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United States · Official source
2,765 records where Sen. Graham, Bob [D-FL] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2001
Medicare, Medicaid, and MCH Tobacco Cessation Promotion Act of 2001 - Amends titles V (Maternal and Child Health Services), XVIII (Medicare), and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of counseling for cessation of tobacco use under the Maternal and Child Health Services, Medicare, and Medicaid programs.
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 · 4 May 2001
Generator Tariff Elimination Act - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to grant duty-free treatment to certain steam or other vapor generating boilers used in nuclear facilities. Provides a duty for certain other steam or vapor generating boilers. Provides for the liquidation or reliquidation (refund) of duty on such boilers used in nuclear facilities that are entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption during a specified period of time.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
Medication Errors Reduction Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to make grants to eligible entities for the purpose of assisting such entities in offsetting the costs related to purchasing, leasing, developing, and implementing standardized clinical health care informatics systems designed to improve patient safety and reduce adverse events and health care complications resulting from medication errors. Terminates the Secretary's authority to make such grants on September 30, 2011. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2001
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2001 - Requires a group health plan or health insurance coverage offered by a health insurance issuer that provides any emergency services benefits (including ambulance services) to cover such services: (1) without prior authorization; (2) whether or not the health care provider furnishing such services is a participating provider; (3) in a manner so that if such services are provided by a nonparticipating provider, the participant, beneficiary, or enrollee is not liable for amounts that would exceed those of a participating provider; and (4) without regard to any other term or condition of such plan or coverage (other than exclusion or coordination of benefits, a specified affiliation or waiting period, and applicable cost sharing). Requires such plan or issuer, in the case of non-emergency maintenance or post-stabilization care services, to provide for reimbursement for services provided by nonparticipating providers in a manner consistent with specified guidelines under the Social Security Act or as the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish. Requires plans and issuers to make information regarding emergency services coverage available annually. Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to deem requirements of this Act to be incorporated into such Acts and the Internal Revenue Code.
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 · 1 May 2001
Medicare Puerto Rico Hospital Payment Parity Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise: (1) the payment formula to increase base payment amounts to Puerto Rico hospitals; and (2) the calculation of Medicare disproportionate share payments for prospective payment system hospitals in Puerto Rico.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to add to the list of 501(c) organizations (tax-exempt organizations) any nonprofit association created before January 1, 1999, by State law and organized and operated exclusively to provide property and casualty insurance coverage for losses occurring due to the effect of natural catastrophic events for property located within the State for which the State has determined that coverage in the authorized insurance market is not reasonably available to a substantial number of insurable real properties.
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 · 25 April 2001
Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas or any other mineral in the following planning areas: (1) eastern Gulf of Mexico; (2) Straits of Florida; or (3) South Atlantic, extending from the Straits of Florida planning area to the border between the States of Florida and Georgia. Conditions the sale of an option to enter into an oil and gas lease (except in the case of a plan for natural gas production and transportation) upon an environmental impact statement and a State consistency certification. Authorizes the Secretary to purchase rights to oil and gas development and production covered by specified leases outstanding in the Gulf of Mexico.
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 · 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
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
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, with respect to sugars, syrups, and molasses (excluding cane or beet sugar) that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, during any fiscal year under certain quantitative import restrictions (tariff-rate quotas), to establish a duty on such articles and other articles if they are subsequently used for the commercial extraction or production of sugar for human consumption, or such articles are used in any manner that circumvents any quota imposed under the Schedule. Prohibits the imposition of a tariff-rate quota on molasses used for animal consumption or for the production of rum in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2001
Municipal Utility Natural Gas Supply Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the definition of the term "investment property," as such term is used in defining "higher yield investments," any prepayment on a supply contract for the purpose of obtaining a supply of natural gas reasonably expected to be used by a utility which is owned and operated by a State or local government, or any State or local government political subdivision or instrumentality (thus permitting municipal gas systems to use their tax-exempt borrowing authority to fund the purchase of long-term, prepaid supplies of natural gas).
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
Nurse Reinvestment Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for nurse education training payments to qualified entities. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to temporarily increase the matching rate for Medicaid nurse aide training and competency evaluation programs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the exclusion from gross income of amounts received under the National Nursing Service Corps Scholarship Program. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the nursing profession, highlight the advantages and rewards of nursing, and encourage individuals from diverse communities and backgrounds to enter the nursing profession; and (2) award grants to designated eligible educational entities in order to increase the number of nurses. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes a National Nurse Service Corps Scholarship program that provides scholarships to individuals seeking nursing education in exchange for service by such individuals in areas with nursing shortages. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2001
Expresses the Senate's regret at the damage and loss of life occasioned by the accidental collision of a U.S. military EP-3E Aries II reconnaissance aircraft and an F-8 jet fighter from the Air Force of the People's Republic of China. Calls for the Chinese Government to release the crew members of the EP-3E and return the aircraft and its equipment to the United States. Supports the President's continuing efforts to ensure the safe return of the crew and aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Artist-Museum Partnership Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a fair market value (determined at time of contribution) deduction for charitable contributions of literary, musical, artistic, scholarly compositions, or the copyright created by a qualifying donor. Exempts certain non-personal letters and memoranda from such treatment. Limits such increased deduction to the donor's artistic adjusted income (as defined by this Act).
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2001
Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001 - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to increase benefits to railroad employees and their beneficiaries and to revise financing of the pension part (tier II) of the railroad retirement system. Establishes a Railroad Retirement Trust Fund and a Railroad Retirement Investment Trust to manage and invest Fund assets. Abolishes the Railroad Retirement Supplemental Annuity Account and provides for transfer of its funds to the Fund. Provides for transfer to the Fund of certain portions of the Railroad Retirement Account and of Social Security Equivalent Benefit account funds. Transfers to the disbursing agent from the Dual Benefits Payments Account the amount necessary to make dual benefit payments. Requires the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) to calculate the ratio of assets to benefits to determine annual tier II tax rates for employers, employee representatives, and employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt the Fund from taxation. Repeals a supplemental annuity tax that railroad employers pay to finance a benefit for long-time rail employees. Provides for adjustments to railroad employers, employee representatives, and employee tier II tax rates.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2001
Strengthening Working Families Act of 2001 - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) block grants to States for media campaigns to promote the formation and maintenance of married two-parent families, strengthen fragile families, and promote responsible fatherhood; (2) State Responsible Father programs; and (3) a national clearinghouse to assist States and communities to promote and support marriage and responsible fatherhood. Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of SSA title IV with regard to rules applicable to child support distribution, including modifying the rule requiring assignment of support rights as a condition of receiving TANF. Outlines provisions for involvement of public non-SSA title IV part D child support enforcement agencies in child support enforcement. Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) make various specified changes to provide for expanded child support enforcement; and (2) provide for use of new hire information in unemployment compensation program administration. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) make nonimmigrant aliens ineligible to receive visas because of child support nonpayment; and (2) authorize legal process to be served in child support cases on any alien who is an applicant for admission to the United States. Amends SSA title IV part D to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to share child support enforcement information to enforce immigration and naturalization law; and (2) provide for an increase in payment rate to States for expenditures for short-term training of staff of certain child welfare agencies. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) revise and increase the earned income tax credit for families with qualifying children; and (2) establish a credit for employer-provided child care facility expenditures. Amends: (1) SSA title IV part A to restore the authority of States to transfer up to ten percent of TANF funds to carry out State programs pursuant to SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services); and (2) SSA title XX to restore funds to States for such program. Amends SSA title IV part B (Child-Welfare Services) to reauthorize and extend the program for encouraging and enabling each State to establish a program of family preservation services, community-based family support services, time-limited family reunification services, and adoption promotion and support services. Amends SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to: (1) reauthorize and extend the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program; and (2) repeal the authority of a State to opt-out of the requirement to conduct criminal background checks on prospective foster or adoptive parents.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2001
Child Status Protection Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to continue classifying as children certain aliens who become 21 years old during the pendency of a petition for family sponsored, employment based, or diversity immigration, or an application for asylum, which was filed prior to their attaining such age. Provides similar status protection for immediate relatives not subject to certain numerical immigration limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2001
Housing Bond and Credit Modernization and Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the required use of certain principal repayments on mortgage subsidy bond financings to redeem bonds; (2) modify the purchase price limitation under mortgage subsidy bond rules based on median family income; and (3) define the term "area median gross income" for low-income housing credit projects.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2001 - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to prescribe parameters for block grants to States and territories to implement at their option media campaigns promoting responsible fatherhood. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with a nonprofit fatherhood promotion organization to: (1) develop and distribute a media campaign that addresses the issue of responsible fatherhood to States, local governments, public agencies, and private entities; and (2) develop a national clearinghouse to assist States and community efforts to promote and support responsible fatherhood by disseminating information regarding media campaigns and programs instituted by States using grant funds under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Medicare, Medicaid, and MCH Tobacco Cessation Promotion Act of 2001 - Amends titles V (Maternal and Child Health Services), XVIII (Medicare), and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of counseling for cessation of tobacco use under the Maternal and Child Health Services, Medicare, and Medicaid programs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a deduction (based on years of continuous coverage) for eligible long-term care insurance premiums for a taxpayer, spouse, and dependents, including accelerated deduction percentages for persons who are 55 years old; and (2) long-term care insurance to be offered under cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements. Allows an income-adjusted (limited) credit for eligible individuals with long-term care needs. Sets forth specified requirements for qualifying long-term care insurance contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2001 - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that: (1) constitutes a crime of violence under Federal law or a felony under State or Indian tribal law; and (2) is motivated by prejudice based on the race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim or is a violation of the hate crime laws of the State or tribe. Directs the Attorney General to give priority for assistance to crimes committed by offenders who have committed crimes in more than one State and to rural jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the extraordinary investigation or prosecution expenses. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to assist State, local, and Indian law enforcement officials with such extraordinary expenses. Directs the Office of Justice Programs to: (1) work closely with funded jurisdictions to ensure that the concerns and needs of all affected parties are addressed; and (2) award grants to State and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. Prohibits specified offenses involving actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to study and provide sentencing enhancements for adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes. Amends the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to require the crime data to be collected and published by the Attorney General to include data about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on gender.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2001
Condemns the repressive and totalitarian actions of the Cuban Government against the Cuban people. Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should: (1) establish an action-oriented policy of directly assisting the Cuban people and independent organizations to strengthen the forces of change and to improve human rights in Cuba (with such policy modeled on the bipartisan U.S. support for the Polish Solidarity movement); and (2) make all efforts necessary at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva in 2001 to obtain passage of a resolution condemning the Cuban Government for its human rights abuses and to secure the appointment of a Special Rapporteur for Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act of 2001 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to grant States the option of covering certain categories of eligible women and child resident aliens under the Medicaid and SCHIP programs.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2001
Nutrition Assistance for Working Families and Seniors Act of 2001 - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to make legal immigrants eligible for food stamp program benefits. Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 respecting the food stamp program to: (1) increase standard income deductions; (2) increase the minimum household allotment; (3) increase the transitional benefits period; (4) provide for personnel training, a toll-free information number, pilot programs for inter-program application and verification, and Internet and telephone participation; (5) provide grants for partnerships and technology to enhance program access, including outreach to families with low program participation, or participating in (or unable to participate in) the temporary assistance for needy families program. Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to authorize additional appropriations for emergency food assistance commodities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2001
Medicaid Safety Net Hospital Preservation Act of 2001 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to repeal specified reductions after FY 2000 and thereby extend certain modifications to disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments provided under the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000. Increases the Medicaid DSH allotment for the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2001
Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2001 - Establishes the Commission on Voting Rights and Procedures to study: (1) election technology and systems; (2) ballot design and uniformity; (3) ballot and polling place access; (4) voting systems capacity and election administration efficiency; (5) voter registration and maintenance of voter rolls; (6) alternative voting methods; (7) voter intimidation; (8) accuracy of voting, election procedures, and election technology; (9) voter education; (10) election personnel and volunteer training; (11) implementation of provisions of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act on registration and voting by absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters in elections for Federal office; (12) establishment of the date on which such elections are held as a Federal or a State holiday and on establishment of modified polling place hours; and (13) Federal assistance to State and local authorities to improve the administration of elections for Federal office. Directs the Commission to develop specific recommendations, consistent with certain uniform and nondiscriminatory election technology and administration requirements under this Act, regarding: (1) best practices in voting and election administration; (2) Federal assistance to State and local authorities to improve administration of Federal elections; (3) increased voter registration, accuracy of voter rolls, and participation and inclusion of legal voters, and (4) improved voter education and training of election personnel. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to approved State, territory, and locality applicants to pay the Federal share of the costs of activities to: (1) improve, acquire, or replace voting equipment or technology and improve the accessibility of polling places; (2) implement new election administration procedures to increase voter participation and reduce disenfranchisement, such as "same-day" voter registration procedures; (3) educate voters concerning voting procedures, voting rights or voting technology, and to train election personnel; and (4) implement Commission recommendations. Specifies certain uniform and nondiscriminatory requirements each voting system used in an election for Federal office must meet with regard to election technology and administration. Outlines requirements for provisional voting and sample ballot mailings to voters. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action in an appropriate district court to enforce the requirements of this Act for election technology and administration through the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Justice.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2001
Working Families Registry Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the admission date for permanent residence for certain aliens, including additional one-year extensions during specified time periods.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2001 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act, respectively, to prohibit certain employee group health plans or related insurances providing both medical-surgical and mental health benefits from imposing mental health treatment limitations or financial requirements unless comparable limitations and requirements are imposed upon medical-surgical benefits. Exempts specified small employers from such requirements. Requires a General Accounting Office study of such requirements' effects upon health insurance costs, access, and quality.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Transition to Competition in the Electric Industry Act - States that no electric utility shall be required, under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), to enter into a new contract or obligation to purchase or sell electricity or capacity from or to qualifying cogeneration and small power production facilities. Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to promulgate and enforce regulations designed to ensure that no electric utility shall be required to absorb the costs associated with purchases of electric power or capacity from a qualifying facility pursuant to PURPA obligations before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2001
Sets at $250,000 the amount of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance payable to an active-duty or Ready Reserve member who: (1) dies in a manner covered by such insurance during the period beginning on October 1, 2000, and ending on March 30, 2001; and (2) has not made an election to be insured in an amount less than the automatic maximum amount of such insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Andean Trade Preference Expansion Act - Amends the Andean Trade Preference Act to extend, for a specified transition period, treatment free of any duties, quantitative restrictions, limitations, or consultation levels to certain textile and apparel articles (including preferential tariff treatment under the North American Free Trade Agreement to certain non-apparel articles) imported into the United States from Andean Trade Preference Expansion Act (ATPEA) beneficiary countries (Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru) designated under such Act. Sets forth penalties for exporters and countries that have engaged in the transshipment of such articles from an ATPEA beneficiary country.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2001
Internet Tax Moratorium and Equity Act - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to extend, until December 31, 2005, provisions which prohibit a State or political subdivision from imposing: (1) taxes on Internet access, unless such tax was generally imposed and actually enforced prior to October 1, 1998; and (2) multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) States and localities should work together to develop a uniform streamlined sales and use tax system that addresses remote sales; and (2) a joint comprehensive study should be undertaken to determine the cost of collecting and remitting State and local sales and use taxes under such system. Authorizes States to enter into an Interstate Sales and Use Tax Compact which shall describe a uniform, streamlined sales and use tax system consistent with such system.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Social Services Block Grant Restoration Act of 2001 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to restore the authority of States to transfer up to ten percent of TANF funds to carry out State programs pursuant to SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services). Amends SSA title XX to: (1) restore funds to States and territories for FY 2001 and 2002 and each fiscal year thereafter; and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to compile information on State activities carried out under SSA title XX and report it annually to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Nuclear Energy Electricity Supply Assurance Act of 2001 - Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 2001 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to extend the indemnification authority of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) with respect to licensees and nonprofit educational institutions. Makes such authority permanent with respect to Department of Energy (DOE) contractors. Revises guidelines pertaining to: (1) licensee insurance premiums; and (2) liability and indemnification limits. Limits any civil penalty for a tax-exempt nonprofit contractor, subcontractor, or supplier to the amount of the performance fee paid by the Secretary. Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to add two Assistant Secretaries of Energy to serve, respectively, as Director of: (1) the Office of Science; and (2) the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to establish or continue programs administered by the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology, including: (1) specified nuclear energy research and technology programs; (2) investments to increase electricity capacity at commercial nuclear plants; (3) continued domestic capability for uranium mining, conversion, and enrichment industries; and (4) university nuclear engineering education research and infrastructure. Amends the USEC Privatization Act to prohibit the Secretary from selling surplus natural uranium and conversion services through 2006. Requires the sale of uranium hexaflouride. Authorizes the Secretary to proceed to place the Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant into cold standby condition for a five-year period. Mandates a program to: (1) demonstrate the NRC Early Site Permit process; (2) evaluate opportunities for completion of partially constructed nuclear plants; (3) assess opportunities for Generation IV reactors; and (4) research potential licensing issues associated with new reactor technologies and designs. Declares electricity generated by a nuclear plant to be an environmentally preferable product. Conditions Federal funding for a domestic or international organization that supports electricity production facilities upon inclusion of emission-free electricity production facility projects that use nuclear fuel. Establishes the Office of Spent Nuclear Fuel Research to implement a research and development program pertaining to treatment, recycling, and disposal of high-level nuclear radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct an advanced fuel recycling technology research and development program to further the availability of electrometallurgical technology as a proliferation-resistant alternative to aqueous reprocessing in support of evaluation of alternative national strategies for spent nuclear fuel and Generation IV advanced reactor concepts; and (2) establish the Advanced Accelerator Applications Program. Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to: (1) revise certain commercial license requirements; (2) repeal restrictions pertaining to foreign ownership of commercial licensees; and (3) grant firearms and arrest authority to employees of NRC licensees.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Economic Insurance Tax Cut of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to add a 10-percent income tax rate bracket.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Child Protection/Alcohol and Drug Partnership Act of 2001 - Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible State and Indian tribe applicants to promote joint activities among Federal, State, and local public child welfare and alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment agencies that focus on families with alcohol or drug abuse problems. Requires such activities to: (1) increase the capacity of both the child welfare system and the alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment system to address the needs of such families to improve child safety, family stability, and permanence; and (2) promote recovery from alcohol and drug abuse problems.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Honors the 18 members of the Virginia Air National Guard and three members of the Florida Army National Guard who were killed on March 3, 2001, in the crash of a C-23 Sherpa National Guard aircraft in south-central Georgia. Expresses condolences to their families, friends, and loved ones.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2001
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the President should designate the week of March 18 through March 24, 2001, as National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week; and (2) parents should learn about the dangers of inhalant abuse and discuss those dangers with their children.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to designate a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System under the Wilderness Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2001
Brownfields Revitalization and Environmental Restoration Act of 2001 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to provide for grant programs for inventorying, characterizing, assessing, remediating, and conducting planning related to brownfield sites. Defines a "brownfield site," with exceptions, as real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance or pollutant. Exempts from liability under CERCLA certain owners of real property contiguous to property on which there has been a hazardous substance release or threatened release and bona fide prospective purchasers. Provides for grants to States or Indian tribes for establishing or enhancing response programs. Restricts authority to take enforcement actions under CERCLA in cases of hazardous substance releases addressed by a State response plan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2001
Repeals the 3,500 unit limitation on the total number of Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) units that may be maintained by the military departments. Allows regular or reserve retired National Guard and reserve officer personnel to serve as JROTC administrators and instructors.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2001
Agricultural Market Access and Development Act of 2001 - Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to increase FY 2001 through 2002 funding caps for the market access program. Authorizes and sets forth the conditions under which unexpended Commodity Credit Corporation export enhancement program funds may be used for market access or development programs. Establishes FY 2001 through 2002 minimum funding amounts for the foreign market development cooperator program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2001
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to eliminate the provision permitting interstate movement of live fighting birds if the fighting venture is to take place in a State allowing such fights.