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United States · Official source
5,946 records where Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should issue a proclamation designating the fourth Sunday of each September as National Good Neighbor Day.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2002
Recognizes the significance of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Acknowledges the outstanding contributions of its member agencies to fish and wildlife conservation.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2002
Foreign and Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) restore the full exclusion from gross income of the death gratuity payment; (2) permit a suspension of residency rules governing the exclusion of gain from sale of a principal residence for members of the uniformed services or the Foreign Service serving on qualified official extended duty; (3) exclude from gross income qualified military base realignment and closure fringe benefits; (4) extend tax filing delay provisions to military personnel serving in contingency operations; (5) allow as a business or trade deduction the expenses of a member of the reserve component of the U.S. armed forces in connection with such service (available to itemizers and non-itemizers); (6) include ancestors and lineal descendants of past or present members of the armed forces when determining whether a veterans' organization is exempt from tax; and (7) fully exclude from gross income certain dependent care assistance programs sponsored by the Department of Defense.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2002
Emergency Agricultural Disaster 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 and 2002 losses in an emergency-designated county, with set-asides for the American Indian livestock program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2002
Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2002 - Prohibits road construction and road reconstruction in inventoried roadless areas of the National Forest System. Specifies exceptions, including because: (1) there is threat of a catastrophic event; (2) a natural resource restoration action is necessary; or (3) a Federal-aid highway project is in the public interest or is consistent with the purposes for which the land was reserved or acquired. Forbids timber from being cut, sold, or removed in an inventoried roadless area. Permits various exceptions, including for specified environmental reasons, if the responsible official determines that the cutting, sale, or removal of timber is expected to be infrequent. Declares that this Act does not: (1) revoke, suspend, or modify legal instruments and decisions concerning the use of NFS land made before January 12, 2001; (2) compel the amendment or revision of any land and resource management plan; or (3) apply to specified activities in the Tongass National Forest. States that the prohibitions and restrictions of this Act cannot be reconsidered, modified, or terminated under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2002
Amends the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 to revise the special pay adjustments for (percentage differentials payable to) Federal law enforcement officers in specified consolidated metropolitan statistical areas.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2002
Trade Adjustment Assistance Improvement Act of 2002 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to revise requirements with respect to: (1) agreements between the United States and cooperating States or State agencies for the petition and provision of certain services and benefits for workers adversely affected by import competition; (2) eligibility certification of a group of adversely affected workers for trade adjustment assistance; (3) payment of, and limitations on, trade adjustment allowances to such workers; (4) job training programs for them; and (5) the maximum amount of job search and relocation allowances payable to an adversely affected worker. Provides for the eligibility certification of adversely affected secondary workers, employed at a downstream producer or a supplier, for trade adjustment assistance. Reauthorizes and revises the trade adjustment assistance program for firms adversely affected by import competition. Reestablishes trade adjustment assistance programs for communities adversely affected by import competition. Community Workforce Development and Modernization Partnership Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make competitive matching grants to eligible partnerships to: (1) help workers improve job skills necessary for employment by businesses in the pertinent industry; (2) help dislocated workers find employment; and (3) upgrade the operating and competitive capacities of businesses belonging to the partnership. Sets forth partnership program requirements and authorized activities for workforce development and business modernization. Authorizes a group of agricultural commodity producers to petition the Secretary of Agriculture for a certification of eligibility to apply for trade adjustment assistance. Authorizes a group of producers (persons who are engaged in commercial fishing or who are U.S. fish processors) to petition the Secretary of Commerce for a certification of eligibility to apply for trade adjustment assistance. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual eligible for trade adjustment assistance a tax credit for 75 percent of the cost of health care insurance coverage. Establishes a program for making payments to providers of health insurance on behalf of workers eligible to receive trade adjustment assistance. Amends part A of title XI of the Social Security Act to authorize grants to States to provide workers eligible to receive trade adjustment assistance: (1) temporary health insurance coverage; and (2) transportation, child care, dependent care, and income assistance. Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to extend the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to charge and collect customs user fees.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2002
Small Business Drought Relief Act - Amends the Small Business Act to include drought within its definition of disaster (thus qualifying small businesses suffering economic harm from droughts for assistance under such Act).
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2002
Paleontological Resources Preservation Act - Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (the "Secretaries") to: (1) manage and protect paleontological resources on Federal land using scientific principles and expertise; (2) develop plans for inventorying, monitoring, and deriving the scientific and educational use of such resources; and (3) establish a program to increase public awareness about the significance of paleontological resources and the need to preserve and provide access to them. Prohibits a person from collecting a paleontological resource from Federal land without a permit. Authorizes the Secretaries to allow casual collecting of abundant invertebrate and plant paleontological resources for scientific, educational, and recreational uses without a permit where not inconsistent with laws governing management of such lands and this Act. Sets forth permit issuance criteria and requirements, and recognizes as valid permits issued before enactment of this Act. Requires any paleontological resource and associated data and records collected under a permit to be deposited in an approved repository. Prohibits: (1) excavating, removing, or altering a paleontological resource located on Federal lands except in compliance with this Act; (2) exchanging or receiving such a resource that was obtained from Federal lands in violation of Federal law; (3) selling or purchasing a paleontological resource that was obtained from Federal lands; or (4) making or submitting false records, accounts, or identification of any such resources. Sets forth requirements for the assessment of civil penalties by the Secretaries for violations of any prohibitions contained in regulations or permits issued under this Act. Requires any recovered amounts to be available to such a manager for use: (1) to protect or restore the paleontological resources and sites or to acquire sites with equivalent resources and to protect, monitor, and study the resources and sites; (2) to provide educational materials to the public about paleontological resources and sites; and (3) as a reward. Requires that information on the nature and specific location of a paleontological resource that requires a permit under this Act or other Federal law be withheld from the public, including under the Freedom of Information Act, except under specified conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2002
Designates the week of November 10-16, 2002, as National Veterans Awareness Week to emphasize educational programs for elementary and secondary school students regarding the contributions and sacrifices of veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2002
Declares that the Senate strongly disapproves of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Newdow v. U.S. Congress. Authorizes and instructs the Senate Legal Counsel to seek to intervene in the case to defend the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2002
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to evaluate and report to specified congressional committees on opportunities to enhance domestic oil and gas production through the exchange of the nonproducing leases (Federal oil or gas leases located in either the Badger-Two Medicine Area or the Blackleaf Area, Montana). Instructs the Secretary to consider enhanced domestic oil and gas production by means of: (1) exchange of the nonproducing leases for oil and gas lease tracts of comparable value in Montana or in the Western and Central Planning Areas of the Gulf of Mexico on the outer Continental Shelf (Planning Areas); (2) issuing bidding, royalty, or rental credits for Federal onshore oil and gas leases in Montana or in the Planning Areas in exchange for the cancellation of the nonproducing leases; and (3) alternative ways to exchange or compensate for cancellation of nonproducing leases. Prescribes a formula for the evaluation of the nonproducing leases. Suspends the terms of nonproducing leases in the Badger-Two Medicine Area for a three-year period in order to facilitate the Secretary's evaluation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2002
Maximum Economic Growth for America Through the Highway Trust Fund Act (or MEGA Trust Act) - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to transfer all excise taxes imposed on alcohol fuels to the Highway Trust Fund (the "Fund"). Authorizes the transfer to the Fund from the general fund of the Treasury of the amount of money equal to the untaxed portion of gasohol containing ethanol, effective with respect to the removal or entry of any mixture after September 30, 2003. Eliminates provision of Code stating that obligations of the Fund shall not be interest bearing, thus allowing the Fund to earn interest, effective with respect to obligations held by the Fund after September 30, 2003. Extends various highway-related taxes, floor stock refunds, certain tax-free sales, exemption from tax for use of highway vehicles by States and local governments and for use of certain transit-type buses, deposits into and certain specified transfers from the Fund, transfers from the Fund for motorboat fuel taxes and small-engine fuel taxes, and refunds of certain specified funds from the land and water conservation fund into the general fund. Establishes a National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission (the "Commission"). Permits any department or agency to detail personnel to the Commission, and requires such bodies to furnish nonconfidential materials to the Commission upon request.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2002
Health Insurance Access Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create, for qualified small businesses (up to 50 employees) providing health insurance coverage to all qualified employees, an employee health insurance expenses credit of up to 50 percent of qualified employee health insurance expenses. Includes with the definition of employee a leased employee and an employee reasonably expected to receive at least $5,000 of compensation annually. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to award grants to eligible entities to facilitate the development, establishment, and capacity of State-based or State-directed health plan purchasing alliances to create greater access to lower-cost health benefits for small employers. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to award grants of up to $ 1 million to each State that has not created, as of enactment, a qualified high risk pool for the State's costs of creation and initial operation of such a pool. Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to provide optional coverage for parents with Medicaid eligible children and low-income pregnant women. Provides for the automatic enrollment of eligible children upon birth. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage for an individual between the ages of 62 to 65 who would be eligible for benefits if such individual were 65 and is not eligible for other group health insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2002
Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2002 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to continue the panel to study asbestos and other durable fibers, require the participation of the Secretaries of Labor and of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and require the study of specified asbestos standards and regulatory matters. Requires the Administrator to: (1) study the status of the manufacture, processing, distribution, ownership, importation, and disposal of asbestos-containing products and contaminant-asbestos products (those that contain asbestos as a contaminant of any substance); and (2) promulgate regulations prohibiting the manufacture, processing, or distribution in commerce of asbestos-containing products. Requires inventories and disposal of products subject to this prohibition. Requires establishment of: (1) an asbestos public education program, unless the Administrator determines on the basis of the study conducted under this Act that asbestos-containing products used by consumers and workers do not pose an unreasonable human health risk; and (2) a consumer education campaign concerning the dangers of vermiculite insulation that may be contaminated with asbestos. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of HHS to expand, intensify, and coordinate programs of research on asbestos exposure-caused diseases, particularly mesothelioma, asbestosis, and pleural injuries. Requires establishment of a National Mesothelioma Registry. Provides funds to certain institutions for purposes of strengthening their mesothelioma treatment programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2002
Museum and Library Services Act of 2002 - Amends the Museum and Library Services Act (MLSA) and the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) to extend authorizations of appropriations and revise programs under such Acts. 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 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. Amends LSTA to provide for: (1) an increased portion for administrative costs; (2) an increased alternative minimum allotment to States under certain conditions; (3) competitive grants to specified U.S. Territories; (4) State plans once every five years, as determined by the IMLS Director; (5) additional uses of grants to States for library programs; and (6) recruitment of library and information science personnel under the program of national leadership grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. Includes specified entities under the term museum, for MLSA purposes. Revises museum services activities. 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. Revises Commission membership requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2002
Toxic Clean-up Polluter Pays Renewal Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code by reinstating the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate until January 1, 2013, and reinstating the Corporate Environmental Income Tax until January 1, 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Arming Pilots Against Terrorism and Cabin Defense Act of 2002 - Amends federal law to direct the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security to establish a program to: (1) deputize volunteer qualified pilots of commercial cargo or passenger aircraft as Federal flight deck officers; and (2) provide training, supervision, and equipment for such officers. Authorizes flight deck officers to carry firearms and to use force, including lethal force, when they judge the security of an aircraft is at risk. Shields air carriers from liability for damages in Federal or State court arising out of the actions or omissions of a flight deck officer defending a plane from criminal violence or air piracy. Shields flight deck officers from liability except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Directs the Under Secretary to prescribe requirements for an air carrier cabin crew training program and its instructors. Shields an air carrier liability for actions or omissions of training instructors or cabin crew in defending an aircraft. Shields training instructors and cabin crew from liability except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Directs the Under Secretary to form an Aviation Crew Self-Defense Division within the Transportation Security Administration to develop and implement the program for training cabin crew members. Directs the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security to study and report to Congress on whether possession of a nonlethal weapon by a member of an air carrier's cabin crew would aid the flight deck crew in combating air piracy and criminal violence on commercial airlines.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Revitalizing Underserved Rural Areas and Localities (RURAL) Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to the Medicare inpatient hospital prospective payment system and rural and small urban areas. Provides for acceleration of the rate of reduction of beneficiary copayment liability under the Medicare hospital outpatient department prospective payment system. Includes certain other measures designed to assist rural areas. Provides for a full market basket increase in FY 2003 for Medicare hospitals in rural and small urban areas. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase the payment amount for home health services furnished in a frontier or rural area from April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2006. Revises requirements with respect to critical access hospitals, providing coverage of costs for certain emergency room on-call providers. Provides for coverage of air ambulance services, including services requested by a Federal or State agency to relocate patients following a natural disaster, an act of war, or a terrorist attack.
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
Pathways to Self-Sufficiency Act of 2002 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to give States that receive a TANF grant the option to: (1) use the grant to establish a program, including an undergraduate post-secondary or vocational education program, under which an eligible participant may be provided certain support services although the State may not use Federal TANF grant funds to pay the participant's tuition; and (2) credit months of program participation for disregard in calculation of the five year TANF assistance limitation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2002
Designates the week beginning May 19, 2002, as National Emergency Medical Services Week.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2002
National Drought Preparedness Act of 2002 - Establishes the National Drought Council which shall: (1) develop a national drought policy action plan; (2) evaluate Federal drought-related programs; (3) coordinate and prioritize enhancement of the national drought monitoring network; and (4) provide for the development of a drought information delivery system, drought planning models, and drought preparedness plans. Terminates the Council eight years after enactment of this Act. Requires the Director of the National Drought Council to establish the National Office of Drought Preparedness. Establishes within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the Drought Assistance Fund, which shall be used to: (1) assist State, local, tribal, and critical service entities with drought-related activities; and (2) expand the technology transfer of drought and water conservation strategies. Requires: (1) the Director to publish guidelines for administering a national technical and financial drought assistance program; and (2) the Director, the Secretaries of Agriculture, the Interior, and the Army, and other appropriate Federal agency heads to implement integrated drought preparedness plans. Authorizes States, Indian tribes, local governments, and regional, water providers to develop and implement drought preparedness plans. Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the Director of FEMA to reimburse States for qualifying costs incurred in prepositioning wildfire suppression resources.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2002
Training for Realtime Writers Act of 2002 - Directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to make grants to up to 20 eligible entities to promote training and placement of individuals, including individuals who have completed a court reporting training program, as realtime writers providing closed captioning in video programming. Limits grants to a two-year period and a maximum amount of $1 million.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2002
Tax Shelter Transparency Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe a civil penalty for failure to include on any return or statement certain information required about "reportable transactions" having a potential for tax avoidance or evasion. Increases civil penalty for making reportable transaction income tax understatements, and limits reasonable cause exceptions to such penalty. Extends provision nullifying right of an individual to confidentiality privileges pertaining to written communication with a federally authorized tax practitioner for promoting a tax shelter to include additional persons. Modifies the monetary penalty and revises provisions for failing to register a tax shelter with the Secretary of the Treasury. Increases the civil penalty for understatement of a taxpayer's liability by an income tax preparer. Establishes a monetary penalty for filing a frivolous tax return, which shall be in addition to any other penalty provided by law, to be rescinded if the taxpayer withdraws the return promptly after being made aware of the violation. Amends the provisions of law regulating the practice of representatives of persons before the Department of the Treasury to permit the Secretary to impose a monetary penalty on taxpayer representatives who are disreputable or incompetent, who violate certain regulations or who mislead with intent to defraud. Permits the Secretary to impose a civil penalty on firms of such representatives that knew or reasonably should have known of such conduct. Modifies monetary penalty for making fraudulent statements on certain topics involving promotion of abusive tax shelters.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2002
Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize qualified law enforcement officers (including qualified retired officers) carrying the photographic identification issued by the governmental agency for which the individual is, or was, employed as a law enforcement officer, notwithstanding State or local laws, to carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Specifies that this Act shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that: (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2002
American Indian Welfare Reform Act - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) reauthorize and extend tribal family assistance grants; and (2) replace grants for Indian tribes under the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Training Program with tribal human services program infrastructure improvement and other tribal TANF improvement grants; (3) reauthorize and extend the bonus to reward high performance States; (4) reauthorize and extend the contingency fund for State Welfare Programs; and (5) provide for payments to Indian tribes with approved tribal family assistance plans that are operating in situations of increased economic hardship. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit Indian tribes to issue tax-exempt qualified Indian private activity bonds. Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to establish a set-aside for job access and reverse commute grants to Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Amends SSA title IV part A to provide for grants for tribal employment services program. Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 with respect to benefits of Indian children. Amends SSA title IV part A to ensure equitable State plan benefits and services access for each member of an Indian tribe or tribal organization domiciled in the State who is not eligible for tribal family assistance. Amends SSA title IV part A to provide for parity in treatment of Alaska natives with Indian tribes under the TANF program. Gives Indian tribes authority to receive funds under SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance), and to make eligibility determinations under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, SSA titles XIX (Medicaid), and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance). Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to make an Indian tribe or tribal organization that administers a social services program eligible for block grant payments. Amends SSA title IV part A to direct the Secretary to conduct research on tribal family assistance programs and on efforts to reduce poverty among Indians. Directs the Secretary to convene an advisory committee of Indians experts in social services and the spiritual aspects of traditional Indian culture.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Safe Motherhood Act for Research and Treatment or SMART Mom Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through either the Office of Woman's Health, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, or the Centers for Disease Control, to address the health issues of pregnant women. Establishes the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Safe Motherhood to evaluate and coordinate Federal research and information efforts and establish and implement the national Safe Motherhood Campaign. Requires the development and maintenance of a single Internet website. Requires expanded and intensified research activities concerning pregnancy-related illness, injury, and death and the impact of chronic conditions, physical impairments, and mental health problems on the health of women during pregnancy. Requires the establishment of a Maternal Fetal Medicine Unit Network. Awards research and demonstration project grants to address racial/ethnic disparities in pregnancy outcomes. Requires: (1) studies of the quality of maternal health care (from a patient's perspective) and the effects of pregnancy on women's health; and (2) surveillance of pregnancy-related mortality and morbidity data. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Secretary to address issues concerning certain drugs and medical devices and their appropriate use by or effects on pregnant or lactating women and/or fetuses, through: (1) identification and study; (2) pharmacoepidemiological data bases; (3) biennial review and prioritization (drugs); (4) labeling; and (5) the Women's Health: Take Time to Care (or a new) program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Native American Small Business Development Act - Amends the Small Business Act to establish within the Small Business Administration (SBA) the Office of Native American Affairs, headed by an Assistant Administrator, to implement SBA programs for the development of business enterprises by Native Americans (American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians). Requires the Office to assist Native American entrepreneurs to: (1) start, operate, and grow small businesses; (2) develop management and technical skills; (3) seek Federal procurement opportunities; (4) increase Native American employment opportunities; and (5) increase Native American access to capital markets. Requires the SBA to provide financial assistance to tribal governments, tribal colleges, Native Hawaiian organizations, and Alaska Native corporations to create Native American business centers. Requires each business center to conduct five-year projects for business education aid to such entities. Requires each assistance applicant to submit a five-year plan on proposed assistance and training activities. Establishes a four-year pilot program under which the SBA is authorized to award Native American development grants to provide culturally-tailored business development training and related services to Native Americans and Native American small businesses. Establishes a four-year pilot program under which the SBA shall award at least three American Indian Tribal Assistance Center grants to establish joint projects to provide culturally-tailored business development assistance to prospective and current owners of small businesses on or near tribal lands.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2002
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act - Amends the Organic Act establishing the Department of Commerce to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish and maintain a list of each person that notifies the Secretary that it is a manufacturer or seller that is: (1) licensed to engage in interstate or foreign commerce of a firearm (including antique firearm) or ammunition product; or (2) is a trade association representing such manufacturers or sellers. Declares that any lawful conduct carried out by a manufacturer or seller in interstate or foreign commerce of a firearm or ammunition product, or lawful conduct carried out by a trade association in the course of representing such manufacturers or sellers, shall not be the basis for imposing a restriction on such commerce (the award of civil damages, equitable relief, or any other specified limitation) as a result of harm caused by the criminal or other unlawful misuse of such firearm or ammunition product by any other person.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2002
Railroad Competition, Arbitration, and Service Act of 2002 - Amends Federal transportation law to declare the primary objectives of U.S. rail transportation policy with respect to rail carrier competition, reasonable rates, and consistent and efficient rail transportation service for shippers. Requires arbitration of certain rail rate, service, and other disputes according to specified procedures. Prohibits the Surface Transportation Board from issuing a railroad construction and operation certificate authorizing a specified activity, or exempting from certificate requirements an activity involving a railroad line interest transfer by a Class I rail carrier to a Class II or III rail carrier, if the activity directly or indirectly would result in a restriction of: (1) the ability of the Class II or Class III rail carrier to interchange traffic with other carriers; or (2) competition between or among rail carriers in the region affected by the activity in a manner or to an extent that would violate Federal antitrust laws. Prescribes a process for review of any alleged restriction. Authorizes any person who uses or seeks to use rail service for major train load shipments to or from a facility that has physical access solely to one rail carrier to request, according to a specified procedure, that rail service for such shipments be provided by an existing Class I, Class II, or Class III rail carrier, or a new rail service meeting certain requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2002
Declares that the Senate: (1) stands in solidarity with Israel as it takes necessary steps to provide security to its people by dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian areas; (2) remains committed to Israel's right to self-defense; and (3) will continue to assist Israel in strengthening its homeland defenses. Condemns Palestinian suicide bombings. Demands that the Palestinian Authority fulfill its commitment to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian areas. Urges: (1) all Arab states, particularly Egypt and Saudi Arabia, to declare their unqualified opposition to all forms of terrorism, particularly suicide bombing, and to act in concert with the United States to stop the violence; and (2) all parties in the region to pursue vigorous efforts to establish comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2002
Arafat Accountability Act - Expresses the support of Congress for the President's efforts to achieve comprehensive peace in the State of Israel. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should urge an immediate and unconditional cessation of all terrorist activities and the commencement of a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians; (2) the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) should immediately surrender to Israel for detention and prosecution those Palestinian extremists wanted by Israel for the assassination of Israeli Minister of Tourism Rehavam Zeevi; and (3) Yasser Arafat and the PLO must take immediate and concrete action to publicly condemn all acts of terrorism, confiscate and destroy the infrastructures of terrorism, and end (and urge all Arab nations to end) financial support for terrorism. Prohibits the Secretary of State (Secretary) and the Attorney General, respectively, from issuing a visa or admitting to the United States any member of the PLO or official of the PA. Permits the President to waive this prohibition in the national security interest of the United States. Directs the Secretary to prohibit the operation of a PLO or PA office in the United States from carrying out any function other than those carried out prior to the Oslo Accords. Requires the Secretary to impose travel restrictions on the senior official of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine. Requires the Secretary and the Attorney General to identify and freeze United States assets of the PLO, the PA, and Yasser Arafat. Requires the President to report to specified congressional committees on PLO terrorist activities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2002
Clergy Housing Allowance Clarification Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify that the parsonage allowance exclusion from gross income cannot exceed the fair rental value of the home, including furnishings and appurtenances such as a garage, plus the cost of utilities. Sets forth effective date provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2002
Syria Accountability Act of 2002 - Prohibits the President from exporting any item on the United States Munitions List or Commerce Control List of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations, providing any U.S. assistance to U.S. businesses with respect to investment or other activities, or conducting Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Trade Development Agency programs in or with respect to Syria. Directs the President to impose two or more specified sanctions against Syria. Requires maintenance of such prohibition and sanctions until the President certifies that Syria meets specified requirements, including that it: (1) does not support international terrorist groups; (2) has withdrawn all of its military personnel from Lebanon: (3) has ceased the development and deployment of ballistic missiles and biological and chemical weapons; and (4) is no longer in violation of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 661 and subsequent relevant resolutions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2002
Directs the Secretary of Labor, in accordance with specified provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, to issue a final rule relating to ergonomics.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2002
Terrorism Victim's Access to Compensation Act of 2002 - Expresses the sense of Congress that it should be the policy of the United States: (1) to use the blocked assets of state sponsors of acts of terrorism (including their agencies and instrumentalities) under the control of the Secretary of the Treasury to pay court-ordered judgments and awards made to U.S. nationals harmed by such acts; and (2) to provide equal access to all U.S. victims of state-sponsored terrorism who have secured judgments and awards in Federal courts against state sponsors of terrorism, and assure that those judgments and awards be paid from such blocked assets. Makes such assets available for the satisfaction of judgments against terrorist parties. Prescribes guidelines for a Presidential waiver upon determination on an asset-by-asset basis that a waiver is necessary in the national security interest.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2002
Rural Hospital Access and Improvement Act of 2002 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend the authorization for appropriations through FY 2007 for rural hospital flexibility grants with respect to rural health care plans, rural health networks, critical access hospitals, rural emergency medical services, and assistance to eligible small rural hospitals in meeting the costs of implementing Medicare-required data systems.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2002
Reversing the Expatriation of Profits Offshore Act - Sets forth the following conditions in which a foreign incorporated entity shall be treated as an inverted domestic corporation for purposes of taxation: (1) if such an entity acquires substantially all properties held by a domestic corporation or substantially all of the properties constituting a trade or business of a domestic partnership; (2)at least 80 percent of the stock (by vote or value) is held by former shareholders (or partners, in the case of a partnership) of the domestic corporation or partnership (with certain exceptions); and (3) if the "expanded affiliated group" lacks substantial business activities in its country of origin compared to its total activities. Sets specific rules covering "inversion gains" of certain "acquired entities" and party transactions of such entities not covered by the above provisions, including: (1) that taxable income of "inversion gains" of such entities cannot be offset; (2) that tax credits shall not be permitted to be used against tax on "inversion gains" of such entities; and (3) that such entities submit to the Secretary of the Treasury an annual prefiling, advance pricing, or other agreement specified by the Secretary. Establishes penalties for failure to make such agreements. Modifies limitation on interest deduction for such entities. Invalidates certain transfers of liabilities deemed to be aimed at avoiding the Act. Increases scope under which the Secretary may act to modify reinsurance agreements to take account of the amount of taxable income of each party. Defines "acquired entities, "inversion gain," and "expanded affiliated group."
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2002
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2005, the duty on chondroitin sulfate.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2002
Emergency Agriculture Assistance Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency agricultural assistance to: (1) producers who have incurred qualifying losses in 2001, including losses due to army worms; (2) livestock producers for 2001 losses in disaster-designated counties, with a set-aside for the American Indian livestock program; and (3) apple producers for market losses in crop year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2002
Allows only the Federal Circuit for the U.S. Court of Appeals to review and set aside changes made by the Department of Veterans Affairs to the schedule for veterans' disability ratings found to be arbitrary and capricious or in violation of a Federal statute. Requires the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) to apply a preponderance of the evidence standard when reviewing findings of fact made by the Board of Veterans' Appeals. Permits the Federal Circuit to review CAVC decisions on questions of law. Allows the CAVC, when awarding attorney fees under the Equal Access to Justice Act, to award compensation to qualified non-attorney representatives appearing before the CAVC.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2002
Rural Electromagnetic Spectrum Access Act of 2002 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in order to facilitate the deployment of wireless based services in rural areas, when more than one license is available within a single block of electromagnetic spectrum, to award at least one such license for a rural service area or similarly sized geographic area. Requires the FCC, for each class of licenses or permits granted through the use of a competitive bidding process, to establish a competitive bidding methodology which avoids excessive concentration of licenses and includes as licensees small businesses, rural telephone companies, and businesses owned by members of minority groups and women. Directs the FCC to: (1) conduct biennial studies on the availability of wireless services in rural areas; (2) design systems of competitive bidding by rural areas; and (3) facilitate the deployment of wireless services in rural areas by license recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2002
Removes, for months beginning on or after October 1, 2002, the requirement that qualifying offsetting legislation be enacted before a member or former member of the armed forces may be paid military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation concurrently without deduction. Repeals, as of such date, a special compensation program for certain severely disabled military retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2002
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to provide duty-free treatment for certain footwear that is not designed to be worn over other footwear. Provides for column two duty treatment for such footwear.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2002
National Aviation Capacity Expansion Act of 2002 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to implement the redesign and reconstruction of Chicago O'Hare International Airport in Cook and Dupage Counties, Illinois, in accordance with a specified runway design plan, and the development of a south suburban airport in the Chicago metropolitan region, by facilitating their approval, funding, construction, and implementation. Requires an implementation plan to be prepared by the State of Illinois under the Clean Air Act for regulating emissions associated with activity at commercial service airports. Makes the Administrator's approval of an airport layout plan submitted by Chicago that includes the runway redesign plan conditional on the meeting of specified requirements. Requires the withholding of all airport grant funds for O'Hare (other than grants involving national security and safety) until January 1, 2026, unless specified conditions with respect to operations at Merrill C. Meigs Field have been met.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2002
Designates September 6, 2002, as National Crazy Horse Day.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2002
National Defense Rail Act - Authorizes appropriations for Amtrak security assistance. Requires studies or assessments of: (1) foreign rail transport security programs; (2) the feasibility of passenger, baggage, and cargo screening; (3) existing rail safety regulations; (4) security priorities; and (5) rail crossing delay security issues. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish a national high-speed ground transportation policy; and (2) provide 100 percent financial assistance to develop and implement high-speed rail corridors according to designated priorities, including the elimination of hazards of railway-highway crossings. Requires such projects to comply with specified labor standards, including the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act. Defines the national rail passenger transportation system. Authorizes Amtrak to operate an intercity rail service or route not included in such system, as specified. Authorizes additional appropriations for Amtrak for principal and interest, and environmental and Americans With Disabilities Act compliance. Repeals the requirement that Amtrak be self-sufficient. Authorizes appropriations for the Northeast Corridor, long and short distance trains, and State-supported routes. Directs the Secretary to re-establish the Northeast Corridor Safety Committee. Revises requirements concerning the Amtrak board of directors. Requires an independent audit of Amtrak operations. Revises requirements of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 concerning loans and loan guarantees. Directs the Secretary to establish a rail passenger cooperative research program, including an advisory board.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2002
Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2002 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the renewable electricity production tax credit to include credits for electricity produced from biomass, swine and bovine waste nutrients, geothermal energy, and solar energy. Provides alternative vehicle and fuel incentives, including credits for installation of alternative fueling stations and the retail sale of alternative fuels as motor vehicle fuel, modification of the credit for qualified electric vehicles, extending the deduction for certain refueling property, and allowing the alcohol fuels credit to be transferred and to be used against motor fuels taxes. Sets forth certain conservation and energy efficiency provisions such as credits for the construction of new energy efficient homes, the installation of energy efficient appliances, combined heat and power system properties, and energy efficiency improvements to existing homes. Establishes a three-year recovery period for depreciation of qualified energy management devices. Establishes clean coal incentives, including credits for emission reductions, efficiency improvements in existing coal-based generation facilities, and investment in qualifying advanced clean coal technology. Revises oil and gas provisions, including establishing a credit for the production of oil and gas from marginal wells, permitting the expensing of capital costs incurred in complying with EPA sulfur regulations, establishing an environmental tax credit, extending the marginal production income limit, and treating natural gas distribution lines as 15-year property. Sets forth electric utility restructuring provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2002
Designates both March 31, 2002, and March 31, 2003, as National Civilian Conservation Corps Day.