United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Government Neutrality in Contracting Act - Directs the head of any Federal agency that awards or obligates funds for any construction contract, or that awards grants, provides financial assistance, or enters into cooperative agreements for construction projects, to ensure that bid specifications, project agreements, or other controlling documents do not: (1) require or prohibit a bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor from entering into, or adhering to, agreements with labor organization, with respect to that construction project or another related construction project; or (2) otherwise discriminate against such a party because it did or did not become a signatory or otherwise adhere to such an agreement. Allows exemptions to avert an imminent threat to public health or safety or to serve national security. Allows additional exemptions for certain projects. Directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this Act with respect to the applicable Federal contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Medicare Medical Nutrition Therapy Amendment 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 of 2000, to provide coverage of medical nutrition therapy services for certain Medicare beneficiaries with cardiovascular diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2001
TANF Supplemental Grants Act of 2001 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to reauthorize and extend the supplemental grant for population increases in certain States under TANF for FY 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2001
Preserve Charitable Giving Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to allow exceptions for charitable, eleemosynary, or other beneficent purposes from workplace no-solicitation or no-access rules (by providing that such an exception shall not be grounds for finding an unfair labor practice).
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
Congressional Responsibility Act of 2001 - Prohibits a regulation from taking effect before the enactment of a bill comprised solely of the text of the regulation. Requires an agency, whenever it promulgates a regulation, to submit to each House of Congress a report containing its text and an explanation. Sets forth expedited congressional procedures for consideration of bills to enact agency regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2001
Exempts any migratory bird management carried out by the Secretary of Agriculture through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service from the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (including regulations). Authorizes a Service employee acting under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to: (1) issue a depredation permit to a Service stakeholder or cooperator; and (2) manage and take migratory birds.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2001
Area Wage and Base Payment Improvement Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) mandate a single national average standardized payment amount for inpatient hospital services furnished, regardless of whether in an urban or non-urban area, under the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for discharges occurring in FY 2002 and thereafter; and (2) establish a minimum factor of .925 as a floor for area wage adjustment factors used under the PPS for inpatient and outpatient hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2001
National Right-to-Work Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that is a union security agreement, to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2001
Small Business Liability Reform Act of 2001 - Allows punitive damages to be awarded against a small business only if the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that conduct carried out by the defendant with a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of others was the proximate cause of the harm that is the subject of the action. Limits such punitive damages to the lesser of three times the amount awarded for economic and noneconomic losses, or $250,000. Makes such limitation inapplicable if the court finds that the defendant acted with specific intent to cause the type of harm for which the action is brought. Provides liability limitation exceptions. States that in any civil action against a small business: (1) each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of noneconomic loss allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to the percentage of responsibility of that defendant for the harm caused to the plaintiff; and (2) the court shall render a separate judgment against each defendant describing such percentage of responsibility. Excepts from such liability limitations specified misconduct of a defendant. Mandates that, in any product liability action covered by this Act, a product seller other than a manufacturer shall be liable to a claimant only if such claimant establishes that: (1) the product that caused the harm was sold, rented, or leased by the seller, the seller failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the product, and such failure was the proximate cause of harm to the plaintiff; (2) the seller made an express warranty applicable to such product, the product failed to conform to the warranty, and such failure caused the harm to the plaintiff; or (3) the product seller engaged in intentional wrongdoing, and such wrongdoing caused the harm to the plaintiff.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2001
National Media Campaign to Prevent Underage Drinking Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop, implement, and conduct a national media campaign for the purpose of reducing and preventing underage drinking in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit rural mail carriers to treat qualified vehicle expenses in excess of reimbursements as miscellaneous itemized deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2001
Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to revise provisions relating to access and choice for small business employers with respect to medical care for their employees. Establishes rules governing association health plans (group health plans whose sponsors are trade, industry, professional, chamber of commerce, or similar business associations), including requirements relating to certification, sponsors and boards of trustees, participation, coverage, plan documents, contribution rates, benefit options, applications for certification, notice for voluntary termination, corrective actions, and mandatory termination. Requires association health plans which provide health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage to maintain certain reserves and comply with other solvency requirements. Directs the Secretary of Labor to apply for appointment, and carry out specified duties, as trustee of any such insolvent association health plans which provide health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage. Allows a State to impose a contribution tax on any association health plan commencing operations in such State after the enactment of this Act. Requires association health plans to include in their summary plan descriptions, in connection with each benefit option, a description of the form of any solvency or guarantee fund protection secured under ERISA or applicable State law. Revises requirements relating to treatment of: (1) single employer arrangements; and (2) certain collectively bargained arrangements. Sets forth requirements for association health plans with respect to: (1) enforcement; (2) cooperation between Federal and State authorities; and (3) treatment of certain existing health benefit programs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include within the scope of the credit for electricity produced from certain renewable resources: (1) electricity produced from agricultural and animal waste; and (2) certain agricultural and animal waste facilities and combined production facilities (production of electricity from agricultural and animal waste and other biobased products).
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2001
Independent Contractor Determination Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth criteria for determining whether a service provider and a service recipient are in an employer-employee or an independent contractor relationship. Amends the Revenue Act of 1978, as amended by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, to repeal the prohibition on treating certain technical service providers as independent contractors.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2001
Amends part C (Administrative Simplification) of title XI of the Social Security Act to postpone the deadline for compliance by applicable entities and programs with standards for: (1) reduction of the administrative costs of providing and paying for health care; and (2) electronic transactions of health information. Sets the new deadline at the later date of either October 16, 2004, or two years after: (1) the final adoption of relevant regulations concerning all such standards, except those for unique health identifiers for individuals; and (2) the availability of reliable national unique health identifiers for health plans and health care providers. Makes this Act effective as if included in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
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
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 · 1 May 2001
Full Social Security Benefits Guarantee Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue to each individual who is receiving benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA), and to each individual who applies for such benefits, a certificate representing a legally enforceable guarantee: (1) of the monthly amount of benefits that the individual will receive under SSA title II, as determined on the certificate's date of issuance; and (2) that the benefits will be adjusted at least annually on the basis of an accurate determination of the increase in the individual's cost-of-living, and as a result of any change in the individual's OASDI eligibility status.
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
Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001 - Prohibits any person or entity, in or affecting interstate commerce, from: (1) performing or attempting to perform human cloning; (2) participating in such an attempt; (3) shipping or receiving the product of human cloning; or (4) importing such a product. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Federal Government should advocate for and join an international effort to prohibit human cloning; and (2) the President should commission a study by the National Bioethics Advisory Commission or a successor group of the arguments for and against the use of cloning to produce human embryos solely for research.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Rural Electric Tax Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an exempt mutual or electric cooperative to exclude from income certain prepayments of any loan, debt, or obligation made, insured, or guaranteed under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. Adds rules concerning the treatment of certain amounts received by taxable electric cooperatives.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Americans with Disabilities Notification Act - Amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to deny a court jurisdiction over a civil action for which a plaintiff filed a complaint with respect to a place of public accommodation or a commercial facility unless: (1) before filing the complaint, the plaintiff provided to the defendant notice of the alleged violation (by registered mail or in person); (2) the notice identified the specific facts that constitute the alleged violation, including identification of the location at which, and the date on which, the violation occurred; (3) at least 90 days have elapsed after the date on which the notice was so provided before the plaintiff filed the complaint; (4) the notice informed the defendant that the civil action could not be commenced until the expiration of such 90-day period; and (5) the complaint states that, as of the date on which the complaint is filed, the defendant has not corrected the alleged violation. Directs that if a plaintiff files such a complaint but does not meet the criteria: (1) the court shall impose an appropriate sanction on the plaintiff's attorney; and (2) if the plaintiff subsequently meets the criteria and the action proceeds, the court may not allow the plaintiff attorneys' fees or costs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2001
Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to purchase U.S. savings bonds for military personnel who have completed certain periods of active duty and who enter into a commitment to perform at least six years of additional active-duty service in a specialty designated as critical by such Secretary. Makes such bond amounts: (1) $5,000, for members who enter into the agreement before completing three years of active duty; (2) the excess of $15,000 over the face amount of any bonds previously purchased for such members who have completed at least three years of active service but less than nine years; and (3) the excess of $30,000 over such face amount for members who have completed nine years of active service. Requires the pro rata repayment of such bond amounts for the non-completion of the required additional service, with a waiver when repayment is considered to be against equity and good conscience or contrary to the best interests of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2001
Medicaid Safety Net Improvement Act of 2001 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to increase the allowed Federal Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment in "extremely low-DSH" States from one percent to three percent of the State's Medicaid program costs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2001
Directs the Secretary of Defense to report annually to Congress on waivers from the Buy American limitations for goods or services procured by or for the Department of Defense, as set forth under the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1993, that were granted for procurements made by the Defense Logistics Agency for the military departments. Requires, at least 14 days before granting each waiver, that the Secretary notify the Secretary of the military department concerned of the determination to waive such limitations. Allows the Secretary to waive such notification when a delay of the procurement is not consistent with the need to expedite the procurement in the U.S. national security interest. Requires the Secretary to establish a system for: (1) monitoring the granting of such waivers; and (2) recording the waivers and the reasons therefor.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2001
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to extend the wetlands reserve program. Replaces the total program acreage limitation with an annual acreage enrollment limitation through FY 2005. Authorizes program related cooperative agreements for goods and services.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exempt State and local candidate committees from specified notification requirements; (2) exempt State and local political committees from specified reporting and annual gross receipts-based return requirements; and (3) authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to waive certain related penalties. Directs the Secretary to publicize the effects of the amendments made by this Act.
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
Nuclear Renewal Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code provide limited business tax credits for qualified nuclear power facilities and facility upgrades through tax year 2011. Extends such credit to certain tax exempt public utilities and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Classifies property used in the generation of electricity (property used in any qualified nuclear power facility or facility upgrade) as seven-year depreciable property (with a ten-year class life for alternative depreciation purposes).
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2001
Government Neutrality in Contracting Act - Directs the head of any Federal agency that awards or obligates funds for any construction contract, or that awards grants, provides financial assistance, or enters into cooperative agreements for construction projects to ensure that bid specifications, project agreements, or other controlling documents do not: (1) require or prohibit a bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor from entering into, or adhering to, agreements with labor organization, with respect to that construction project or another related construction project; or (2) otherwise discriminate against such a party because it did or did not become a signatory or otherwise adhere to such an agreement. Allows exemptions to avert an imminent threat to public health or safety or to serve national security. Directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this Act with respect to the applicable Federal contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2001
Physician Pathology Services Fair Payment Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for payment to an independent laboratory instead of a covered hospital when the laboratory furnishes the technical component of a physician pathology service to a fee-for-service Medicare beneficiary who is an inpatient or outpatient of the hospital.
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
Amateur Sports Integrity Act - Athletic Performance-Enhancing Drugs Research and Detection Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish a program to support research into the use of performance-enhancing substances by athletes, and methods of detecting their use. Requires the Director to: (1) consider research proposals involving performance-enhancing substances banned from use by competitors in events sanctioned by organizations such as the International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic Committee, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball. Requires the Director in carrying out such program to: (1) fund research on the detection of naturally-occurring steroids, such as testosterone, and other testosterone precursors (e.g., androstendione), and other substances, such as human growth hormone and erythropoietin for which no tests are available but for which there is evidence of abuse or abuse potential; (2) fund research that focuses on population studies to ensure that tests are accurate for men, women, all relevant age, and major ethnic groups; and (3) not fund research on drugs of abuse, such as cocaine, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, phencyclidine, marijuana, morphine/codeine, and methamphetamine/amphetamine. Requires the Director to develop a grant program to fund educational substance abuse prevention and intervention programs related to the use of such banned performance-enhancing substances by high school and college student athletes. Amends the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to make it unlawful for a governmental entity to sponsor, operate, advertise, promote, license, or authorize by law or compact, or for a person, to sponsor, operate, advertise, or promote, a lottery, sweepstakes, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based on a competitive game at the Summer or Winter Olympics, a competitive game in which high school or college athletes participate, or a performance of high school or college athletes in a competitive game.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2001
Provides for the naturalization of Gao Zhan without her being administered the oath of renunciation and allegiance otherwise required by the Immigration and Nationality Act. Requires the Attorney General to furnish her with a certificate of naturalization.
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
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 · 4 April 2001
Resource Efficient Appliance Incentives Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a limited credit, for a limited time period, for producers of qualified energy efficient clothes washers and energy efficient refrigerators.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2001
Blind Persons Earnings Equity Act of 2001 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to restore the link ended by the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1995 between the rules relating to substantial gainful activity for blind individuals and the rules relating to excess earnings under the Social Security earnings test for individuals who have attained retirement age (thus allowing blind individuals, once again, to earn up to the Social Security excess earnings threshold without being regarded as having demonstrated an ability to engage in substantial gainful activity and without losing entitlement to OASDI benefits).
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2001
Fair Care for the Uninsured Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual a tax credit in an amount equal to the amount paid for qualified health insurance, subject to stated limitations. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to the provider of an individual's qualified health insurance equal to such individual's qualified health insurance credit advance amount (the Secretary's estimate of the amount of credit allowable) with respect to such provider. Requires each health insurer, health maintenance organization, and health service organization to participate in a health insurance safety net which shall assure the availability of health insurance to uninsurable individuals. Funds such safety nets through assessments against such insurers and organizations. Permits such insurers and organizations to add the costs of such assessments to the costs of its insurance or coverage. Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow health benefits coverage through individual membership associations (IMAs). Sets forth IMA requirements, including that the IMA be an organization operated under the direction of an association and that IMA health benefits coverage only be provided through contracts with health insurance issuers. Requires IMAs to include a minimum of two health insurance coverage options.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2001
Tornado Shelters Act - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to permit the use of community development block grants for construction of tornado-safe shelters in manufactured home parks.
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
Medicare Geographic Adjustment Fairness 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 of 2000, with respect to decisions of the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board to reclassify a disproportionate share hospital (DSH) for purposes of the adjustment factor used to adjust the diagnostic related statistical group (DRG) prospective payment rate for area differences in hospital wage levels that applies to such hospital for FY 2001 or any subsequent fiscal year. Makes any such Board decision apply for purposes of adjusting payments made on a prospective basis for variations in costs attributable to wages and wage-related costs for prospective payment system-reimbursed items and services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2001
Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish a Decommissioning Pilot Program to decommission and decontaminate the sodium-cooled fast breeder experimental test-site reactor located in northwest Arkansas, in accordance with the report, "Conceptual Cost Estimate for Decommissioning the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor," issued by the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Restoration; and (2) develop a decommissioning plan and report to certain congressional committees thereon.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2001
Workplace Flexibility Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide workplace flexibility options for: (1) time-and-a-half compensatory time off; and (2) biweekly work programs (allowing up to ten hours more than 40 hours of work in one week and correspondingly less in the other). Requires, with respect to such compensatory time and biweekly work programs, that employee participation be voluntary, and that collective bargaining agreements be honored. Sets forth: (1) procedures for employer discontinuance of, or employee withdrawal from, certain of such programs; and (2) prohibitions against coercion. Amends the Federal bankruptcy code to grant third priority (allowed unsecured claims for wages, salaries, or commissions) in bankruptcy proceedings to claims relating to compensatory time off. Amends the Congressional Accountability Act to provide congressional employees with such options for compensatory time and biweekly work programs.
![Official portrait of Sen. Hutchinson, Tim [R-AR]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001015_200.jpg)