United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2002
Chance to Succeed Act of 2002 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to include as a work activity satisfactory participation in services to address barriers designed to improve future employment opportunities, including substance abuse treatment and physical rehabilitation, mental health, and mental retardation and developmental disabilities services. Requires the assessment for each assistance recipient to determine whether the recipient has any such barriers. Prohibits a TANF-recipient State from imposing a sanction against an individual or family on the basis of noncompliance with a program requirement if the individual whose conduct is the basis of the sanction is in the uncompleted process of being screened or assessed for a mental health problem, disability, substance abuse problem, or sexual or domestic violence situation, or if the services outlined in the service plan developed for the individual or family were not offered, available, and accessible to the individual or family at the time of the noncompliance. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed as prohibiting a State in compliance with its requirements from imposing a sanction for noncompliance with work requirements against an individual or family who opts to not take full advantage of the opportunity for assessment or the services and supports made available. Requires each State receiving a State family assistance grant to establish an advisory panel to review the efficacy of each TANF-funded program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2002
Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act of 2002 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that a public safety officer who dies as the direct and proximate result of a heart attack or stroke suffered while on duty or within 24 hours after participating in a training exercise or responding to an emergency situation shall be presumed to have died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty, for purposes of survivor benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Linking Educators and Developing Entrepreneurs for Reaching Success (LEADERS) Act of 2002 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to support business incubation at institutions of higher education that award associate or baccalaureate degrees. Directs the Secretary to make competitive, matching awards to: (1) a non-profit entity that manages or provides technical assistance to a degree-granting institution's affiliated incubator (or to the institution that manages in the absence of such an entity), for helping acquire or renovate space for incubators, and for developing curricula, providing services, or providing programming for entrepreneurs housed in an incubator; and (2) a degree-granting institution or a nonprofit local government or community development organization, for feasibility studies to determine the need for or siting of incubators. Requires the Secretary to reserve certain amounts for research regarding best practices for incubator programs, including the development of a benchmarking system based on uniform measures, and for dissemination of information regarding such practices. Authorizes contracts for such purposes with organizations with expertise in business incubation practices.
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
Energy and Science Research Investment Act of 2002 - Instructs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) conduct a comprehensive program of fundamental research, including chemical sciences, physics, materials sciences, biological and environmental sciences, geosciences, engineering sciences, plasma sciences, mathematics, and advanced scientific computing; (2) expand scientific user facilities maintained by the Office of Science and make them an integral part of the departmental mission for exploring the frontiers of fundamental science; (3) maintain a leading-edge research capability in the energy-related aspects of nanoscience and nanotechnology, advanced scientific computing, and genome research; and (4) ensure that its fundamental science programs help inform Department of Defense DOE applied research and development programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2003 through 2006. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to create the position of Under Secretary for Energy Research and Science to: (1) serve as Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary of Energy; (2) monitor (DOE) research and development programs; and (3) exercise authority over Assistant Secretaries implementing certain energy research, development, and energy technology functions. Replaces the position of Director of the Office of Science with the position of Assistant Secretary of Science, who shall carry out DOE fundamental science and engineering research functions, including policy and management. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that leadership for departmental missions in nuclear energy should be at the Assistant Secretary level. Establishes in the Office of Science a Science Advisory Board to serve as the science advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Science.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Act to Save America's Forests - States that the purposes of this Act are to protect native biodiversity and ecosystems on Federal land from losses caused by: (1) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations; and (2) logging in ancient forests, roadless areas, watershed protection areas, and special areas. Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to revise eligibility criteria for members of the land and resource management scientific committee. Revises the committee termination date to ten years after enactment of this Act. Provides for conservation and restoration of native biodiversity in forested areas. Prohibits clearcutting or other even-age logging operations on any stand or watershed on certain Federal land, National Forest System land, and National Wildlife Refuge System land. Provides for: (1) Federal enforcement; and (1) a private right of action. Describes special areas as Federal forest land parcels possessing outstanding biological, scenic, recreational, or cultural values which may not meet the definitions of ancient forests, roadless areas, or watershed protection areas. Designates specified special areas which shall be subject to restrictions on road construction and logging in the following States: (1) Alabama; (2) Alaska; (3) Arizona; (4) Arkansas; (5) California; (6) Colorado; (7) Georgia; (8) Idaho; (9) Illinois; (10) Michigan; (11) Minnesota; (12) Missouri; (13) Montana; (14) New Mexico; (15) North Carolina; (16) Ohio; (17) Oklahoma; (18) Oregon; (19) South Carolina; (20) South Dakota; (21) Tennessee; (22) Texas; (23) Vermont; (24) Virginia; (25) Wisconsin; and (26) Wyoming. Provides for the appointment of a committee of independent scientists to recommend additional special areas. Restricts road construction and logging on Federal land in ancient forests, special areas, roadless areas, and watershed protection areas. Provides for: (1) Federal enforcement; and (1) a private right of action.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Veterans Health Care Funding Guarantee Act of 2002 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for FY 2004 120 percent of the amount obligated during FY 2002; and (2) adjust the amount provided after FY 2004 based on the number of enrolled veterans and the number of others eligible for and provided care and the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Repeals, as of October 1, 2003, requirements for the prior congressional approval of funding for Department major medical facilities projects or leases.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2002 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop State-wide lifespan respite care programs. Defines "lifespan respite care" to mean a coordinated system of accessible community-based respite care services for family caregivers regardless of the individual's age, race, ethnicity, or special need. Requires the Secretary to establish a review panel to make recommendations on applicants. Permits the use of funds for respite care services and training programs. Limits grants to five years. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a National Resource Center on Lifespan Respite Care to maintain a national database and provide training, technical assistance, and information.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Still Saving Women's Lives Act of 2002 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to set forth permanent guidelines for U.S. voluntary contributions to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) by requiring such contributions to be obligated and expended not more than 30 days after they become available unless the President certifies that the UNFPA performs coercive abortions or involuntary sterilizations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2003 for U.S. voluntary contributions to the UNFPA.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Social Security Preservation Act of 2002 - Repudiates the statements of: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury, Paul O'Neill, that the social security program (title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act) is a "pyramid game" and that the social security trust funds (Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund) have "no assets;" and (2) the statements of congressional leaders that the social security trust funds are "empty," a "total fraud," "a mere accounting device", and consist of "worthless IOUs." Prohibits the use by the Treasury of amounts borrowed from the social security trust funds to pay for other Government expenditures in a fiscal year, unless, during the nine month period immediately preceding the year, the Congress has enacted legislation explicitly affirming that the Treasury will repay these funds. Amends Federal law to require the President to include in each budget: (1) the total amount the Treasury has borrowed from the social security trust funds; and (2) explanations of repayment plans and the impact any legislation enacted in the preceding year will have on them. Requires the Secretary to affirm annually that the Treasury will honor the securities in such trust funds. Allows any individual credited with wages or self-employment income under Medicare to bring an action in an appropriate Federal district court to enjoin any act or practice: (1) by which the Secretary contests an obligation issued for purchase by either social security trust fund; or (2) which constitutes a failure to provide for redemption of the obligation in accordance with its terms or to otherwise honor the full faith and credit of the United States supporting such obligation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2002
Health Security for All Americans Act - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new title XXII (Health Security For All Americans) with a part A (Expansion Phase) and a part B (Universal Phase) providing funds to States for universal health insurance coverage through State administered systems which offer at least the benefits provided under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program standard Blue Cross-Blue Shield preferred provider option service benefit plan. Adds a part C (Consumer Protections) listing home care standards and providing for consumer protection. Establishes within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Health Care Quality, Patient Safety, and Workforce Standards Institute. Establishes a Health Care Quality, Patient Safety, and Workforce Standards Committee to advise the Director of the Health Care Quality, Patient Safety, and Workforce Standards Institute. Requires that each individual entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) be provided full mental health and substance abuse treatment parity under Medicare consistent with SSA title XXII (as added by this Act). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct studies and demonstration projects that are designed to identify model programs for the provision of long-term and home health care services. Makes specified provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) inapplicable to health benefits provided under a group health plan qualified to offer such benefits under an expansion phase (phase I) plan or a universal phase (phase II) plan under SSA title XXII.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2002
Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2002
Oral Health Promotion Act of 2002 - Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add dental services to coverage provided. Allows States the option of using Federal SCHIP funds to cover dental expenses for a child who is eligible for Medicaid under targeted low-income child Medicaid guidelines when the child has medical coverage that does not include dental services. Allows States the option of covering dental services of adults receiving assistance under SCHIP. Alters the Medicaid matching rate for adult full coverage dental benefits. Establishes in the Treasury the Community Oral Health Expansion Fund to expand the availability of oral health services through community-based centers. Authorizes the use of funds for demonstration projects and demonstration partnerships with Head Start programs for identifying children at risk of dental disease and providing prevention measures. Requires States to contribute, directly or indirectly, up to ten percent of demonstration project costs. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give grant: (1) priority to States covering a Medicaid level of dental benefits under SCHIP; and (2) preference to States with market-based payment rates for dental services under both Medicaid and SCHIP.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2002
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a National Epilepsy Awareness Month should be established and observed with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2002
Recognizes the role of women's sports programs in the development of women's leadership skills and supports the goals of Women's Leadership Through Sports Day.
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 · 11 July 2002
Honors Corinne "Lindy" Claiborne Boggs for her extraordinary service to the people of Louisiana and the United States on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Congressional Women's Caucus. Recognizes that her role in its founding has improved the lives of families throughout the United States. Commends her bipartisan spirit as an example to all elected officials.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2002
Urges the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend to the Postmaster General that a commemorative postage stamp be issued by the United States Postal Service honoring Charles Hamilton Houston, the first African American to earn a Doctor of Juridical Science degree from Harvard University and to serve as editor of the Harvard Law Review.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2002
Unemployment Extension Act of 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 June 30, 2003 (currently January 1, 2003). Revises the formula for determining the amount in an eligible individual's TEUC account. Sets such amount at the lesser of: (1) the total (currently half of the total) amount of regular compensation, including dependents' allowances, payable to the individual during the individual's benefit year; or (2) 26 (currently 13) times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year. Augments an individual's account by half (currently all) of the amount originally established in that account if it is exhausted at the time a State is in an extended benefit period.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2002
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2002 - Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of specified transactions incident to such travel. Declares that: (1) this prohibition does not authorize the importation into the United States of any goods for personal consumption acquired in Cuba; and (2) the restrictions on authority contained in this Act do not apply in a case in which the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2002
Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) under which each individual who is entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) or eligible to enroll under Medicare part B (Supplemental Medical Insurance) is entitled to obtain qualified prescription drug coverage. Outlines standard coverage benefit packages for FY 2005. Includes for the standard package a monthly premium of $25, an annual deductible of $100, a coinsurance of 20 percent and an annual out-of-pocket spending limit of $2,000. Directs the Secretary to negotiate fair prices with pharmaceutical manufacturers. Provides for accelerated generic drug competition. Amends SSA title XVIII part C (Medicare+Choice) with respect to: (1) inclusion of the costs of certain military services to Medicare-eligible beneficiaries in the calculation of Medicare+Choice payment rates; (2) specialized Medicare+Choice plans for special needs beneficiaries; and (3) continuous open enrollment and disenrollment at any time. Revises requirements for Medicare: (1) part A concerning rural health care, inpatient hospital services, skilled nursing facility services, and hospices; (2) part B concerning physicians services and other services; and (3) part A and B concerning home health services and direct graduate medical education. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) with respect to certain Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment adjustments and the Q-I1 program. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to add requirements for interstate Internet sellers of prescription drugs. Establishes within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health the Office of Rare Diseases. Amends the Public Health Services Act with respect to promotion of the pharmacist profession.
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 · 21 June 2002
Expresses support for the goals and ideas of National KidsDay as established by the National KidsDay Alliance. Recognizes the importance of children to the future of our country and believes the adults who spend meaningful time with children are making an investment in the future of our great Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2002
Makes January 23, 2002, the effective date of the modification of treatment for retirement annuity purposes of part-time service performed before April 7, 1986, by certain health-care professionals of the Veterans Health Administration pursuant to the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2002
Expresses support for programs and activities to prevent perpetrators of fraud from victimizing senior citizens and to educate and inform senior citizens, their families, their care-givers, and the public about fraud perpetrated through mail, telemarketing, and the Internet.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2002
Anti-Terrorism Explosives Act of 2002 - Rewrites Federal criminal code provisions regarding the purchase of explosives to prohibit the transport, shipment, or receipt of explosive materials without a Federal license, user permit, or limited permit. (Current law regulates such activities only to the extent that they occur in interstate or foreign commerce and includes exceptions such as for contiguous State transactions, and makes no mention of a limited permit.) Allows a limited permit purchaser to buy explosive materials only four times in any 12-month period. Requires employers who apply for licenses and user permits or limited permits to provide the names and appropriate identifying information regarding all employees who will be authorized by the employer to possess explosive materials, as well as fingerprints and a photograph of each responsible persons. Directs the Secretary to determines whether explosives possession by the responsible person or the employee would be lawful or unlawful, and to take specified actions. Expands the list of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing explosive materials to include aliens other than lawful permanent resident aliens, persons dishonorably discharged from the armed forces, and individuals who have renounced their U.S. citizenship. Requires licensed manufacturers, licensed importers, and those who manufacture or import explosive materials or ammonium nitrate to furnish samples and relevant information when required by the Secretary. Sets penalties for the destruction of property of institutions receiving Federal financial assistance.
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
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a credit to promote the production and usage of biodiesel fuel. Requires a taxpayer to obtain a certification from the producer of the biodiesel which identifies the product produced in order to utilize the credit. Imposes a tax for biodiesel not used as fuel, but for which a credit was granted. Reduces motor fuel excise taxes on biodiesel mixtures. Provides for transfers of funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to the Highway Trust Fund in amounts equivalent to the reductions that would occur but for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Right of Passage Community Service Act - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to add to the list of national service programs eligible for Federal assistance a community-based Right of Passage after school and summer service corps program. Establishes qualifications for participating students, including that they be between ages 12 and 16 at the time they begin serving. Specifies skills such as leadership and conflict resolution that the program will help students develop. Requires participants to spend at least 160 hours in the program during a period of between two months and one year. Rewards participants upon service completion with a national service education award of $500.
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
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2002 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the Federal minimum wage to: (1) $5.75 an hour beginning 30 days after enactment of this Act; (2) $6.25 an hour during the year beginning on January 1, 2003; and (3) $6.65 an hour beginning January 1, 2004. Makes Federal minimum wage requirements applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Sets forth a transition period during which a specified minimum wage there shall be gradually increased to equal the Federal minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2002
Chronic Wasting Disease Support for States Act of 2002 - Defines "chronic wasting disease" as a transmissible disease of the nervous system afflicting deer and elk. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish and maintain the official national database for surveillance and monitoring data regarding chronic wasting disease. Makes the database available to Federal and State agencies, Indian tribes, foreign governments, institutions of higher education, and international wildlife authorities. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (through the U.S. Geological Survey) and the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) to develop surveillance and monitoring programs to identify: (1) the rate of infection; (2) the cause and extent of the spread of the disease; and (3) areas promoting spread of the disease. Requires the Secretaries to cooperate with State and tribal agencies in developing the monitoring programs. Authorizes the Secretaries to establish standards for the collection and assessment of data. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to allocate funds to State and tribal agencies for developing and implementing disease management strategies based upon: (1) the relative scope of incidence of the disease; (2) expenditures on disease management; (3) comprehensive and integrated programs for disease management between wildlife and agricultural agencies; and (4) rapid response to outbreaks. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (through the U.S. Geological Survey) to expand and accelerate research on the disease. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture: (1) to provide for the upgrading of Federal laboratories approved to process samples from the surveillance and monitoring programs; and (2) expand and accelerate research on the disease through the Agricultural Research Service and Cooperative State Research grant programs.
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 · 15 May 2002
Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Response Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the United States Geological Survey, to establish and coordinate a national research program to assess chronic wasting disease (the transmissible animal disease that afflicts deer and elk). Includes among program elements requirements that the Secretary: (1) provide States with technical and financial assistance and timely information to prevent disease expansion; (2) design a national program for disease monitoring and surveillance; (3) conduct research to determine how the disease is transmitted; (4) develop new non-lethal detection and diagnostic methods to identify the disease in free-ranging cervid populations; (5) develop safe methods of disposal of infected carcasses; (6) instruct Federal land managers to determine the presence of the disease, the likelihood of transmission to adjacent non-Federal lands, and management options for infestations; and (7) develop a public outreach and education strategy for the hunting community and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2002
Social Security Caregiver Credit Act of 2002 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act with respect to determining entitlement to and the amount of any monthly benefit, including any lump-sum death payment, payable under OASDI on the basis of the wages and self-employment income of any individual. Deems such an individual to have been paid (according to a specified formula) during each month during which the individual was engaged for at least 80 hours in providing care to a dependent relative without monetary compensation for up to five years of such service. Makes this Act inapplicable in the case of any monthly benefit or lump-sum death payment if a larger benefit or payment would be payable without its application.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act of 2002 - Provides that, for purposes of the Federal Communications Commission's regulation relating to station antenna structures in the amateur radio services, any private land use rules applicable to such structures shall be treated as a State or local regulation and subject to the same requirements and limitations of such a regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Congratulates and honors the courageous people of East Timor and their leaders. Supports the efforts of United Nations and international organizations to support reconstruction and development in East Timor, and of UN and international peacekeeping forces to safeguard East Timor's security, including continuing periodic visits by U.S. military forces. Expresses concern about specified matters relating to East Timorese refugees in West Timor, and the lack of justice in the region. Urges the President and the Secretary of State to: (1) extend immediately to East Timor the diplomatic relations afforded to other sovereign nations, including a U.S. embassy in East Timor; (2) maintain a level of U.S. assistance for East Timor; (3) work to fund East Timor's financing gap in its recurrent and development budgets; (4) focus bilateral assistance for East Timor on specified areas; (5) strongly urge the Indonesian Government to step up efforts to disarm and disband all militia, hold them accountable to the rule of law, ensure stability along the border, and promptly reunite East Timorese children separated from their parents through coercion or force; and (6) review thoroughly information from the East Timorese Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation, and use all diplomatic resources at their disposal to ensure that those officials responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes against the East Timorese people are held accountable, and that the Indonesian Government fully cooperates with the East Timorese judicial system.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2002
Clean Water Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to define "fill material" to mean any pollutant which replaces portions of waters of the United States with dry land or which changes the bottom elevation of a water body for any purpose and to exclude any pollutant discharged into the water primarily to dispose of waste.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2002
Social Security Widow's Benefit Guarantee Act of 2002 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) provide for an increase in widow's and widower's insurance benefits; (2) repeal the seven year restriction on eligibility for widow's and widower's insurance benefits based on disability; (3) waive the two-year waiting period for a divorced spouse's benefits upon the other spouse's remarriage; and (4) disregard months ending after a deceased individual's death in applying early retirement rules with respect to the deceased individual for purposes of the limitation on widow's and widower's benefits. Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to provide that an eligible widow or widower who is entitled to a widow's or widower's insurance benefit for any month under OASDI, but is not eligible for benefits under SSI in that month, shall be deemed for purposes of SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to be an individual with respect to whom SSI benefits are paid in that month, if he or she: (1) has been continuously entitled to such widow's or widower's insurance benefits from the first month for which the increase in widow's or widower's insurance benefits resulting from this Act is reflected in such benefits through the month involved; and (2) would be eligible for benefits under SSI in the month involved if the amount of the increase in his or her widow's or widower's insurance benefits were disregarded.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2002
Renewable Fuel Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the renewable resources credit to include geothermal and solar energy, incremental hydropower and biomass (other than closed-loop biomass). Sets forth qualifying dates of service for facilities using such means to produce electricity. Expands the investment tax credit to include equipment used to produce electricity from certain renewable resources. Increases, from 10 to 20 percent, the "energy percentage" used to determine the energy credit in the case of energy property having a total installed electrical generating capacity of less than one megawatt that is placed in service before January 1, 2007.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2002
Racial Equity and Fair Treatment Act of 2002 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States and county applicants to pay the Federal share of the costs of improving the administration of support programs for low-income families with children. Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to revise requirements for assessments and work activities for TANF recipients. Requires: (1) interpretation and translation services in certain cases for TANF recipients; (2) an expedited process for discrimination complaints; (3) provision of notice of rights of TANF recipients; (3) training of TANF program personnel in respecting such rights; (4) standardized sanction process; and (5) opportunity for TANF applicants or recipients to appeal adverse decisions. Modifies penalties against individuals for violating mandatory work requirements, creating additional exceptions, including those for child care and discrimination. Prohibits States from diverting potential TANF applicants. Bans States from penalizing the entire family for the misconduct of one family member. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to repeal provisions for denial of assistance and benefits for certain drug-related convictions. Makes various changes under the TANF program concerning: (1) the five-year time limit on assistance; and (2) treatment of aliens. Permits participation in English-as-a-second language programs as a work activity. Prescribes requirements encouraging racial equality.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2002
Steel Industry Legacy Relief Act of 2002 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to establish a steel industry retiree benefits protection program administered by the Secretary of Commerce and the Board of Trustees of the Steel Industry Legacy Relief Trust Fund (created by this Act) to provide specified medical benefits to eligible steel retirees and beneficiaries. Prescribes qualifying events (acquisition, closing, election, or bankruptcy transfer) as a result of which the United States shall assume liability for the provision of steel retiree benefits for each eligible retiree and eligible beneficiary certified for participation in the retiree benefits program. Requires transfer to the Trust Fund by a qualified steel company and any applicable acquiring company of all assets which, under the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement, were required to be set aside under an employee benefit plan or otherwise for the provision of the steel retiree benefits. Requires contributions to the Trust Fund by such companies.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2002
Freelance Writers and Artists Protection Act of 2002 - Applies the antitrust laws to freelance writers or artists for purposes of negotiating the terms and conditions of contracts for the sale of written or graphic material to publishers in the same manner as such laws apply to employees who are members of a bargaining unit recognized under the National Labor Relations Act for purposes of engaging in collective bargaining with an employer. Prohibits the award of statutory damages or attorney's fees for copyright infringement involving a work that was not made for hire that was first published as a contribution to a collective work unless registration of the collective work was made within three months after its first publication or prior to the infringement. Includes unpublished works within the scope of criminal copyright infringement provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Amends provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act set forth in the Medicine Equity and Drug Safety Act of 2000 to: (1) direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate regulations permitting pharmacists and wholesalers to import Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescription drugs from Canada (currently, from Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, South Africa, the countries in the European Union and the European Free Trade Association, or other countries designated by the Secretary); and (2) exclude an infused or intravenously injected drug or a drug that is inhaled during surgery. Prohibits discrimination in the sale of prescription drugs by manufacturers to pharmacists or wholesalers, requiring: (1) terms as favorable as those provided to foreign purchasers; and (2) full access to drugs permitted to be imported. Continues the requirement that exported donated prescription drugs may only be reimported by the manufacturer. Permits the Secretary to waive the prohibition against importing a prescription drug or device on a case-by-case basis, particularly those from Canada that are FDA-approved and for limited personal use. Requires a study and report by the: (1) Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences on the regulatory compliance of importers of drugs; and (2) Comptroller General on how drug prices were affected.
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