United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Instructional Materials Accessibility Act of 2003 - Directs Secretary of Education to: (1) develop and publish instructional materials accessibility standards for the national electronic file format to be used by publishers of instructional materials in the preparation of electronic files suitable for efficient conversion into specialized formats; (2) establish a National Instructional Materials Accessibility Advisory Committee to provide technical expertise and guidance in creating such national electronic file format; (3) periodically review and amend such standards to reflect technological advances or changes; and (4) establish a National Instructional Materials Access Center. Requires State educational agencies, as a condition for receiving Federal financial assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to develop and implement statewide plans and make contracts with publishers to ensure that instructional materials for classroom use in elementary and secondary schools are made available in specialized formats to individuals who are blind or have other print disabilities at the same time such materials are provided to individuals without such disabilities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to provide or improve their capacity to prepare or obtain instructional materials in specialized formats, including the national electronic format. Provides for enforcement of rights of children and parents under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Quiet Communities Act of 2003 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to reestablish an Office of Noise Abatement and Control. Requires the Administrator, using funds made available to the Office, to carry out a study of airport noise. Amends the Noise Control Act of 1972 to include the establishment of training programs on the use of noise abatement equipment and the implementation of noise abatement plans in the list of purposes for which grants under the Quiet Communities Program are provided.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the United States Postal Service should issue a postage stamp honoring American farm women; and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2003
Violence Against Women Civil Rights Restoration Act of 2003 - Rewrites provisions of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 regarding remedies for civil rights violations. Makes a person who commits a crime of violence motivated by gender and thus deprives another of a prescribed right liable to the injured party where: (1) in connection with the offense, the defendant or the victim travels in interstate or foreign commerce, the defendant or the victim uses a facility or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, or the defendant employs a weapon, a narcotic or drug listed under the Controlled Substances Act, or other noxious or dangerous substances that have traveled in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) the offense interferes with commercial or other economic activity in which the victim is engaged; or (3) the offense was committed with intent to interfere with the victim's commercial or other economic activity. Authorizes the Attorney General, whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that any State, political subdivision, official, employee, or agent thereof has discriminated on the basis of gender in the investigation or prosecution of gender-based crimes and that discrimination is pursuant to a pattern or practice of resistance to investigating or prosecuting gender-based crimes, to institute a civil action in U.S. district court for appropriate equitable relief.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2003
National AMBER Alert Network Act of 2003 - Requires the Attorney General to assign an AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice to act as the national Coordinator of the AMBER Alert communications network regarding abducted children. Requires the coordinator to: (1) seek to eliminate gaps in the network; (2) work with States to encourage the development of additional network elements and to ensure regional coordination; and (3) act as the nationwide point of contact for network development and for regional coordination of alerts on abducted children through the network. Directs the Coordinator to: (1) notify and consult with the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning each child abduction for which an AMBER Alert is issued; and (2) establish minimum standards for the issuance of alerts and for the extent of their dissemination (limited to the geographic areas most likely to facilitate the recovery of the abducted child). Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of notification or communications systems along highways for alerts and other information for the recovery of abducted children. Includes among permissible activities the development or enhancement of electronic message boards, and the placement of additional signage, along highways. Directs the Attorney General to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of programs and activities for the support of AMBER Alert communications plans.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 title III part A (Strengthening Institutions) to direct the Secretary of Education to provide grants and related assistance to certain institutions of higher education for activities to improve their capacity to serve students who are Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Gives priority to eligible institutions with a significant percentage of enrollment made up of such students who are low-income individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2003 - Permits retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation. Repeals provisions providing for special compensation for certain severely disabled military retirees and certain combat-related disabled uniformed services retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Housing Bond and Credit Modernization and Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the required use of certain principal repayments on mortgage subsidy bond financings to redeem bonds; (2) modify the purchase price limitation under mortgage subsidy bond rules based on median family income; and (3) define the term "area median gross income" for low-income housing credit projects.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2003
Student Bill of Rights - Directs the Secretary of Education to make annual determinations as to whether each State's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. Requires such education to enable students to: (1) acquire knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship; (2) meet challenging academic achievement standards; and (3) compete and succeed in a global economy. Requires each system to do so through: (1) providing specified fundamentals of educational opportunity to students at each public elementary and secondary school; (2) providing educational services in school districts that receive funds for disadvantaged students that are, taken as a whole, at least comparable to educational services provided in school districts not receiving such funds; and (3) complying with any final Federal or State court order in any matter concerning the adequacy or equitableness of the system. Requires withholding of specified portions of its Federal funding for administrative expenses if a system: (1) fails to meet a yearly interim goal; (2) does not remedy, after two school years, a failure to provide comparable educational services to schools that receive funds for disadvantaged children; or (3) does not comply with a court order. Allows students or parents aggrieved by violations of this Act to bring civil actions for enforcement in Federal district courts. Directs the Commissioner of Education Statistics to study the effects of educational disparities on economic growth and on national defense.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Amends the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to eliminate a termination date for certain provisions, and thus continue to authorize schools with low default rates to make single disbursements of student loans.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Amends the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (TEUCA) to extend the TEUC program through weeks of unemployment ending before April 1, 2003. Sets an alternative trigger, based on total unemployment rate, for TEUC second-tier extended benefit periods for high unemployment States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 - Amends the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) and the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA, which is subchapter B of MLSA) to extend authorizations of appropriations and revise programs under such Acts. Prohibits projects which are determined to be obscene from receiving funds under MLSA. Amends MLSA to establish the National Museum and Library Services Board, within the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). (Eliminates a National Museum Services Board.) Requires the IMLS Director to: (1) ensure coordination with certain activities under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), and other Federal activities; and (2) conduct and publish analyses of museum and library services impact. Revises requirements for annual national awards to outstanding libraries and museums that have made significant contributions in service to their communities. Includes specified entities under the term museum, for MLSA purposes. Revises museum services activities. Entitles subchapter C of MLSA as the Museum Services Act. Amends LSTA to provide for: (1) an increased portion for administrative costs; (2) an increased alternative minimum allotment to States under certain conditions; (3) State plans once every five years, as determined by the IMLS Director; (4) additional uses of grants to States for library programs; and (5) recruitment of library and information science personnel under the program of national leadership grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Repeals requirements under the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science Act relating to Commission responsibilities to: (1) advise the IMLS Director; and (2) meet with the National Museum Services Board, which is eliminated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to permanently ban: (1) taxes on Internet access; and (2) multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Includes as an employee, for purposes of Federal provisions authorizing 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 · 7 January 2003
Book Stamp Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a grant program (based on certain State allocations under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990) to promote child literacy and improve children's access to books at home and in early learning, child care, literacy and nutrition programs, by making books available through such programs. Requires State agencies to use such grants to enter into contracts with local child care resource and referral agencies to provide payments for eligible early learning program and other child care providers, on the basis of local needs, to make books available, promote child literacy, and improve children's access to books at home. Amends Federal law relating to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to require USPS to establish special postage stamps for child literacy, at the regular first-class rate plus a differential amount, for voluntary use by patrons. Requires USPS to pay certain amounts raised by stamp sales to HHS for child literacy promotion activities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Renames the Technology Assessment Act of 1972 as the Office of Technology Assessment Reestablishment Act of 2003. Authorizes appropriations for the Office of Technology Assessment for FY 2004 through 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Reservists Pay Security Act of 2003 - Entitles a person who is absent from his or her position of Federal employment to perform service in the uniformed services or the National Guard to receive from his or her agency an amount that, when added to the pay and allowances for such service, equals the basic pay which would have been payable to such employee for such period of service for which such employee is not otherwise compensated.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Fed Up Higher Education Technical Amendments of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to make various technical revisions regarding access to student aid programs. Revises the HEA general definition of institution of higher education (IHE) to include one that admits as regular students those who have been home-schooled (as well as high school graduates or those with equivalency certificates), thus conforming it with provisions that make such home-schooled students eligible for student aid under HEA title IV. Makes students attending nonprofit foreign veterinary schools eligible for the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) student loan program if the school does not meet certain requirements, but only if: (1) it was certified as eligible by the Secretary of Education; and (2) students complete their clinical training at an approved veterinary school in the United States. Allows IHEs to make mandatory reports on teacher preparation program quality by electronic means under HEA title II. Eliminates a HEA title IV requirement that new forbearance agreements between lenders and borrowers be in writing; but requires lenders to notify borrowers of their terms. Requires students withdrawing from an IHE to return only HEA title IV grant aid amounts exceeding 50 percent of the total (if more than $50). Permits Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to apply for Federal HSI grants under HEA title V without waiting two years between applications. Authorizes the use of HEA title VII funds for: (1) Federal scholarship aid to low-income and minority students for summer institutes to prepare for law school; and (2) Thurgood Marshall Fellowships to attend law school. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report on teacher preparation requirements of States and IHEs. Amends HEA to direct the Secretary to discharge or cancel the Federal student loan indebtedness of spouses, surviving joint debtors, and parents of public servants and other individuals who died (or die) or who became (or become) permanently and totally disabled from injuries suffered in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Exempts courses offered through telecommunications by qualifying IHEs from certain HEA title IV limitations on student financial assistance that otherwise apply to correspondence courses. Requires reports on such exceptions by the qualifying IHEs and by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the full realization of the rights of women is vital to the development and well-being of people of all nations; and (2) the Senate should, therefore, give its advice and consent to the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2002
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to provide that any waiver which relates to the provision of assistance under a State TANF plan which would otherwise expire in the period that begins on September 30, 2002, and ends on September 30, 2003, shall expire on the later of the date that is one year after the date the waiver would otherwise expire or one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2002
Amends the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (which is title II of the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002, PL107-147) to extend temporary extended unemployment compensation (TEUC) program agreements through weeks of unemployment ending before April 1, 2003 (currently January 1, 2003). Sets an alternative trigger, based on total unemployment rate, for TEUC second-tier extended benefit periods for high unemployment States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2002
Honors the life of Dr. Chang-Lin Ten, model educator, diplomat, and mentor, on the occasion of his death. Extends condolences to the Tien family and to the faculty, staff, and students of the University of California-Berkeley.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2002
Renames title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting discrimination in education based on sex) the "Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act".
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2002
Supports the goals and ideas of a day of tribute to all firefighters who have died in the line of duty. Recognizes the important mission of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in assisting family members to overcome the loss of their fallen heroes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2002
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2002 - 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 2005; (3) 45 percent of such pay for months beginning after September 2005 and before October 2012; and (4) 55 percent of such pay for months after September 2012. 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 · 11 September 2002
Recognizes September 11 as both a day to remember those taken from their families and a day for Americans to recommit to the Nation, to their freedom, and to each other. Extends deepest sympathies to the countless innocent victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, their families, friends, and loved ones. Honors the heroic actions of first responders, law enforcement personnel, State and local officials, volunteers, and others who aided the innocent victims. Expresses thanks and gratitude to the foreign leaders and citizens of all nations who have assisted and continue to stand in solidarity with the United States against terrorism. Remains resolved to pursue all those responsible for the terrorist attacks and their sponsors until they are discovered and punished.
United States · United States Congress · 4 September 2002
National AMBER Alert Network Act of 2002 - Requires the Attorney General to assign an AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator of the AMBER Alert communications network regarding abducted children. Requires the coordinator to: (1) seek to eliminate gaps in the network; (2) work with States to encourage the development of additional network elements and to ensure regional coordination; and (3) act as the nationwide point of contact for network development and for regional coordination of alerts on abducted children through the network. Directs the Coordinator to: (1) notify and consult with the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning each child abduction for which an AMBER Alert is issued; and (2) establish minimum standards for the issuance of alerts and for the extent of their dissemination (limited to the geographic areas most likely to facilitate the recovery of the abducted child). Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of notification or communications systems along highways for alerts and other information for the recovery of abducted children. Includes among permissible activities the development or enhancement of electronic message boards, and the placement of additional signage, along highways. Directs the Attorney General to provide grants to States for the development or enhancement of programs and activities for the support of AMBER Alert communications plans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Tobacco Smuggling Eradication Act of 2002 - Amends chapter 52 (Tobacco Products and Cigarette Papers and Tubes) of the Internal Revenue Code to require all packages of tobacco products to carry a unique legibly printed serial number by which the Secretary of the Treasury can identify the manufacturer or importer and the location and date of manufacture or importation. Requires tobacco products sold on Indian reservations to be labeled as such. Requires a tobacco wholesaler to have a permit and to maintain certain records. Requires export warehouse proprietors to file certain reports with the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into certain tobacco related information agreements with foreign countries. Establishes new offenses relating to the distribution of tobacco. Raises the $1,000 civil penalty under chapter 52 to $10,000. Amends the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act to: (1) expand the applicability of such Act from cigarettes only to "tobacco product" (cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and pipe tobacco); (2) define "contraband tobacco product" as a quantity of tobacco product that is equivalent to or more than 30,000 cigarettes (currently, 60,000) which bear no evidence of the payment of applicable State tobacco taxes; (3) establish new unlawful acts; and (4) require additional recordkeeping. Repeals Federal law provisions concerning reports required to State tobacco tax administrators by individuals engaged in interstate cigarette commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Emergency Farmer and Rancher Assistance Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide: (1) emergency financial assistance to agricultural producers who have incurred qualifying 2001 or 2002 crop losses due to weather or related conditions; and (2) payments to livestock producers who have incurred 2001 or 2002 losses in an emergency-designated county, with permitted set-asides for the American Indian livestock program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2002
Senior Nutrition Act of 2002 - Amends the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to make a person who is at least 60 years old eligible for the commodity supplemental food program (program) if such person: (1) is eligible for the food stamp program; or (2) has a household income that is not more than 185 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines. Authorizes permanent program appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2002
Yellowstone Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement the final rule to phase out snowplane use in Grand Teton National Park and snowmobile use in Yellowstone National Park, the John. D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, and Grand Teton National Park. Prohibits the Secretary from modifying or superseding any provisions of that final rule.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2002
No Tax Breaks for Corporations Renouncing America Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a foreign entity any reduced rate of withholding tax on any deductible foreign payment under any income tax treaty between the United States and the entity's country unless the entity is predominantly owned by residents of such country. Excepts specified conduit payments. Specifies what constitutes predominant ownership.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2002
Health Care for Filipino World War II Veterans Act - Requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish hospital and nursing home care and medical services to any individual who is a Commonwealth Army veteran or new Philippine Scout (current law) and who is: (1) residing in the United States; and (2) a U.S. citizen or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Provides a rate of payment equal to the rate provided for active-service veterans and their survivors for: (1) dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of Commonwealth Army veterans or new Philippine Scouts; and (2) veterans' disability compensation for new Philippine Scouts residing in the United States. Provides national cemetery burial benefits for new Philippine Scouts.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2002
Tribal Government Tax Fairness Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code by establishing that Indian tribal governments shall be treated as States for purposes of chapter 35, relating to taxes on wagering.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2002
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Night Out (an event intended to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of community participation in crime prevention efforts by having people spend the period from 7 to 10 o'clock p.m. on August 6, 2002, with their neighbors in front of their homes with their lights on). Requests that the President: (1) issue a proclamation calling for appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs; (2) focus appropriate attention on neighborhood crime prevention, community policing, and reduction of school crime by delivering speeches, convening meetings, and directing the administration to make crime reduction an important priority; and (3) coordinate the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the USA Freedom Corps, the Citizen Corps, the National Senior Service Corps, and AmeriCorps to participate by supporting local efforts, neighborhood watches, and local officials, including law enforcement personnel, to provide homeland security and combat terrorism in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2002
Fed Up Higher Education Technical Amendments of 2002 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), and the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, to make various technical revisions that incorporate the results of the Fed Up Initiative to remove unnecessary regulatory barriers to access to student aid programs. Revises the definition of institution of higher education (IHE) to include one that admits as regular students those who have been home-schooled (as well as high school graduates or those with equivalency certificates), thus providing that such home-schooled students are eligible for HEA student aid. Makes students attending nonprofit foreign veterinary schools eligible for the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) student loan program if the school does not meet certain requirements, but only if: (1) it was certified as eligible by the Secretary of Education; and (2) students complete their clinical training at an approved veterinary school in the United States. Allows IHEs to make mandatory reports on teacher preparation program quality by electronic means. Eliminates a requirement that new forbearance agreements between lenders and borrowers be in writing; but requires lenders to notify borrowers of their terms. Allows financial aid professionals to use professional judgment in reevaluating the student financial need of a ward of the court. Requires students withdrawing from an IHE to return only HEA title IV grant aid amounts exceeding 50 percent of the total (if more than $50). Permits Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to apply for Federal HSI grants without waiting two years between applications. Authorizes the use of HEA title VII funds for: (1) Federal scholarship aid to low-income and minority students for summer institutes to prepare for law school; and (2) Thurgood Marshall Fellowships to attend law school. Provides that an IHE is in compliance with requirements to provide students with certain information, including voter registration material, if it does so through an e-mail message or an Internet address. Extends through September 30, 2003, HEA exemptions, for IHEs having low student loan default rates, from requirements that the disbursement of loan proceeds be: (1) in multiple installments; and (2) delayed for 30 days after classes start for first-time undergraudate borrowers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2002
National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2002 - Identifies roadless areas within the National Forest System set forth in specified documents as National Forest Inventoried Roadless Areas, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to manage such Areas to maintain their roadless character.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Patriotic Purchasing Act of 2002 - Prohibits any foreign corporation that acquires a domestic corporation or partnership on or after the date that is ten years before this Act's enactment from being eligible to be awarded a Federal contract if immediately after such transaction, more than 80 percent of the stock of the acquiring corporation is held by former shareholders or partners of the domestic corporation or partnership. Substitutes 50 percent for 80 percent if: (1) the acquiring corporation does not have substantial business activities in the foreign country in which or under the law of which such corporation is created or organized; and (2) the stock of such corporation is publicly traded and the principal market for trading it is in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 title III part A (Strengthening Institutions) to direct the Secretary of Education to provide grants and related assistance to certain institutions of higher education for activities to improve their capacity to serve students who are Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Gives priority to eligible institutions with a significant percentage of enrollment made up of such students who are low-income individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) to deem a food misbranded if it contains or was produced with a genetically engineered material unless its labeling contains statements meeting specified requirements. Requires the periodic testing of such foods transferred along a chain of distribution to assure accuracy of labels, subject to specified exceptions. Excludes, in all three Acts, food: (1) served in restaurants; or (2) prepared primarily in a retail establishment, ready for human consumption, but not offered for sale for immediate consumption in the establishment. Excludes, for the FDCA, a medical food as defined in the Orphan Drug Act. Subjects violators to civil monetary penalties, exempting recipients who accept a guarantee of the absence of genetically engineered material in good faith or producers whose food inadvertently becomes contaminated by genetically engineered material. Authorizes citizen suits as specified.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Urges the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend to the Postmaster General that a commemorative postage stamp be issued by the U.S. Postal Service each year in honor of Veterans Day.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Recognizes and honors the American Zoo and Aquarium Association and its member institutions of zoological parks and aquariums for their dedicated service in animal welfare, conservation education, conservation research, and wildlife conservation programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2002
Establishes a National Commission on Terrorist Acts Upon the United States. Directs the Commission to: (1) investigate facts and circumstances relating to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks; and (2) evaluate lessons learned regarding the abilities of the Federal Government, and, if appropriate, of State and local governments and nongovernmental entities to detect, prevent, and respond to such attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2002
Mineral Exploration and Development Act of 2002 - Sets forth guidelines for mineral exploration and development on public domain lands. Declares, under certain conditions, that holders of mining claims executed under this Act have the exclusive right of possession and use of the claimed land for mineral activities. Subjects existing and/or future unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites, with specified exceptions, to an annual claim maintenance fee payable to the Secretary of the Interior in lieu of the assessment work requirement contained in the general mining laws and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Exempts from the mandated fee any claimants holding ten or fewer mining claims who elect to perform the assessment work. Requires locators of unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites located after this Act's enactment to pay a location fee. Imposes penalties against holders of mining claims for noncompliance with this Act. Requires, with respect to environmental considerations of mineral exploration and development on public domain lands: (1) a permit, with exceptions, to engage in mineral activities on Federal land that may cause a disturbance of surface resources; (2) an operations permit to carry out any activity greater than casual use; (3) denial of permits to persons who are in violation of this Act; and (4) operation and reclamation standards. Establishes the Abandoned Locatable Minerals Mine Reclamation Fund in the Treasury. Amends the Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 and the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 to revise the Secretary of Agriculture's responsibilities within the scope of this Act. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to establish and collect user fees from persons subject to this Act's requirements. Repeals the Building Stone Act and the Saline Placer Act. Applies this Act to beneficiation and processing of non-Federal minerals on Federal lands.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a direct charitable tax deduction for an individual not itemizing deductions equal to the amount that would be allowed for charitable cash contributions if such individual itemized.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the current dollar limitation on the deduction for interest on educational loans. Modifies the dollar amounts used in calculating the modified adjusted gross income limitation on the deduction for interest on educational loans.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2002
Aeronautics Research and Development Revitalization Act of 2002 - Establishes an Office of Aeronautics responsible for planning, budgeting, and managing all aeronautics research, development, and demonstration activities undertaken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Directs the NASA Administrator to establish certain initiatives to develop technologies that would: (1) significantly reduce aircraft noise, harmful emissions, and fuel consumption; (2) make certain performance improvements to existing rotorcraft; and (3) enable overland flight of supersonic civil transport aircraft with certain performance characteristics. Directs the NASA Administrator to provide specified congressional committees a plan for the implementation of such initiatives. Directs the NASA Administrator to: (1) award grants to establish university-based Centers for Research on Aviation Training; and (2) establish NASA aeronautics scholarships for U.S. citizens enrolled in accredited Masters degree programs in aeronautical engineering at institutions of higher education. Authorizes appropriations for certain Federal Aviation Administration research and development projects and activities. Requires certain aviation-related studies and assessments.
![Official portrait of Rep. Wu, David [D-OR-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000793_200.jpg)