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United States · Official source
676 records where Sen. Miller, Zell [D-GA] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2001
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 2853 Candler Road in Decatur, Georgia, as the Earl T. Shinhoster Post Office.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2001
Home Health Nurse and Patient Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) Task Force to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the comprehensive assessment of patients to determine whether: (1) the number of assessments required during an episode of care or the number of questions asked during each assessment should be decreased to eliminate redundant and uninformative clinical information; (2) a uniform data collection standard is needed to ensure that patients who are not Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act (SSA)) or Medicaid (SSA title XIX) beneficiaries receive the same quality of care as Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries; and (3) OASIS data should be collected from Medicaid beneficiaries who are not Medicare beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to promulgate a regulation revising the data collection requirements under the OASIS standard used as part of the comprehensive assessment of patients to: (1) make use of such requirements optional for patients of home health agencies who are not Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries; and (2) eliminate such requirements for any home health agency patient to whom only personal care services are furnished. Requires the Secretary to review each regulation relating to the demand billing process for individuals who are both Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to determine whether it may be conducted in a manner that is efficient, allows for determination of Medicare coverage of home health services and expedient claims submission, and does not adversely affect Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries or home health agencies in determination of whether Medicare payment may be made for an item or service. Directs the Secretary to establish the Claims Review and Audit Task Force to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on the processes and policies used to review medical claims submitted by home health agencies and on other specified matters. Provides for the implementation of Task Force recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2001
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) all Americans should keep abused and neglected children in their thoughts and prayers; (2) all Americans should seek to break the cycle of abuse and neglect and to give these children hope for the future; (3) the faith community, nonprofit organizations, and volunteers across America should recommit themselves and mobilize their resources to assist these children; and (4) the Senate supports the goals and ideas of the Day of Hope, (April 3, 2002) and commends Childhelp USA for its efforts on behalf of abused and neglected children everywhere.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2001
Dairy Consumers and Producers Protection Act of 2001 - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to include Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania within the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact. Eliminates: (1) the Compact's termination date; and (2) certain restrictive authority respecting non-Compact milk. States that only Ohio may join such Compact. Eliminates and revises specified provisions regarding Compact implementation, duration, restricting authority, and Commodity Credit Corporation compensation. States that Congress consents to the Southern Dairy Compact entered into by Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. States that only Florida, Nebraska, and Texas may join such Compact. Limits price regulatory authority to Class I fluid milk unless otherwise consented to by the Congress. Provides for Commodity Credit Corporation compensation. Sets forth the Southern Dairy Compact. States that Congress consents to: (1) the Pacific Northwest Dairy Compact proposed for California, Oregon, and Washington; and (2) the Intermountain Dairy Compact proposed for Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. Limits price regulatory authority to Class I fluid milk. Provides for Corporation compensation. States that such Compacts shall be the same as the Southern Dairy Compact with specified differences.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2001
Motor Vehicle Franchise Contract Arbitration Fairness Act of 2001 - Provides that whenever a motor vehicle franchise contract provides for the use of arbitration to resolve a controversy arising out of or relating to the contract, arbitration may be used to settle the controversy only if both parties consent in writing after such controversy arises. Requires the arbitrator to provide the parties with a written explanation of the factual and legal basis for the award.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2001
Venture Capital Gains and Growth Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a 100 percent (currently 50 percent) exclusion from gross income (a zero capital gains rate) for new long-term (three-year) investments in the stock of a small corporation (with $300 million or less in paid-in capital) acquired directly from the corporation. Repeals the minimum tax preference for such excluded capital gains.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2001
Medicare Reform Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish the Medicare Coverage Commission to make national Medicare coverage determinations. Amends SSA part A (General Provisions) of title XI to require nine presidential appointees in addition to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to serve in such Centers. Authorizes programs for care coordination services, disease management services, competitive acquisition of items and services, bundled items and services related to specific medical conditions and surgical procedures, and preferred participants. Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to revise the Medicare+Choice (SSA title XVIII part C) competitive pricing demonstration project. Amends SSA title XVIII to establish: (1) a Medicare Outpatient Prescription Drug Benefit Program; (2) a Prescription Drug Account in the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund; and (3) a Medicare Prescription Drug Advisory Committee. Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a Working Group on Disease Self-Management and Health Promotion. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to make healthy seniors promotion grants and conduct demonstration projects to promote disease self-management for certain conditions. Amends SSA title XVIII to outline Medicare coverage of various specified preventive services, including cessation of tobacco use, counseling for post-menopausal women, screening for diminished visual acuity and hypertension, and medical nutrition therapy services. Permits waiver of coinsurance and deductibles for certain preventive services, such as: (1) diabetes outpatient self-management training services; (2) colorectal and prostate cancer screening tests; and (3) bone mass measurement. Directs the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a national falls prevention and awareness campaign. Prescribes requirements for clinical depression screening demonstration projects. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish a Medicare health education and risk appraisal program. Outlines an informatics systems grant program for hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Provides for indexing of the Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) deductible to inflation, and for an income-related reduction in the Medicare subsidy for the Medicare part B premium.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2001
Expresses the sense of Congress that steps should be taken to ensure that every member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve and such member's family have health care benefits that are adequate to: (1) ease the member's transition from civilian to full-time military life during a mobilization; (2) minimize the adverse effects of a mobilization on the member's ability to provide adequate health care to his or her family; and (3) improve readiness and retention in the Selected Reserve. Directs the Secretary of Defense to contract with a federally funded research and development center to study the health care benefit needs of such members and their families and to issue a report that shall include recommended options for extending health care benefits under the Defense Health Program or the Federal Employee Health benefits program to cover such members.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2001
Hematological Cancer Research Investment and Education Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require: (1) the Director of the National Institutes of Health to establish a blood cancer research, information, and education program, particularly with respect to leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma; and (2) the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a related public information program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2001
Business Property Economic Revitalization Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify qualified leasehold improvement property (defined as certain improvements made to an interior portion of nonresidential real property) as ten-year property for depreciation purposes under the Accelerated Cost Recovery System.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to environmental remediation cost expensing to: (1) make such provision permanent; (2) include toxic substances within the definition of "hazardous substance"; (3) include toxic substances or structures containing hazardous or toxic substances within the definition of "qualified contaminated site"; and (4) eliminate a related recapture provision.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2001
Filipino Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 2001 - Redesignates provisions of Federal law which authorize: (1) payment of compensation for the service-connected disability of members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army who served with U.S. armed forces during World War II and who now are U.S. citizens or lawfully reside in the United States; and (2) hospital and nursing home care and medical services for such veterans and new Philippine Scouts in the same manner as U.S. veterans. Limits the disability pension to $100 per month for such veterans who reside in the Philippines. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish care and services to veterans of World War II, Commonwealth Army veterans, and new Philippine Scouts for the treatment of service-connected disabilities and non-service connected disabilities of such veterans and scouts residing in the Philippines on an outpatient basis at the Manila VA Outpatient Clinic. Limits to $500,000 the amount to be expended during a fiscal year for such services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2001
Patient Abuse Prevention Act - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish programs to prevent abuse of recipients of home health or of long-term care services in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) or other long-term care facilities under the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including background checks on workers and a hiring ban on abusive workers. Prescribes criminal and civil penalties for violation of this Act. Requires State Medicare and Medicaid registries to collect information about nursing facility employees other than nurse aides. Amends SSA title XI to include abusive long-term care facility employees in the national health care fraud and abuse data collection program database. Includes SNFs, certain other nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospices, intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded, and providers of home health or long-term care services as long-term care facilities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program to provide grants to develop information on best practices in patient abuse prevention training for managers and staff of hospital and health care facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2001
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions concerning designated settlement funds to exempt from tax any designated settlement fund established for the principal purpose of resolving and satisfying present and future claims relating to asbestos. Sets forth special rules concerning asbestos liability losses.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2001
Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Act of 2001 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for an enhanced Federal Medicaid medical assistance percentage for States that elect to continuously enroll infants during the first year of life without regard to the child's membership in the woman's household or the mother's eligibility status. Amends SSA title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) to permit a State child health plan, implemented under either SCHIP or Medicaid, to provide for coverage of pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income pregnant women under specified conditions. Provides for SCHIP and Medicaid coordination with SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services). Increases the SCHIP income eligibility level with respect to a low-income child. Amends: (1) SSA title XIX to provide for an enhanced Federal Medicaid medical assistance percentage for increased expenditures for medical assistance for children; (2) SSA title XXI to increase SCHIP appropriations; and (3) SSA titles XIX and XXI to permit a State to elect to provide Medicaid and SCHIP coverage of children age 20 or 21.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) Federal civilian and military retirees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis; and (2) a deduction (available to itemizers and nonitemizers) for TRICARE supplemental premiums and enrollment fees.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2001
Fair Treatment for Precious Metals Investors Act - Amends Internal Revenue Code maximum capital gains rate provisions to eliminate the exception for gold, silver, and platinum coins.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2001
Iran and Libya Sanctions Extension Act of 2001 - Amends the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to extend it for another five-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2001
Reforestation Tax Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction to a taxpayer who has a qualified timber gain in an amount equal to the qualified percentage of such gain. Decreases the amortization period for reforestation expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2001
Korea Defense Service Medal Act - Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to issue a campaign medal, to be known as the Korea Defense Service Medal, to each member who served in the Republic of Korea or its adjacent waters after July 27, 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2001
American Wildlife Enhancement Act of 2001 - Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Programs Improvement Act - Amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to extend through FY 2006 the funding for the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Account. Revises Account apportionment amounts between the States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Prohibits: (1) any State from receiving less than one percent (currently, one-half percent) of such funds; and (2) such funds from being diverted for other purposes. Authorizes a State, the District, or a territory to apply to the Secretary of the Interior: (1) for approval of a wildlife conservation and restoration program; and (2) to receive funding for such program through such apportionment. Limits to 75 percent the Federal share of such a program. Requires each State receiving an apportionment to develop and implement a wildlife conservation strategy based on the best available scientific information. Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to authorize the Secretary to: (1) provide financial assistance to any person for development and implementation of an endangered and threatened species recovery agreement; (2) review such agreements; (3) enter into approved agreements; and (4) monitor agreement implementation. Amends the Partnerships for Wildlife Act to direct the Secretary to establish a competitive program for grants to States to pay the Federal share of the costs of conservation of non-Federal land or water of regional or national significance.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2001
Designates the U.S. Postal Service facility located at 113 South Main Street in Sylvania, Georgia, as the G. Elliot Hagan Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2001
Community Rail Line Relocation Assistance Act of 2001 - Amends Federal highway law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a grant program to provide financial assistance to States for up to 90 percent of the cost of local rail line relocation projects.
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
Designates May 28, 2001, as a special day for recognizing the sacrifice of the members of the armed forces killed in hostile action since the end of the Vietnam War and the sacrifices of their families, in light of the traditional Memorial Day recognition of the U.S. veterans who have given their lives in defense of our Nation. Recognizes that we live in a time of international unrest and that military service in such a time is inherently dangerous and requires the willingness to face the most extreme hazards at unexpected times and places. Acknowledges that the people of the United States owe a debt of gratitude to all members of the armed services who placed themselves in harm's way each day, and to their families.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2001
Helping Our Professionals Educationally (HOPE) Act of 2001 - Authorizes the Secretary of each military department to permit a member who is entitled to basic educational assistance under the Veterans Educational Assistance Program (VEAP), has served at least six years, has a critical military skill or is in a military specialty designated as critical, and agrees to serve at least four more years to transfer such assistance to one or more dependents. Allows up to 18 months of entitlement to be transferred. Prohibits a spouse from using such assistance until the transferor has completed six years of service. Prohibits a child from using such assistance until the transferor has completed ten years of service and the child has completed secondary school requirements or is 18 years of age. Authorizes a VEAP-entitled individual to elect to receive an accelerated lump-sum payment of basic educational assistance, under specified conditions. Makes Montgomery GI Bill benefits available for training which leads to licensing or certification in technological occupations. Makes members who continue in the Selected Reserve beyond the ten-year period required for entitlement to educational assistance eligible for such assistance for five years after separation from such service (unless such separation is under other than honorable conditions).
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2001
Historic Homeownership Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 20 percent (up to a maximum limit of $40,000 for a joint return) of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to the certified rehabilitation of a qualified historic home which has been substantially rehabilitated and which is owned by the taxpayer and used as his or her principal residence. Allows the credit for such expenditures to be taken by a purchaser of the rehabilitated home. Permits, in lieu of the credit, a historic rehabilitation mortgage credit certificate, which may be transferred to a lender in exchange for a reduction in the rate of interest on the loan secured by the building.
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
Post Office Community Partnership Act of 2001 - Modifies Federal postal law to revise requirements for the closing or consolidation of a post office and apply them, as well, to its proposed closing, consolidation, relocation, or construction. Requires a 60-day notice, under certain conditions, to persons (including local government officials) who are (or would be) served by the post office involved to allow such individuals an opportunity to present their views before such proposed action. Requires the notice: (1) by the deadline, to be hand delivered or delivered by mail and published once a week for at least four weeks in one or more newspapers regularly issued and of general circulation within the zip code areas which are (or would be) served by the post office involved; and (2) to include a description of the proposed action, a summary of the reasons for it, and the date on which the action is to be taken (or, in the case of the construction of a post office, the proposed timetable). Revises the factors to be considered in deciding whether or not to take such proposed actions. Requires the Postal Service to follow a community's public participation procedures to address the relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction of buildings in the community if such procedures are more stringent than those provided in this Act.
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 · 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
American Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2001 - Prohibits U.S. cooperation with the International Criminal Court (including specified restrictions on U.S. military participation in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations, transfer of U.S. classified national security information, and the provision of U.S. military assistance, with specified exceptions, to the Court and its members). Prescribes conditions for a presidential waiver of the prohibitions and requirements of this Act. Terminates such prohibitions and requirements upon the United States' becoming a party to the Court. Declares that the requirements of this Act shall not prohibit: (1) any action authorized by the President to bring about the release from captivity of any U.S. military personnel (covered U.S. persons) and certain other persons (covered allied persons) who are being detained or imprisoned against their will by or on behalf of the Court; (2) any other action taken by U.S. armed forces outside of the United States while engaged in military operations involving the threat or use of force to protect such personnel from harm or to ensure the success of such operations; or (3) communication by the United States to the Court of its policy with respect to a particular matter. Authorizes the President to use all means (including the provision of legal assistance) necessary to bring about the release of covered U.S. persons and covered allied persons held captive by or on behalf of the Court. Directs the President to report to appropriate congressional committees with respect to each military alliance to which the United States is a party: (1) describing the degree to which U.S. armed forces may be placed pursuant to the alliance under foreign control subject to the jurisdiction of the Court; and (2) evaluating the degree to which U.S. armed forces engaged in military operations pursuant to such alliance may be exposed to greater risks as a result of being placed under such foreign control. Authorizes funds withheld from the U.S. share of assessments to the UN or other international organizations pursuant to the Admiral James W. Nance and Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 to be transferred to the Embassy Security, Construction and Maintenance Account of the Department of State.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2001
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to impose tariff-rate quotas (quantitative import limits) and provide various duty rates on certain casein, caseinates, milk protein concentrate, and other casein derivatives and glues imported into the United States (except imports from Mexico). Authorizes the President to: (1) enter into a trade agreement with a foreign country to grant new concessions as compensation in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions; and (2) proclaim any necessary modification or continuance of any existing duty, or continuance of existing duty-free or excise treatment. Sets forth certain limits on the reduction of duties on such products.
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
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
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
Greater Access to Affordable Pharmaceuticals Act of 2001 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for an accelerated date of approval for a generic drug application. Allows a drug to be considered a bioequivalent to a listed drug if the effects of such drug and the listed drug do not show a significant difference based on certain tests or studies. Sets forth requirements concerning the filing of a citizen petition review. Revises provisions concerning: (1) abbreviated new drug applications and new drug applications with respect to the time required for approval and the certification that a patent is invalid or will not be infringed; and (2) filing an application. Requires a report concerning the extent to which this Act has: (1) has enabled products to come to market in a fair and expeditious manner, consistent with the rights of patent owners under intellectual property law; and (2) has promoted lower prices of drugs and greater access to drugs through price competition.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2001
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal specified occupational taxes relating to distilled spirits, wine, and beer. Revises recordkeeping requirements for wholesale and retail liquor dealers. Makes it unlawful for any liquor dealer (except one selling beer exclusively) to purchase distilled spirits from any person other than a specified wholesale liquor dealer.
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
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 · 5 April 2001
Eliminate Colorectal Cancer Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require coverage of colorectal cancer screening according to certain guidelines by a group health plan, a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage, and a health insurance issuer in the individual market. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and of Health and Human Services to ensure coordination in the implementation and enforcement of this Act.
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
Rural Heritage Conservation Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to farm and ranch land, to: (1) establish special rules for the charitable contribution of such land; (2) treat a farmer or rancher as an individual with respect to any such contribution with respect to the charitable contribution limit; and (3) expand, for estate tax purposes, the definition of land which may qualify for a conservation contribution.
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
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
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
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.