United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2002
Declares that Congress: (1) condemns the use of torture and other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment in the United States and other countries; (2) recognizes the United Nations International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture and expresses support for all victims of torture who are struggling to overcome the physical scars and psychological effects of such practices; and (3) encourages training law enforcement personnel and others in the prevention of torture and other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment. Encourages the Secretary of State to seek the adoption of a commitment to: (1) treat confessions and other evidence obtained through torture or other forms of cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, as inadmissible in any legal proceeding; and (2) prohibit, in law and in practice, incommunicado detention.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2002
Wildfire Prevention Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to: (1) establish three Institutes (one each in Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado) to promote the use of adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of wildfires, and improve the health of forest and woodland ecosystems; and (2) provide assistance to the Institutes to promote the use of such management. Defines adaptive ecosystem management as a natural resource management process under which planning, implementation, monitoring, research, evaluation, and incorporation of new knowledge are combined into a management approach that is: (1) based on scientific findings and the needs of society; and (2) used to modify future management methods and policy. Prescribes requirements for cooperation among the Institutes and Federal programs relating to ecological restoration, wildfire risk reduction, and wildfire management technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that there should be established a National Community Health Center Week for the week beginning on August 18, 2002, to raise awareness of health services provided by community, migrant, public housing, and homeless health centers.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2002
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to spend donated and appropriated funds for the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of a cultural center and related facilities on privately owned lands located outside and adjacent to the boundary of Mesa Verda National Park, Colorado.
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
Chronic Wasting Disease State Support 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 a modeling program to predict the spread of the disease. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (through the U.S. Geological Survey) to conduct a surveillance and monitoring program on Federal lands to identify: (1) the rate of infection in wild herds of deer and elk; (2) the cause and extent of the spread of the disease; and (3) areas promoting the disease. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and maintain a web site that displays surveillance and monitoring program data and modeling information. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to develop: (1) guidelines for the collection of animal tissue samples; (2) a protocol to be used in the assessment of samples in the laboratory; and (3) a program for the inspection of laboratories conducting chronic wasting disease tests. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) to develop a program to identify: (1) the rate of infection in captive herds of deer and elk; (2) the cause and extent of the spread of the disease; and (3) areas promoting 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 program. Requires the Secretaries to enter a cooperative agreement and develop a grant program to allocate funds to State agencies responsible for wildlife management to develop and implement long term strategies to address the disease.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2002
Calls for Americans to observe a national moment of remembrance at 3:00 p.m. on Memorial Day, 2002, for members of the armed forces and civilian national security agencies.
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 · 15 May 2002
Designates October 13 through 19, 2002, as National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Week. Commits to increasing the quality of life for individuals with cystic fibrosis by promoting public knowledge and understanding in a manner that will result in earlier diagnoses, more fund raising efforts for research, and increased levels of support for cystic fibrosis sufferers and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2002
Commercial Driver's License Devolution Act of 2002 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize an individual who has not passed commercial motor vehicle written and driving tests meeting certain minimum Federal standards to operate a commercial motor vehicle solely within the borders of a State (intrastate) if such individual meets State-prescribed minimum standards for fitness for operating a commercial motor vehicle and has passed written and driving tests meeting those same standards. Requires States to test the fitness of commercial motor vehicle operators who operate intrastate, including the passing of a written and driving test, consistent with either the minimum standards prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation or State-prescribed minimum standards.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2002
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Forest Service and other Federal land management agencies should, among other specified actions, fully implement the Western Governors Association's Collaborative Ten-year Strategy for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment, as signed August 2001, to reduce the overabundance of forest fuels that place these resources at high risk of catastrophic wildfire; (2) the Departments of Agriculture and of the Interior should immediately prepare for public review a national prescribed fire strategy for public lands; and (3) such strategy should be incorporated into any regulatory land use planning programs that propose the use of prescribed fire as a management practice.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2002
Mychal Judge Police and Fire Chaplains Public Safety Officers' Benefit Act of 2002 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include police and fire department chaplains killed in the line of duty among persons who qualify to receive public safety officer death benefits. Provides that if there is no surviving spouse or surviving child any such benefits shall be paid to the person designated by such officer as beneficiary under that officer's most recently executed life insurance policy, provided that such individual survived such officer. (Current law restricts such beneficiaries to the spouse, child, or parent.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2002
Supports the goals and ideals of National Better Hearing and Speech Month. Commends the 41 States that have implemented routine hearing screenings for every newborn before they leave the hospital. Supports the efforts of speech and hearing professionals in their efforts to improve the speech and hearing development of children. Encourages the U.S. people to have their hearing checked regularly and to avoid environmental noise that can lead to hearing loss.
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 · 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
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 · 21 March 2002
Southern Ute and Colorado Intergovernmental Agreement Implementation Act of 2002 - Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to treat the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in the same manner as a State under Clean Air Act administrative provisions for air program applications the Tribe submits to implement and carry out the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Tribe and the State of Colorado in a manner consistent with the Clean Air Act. Makes the program applicable, upon its approval, to all air resources within the exterior boundaries of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. Provides for compliance enforcement by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe/State of Colorado Environmental Commission and judicial review of the Commission's decisions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2002
Indian Financing Act Amendments of 2002 - Amends the Indian Financing Act of 1974 to permit the development of a secondary market in guaranteed loans made under such Act through loan transfer. Authorizes loan transfer (currently limited to sale or assignment), in whole or in part, both guaranteed and unguaranteed portions. Requires that the Secretary of the Interior be notified of such transfers. Allocates responsibility on the guarantee agreement, for servicing, and as the secured creditor of record after such transfers according to whether such portion/loan is guaranteed or unguaranteed. Requires the Secretary to provide for the central registration of transferred loans/loan portions through a fiscal transfer agent. Permits pooling of such transferred loans/loan portions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2002
Host Community Fairness Act of 2002 - Amends the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1996 to exempt persons that reside in a county in which a fee demonstration area is located from any recreational user fees imposed for access to such area.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2002
Fairness to All Fallen Vietnam War Service Members Act of 2002 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to Congress: (1) to identify veterans who died after October 31, 1955, as a result of military operations in southeast Asia whose names are not eligible for inscription on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; and (2) on the feasibility and equitability of revising the eligibility requirements to be more inclusive of such veterans or of creating an alternative means for recognizing them.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2002
Recognizes May 15, 2002, as Peace Officers Memorial Day, in honor of Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2002
Old Spanish Trail Recognition Act of 2002 - Amends the National Trails System Act to designate the Old Spanish National Historic Trail (extending from Sante Fe New Mexico, to Los Angeles, California, that served as a major trade route between 1829 and 1848) as a National Historic Trail.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2002
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area Boundary Revision Act of 2002 - Amends the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area Act of 1999 to revise the boundary of Gunnison National Park to add land identified as Tract C. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer such land to the Park. Provides that, if land authorized for the grazing of livestock is exchanged for private land under this Act, the Secretary shall transfer any grazing privileges to the private land acquired. Permits grazing with respect to permits or leases issued to specified partnerships. Requires land or interest in land acquired under this Act to be made in accordance with the method of acquisition under the Act. Revises the boundary of the Conservation Area to add specified land.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2002
Highway Funding Restoration Act - Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to require that obligations for Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs for FY 2003: (1) meet a specified minimum level; and (2) be distributed in accordance with that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2002
Expresses support for the efforts of the Ukrainian people to promote democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights in Ukraine. Urges the Government of Ukraine to: (1) enforce impartially the Law on Elections of People's Deputies of Ukraine, signed by President Leonid Kuchma on October 30, 2001; and (2) meet its commitments on democratic elections, as delineated in the 1990 Copenhagen Document of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), with respect to the campaign period and election day; and (3) address issues identified by the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of OSCE in its final report on the 1999 presidential election, such as state interference in the campaign and pressure on the media. Calls upon the Ukrainian Government to allow election monitors from the ODIHR, other participating OSCE states, and foreign and domestic private institutions and organizations full access to all aspects of the parliamentary election process.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2001
Amends the Federal criminal code with respect to trafficking in counterfeit goods or services to make a technical correction in the codification of title 36 (Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations) regarding the definition of a counterfeit mark.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2001
Provides that, during FY 2002, the statute of limitations shall be deemed not to have run for any claim concerning losses to or mismanagement of tribal trust funds, solely for purposes of providing an opportunity to explore the settlement of tribal claims.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2001
Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add provisions granting additional authorities to the Secretary of Health and Human Services concerning bioterrorism preparedness and responding to public health emergencies. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a plan which includes the development of specific criteria enabling measurements to be made of the progress made at the national, State, and local levels toward achieving the national goal of bioterrorism preparedness. Requires the maintenance of an adequate national pharmaceutical stockpile of vaccines (including a smallpox vaccine), therapies, and medical supplies for use at the Secretary's discretion in the event of a biological threat or attack or other public health emergency. Expands the role of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a coordinated network of public health laboratories to assist with the detection of and response to a biological threat or attack. Provides for the appointment of an Assistant Secretary for Emergency Preparedness who shall head the Office for Emergency Preparedness. Provides for a National Disaster Medical System to provide appropriate health and social services to respond to a public health emergency, if the Secretary activates the System. Provides for enhanced regulatory control of biological agents and toxins. Establishes a State Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Block Grant Program to improve State and local preparedness and response capabilities. Amends the Clayton Act to provide for a limited antitrust exemption with respect to the development of new countermeasures against bioterrorism. Requires, under the Public Health Service Act, the development of a crisis communications and education strategy with respect to bioterrorist threats to the food supply. Expands animal and plant health inspection service activities and authorities. Amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to expand the authority of the Food and Drug Administration with respect to food presenting a serious threat to humans or animals. Requires the registration of food manufacturing, processing, and handling facilities. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to utilize existing authorities to expand Agricultural Research Service and Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service programs to protect the food supply of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2001
Medicare Cholesterol Screening Coverage Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for coverage of cholesterol and other blood lipid screening tests.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2001
Urban Indian Health Medicaid Amendments Act of 2001 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to include medical assistance furnished through an urban Indian health program operated by an urban Indian organization pursuant to a grant or contract with the Indian Health Service under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act in the 100 percent Federal medical assistance percentage applicable to the Indian Health Service.
United States · United States Congress · 28 November 2001
Medicare Appeals, Regulatory, and Contracting Improvement Act of 2001 - Amends part D (Miscellaneous) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to: (1) timelines for publication of final regulations and compliance with substantive changes after notice; (2) timeframes for the completion of the record in the appeals process; (3) contracts with Medicare administrative contractors for determining payment amounts, making payments, and providing certain provider services; (4) coordination of funding for education of service providers; and (5) standardization of random prepayment review and recovery of overpayments from Medicare administrative contractors. Grants a one-year delay in the lock-in procedures for Medicare+Choice plans under SSA title XVIII part C. Provides a temporary moratorium on the requirement that home health agencies collect Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) data from non-Medicare patients.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2001
James Peak Wilderness Study, and James Peak Protection Area Act - Amends the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to designate specified land in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests as the James Peak Wilderness. Amends the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, the Arapaho National Recreation Area and the Oregon Islands Wilderness Area Act to add specified Federal land in the National Forests to the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. Designates specified land in such National Forests as the James Peak Protection Area. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire: (1) land in such Area owned by the Colorado State Land Board; and (2) land in the Jim Creek drainage in such Area. Directs the Forest Supervisor of the National Forests to establish a trailhead, facilities, and services for National Forest System land in the vicinity of the Fall River basin and south of the communities of Alice Township and St. Mary's Glacier in Colorado. Directs the Secretary: (1) to study the suitability and feasibility of establishing a loop trail for mechanized and other non-motorized recreation that connects Rogers Pass and Rollins Pass road; and (2) if requested, to provide technical assistance and otherwise cooperate in the repair of such road in Grand, Gilpin, and Boulder Counties, Colorado.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2001
Medicare Physician Payment Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to set the conversion factor (update) for payments under the Medicare physician fee schedule for 2002 at 0.9 percent less than the conversion factor for 2001. Declares that this conversion factor and a specified update adjustment factor for a year after 2002 shall be applied as if this Act had not been in effect. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to study and report to Congress on replacing the use of the sustainable growth rate as a factor in determining the update for such payments with a factor that more fully accounts for changes in the unit costs of providing physicians' services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2001
Military Homeowners Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to state that members of the Uniformed or Foreign Services on qualified official extended duty shall be considered to be using already owned and used property as a principal residence for purposes of determining exclusion of gain upon such residence's sale.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2001
Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to identify specified routes in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico as part of the Ports-to-Plains Corridor of the National Highway System.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2001
Veterans' Memorial Preservation and Recognition Act of 2001 - Establishes a Veterans' Memorial Restoration Fund to repair, restore, and maintain veterans' memorials. Provides criminal and civil penalties for desecrating veterans' memorials. States that a veterans cemetery shall be treated as a site for which a supplemental guide sign may be placed on any Federal-aid highway.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2001
Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2001 - Provides for a program of emergency extended unemployment compensation (EEUC). Sets forth EEUC program requirements for Federal-State agreements, formulae for determining amounts in individual EEUC accounts and weekly benefits, payments to States, and financing. Includes among eligibility requirements an individual's not having rights, with respect to a week, to other compensation (including both regular and extended compensation). Reduces an individual EEUC account by the aggregate amount of any extended compensation for the same benefit year. Makes EEUC agreements applicable to weeks of unemployment: (1) beginning on or after the first day of the first week after the date on which such agreement is entered into; and (2) ending before the date that is 18 months after enactment of this Act. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations to expand the National Emergency Grant program, for an 18-month period, to include grants to States to provide certain employment and training assistance and temporary health care coverage premium assistance for workers affected by major economic dislocations, such as plant closures, mass layoffs, or multiple layoffs, caused by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a National Character Counts Week should be established to promote character education; and (2) the President should issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to embrace the elements of character identified by their local schools and communities such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship, and honesty.