claims under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to secure information relating to chemical or biological tests conducted by Japan on members of the U.S. armed forces held as prisoners of war during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 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
Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 2001 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from: (1) excluding or restricting benefits for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services; (2) denying eligibility based on use or potential use of such items or services; (3) providing monetary payments or rebates to a covered individual to encourage acceptance of less than the minimum protections available; (4) penalizing, reducing, or limiting a professional's reimbursement because the professional prescribed such drugs or devices or provided such services; or (5) providing incentives to a professional to induce the professional to withhold drugs, devices, or services. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
Student Athlete Protection Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to include as unlawful sports gambling a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based, directly or indirectly, on one or more: (1) competitive games in which high school or college athletes participate; (2) performances of high school or college athletes in competitive games; or (3) competitive games at the Summer or Winter Olympics.
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
America's Better Classroom Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit for qualified public school modernization bonds (qualified school construction bonds and qualified zone academy bonds). Amends the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the application of certain labor standards to projects financed under this Act. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish provisions concerning employment and training activities related to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) restrict the application of the windfall elimination provision to individuals whose combined monthly income from the individual's primary insurance amount under such title and the portion of the monthly periodic payment attributable to noncovered service performed after 1956 exceeds $2,000; and (2) provide for a graduated implementation of such provision by specified percentages with respect to incremental amounts above such threshold, up to 100 percent for combined amounts over $3,000.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2001
Railroad Track Modernization Act of 2001 - Amends Federal rail transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a program of capital grants to Class II and Class III railroads to rehabilitate, preserve, or improve railroad track (including roadbed, bridges, and related track structures) used primarily for freight transportation to a standard to accommodate 286,000 pound rail cars in a safe and efficient manner. Authorizes the Secretary to also make grants to supplement direct loans or loan guarantees (including for paying credit risk premiums, lowering rates of interest, or providing for a holiday on principal payments) for projects primarily benefitting non-Class I freight railroad carriers. Sets forth certain prevailing wage requirements with respect to projects financed by such grants.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
James Guelff Body Armor Act of 2001 - Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend the Federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements to provide an appropriate enhancement for any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime in which the defendant used body armor. Expresses the sense of Congress that any such sentencing enhancement be at least two levels. Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit the purchase, ownership, or possession of body armor by violent felons. Makes it an affirmative defense that: (1) the defendant obtained prior written certification from his or her employer that the defendant's purchase, use, or possession of body armor was necessary for the safe performance of lawful business activity; and (2) the use and possession by the defendant were limited to the course of such performance. Sets penalties for violations. Authorizes the head of a Federal agency to donate body armor that is surplus property and in serviceable condition, and that meets or exceeds National Institute of Justice Standard 0101.03, directly to any State or local law enforcement agency. Allows specified officials in the Treasury and Justice Departments to act as the head of a Federal agency. Specifies that the United States shall not be liable for any harm occurring in connection with the use or misuse of any body armor donated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Consumer Assurance of Radiologic Excellence Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit certain payments to States for expenditures for medical imaging procedures or radiation therapy procedures, unless the State meets specified requirements for State medical radiation licenses, including minimum licensing standards the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Home Health Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, to: (1) eliminate a specified 15 percent reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits with respect to payment rates for home health services under the Medicare prospective payment system for such services; and (2) provide for a permanent payment increase for such services furnished in a rural area. Makes this Act effective as if included in the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Condemns the destruction of pre-Islamic statues in Afghanistan by the Taliban regime. Urges such regime to: (1) stop destroying such statues; and (2) grant international organizations immediate access to Afghanistan to survey the damage and facilitate international efforts to preserve and safeguard the remaining statues.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Steel Revitalization Act of 2001 - Directs the President to impose quotas, tariff surcharges, or other measures on, and to negotiate enforceable voluntary export restraint agreements with respect to, imports of steel products in order to ensure that: (1) the tonnage of iron ore, coke and coke products, semifinished steel, and pig iron imported into the United States during any month does not exceed the average tonnage of each product that was imported monthly into the United States during the 36-month period preceding July 1997; and (2) the share of domestic consumption of any other applicable steel product in the United States derived from imports during any month does not exceed the average monthly share of domestic U.S. consumption of that steel product during any month in the 36-month period preceding July 1997. Authorizes the Customs Service to refuse entry into the U.S. customs territory for a five-year period of any steel products that exceed their allowable levels. Establishes: (1) the Steel Retiree Health Care Board in the Department of Labor; (2) the Steelworker Retiree Health Care Trust Fund; and (3) the Health Care Benefit Costs Assistance Program. Sets forth the functions of the Board, including to: (1) provide, under the Health Care Benefit Costs Assistance Program, for payments to designated steelworker group health plans to assist in the funding of qualified retiree health benefits under such plans; and (2) establish policies for the investment and management of the Steelworker Retiree Health Care Trust Fund that provides for prudent investments and low administrative costs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on steel sold by the manufacturer, producer, or importer (such taxes to be deposited into the Steelworker Retiree Health Care Trust Fund). Amends the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Act of 1999 to increase the aggregate amount of loans guaranteed and outstanding (including additional costs of such loans) at any one time under Emergency Steel Guarantee Loan Program or with respect to a single qualified steel company. Requires the Loan Guarantee Board to approve or deny an application for a guarantee within 45 days after its receipt. Authorizes any person who acquires another person that produces any of the specified categories of steel products contained in this Act to apply to the Secretary of Commerce for a grant to defray the costs necessary to bring, and maintain, the resulting entity into compliance with U.S. environmental laws. Requires the Secretary to make a determination whether or not such mergers will promote the retention of at least 80 percent of the jobs of the steel workers and production of capacity of such steel products. Sets forth penalties for failure to achieve such retention levels.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2001
Access to Thermal Imaging Cameras Act - Authorizes the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make competitive grants to fire departments for the purpose of acquiring thermal imaging cameras. Requires the non-Federal share of acquisition costs to be 33 percent. Declares the sense of Congress that any funds appropriated to FEMA for this purpose should be offset with corresponding reductions in funds appropriated to carry out other Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Treatment of Children's Deformities Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to set standards requiring that group and individual health insurance and group health plans provide coverage for treatment of a minor child's congenital or developmental deformity or disorder due to trauma, infection, tumor, or disease.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Morris K. Udall Arctic Wilderness Act of 2001 - Designates specified lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Truthfulness, Responsibility, and Accountability in Contracting Act - Prohibits any Federal agency from making a decision to privatize, outsource, contract out, or contract for the performance of a function currently performed by the agency or to conduct a study to convert a function from Federal to contractor performance. Allows an agency to contract out a function not then performed by Federal employees if such function would be performed under contract by the blind or handicapped. Authorizes any agency to apply to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for a waiver of such prohibition on specified grounds. Requires each agency to establish a centralized system for reporting on its contracting efforts during the preceding and current fiscal years. Requires any agency decision to privatize, outsource, or contract out for the performance of a function, after expiration of the prohibition enacted by this Act, to be based on the results of a public-private competition process meeting specified requirements. Requires an agency either to conduct a new public-private competition or to convert a function to performance by Federal employees if a report indicates that: (1) contracting out costs exceed costs of performance by Federal employees; or (2) contracting out fails to meet quality control standards. Directs the Secretary of Labor to survey and report to specified congressional committees on the wages and quantifiable benefits provided by contractors to non-Federal personnel working under contract.
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."