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
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 · 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
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 · 26 April 2001
Congratulates Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on the tenth anniversary of the restoration of their full independence. Calls on the President to continue to build the close and mutually beneficial relations the United States has enjoyed with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania since the restoration of their full independence.
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 · 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
Affordable Drinking Water Act of 2001 - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to nonprofit organizations to assist eligible individuals obtain financing for construction, refurbishing, and servicing of individual household water well systems in rural areas.
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 · 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 · 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 · 30 March 2001
Empowering Parents Act of 2001 - Enhancing Public Education Through Choice Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish Public School Choice Programs. Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs), including those serving the lowest performing schools, to enable them to implement programs of universal public school choice. Gives priority to those SEAs and LEAs that: first, serve the lowest performing schools; second, serve the highest percentage of students in poverty; and third, form partnerships for interdistrict approaches to such programs. Public Charter Schools Equity Act - Amends ESEA to establish a program for credit enhancement initiatives to promote public charter school facility acquisition, construction, and renovation. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income any interest paid on loans by public charter schools. Amends ESEA to direct the Secretary to make competitive Grants for Public Charter School Facilities to States for the Federal share of the cost of programs in which the States make per-pupil payments to public charter schools to help finance school facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2001
Makes marked (currently, only unmarked) graves of certain veterans eligible for the provision of a headstone or marker through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Allows such headstone or marker to be placed at another area appropriate for commemorating the individual.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2001
Project Exile: The Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Act of 2001 - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to direct the Attorney General to award firearms sentencing incentive grants to eligible States that: (1) demonstrate that they have implemented laws requiring that any person who uses or carries a firearm in any violent crime or serious drug trafficking crime be sentenced to not less than five years in prison (without the possibility of parole) in addition to the punishment provided for such crime, or requiring that any person who possesses a firearm, having at least one prior conviction for a violent crime, be sentenced to five years' imprisonment (without the possibility of parole); or (2) can demonstrate that they have in effect an equivalent Federal prosecution agreement; and (3) demonstrate that they have or will implement a public awareness and community support program that seeks to build support for, and warns potential violators of, such firearms sentencing laws; and (4) provide assurances that they will coordinate with Federal prosecutors and Federal law enforcement agencies and will allocate resources to reduce crime in high-crime areas. Sets forth allowable uses for such grants, including to: (1) support law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, probation officers, correctional officers, the juvenile justice system, the improvement of criminal history records, or case management programs involving the sharing of information about serious offenders; (2) carry out such a public awareness and community support program; and (3) build or expand correctional facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2001
Ombudsman Reauthorization Act of 2001 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise provisions regarding the Ombudsman. Expands the duties of the Ombudsman to include: (1) assisting citizens in resolving problems with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of the Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response; (2) proposing changes in EPA administrative practices to mitigate such problems; and (3) conducting investigations, making findings of fact, and making nonbinding recommendations concerning such problems. Describes additional administrative and investigative powers of the Ombudsman. Reauthorizes appropriations for the Ombudsman through FY 2010.
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
The Savings Opportunity and Charitable Giving Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit any qualified financial institution, qualified nonprofit organization, or Indian tribe to establish one or more qualified individual development account programs. Defines such an account as an account established for an eligible individual as part of a qualified individual development account program. Sets forth provisions concerning such accounts, including: (1) the structure and administration of account programs; (2) procedures for opening and maintaining an account and qualifying for matching funds; (3) withdrawal procedures; and (4) disregarding account funds for purposes of certain means-tested Federal programs. Permits non-itemizers to deduct a portion of their charitable contributions. Prohibits, in general, including in gross income distributions from individual retirement accounts for charitable purposes. Sets forth a rule for determining the amount of the deduction allowable for a charitable contribution of food inventory.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2001
Social Security Reporting Information and Right to Know Act of 2001 - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act (SSA) with regard to Social Security account statements to require them to contain additional statements of specified information relating to projections of the future financial operations and status of the Social Security program under SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI). Amends SSA title II with regard to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Trust Funds) to require the Board of Trustees of the Trust Funds annual report to Congress on the operation and status of such Trust Funds to include similarly related information. Amends SSA title XVII (Administration) to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to submit an annual report to Congress that includes specified information relating to program solvency and expected benefits. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Congress and the President should not miss a critical opportunity to enact comprehensive bipartisan Social Security reform legislation that meets the standard of 75-year actuarial solvency and also addresses specified issues, such as the permanent sustainability of the Social Security program; and (2) the recommendations of the Technical Panel on Assumptions and Methods of the Social Security Advisory Board should be implemented to the extent deemed reasonable by the Board of Trustees of the Trust Funds.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2001
Telework Tax Incentive Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of up to $500 annually for "qualified teleworking expenses." Defines such expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2001
Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to provide, during the transition period, treatment free of any duties, quantitative restrictions, limitations, or consultation levels to certain textile covers imported into the United States from a U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act beneficiary country.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2001
Growing Resources in Educational Achievement for Today and Tomorrow Act - GREATT IDEA Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to authorize appropriations in specified amounts for FY 2002 through 2005 for IDEA part B programs of Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities. Requires States that use proceeds of IDEA grants to maintain expenditures for IDEA activities for each of FY 2002 through 2005 at least at the FY 2001 level.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2001
Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2001 - Provides that: (1) any person who engages in conduct that violates specified provisions of the Federal criminal code, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, or specified articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (conduct constituting certain Federal violent crimes), and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury to, a child who is in utero, shall be guilty of a separate offense (but prohibits imposition of the death penalty for such offense); and (2) the punishment for that separate offense shall be the same as that provided under Federal law for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother. Directs that if the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall be punished as provided under the Federal criminal code for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being. Bars prosecution under this Act: (1) for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law in a medical emergency; (2) for conduct relating to any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child; or (3) of any woman with respect to her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2001
Medicare Education and Regulatory Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) concerning: (1) prospective application only of certain regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS); and (2) certain requirements for judicial and regulatory challenges of regulations. Requires the Secretary, with respect to Medicare audits, except when clear and convincing evidence exists of fraud or similar fault, to give a physician, provider of services, or provider of ambulance services (physicians or providers) the option of entering into: (1) an arrangement to offset alleged overpayments against future payments; or (2) a repayment plan with its carrier or fiscal intermediary to recoup such an overpayment. Prohibits the Secretary from taking any action to recoup an overpayment or to impose a penalty during the period in which a physician or provider is appealing a determination that such an overpayment has been made or the amount of the overpayment. Prohibits carriers, absent cause, from demanding the production of records or documentation before paying a Medicare claim. Amends SSA title XI with respect to prohibited extensions of remuneration to a Medicare-eligible individual to influence a choice of provider, practitioner, or supplier. Excludes from the meaning of remuneration any waiver of copayment made in a written, mailed communication with existing patients. Amends SSA title XVIII with regard to: (1) construction of hearing rights related to decisions to deny or not renew a physician enrollment agreement; (2) the post-payment audit process; (3) definitions relating to physicians or providers; and (4) the right to appeal on behalf of deceased beneficiaries. Amends SSA title XVIII to require carriers, fiscal intermediaries, and contractors to conduct education programs (funded from the Medicare Integrity Program) for physicians and providers on billing, coding, cost reporting, and documentation regulations and procedures. Outlines provisions with regard to certain information requests from physicians and providers. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for the inclusion of regulatory costs in the calculation of the sustainable growth rate with respect to the costs of physicians' services. Prohibits the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) from implementing any new evaluation and management documentation guidelines under Medicare, unless it: (1) has provided for an assessment of the proposed guidelines by organizations representing physicians; (2) has established a plan that contains specific goals, including a schedule, for improving use of such guidelines; (3) has completed a minimum of four pilot projects to test such guidelines; and (4) finds that specified objectives will be met in the implementation of such guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2001
Extends sympathy and thanks to the families of specified members of the armed forces killed by an Iraqi missile attack on February 25, 1991, while in service to their country. Resolves to support appropriate and effective theater missile defense programs to help prevent attacks on forward deployed U.S. forces from occurring again.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2001
Designates the headquarters offices of the Peace Corps, wherever situated, as the Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters. Amends the Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools Act of 2000 to require the Director of the Peace Corps to ensure that references in Peace Corps documents to the World Wise Schools Program be references to the Paul D. Coverdell World Wise Schools Program. Provides funding to the University of Georgia to support the construction of the Paul D. Coverdell Building at the Institute of the Biomedical and Health Sciences at the University.
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
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commemorative Coin Act of 2001 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the human rights legacy and leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Home Health Payment 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, to eliminate a specified 15 percent reduction in cost and per beneficiary limits with respect to payment rates for home health services under the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS). Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase payment by ten percent for home health services furnished in a rural area on or after April 1, 2001; but prohibits the Secretary from reducing the standard PPS amount (or amounts) applicable to such services furnished during a period to offset the payment increase resulting from such requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Supports the goals of Catholic Schools Week, an event sponsored by the National Catholic Educational Association and the U.S. Catholic Conference and established to recognize the vital contributions of thousands of Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the United States. Congratulates Catholic schools, students, parents, and teachers across the Nation for their ongoing contributions to education.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Calls for the United States, at the 57th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, to solicit co-sponsorship for, and take the lead in organizing multilateral support to obtain passage of, a resolution calling upon the Government of the People's Republic of China to end its human rights abuses in China and Tibet.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2001
Supports the goals and ideas of National Donor Day. Encourages all Americans to learn about the importance of organ, tissue, bone marrow, and blood donation and to discuss such donations with their families and friends.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Family Opportunity Act of 2001 or Dylan Lee James Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children; and (2) provide for treatment of inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21 under waivers allowing for payment of part or all of the cost of home or community-based services. Authorizes a State to apply to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for approval of a demonstration project to provide Medicaid coverage of up to a specified maximum number of children with a potentially severe disability. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to make appropriations to the Secretary for special projects of regional and national significance for development and support of family-to-family health information centers. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility to certain SSI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSA title XVI) beneficiaries under age 21.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Farm, Fishing, and Ranch Risk Management Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual involved in an eligible farming or commercial fishing business to make a deductible contribution up to 20 percent of his or her farming or fishing taxable income to a Farm, Fishing, and Ranch Risk Management Account (FFARRM Account). States that: (1) Account distributions may not be used to add capacity or contribute to the overcapitalization of any fishery; (2) Account contributions shall not reduce self-employment net earnings; (3) Account distributions (other than income attributed to the Account) shall be includible in gross income, including deposits not distributed within five years.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to education individual retirement accounts (IRAs), to: (1) permit distributions for qualified elementary and secondary education expenses; (2) increase annual contribution limits from $500 to $2,000, with annual inflation adjustments as of tax year 2003; (3) waive the beneficiary age limitation (18) for contributions on behalf of special needs beneficiaries; (4) permit corporations to contribute to education IRAs; (5) permit annual contributions to be made until the filing date (not including extensions) for a tax year; (6) extend the time for return of excess contributions; and (7) provide for coordination with Hope and lifetime learning credit and qualified tuition program provisions. Renames such educational IRAs as Coverdell education savings accounts. Excludes from gross income: (1) employer contributions to such accounts on behalf of an employee or employee family member; and (2) account distributions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2001
Biomedical Revitalization Resolution of 2001 - Expresses the sense of the Senate that funding for the National Institutes of Health should be increased by $3.4 billion in FY 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
Collegiate Learning and Student Savings Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) permit private higher educational institutions, in addition to currently permitted State institutions, to establish qualified tuition programs; and (2) exclude from gross income such program distributions used for qualified higher education expenses. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to exempt qualified tuition programs from the definition of an investment company.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2001
National Dairy Farmers Fairness Act of 2001 - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance (on a sliding scale) to Class III milk producers who have experienced qualifying price or quantity reductions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2001
High-Speed Rail Investment Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit (to be included in gross income as interest) to holders of qualified Amtrak bonds issued by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Requires, with exceptions, State matching contributions for qualifying projects, which shall be used to redeem project-specific bonds, and if amounts remain, to fund other projects or bonds. Treats such contributions as tax-exempt facility bonds. Eliminates, for tax exemption for purposes, the governmental ownership requirement for mass commuting facility bonds. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to allocate bond funds for Alaska Railroad issuances. Requires the Corporation to annually submit a multi-year capital spending plan.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2001
Help Eliminate the Levy on Locution (HELLO) Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal Subchapter B (Communications) of Chapter 33 (Facilities and Services) of Subtitle D (Miscellaneous Excise Taxes).
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
Commuter Benefits Equity Act of 2001 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to raise the $65 transportation fringe benefit limitation (applicable to commuter highway vehicles and transit passes) to an amount ($175) that equals the amount permitted for qualified parking (thus providing for a uniform dollar limitation for all types of transportation fringe benefits). Revises provisions concerning Federal employee parking benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2001
Election Reform Act of 2001 - Establishes the Election Administration Commission to: (1) develop, update, and adopt voluntary engineering and procedural performance standards for voting systems used in Federal, State, and local elections; (2) advise States regarding compliance with the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act; (3) develop, adopt, and update voluntary procedures for maintaining and enhancing the accessibility of registration facilities, polling places, and voting methods; (4) have primary responsibility to carry out Federal functions under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (the Act); (5) develop, update, and adopt recommendations for voluntary procedures for maintaining and enhancing the administration of Federal, State, and local elections; (6) carry out the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 regarding mail voter registration; (7) make Federal election system information available to the public and media; (8) assemble bipartisan panels of election professionals to assist any State election official, upon request, in review of election or vote counting procedures in Federal, State, and local elections; and (9) compile the official certified results of Federal elections and statistics on national voter registration and turnout. Directs the Commission to: (1) make periodic studies of issues related to election administration; and (2) solicit and review applications from, and award grants to, State and local governments to improve and modernize election administration. Transfers to the Commission all functions that the Office of Election Administration of the Federal Election Commission exercised before enactment of this Act. Establishes the Election Administration Advisory Board to advise the Commission on the best practices in election administration. Amends the Act to mandate certain State actions (currently only recommended) in order to maximize access to the polls by absent uniformed services voters.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2001
Sudan Peace Act - Declares that Congress: (1) condemns violations of human rights on all sides of the conflict in Sudan (including the Government of Sudan), the ongoing slave trade there, and the Government's use and organization of "murahalliin" (or "mujahadeen"), Popular Defense Forces (PDF), and regular Sudanese Army units into raiding and slaving parties in Bahr al Ghazal, the Nuba Mountains, Upper Nile, and Blue Nile regions; and (2) recognizes that the use of raiding and slaving parties is a tool for creating food shortages as a systematic means to destroy the societies, culture, and economies of the Dinka, Nuer, and Nuba peoples in a policy of low-intensity ethnic cleansing. Authorizes the Secretary of State to utilize Department of State personnel for the support of ongoing negotiations, and eventual implementation of a peace settlement, between the Government of Sudan and opposition forces. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United Nations (UN) should be used as a tool to facilitating peace and recovery in Sudan. Directs the President to develop a contingency plan to provide, outside UN auspices, the greatest amount of U.S. Government and privately donated relief to all affected areas in Sudan, including the Nuba Mountains, Upper Nile, and Blue Nile, in the event the Government of Sudan imposes a ban on Operation Lifeline Sudan air transport relief flights.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2001
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2001 - Permits retired members of the armed forces with service-connected disabilities to be paid both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation. Repeals a special compensation program for certain severely disabled military retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2001
Competitive Market Supervision Act of 2001 - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 to: (1) eliminate the general revenue fees on securities for the cost of the securities registration process; (2) set a uniform and higher rate for the offsetting collection fee schedule for FY 2002 through 2006; and (3) set a permanent rate for FY 2007 and thereafter (currently such rates phase out after FY 2006). Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to revise the filing fees related to the purchase of securities by issuers and to preliminary proxy solicitations to reflect such modified offsetting collection fee schedule. Mandates that fees collected during any fiscal year be deposited and credited as offsetting collections. Replaces the statutory transaction fee formula governing a national securities exchange or national securities association with a transaction offsetting collection rate which is the uniform rate required to reach a specified transaction fee cap for the fiscal year. Prescribes guidelines for fee rate adjustments, including: (1) estimates of collections; (2) a floor for total fee collections; and (3) a cap on total fee collections. Instructs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to explain to certain congressional committees the methodology used to make its collections estimates. Shields SEC determinations and actions from judicial review. Requires the SEC to notify each national securities exchange or national securities association prior to taking action with respect to either a total fee collection floor or a total fee collection cap. Revises guidelines governing SEC employee appointment and compensation to conform with guidelines covering Federal agency employees under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989.
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