United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Federal Reformulated Fuels Act of 2001- Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize the use of the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to: (1) carry out corrective actions regarding releases of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) that present a risk to human health, welfare, or the environment; and (2) conduct inspections, issue orders, or bring actions under the underground storage tank regulation program. Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize any State for which a waiver is in effect allowing application of State motor vehicle emissions standards to impose a control on any fuel or fuel additive for the purpose of water quality protection. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of MTBE in motor fuel within four years of this Act's enactment. Authorizes a State Governor, upon notification of the Administrator, to waive oxygen content requirements for reformulated gasoline sold or dispensed in the State. Considers gasoline that complies with all other requirements for reformulated gasoline other than those regarding oxygen content to be reformulated gasoline. Requires regulations to: (1) ensure that toxic air pollutant emissions reductions achieved under the reformulated gasoline program are maintained in such States; and (2) establish performance standards. Requires the Administrator to: (1) conduct tests to determine health and environmental effects of fuels and additives and a separate study on the effects of ethyl tertiary butyl ether and other ethers; and (2) publish an analysis of air quality changes resulting from implementation of this Act. Eliminates the waiver permitting higher Reid Vapor Pressure limitations for fuel blends containing ethanol. Allows State implementation plan revisions that apply conventional gasoline prohibitions to nonclassified areas. Authorizes grants to MTBE merchant producers to assist in conversion of production facilities to the production of other fuel additives.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Hospital Medicare Payment Parity Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, where hospitals in one urban area are treated for geographical reclassification purposes as being located in another urban area, to calculate and apply the wage index for that one urban area as if the hospitals so treated had not been excluded from the calculation of such wage index (thus precluding it from being reduced by such treatment).
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Bipartisan Federal Election Reform Act of 2001 - Establishes the Blue Ribbon Study Panel to study, with respect to Federal elections, methods of: (1) voting and counting votes, of ballot design, of voter registration, of maintaining secure and accurate lists of registered voters, and of ensuring that all registered voters appear on the polling list at the appropriate polling site; (2) provisional voting; (3) ensuring accessibility of voting, registration, polling places, and voting equipment to all voters; (4) registering members of the armed forces and overseas citizens to vote, and ensuring that they timely receive ballots that will be properly and expeditiously handled and counted; (5) recruiting and improving the performance of poll workers; and (6) educating voters. Requires the Panel also to study: (1) Federal and State voting eligibility laws; (2) matters relevant to voting and administering elections in rural and urban areas; and (3) how the Federal Government can assist State and local authorities to improve election administration and what levels of funding would be necessary for such assistance. Requires the Panel to make related recommendations. Establishes the Election Administration Commission to: (1) adopt or modify and periodically update Panel recommendations; (2) issue or adopt updated voting system standards; and (3) perform a variety of other specified duties. Establishes the Federal Election Reform Grant Program under which the Commission may award grants to applicant States and localities to pay the Federal share of costs associated with implementing any recommendation adopted or modified by the Commission. Establishes the Election Administration Advisory Board. Amends the Voting Act concerning maximum access to polls by absent uniformed services and overseas voters to replace the current recommendation imposed upon the States to achieve such maximum access with a requirement that each State, in each Federal election, perform certain tasks.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Child Passenger Safety Act - Requires the Secretary of Transportation, if by October 1 of years beginning in 2004 a State has not enacted a child safety restraint law, to transfer specified percentages of Federal-aid highway funds from specified State apportionments to the apportionment for highway safety, to be used to implement a statewide comprehensive child and other passenger protection education program. Requires such a program to include instruction concerning proper seating positions for children in air bag equipped motor vehicles and instruction designed to increase the proper use of child restraint systems. Defines a "child safety restraint law" as one that prohibits driving a motor vehicle if a passenger under age 16 is not properly secured by a safety belt, unless the passenger is under age nine and is properly secured in a child safety seat.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Women's Health Office Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish: (1) within the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services an Office on Women's Health (2) within the Office of the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an office to be known as the Office of Women's Health; and (3) establish within the Office of the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality an office to be known as the Office of Women's Health. Amends the Social Security Act to establish within the Office of the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration an office to be known as the Office of Women's Health. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish within the Office of the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration an office to be known as the Office of Women's Health.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Immigrant Fairness Restoration Act of 2001 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise specified restrictions respecting: (1) cancellation of removal; (2) deportability and admissibility; (3) judicial review; (4) right to counsel; (5) detention; (6) applicants for admission; (7) removal of aliens who are not permanent residents and who have no relief from removal; (8) reopening of certain proceedings and parole of certain aliens; and (9) aliens who have made false citizenship claims or who have unlawfully voted.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2001
Leave No Child Behind Act of 2001 - MediKids Health Insurance Act of 2001 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a MediKids program to meet the health needs of eligible children. Family Opportunity Act of 2001 or the Dylan Lee James Act - Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for them. Children's Health Insurance Accountability Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for children's health accountability standards. Kids Deserve Freedom from Tobacco Act of 2001 or the KIDS Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for additional restrictions on the marketing, advertising, and access to tobacco products. Comprehensive Insurance Coverage of Childhood Immunization Act of 2001 - Amends ERISA, PHSA, and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to outline standards relating to coverage of childhood immunization. Children's Environmental Protection Act - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to provide for environmental protection for children and other vulnerable subpopulations. School Environment Protection Act - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide for integrated pest management systems for public schools. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS Secretary) to make grants to eligible States to support parenting support and education programs. Family and Medical Leave Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to extend its coverage to private employers with 25 or more (currently, 50 or more) employees. Family Income to Respond to Significant Transitions Insurance Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make grants to pay for the Federal share of projects to provide wage replacement for eligible individuals responding to family caregiving needs, including those resulting from the birth or adoption of a child. Children's Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act - Amends: (1) the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 with respect to reporting toxic chemicals; and (2) the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to require publication of a list of substances or mixtures determined toxic to children. Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to provide block grants to States for media campaigns promoting responsible fatherhood. Focus On Committed and Underpaid Staff for Children's Sake Act or the FOCUS Act - Establishes the Child Care Provider Development and Retention Grant Program and the Child Care Provider Scholarship Program. Federal Employees Child Care Act - Provides for child care centers in Federal facilities as well as for child care services for Federal employees. Child Care Facilities Financing Act - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants for the Federal share of the cost of the acquisition, construction, or improvement of child care facilities or equipment. Book Stamp Act - Directs the Secretary to make grants to State agencies to promote child literacy and improve children's access to books at home and in early learning and other child care programs. America's Better Classroom Act of 2001 - Amends the IRC to establish an income tax credit for qualified public school modernization, school construction, and zone academy bonds. Child Opportunity Zone Family Center Act of 2001 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to partnerships for child opportunity zone family centers. Tax Relief for Working Families Act of 2001 - Amends the IRC to increase the earned income tax credit for married couples and for two or more qualifying children. Extends the dependent care tax credit to respite care services. Establishes the Gateways Grant Program to improve the administration of State and county low-income families with children programs. Child Support Distribution Act of 2001 - Amends SSA title IV parts A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) and B (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to provide for increased child support payments to families and enforcement of child support obligations. Child Support Assurance Act of 2001 - Directs the HHS Secretary to make grants to States for child support assurance demonstration projects. Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2001 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide for a graduated increase in the minimum wage (and apply it to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). Federal Living Wage Responsibility Act - Specifies minimum hourly wages and other employment terms for employees under Federal contracts. Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act concerning the child and adult care food program, and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 concerning the food stamp program. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a rental assistance voucher program. Establishes the Voucher Success Fund and the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Housing Preservation Matching Grant Act of 2001 - Directs the HUD Secretary to make grants to States for low-income housing preservation. Amends SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to direct the HHS Secretary to reimburse States for preventive, protective, crisis, permanency, independent living, and post-permanency services. Amends SSA title IV part B (Child and Family Services) for expansion of the promoting safe and stable families program. Social Services Block Grant Restoration Act of 2001 - Amends SSA title IV part A (TANF) and SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to provide for restoration of funds for the social services block grant. Child Protection/Alcohol and Drug Partnership Act of 2001 - Amends SSA title IV part B to provide for child protection and alcohol and drug partnerships for children. Amends SSA title IV part E to provide for a permanency grants program. Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act to direct the HHS Secretary to award grants for programs to encourage domestic violence models using multisystem partnerships to address the needs of children exposed to domestic violence. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States to address the mental health and developmental needs of young children. Revises the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Act. Younger Americans Act - Establishes a national youth policy, an Office of National Youth Policy in the Executive Office of the President, and a Council on National Youth Policy. Establishes grants for State and community programs to encourage and assist State agencies, community boards, and area agencies on youth to assure that all youth have access to the full array of core resources. Mental Health Juvenile Justice Act - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) to establish grants for a State and local juvenile justice agency training program regarding access to mental health and substance abuse treatment for juveniles in contact with the State juvenile justice system. Establishes a Federal Coordinating Council on Criminalization of Juveniles With Mental Disorders. Juvenile Justice and Accountability Act - Amends the JJDPA to establish grants to States for juvenile accountability block grants. Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) provide for the regulation of firearms transfers at gun shows; and (2) require child handgun safety locks on firearms. Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to require child handgun safety locks. Prohibits weapons transfers to juveniles and imports of large capacity ammunition feeding devices. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to establish grants for: (1) State and local domestic violence offender recordkeeping improvements; (2) State and local gun prosecutors; and (3) local and antigun violence media campaigns. Provides for regulation of Internet firearms transfers. Prohibits multiple handgun sales or purchases. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee on Private Sector Support for Children and Families.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2001
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 2001 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use funding under COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community policing efforts; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for the costs associated with seeking a college or graduate school education. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; and (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other public and private entities. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding termination of grants for hiring officers. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for units of local government with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted specifically for retention of police officers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2001
Prohibits the importation into the United States of any Burmese products until the President determines and certifies to Congress that the State Peace and Development Council in Burma has made progress in: (1) reversing gross violations of internationally-recognized human rights and worker rights; (2) implementing democratic government; and (3) cooperating with U.S. counter-narcotics efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2001
Mobile Telephone Driving Safety Act of 2001 - Amends Federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of specified FY 2004 highway funds from any State that has not enacted or is not enforcing a law that prohibits the use of a mobile telephone while operating a motor vehicle, except in case of an emergency or other exceptional circumstance. Increases the withheld amount to ten percent after FY 2004. Allows such a State law to permit the use of a mobile telephone with a device that permits hands-free operation of the telephone if the State determines that such use does not pose a threat to public safety.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2001
Civil Rights Tax Relief Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts received by a claimant on account of claims based on unlawful discrimination (as defined). Permits income averaging for backpay and frontpay awards received on account of such claims.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2001
Access to Cancer Therapies Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicare coverage to all oral drugs prescribed for use as an anticancer agent for a medically accepted indication.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2001
Designates the week of May 20, 2001, designated as National Emergency as Medical Services Week. States that the President should issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such week with appropriate programs and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2001
America's Better Classrooms Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to establish a limited tax credit for qualified public school modernization bonds (construction and zone academy bonds). Repeals a restriction on zone academy bond holders. Amends the General Education Provisions Act to apply certain labor standards on construction projects financed under such public school modernization bond program under this Act and specified zone academy bond provisions under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish provisions concerning employment and training activities related to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a pilot program under which eligible Indian tribes have the authority to issue qualified tribal school modernization bonds to provide funding for the construction, rehabilitation, or repair of tribal schools, including advance planning and design. Amends the IRC to establish a limited tax credit for qualified tribal school modernization bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2001
John H. Chafee Environmental Education Act of 2001 - Amends the National Environmental Education Act to revise, reauthorize, and rename it as the John H. Chafee Environmental Education Act (the Act). Revises requirements relating to: (1) the Office of Environmental Education (OEE), within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and (2) environmental education grants. Replaces current OEE-administered environmental internships and fellowships with a John H. Chafee Memorial Fellowship Program, which shall award and administer five annual one-year graduate education fellowships in environmental sciences and public policy. Directs the National Environmental Education Advisory Council to administer the John H. Chafee Fellowship Panel. Revises requirements for national environmental education awards. Retains and revises requirements for: (1) President's Environmental Youth Awards; and (2) environmental education awards for elementary and secondary school teachers and their local educational agencies. (Eliminates awards named for Theodore Roosevelt, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, and Gifford Pinchot.) Revises requirements for the National Environmental Education Advisory Council and the Federal Task Force on Environmental Education. Revises and renames the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation as the National Environmental Learning Foundation. Establishes the Theodore Roosevelt Environmental Stewardship Grant Program. Directs OEE to award and administer such competitive, 75-percent-matching grants to consortia of institutions of higher education for collaborative student, campus, and community-based environmental stewardship activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2001
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Administration should work with the European allies of the United States and other nations to restore U.S. membership on the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2001
Federal Air Traffic Controllers Annuity Computation Act of 2001 - Allows Federal air traffic controllers retiring under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to have their annuities computed under provisions similar to annuity computation provisions applicable to law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nuclear materials couriers retiring under CSRS.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2001
Tibetan Policy Act of 2001 - Sets forth congressional declarations, including that it: (1) reaffirms that Tibet is an occupied country under the established principles of international law; (2) commends the Republic of India and the kingdom of Nepal for providing asylum and humanitarian care to the Dalai Lama and Tibetans in exile; (3) expresses concern over incidents of ill treatment of transitory Tibetans in border areas; and (4) urges continued cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kathmandu. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President and the Secretary of State (as well as U.S. and European parliamentarians in the United States-European Interparliamentary Group) should initiate steps to encourage the Government of the People's Republic of China to enter into negotiations with the Dalai Lama or his representatives leading to an agreement on Tibet. Establishes within the Department of State a United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues who shall promote substantive dialogue between the Government of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives. Directs the U.S. executive director of each international financial institution to encourage and use the U.S. vote to support projects in Tibet consistent with specified principles. Directs the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Trade and Development Agency similarly to support projects in Tibet consistent with such principles. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the release of, and access by humanitarian organizations to, Tibetan prisoners detained in China because of their political or religious beliefs; (2) the establishment of a United States branch office in Lhasa, Tibet; (3) U.S. support for economic development, cultural preservation, health care, and education and environmental sustainability for Tibetans inside Tibet; (4) Tibetan language training to U.S. foreign service officers assigned to the consulate in China; (5) Tibet considerations at the United Nations; and (6) the end of religious persecution in Tibet.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2001
Child Support Fairness and Tax Refund Interception Act of 2001 - Amends title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of the Social Security Act to provide for the use of the tax refund intercept program to collect past-due child support on behalf of children who are not minors.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2001
Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the National Institutes of Health, to develop a list of approved drugs for which: (1) there is no patient or market exclusivity protection; and (2) additional pediatric safety and effectiveness studies are needed. Directs the Secretary to award contracts to entities with appropriate experience for pediatric clinical trials of such drugs. Establishes a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contract process for related labeling changes. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to: (1) eliminate the user fee waiver for pediatric supplements to a human drug application; (2) provide priority status for pediatric supplements; (3) include neonates within the definition of pediatric studies; (4) provide for dissemination of pediatric supplement information; and (5) set forth requirements for the additional six-month exclusivity period for new or already-marketed pediatric drugs. Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of Pediatric Therapeutics within the Office of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, which shall coordinate all FDA pediatric activities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2001
American Hospital Preservation Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act, to: (1) increase (restore the full) market basket update for inpatient prospective payment services hospitals; and (2) maintain the indirect medical education adjustment percentage at 6.5 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
Child Tax Credit Expansion and Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a phased-in increase ($1,000 as of 2006) of the child tax credit. Makes such credit partially refundable. Provides for coordination with Federal means-tested programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
Improved Access to Osteoporosis Testing Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate cost-sharing under Medicare for bone mass measurements.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow, through December 31, 2006, a limited credit for energy-efficient building property. Defines such property as a stationary fuel cell power plant that: (1) generates electricity using an electrochemical process; and (2) has an electricity-only generation efficiency greater than 30 percent. Allows, through December 31, 2006, a limited credit to an individual for nonbusiness energy-efficient building property expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight consortium centers (each such center shall be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence) for the conduct of multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
National Museum of African American History and Culture Act of 2001 - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution the National Museum of African American History and Culture, to be operated as a center for scholarship and a location for museum training, public education, exhibits, and collection and study of items and materials relating to the life, art, history, and culture of African Americans form slavery and the era of reconstruction to the Harlem renaissance, the civil rights movement, and beyond. Establishes the National Museum of African American History and Culture Council. Requires the Council to appoint a Director to manage the Museum. Authorizes the Council to plan, design, reconstruct, renovate, and expand the Arts and Industries Building to house the Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2001
Focus On Committed and Underpaid Staff for Children's Sake Act - FOCUS Act - Establishes: (1) the Child Care Provider Retention and Development Grant Program; and (2) the Child Care Provider Scholarship Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allot funds to eligible States (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) for distribution directly, or at State option, through local governments, to pay the Federal share of the cost of making grants to eligible child care providers under both such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that Lebanon, Syria, and Iran should allow representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit the four Israelis (Adi Avitan, Binyamin Avraham, Omar Souad, and Elchanan Tannenbaum) presently held by Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2001
Automobile Fuel Economy Act of 2001 - Sets forth certain increased average fuel economy standards for certain light trucks, automobiles (up to 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight), and certain classes of vehicles in the Federal fleet that are manufactured or purchased after specified dates.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2001
Youth Financial Education Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to allot grants to State educational agencies to provide funds to local educational agencies and public schools for personal financial literacy education programs for students in kindergarten through grade 12, and for professional development programs to prepare teachers and administrators for such financial education. Directs the Secretary to make a grant to or contract with an entity with substantial financial education experience for a national clearinghouse for instructional materials and information on model financial education programs and best practices.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2001
Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education Amendments of 2001, or the MD-CARE Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in coordination with specified national research institutes, to: (1) expand research and related programs concerning various forms of muscular dystrophy, including Duchenne, myotonic, and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Requires the Director to: (1) award grants and contracts for establishing at least five related centers of excellence; and (2) provide for a related tissue donation program. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee to coordinate NIH programs and other Federal programs. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to: (1) award grants and cooperative agreements for muscular dystrophy data collection and analysis; and (2) conduct a National Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance Program. Requires the Secretary, through the Centers, to establish at least three centers of excellence in muscular dystrophy epidemiology. Requires the Secretary to establish a program to provide professionals and the public with muscular dystrophy information.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Crime Victims Assistance Act of 2001 - Amends: (1) the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 to require a responsible official to consult with a victim prior to a detention hearing, and consider the victim's views about any contemplated plea agreement; (2) the Federal criminal code to require the judicial officer to inquire regarding the victim's views on detention; and (3) Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to prohibit the court from entering a judgment upon a guilty plea without inquiring regarding the victim's views. Provides for enhanced victim's rights regarding standing to attend the trial and rights at sentencing. Specifies victim rights regarding notice of sentence adjustment, discharge from a psychiatric facility, and executive clemency. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations to enforce, and establish and carry out pilot programs regarding, victims' rights. Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to authorize grants to develop and implement: (1) state-of-the-art systems for notifying crime victims of important dates and developments; and (2) community-based restorative justice programs in juvenile justice systems. Authorizes Federal funding for victim assistance personnel. Provides for deposits of gifts to the Crime Victims Fund. Modifies the allocation formula for Fund distributions. Creates an antiterrorism emergency reserve. Provides for assistance to victims in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other territories and possessions, and for victims of international terrorism. Prohibits discrimination against victims because they oppose the death penalty or disagree with the way the State is prosecuting the case.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the petition filing deadline for certain alien spouses and children and employees seeking to adjust to permanent resident status without leaving the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Community Right-to-Know Arsenic Risk Act - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require consumer confidence reports prepared by certain community water systems under Federal drinking water regulations to include an educational statement concerning arsenic.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2001 - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin wilderness areas; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert wilderness areas; (3) Grand Staircase-Escalante wilderness areas; (4) Moab-LaSal Canyons wilderness areas; (5) Henry Mountains wilderness areas; (6) Glen Canyon wilderness areas; (7) San Juan-Anasazi wilderness areas; (8) Canyonlands Basin wilderness areas; (9) San Rafael Swell wilderness areas; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin wilderness areas. Sets forth administrative provisions regarding: (1) filing by the Secretary of the Interior of a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees; (2) the exchange of State-owned lands within such areas; (3) Federal reservation of water rights; (4) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness; (5) authorized livestock grazing; and (6) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2001
Campus Fire Safety Right to Know Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each eligible institution participating in any program under title IV (Student Assistance) to: (1) prepare, publish, and distribute to all current students and employees, and to any applicant for enrollment or employment upon request, an annual fire safety report which discloses specified types of information about that institution's campus fire safety standards and practices; (2) make periodic reports to the campus community on fires and false alarms that are reported to local fire departments, to aid in preventing similar occurrences; and (3) submit annually to the Secretary of Education a copy of statistics on campus occurrences of fires and false fire alarms. Directs the Secretary to: (1) review such statistics; (2) make copies available to the public; (3) identify exemplary fire safety policies, procedures, and practices, and disseminate information concerning those policies, procedures, and practices that have proven effective in the reduction of campus fires; and (4) report to Congress analyses of the current status of fire safety systems in college and university facilities, and of the appropriate fire safety standards to apply to these facilities, as well as cost estimates and recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2001
Geriatric Care Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to payments to hospitals for direct graduate medical education costs and the limitation on the number of full-time-equivalent residents in allopathic and osteopathic medicine. Provides for the disregard of up to three geriatric residents in applying such limitation. Amends SSA title XVIII, as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, to provide for Medicare coverage of care coordination and assessment services.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2001
Expresses the sense of the Senate that, by not later than June 20, 2001, the Senate should consider legislation that provides Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) beneficiaries with outpatient prescription drug coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2001
Clean Efficient Automobiles Resulting From Advanced Car Technologies (CLEAR ACT) Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an annual alternative motor vehicle credit equal to the sum of: (1) the new qualified fuel cell motor vehicle credit; (2) the new qualified hybrid motor vehicle credit; and (3) the new qualified alternative fuel motor vehicle credit. Sets forth credit termination dates. Extends and revises the credit for qualified electric vehicles. Makes leased vehicles eligible for the credit. Allows (through 2007) an alternative fuel retail sales credit of 50 cents per gallon to a qualifying retailer. Extends and revises the deduction for certain clean fuel vehicles and refueling property. Allows (through 2007) a credit for the installation of residential or retail clean-fuel vehicle refueling property.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2001
Gun Show Background Check Act of 2001 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require registration of gun show promoters and to set forth the responsibilities of promoters, licensees, and other transferors. Provides that if any part of a firearm transaction takes place at a gun show, each licensed importer, manufacturer, and dealer who transfers one or more firearms to a person who is not licensed shall, within ten days after the transfer, submit a report of the transfer to the Secretary of the Treasurer. Sets forth penalties for violations. Grants the Secretary authority to enter the place of business of any gun show promoter and any place where a gun show is held, during business hours and without a showing of reasonable cause or a warrant, for purposes of examining records and the inventory of licensees conducting business to determine compliance with this Act. Increases penalties for: (1) serious record-keeping violations by licensees; and (2) violations of criminal background check requirements. Modifies provisions regarding the national instant criminal background check system and the destruction of records in cases where receipt of a firearm would not violate the Brady Act or State law to provide for such destruction as soon as possible, consistent with the Attorney General's responsibility to ensure privacy and security of the system and to prevent system fraud and abuse, but in no event later than 90 days after the licensee first contacts the system.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2001
Designates April 2001 as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Encourages individual and collective efforts that reflect the vision of a Nation where: (1) no sexual assault victim goes un-served or ever feels there is no path to justice; and (2) citizens work toward eliminating all forms of sexual violence.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2001
Heather French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act - Encourages all Federal, State, and local departments and agencies and other entities and individuals to work toward the national goal of ending homelessness among veterans within a decade. Establishes within the Department of Veterans Affairs the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) support the continuation within the Department of at least one center to monitor the structure, process, and outcome of Department programs addressing homeless veterans; and (2) assign veterans receiving specified services provided in, or sponsored or coordinated by, the Department as being within the "complex care" category. Directs the Secretary to: (1) make grants to Department health care facilities and to grant and per diem providers for the development of programs targeted at meeting certain special needs of homeless veterans; (2) require certain officials to initiate a plan for joint outreach to veterans at risk of homelessness; (3) carry out two treatment trials in integrated mental health services delivery; (4) ensure that each Department primary care facility has a mental health treatment capacity; (5) carry out a program of transitional assistance grants to eligible homeless veterans; and (6) make technical assistance grants to aid nonprofit community-based groups in applying for homeless program grants. Extends through FY 2006 the homeless veterans reintegration program.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2001
Retirement Security and Savings Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) with respect to pensions. (All the following are amendments to the Code, except where the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, ERISA, is mentioned.) Increases: (1) annual dollar Individual Retirement Account (IRA) contribution limits; and (2) benefit and contribution limits, with indexes for inflation. Amends the Code and ERISA to deem certain voluntary employee contributions to accounts and annuities as IRAs rather than pension plans. Provides for tax-free distributions from IRAs for charitable purposes. Modifies adjusted gross income limits for Roth IRAs. Revises requirements relating to: (1) plan loans for subchapter S owners, partners, and sole proprietors; and (2) specified top-heavy rules. Provides that elective deferrals shall not be taken into account for purposes of limits on certain plan contributions. Repeals specified coordination requirements for deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Revises certain deduction limits for stock bonus and profit sharing trusts and for defined contribution plans. Provides for optional treatment of elective deferrals as after-tax contributions. Establishes nonrefundable tax credits for elective deferrals and IRA contributions. Establishes refundable tax credits for: (1) qualified pension plan contributions of small employers; and (2) the pension plan startup costs of small employers. Allows individuals age 50 or older to make additional contributions to an applicable employer plan (section 401(k) or similar plan). Sets forth requirements relating to equitable treatment for contributions of employees to defined contribution plans. Provides for faster vesting of certain employer matching contributions under the Code and ERISA. Revises: (1) minimum distribution rules; and (2) requirements relating to tax treatment of division of section 457 plan benefits upon divorce. Sets forth provisions: (1) relating to hardship distributions; and (2) for waiver of a tax on nondeductible contributions for domestic or similar workers. Permits, under certain conditions, rollovers: (1) from and to various types of plans; (2) of IRAs into workplace retirement plans; and (3) of after-tax contributions in an exempt trust. Sets forth a hardship exception to the 60-day rule. Sets forth requirements for treatment of forms of distribution available under transferor and transferee plans under the Code and ERISA. Revises restrictions on distributions, including the same desk exception. Allows trustee-to-trustee transfers to purchase permissive service credit with respect to governmental defined benefit plans. Allows employers to disregard rollovers for purposes of cash-out amounts, under retirement plan provisions of the Code. Revises minimum distribution and inclusion requirements for section 457 plans. Repeals, for plan years beginning in 2004 and following years, the current liability full funding limit under the Code and ERISA. Revises maximum contribution deduction rules, and applies them to all defined benefit plans. Allows an employer, in determining the amount of nondeductible contributions for any taxable year, to elect not to take into account any contributions to a defined benefit plan except to the extent they exceed the full-funding limitation. Makes certain compensation limitations for defined benefit plans inapplicable to governmental and multiemployer plans. Prohibits combining or aggregating a multiemployer plan with any other plan maintained by the employer for the purpose of applying such limitations. Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to protect the investment of employee contributions to 401(k) plans by providing that specified requirements apply to elective deferrals for plan years beginning after December 31, 1998. Requires that pension benefit statements be furnished annually (once every three years for defined benefit plans) or on request. Establishes an excise tax for certain prohibited allocations of stock in an S corporation ESOP. Provides for automatic rollovers of certain mandatory distributions. Establishes an excise tax for the failure of a defined benefit plan or an individual account plan (except governmental, church, and other specified plans), subject to minimum funding standards to meet specified notice requirements, under the Code and ERISA, for plan amendments which significantly reduce benefit accruals. Revises Code and ERISA requirements relating to timing of plan valuations. Allows applicable dividends of ESOPs to be reinvested without loss of dividend deduction. Repeals a transition rule relating to certain highly compensated employees under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to modify specified regulations with respect to certain plan participation by employees of tax-exempt entities. Treats the provision of certain retirement planning services by an employer for an employee as a de minimis fringe benefit to the extent it is not treated as a working condition fringe. Directs the Secretary to provide simplified annual filing requirements for retirement plans with assets below a specified amount, if they cover: (1) one participant (an owner and spouse); or (2) fewer than 25 employees. Directs the Secretary to continue to update and improve the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System, or any successor program. Repeals a multiple use test. Allows certain alternative ways of satisfying nondiscrimination, coverage, and line of business rules. Exempts plans maintained by any governmental entity from certain nondiscrimination rules. Directs the Secretary to modify specified regulations relating to the notice and consent period regarding distributions. Directs the Secretary to study and report on pension coverage and preretirement use of benefits. Revises ERISA provisions relating to: (1) annual report dissemination; (2) the National Summit on Retirement Savings; (3) missing participants; (4) Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) reduction of premiums for new plans of small employers and of additional premiums for new and small plans; (5) PBGC authority to pay interest on premium overpayment refunds; (6) substantial owner benefits in terminated plans; (7) civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibility; and (8) benefit suspension notices. Prescribes time requirements for plan amendments or annuity contract amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2001
Holocaust Victims Tax Fairness Act of 2001 - Excludes from gross income and from adjusted gross income computations which consider excluded income (including Social Security benefits) specified restitution payments received by persons (or heirs) persecuted for racial or religious reasons by Nazi Germany, its allied or controlled countries, or any other Axis regime. Excludes such payments from eligibility and benefits determinations for purposes of Federal or federally assisted means-tested programs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2001
Opposes the elimination of Saturday home and business mail delivery and calls on the U.S. Postal Service to take all of the necessary steps to assure that six-day home and business mail delivery not be reduced.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2001
Nursing Employment and Education Development Act (the NEED Act) - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for the nursing workforce development student loan repayment program and permit the service required by such program to be performed in a skilled nursing facility, in a home health agency, in a public health department, or in a nurse-managed health center. Provide for a Nurse Corps Scholarship program to provide scholarships to individuals seeking nursing education in exchange for service from such individuals in a critical nursing shortage area upon completion of such education, a public awareness and education campaign encouraging pursuit of the nursing profession, an area health education centers program to develop models of excellence for nurses, community nurse outreach grants, educational assistance for nurses from diverse or disadvantaged backgrounds, career ladder program grants for nurses, nurse training grants, nurse internship and residency grants, a fast-track nursing faculty loan program, a stipend and scholarship program to encourage individuals to seek advanced nursing degrees, and a National Commission on the Nursing Crisis.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2001
Stem Cell Research Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to permit the Secretary of Health and Human Services to only conduct, support, or fund research on human embryos for the purpose of generating embryonic stem cells and utilizing stem cells that have been derived from embryos in accordance with the provisions of this Act. Makes it unlawful for any person receiving Federal funds to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human embryos for valuable consideration if such action affects interstate commerce. Directs the Secretary, in conjunction with the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to issue guidelines expanding on the rules governing human embryonic stem cell research to include rules that govern the derivation of stem cells from donated embryos under this Act.
![Official portrait of Sen. Corzine, Jon S. [D-NJ]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001042_200.jpg)