datamatters24/research-document-archive huggingface dataset:
I 
107TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5525
To amend title 11 of the United States Code to prevent corporate bankruptcy 
abuse and provide greater protection for employees, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 2, 2002
Mr. GEKAS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend title 11 of the United States Code to prevent 
corporate bankruptcy abuse and provide greater protec-
tion for employees, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Corporate Bankruptcy 
Abuse Prevention and Employee Protection Act of 2002’’. 
SEC. 2. EMPLOYEE WAGE AND BENEFIT PRIORITIES. 
Section 507(a) of title 11, United States Code, is 
amended—
(1) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘90’’ and in-
serting ‘‘180’’, and
(2) in paragraphs (3) and (4) by striking 
‘‘$4,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000’’. 
SEC. 3. FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS AND OBLIGATIONS. 
Section 548 of title 11, United States Code, is 
amended—
(1) in subsections (a) and (b) by striking ‘‘one 
year’’ and inserting ‘‘2 years’’, 
(2) in subsection (a)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(including any transfer 
to or for the benefit of an insider under an em-
ployment contract)’’ after ‘‘transfer’’ the 1st 
place it appears, and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘(including any obligation 
to or for the benefit of an insider under an em-
ployment contract)’’ after ‘‘obligation’’ the 1st 
place it appears, and 
(3) in subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii)— 
(A) in subclause (II) by striking ‘‘or’’ at 
the end, 
(B) in subclause (III) by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’, and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(IV) made such transfer to or for the benefit 
of an insider, or incurred such obligation to or for
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs to carry out this Act 
$70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 
2005.
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Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the amendments made by this Act shall 
apply only with respect to cases commenced under 
title 11 of the United States Code on or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) 
AVOIDANCE
PERIOD.—The 
amendment 
made by section 3(1) shall apply only with respect 
to cases commenced under title 11 of the United 
States Code more than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
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HR 554 RFS
within the control of the rail passenger carrier (re-
gardless of its condition) will be returned to the fam-
ily unless the possession is needed for the accident
investigation or any criminal investigation.
‘‘(7) An assurance that any unclaimed posses-
sion of a passenger within the control of the rail
passenger carrier will be retained by the rail pas-
senger carrier for at least 18 months.
‘‘(8) An assurance that the family of each pas-
senger or other person killed in the accident will be
consulted about construction by the rail passenger
carrier of any monument to the passengers, includ-
ing any inscription on the monument.
‘‘(9) An assurance that the treatment of the
families of nonrevenue passengers will be the same
as the treatment of the families of revenue pas-
sengers.
‘‘(10) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will work with any organization designated
under section 1138(a)(2) of this title on an ongoing
basis to ensure that families of passengers receive an
appropriate level of services and assistance following
each accident.
‘‘(11) An assurance that the rail passenger car-
rier will provide reasonable compensation to any or-
treated as a client under the first sentence
of clause (i)—
‘‘(I) such coalition or association
shall be treated as employing or re-
taining other persons to conduct lob-
bying activities for purposes of deter-
mining whether any individual mem-
ber thereof is treated as a client under
clause (i), and
‘‘(II) information on such coali-
tion or association need not be in-
cluded in any registration under sec-
tion 4 of the coalition or association
with respect to which it is treated as
a client under clause (i).’’
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to—
(A) coalitions and associations listed on
registration statements filed under section 4 of
the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and
(B) coalitions and associations for whom
any lobbying contact is made after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(2) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of any coali-
tion or association to which the amendments made
by this Act apply by reason of paragraph (1)(B), the
person required by such section 4 to file a registra-
tion statement with respect to such coalition or asso-
ciation shall file a new registration statement within
30 days after the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion.
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Union Administration Board in accordance with such sec-
tion. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 33 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 540B the 
following new item:
‘‘540C. Technical recommendations on surveillance equipment.’’.
SEC. 4. INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATIONS. 
(a) TIMETABLE FOR REGULATIONS.—The Federal 
banking agencies and the National Credit Union Adminis-
tration Board shall prescribe final regulations pursuant to 
section 3(c) of the Bank Protection Act of 1968 and sec-
tion 205(c)(3) of the Federal Credit Union Act, respec-
tively, before the end of the 6-month period beginning on 
the date the technical recommendations of the Director 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are received by 
such agencies in accordance with section 540C(c) of title 
28, United States Code. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGULATIONS.—The regu-
lations referred to in subsection (a) shall require deposi-
tory institutions and credit unions to achieve compliance 
with such regulations by the end of the 6-month period 
beginning on the date the final regulations are published 
in the Federal Register.
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to—
(A) coalitions and associations listed on
registration statements filed under section 4 of
the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and
(B) coalitions and associations for whom
any lobbying contact is made after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(2) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of any coali-
tion or association to which the amendments made
by this Act apply by reason of paragraph (1)(B), the
time to file the notice under section 527(k)(2) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by this
section, shall be 30 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this section.
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I 
107TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5530
To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the right of the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs to recover payments by third parties for costs 
of providing non-service-connected care to beneficiaries of such third 
parties. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 2, 2002
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to enhance the 
right of the Department of Veterans Affairs to recover 
payments by third parties for costs of providing non-
service-connected care to beneficiaries of such third par-
ties.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. RECOVERY BY THE DEPARTMENT OF VET-
ERANS AFFAIRS OF COSTS OF CERTAIN 
HEALTH CARE SERVICES. 
(a) SCOPE
OF
RECOVERY
AUTHORITY.—Section 
1729(i) of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking clause (i) 
and redesignating clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) as 
clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively; and 
(2) in paragraph (3)—
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 
through (D) as subparagraphs (B) through (E), 
respectively; and 
(B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), 
as so redesignated, the following new subpara-
graph (A): 
‘‘(A) a department or agency of the United 
States other than the Department;’’. 
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—Section 
1729(a)(1) of such title is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘if’’; 
(2) by inserting ‘‘, or (B) the veteran had in-
curred a legal liability to pay for such care or serv-
ices’’ before the period; and 
(3) by inserting at the end the following new 
sentence: ‘‘The preceding sentence applies notwith-
standing any other provision of law, other than a 
law enacted after the date of the enactment of this 
sentence that is expressly stated as an exception or 
limitation to this section.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply only with respect to care or services 
furnished under chapter 17 of title 38, United States 
Code, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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recipients, the current international relief operations 
are neither sustainable nor desirable in the long 
term. 
(15) The ability of populations to defend them-
selves against attack in areas outside of the control 
of the Government of Sudan has been severely com-
promised by the disengagement of the front-line 
states of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Uganda, fostering 
the belief among officials of the Government of 
Sudan that success on the battlefield can be 
achieved. 
(16) The United States should use all means of 
pressure available to facilitate a comprehensive solu-
tion to the war in Sudan, including—
(A) the multilateralization of economic and 
diplomatic tools to compel the Government of 
Sudan to enter into a good faith peace process; 
(B) the support or creation of viable demo-
cratic civil authority and institutions in areas of 
Sudan outside of government control;
(C) continued active support of people-to-
people reconciliation mechanisms and efforts in 
areas outside of government control;
(D) the strengthening of the mechanisms 
to provide humanitarian relief to those areas; 
and 
(E) cooperation among the trading part-
ners of the United States and within multilat-
eral institutions toward those ends. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means the Committee on International Re-
lations of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 
(2) GOVERNMENT OF SUDAN.—The term ‘‘Gov-
ernment of Sudan’’ means the National Islamic 
Front government in Khartoum, Sudan. 
(3) OLS.—The term ‘‘OLS’’ means the United 
Nations relief operation carried out by UNICEF, the 
World Food Program, and participating relief orga-
nizations known as ‘‘Operation Lifeline Sudan’’. 
SEC. 4. CONDEMNATION OF SLAVERY, OTHER HUMAN 
RIGHTS ABUSES, AND TACTICS OF THE GOV-
ERNMENT OF SUDAN. 
The Congress hereby—
(1) condemns—
H. R. 5531—7
State shall prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a detailed report on the information that the Secretary
of State has collected under subsection (a) and any findings or
determinations made by the Secretary on the basis of that informa-
tion. The report under this subsection may be submitted as part
of the report required under section 8.
(c) CONSULTATIONS WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS.—In preparing
the report required by this section, the Secretary of State shall
consult and coordinate with all other Government officials who
have information necessary to complete the report. Nothing con-
tained in this section shall require the disclosure, on a classified
or unclassified basis, of information that would jeopardize sensitive
sources and methods or other vital national security interests.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
(c) PROCEDURE.—Once the claim has been fully de-
veloped, the claim shall be transmitted back to the Sec-
retary with the information developed in accordance with 
the specification under section 3(a)(3) and a statement 
from the County Veterans Service Officer indicating that 
the claim is ready to rate. 
(d) FULLY DEVELOPED CLAIMS.—For purposes of 
this section, a claim shall be considered to be fully devel-
oped when the County Veterans Service Officer has ob-
tained all items that that officer determines are necessary 
to substantiate the claim and all items that the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs has specifically specified to be devel-
oped in connection with the claim. 
SEC. 6. INFORMATION SHARING. 
Veterans’ information contained in the Benefits De-
livery Network of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
shall be accessible to County Veterans Service Offices in 
order to provide County Veterans Service Offices with on-
line access to client information contained in the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs database. Such information shall 
be used by such offices to develop veterans’ claims under 
this Act and for no other purpose. 
SEC. 7. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Funding for purposes of this Act 
shall be allocated by grant to the States based on the pop-
I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5532
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 to require public availability of an accounting
of all funds used, or required to be used, for response to a release
of a hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 2, 2002
Mr. ANDREWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com-
pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require public
availability of an accounting of all funds used, or re-
quired to be used, for response to a release of a haz-
ardous substance or pollutant or contaminant.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pollution Account-
ability Act’’.
ulation of veterans in the respective States. Funds allo-
cated to a State under this Act shall be directed to County 
Veterans Service Offices within the State through the 
State Department of Veterans Affairs (or the equivalent). 
(b) STATE OVERHEAD.—A State Department of Vet-
erans Affairs may retain from any such grant for any fis-
cal year an amount equal to the expenses incurred by that 
State for administrative overhead in administering grants 
for that year, except that the amount so retained in any 
fiscal year may not exceed 3 percent of the amount of the 
grant to that State for that fiscal year. 
(c) FUNDS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—A por-
tion of the funding received by a State under this Act for 
any fiscal year, as determined by the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs in agreement with County Veterans Service 
Offices, shall be used for County Veterans Service Officers 
to attend educational programs sponsored by or equivalent 
to the National Association of County Veterans Service 
Officers annual continuing education and accreditation 
training. 
(d) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL FUNDING.—Federal 
funds under this Act may not be used to provide more 
than 50 percent of the total costs for County Veterans 
Service Offices and shall be used to expand existing pro-
grams, not to supplant existing local government funding.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT.
Section 117 of the Comprehensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42
U.S.C. 9617) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(f) ACCOUNTING.—Any person who undertakes, or
who is required to undertake, a response to a release of
a hazardous substance or pollutant or contaminant shall
make available to any person, on request, an accounting
of any funds used, or required by any court or administra-
tive action to be used, for such response.’’.
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I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5534
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the
implementation of the program under section 804 of such Act, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 2, 2002
Mr. BERRY (for himself, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. ALLEN, and Mr.
BROWN of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to
provide for the implementation of the program under
section 804 of such Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prescription Drug
Price Reduction Act’’.
SEC. 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 804 OF FEDERAL
FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 804 of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 384) is amended—
(1) by striking subsection (l); and
(2) by redesignating subsection (m) as sub-
section (l).
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall promulgate a final rule for carrying
out section 804 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act. The effective date for such final rule may not
be later than 30 days after the date on which the final
rule is promulgated.
(c) LABELING.—Section 502 of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 352) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(u) If it is a covered product imported into the
United States pursuant to section 804, unless, upon com-
mercial distribution of such product in the United States,
the product bears labeling that identifies the country from
which the product was imported, that provides the name
and address of the importer of the product, and that pro-
vides the name and address of the person who exported
the product to the United States.’’.
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SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FEDERAL TAX
DEPOSIT PENALTY.
Nothing in section 6656 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 shall be construed to permit the percentage
specified in subsection (b)(1)(A)(iii) thereof to apply other
than in a case where the failure is for more than 15 days.
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with the Attorney General to ascertain the extent to which 
inadequate security measures, or improperly maintained 
security equipment, at financial institutions has hindered 
effective prosecutions under section 2113 of title 18, 
United States Code, or other criminal provisions. 
‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Before the end of the 6-
month period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
the ATM Public Safety and Crime Control Act and at 
such times after such date as the Director of the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation may determine to be appropriate, 
the Director shall make technical recommendations to the 
Federal banking agencies (as defined in section 3 of the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Act) and the National Credit 
Union Administration Board on standards and procedures 
for meeting the purposes of section 3 of the Bank Protec-
tion Act of 1968 and section 205(e) of the Federal Credit 
Union Act.’’. 
(b) REPORT TO JUDICIARY COMMITTEES.—The Di-
rector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall submit 
a copy of any recommendations made in accordance with 
section 540C(c) of title 28, United States Code, to the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
at the same time such recommendations are transmitted 
to the Federal banking agencies and the National Credit
tration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(a)), shall ensure 
that hunting, fishing, wildlife observation and photog-
raphy, and environmental education and interpretation are 
the priority public uses of the Refuge Complex. 
(d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS REGARDING NON-
FEDERAL LANDS.—The Secretary may enter into cooper-
ative agreements with the State of Ohio or the State of 
Michigan, or any political subdivision thereof, and with 
any other person or entity for the management in a man-
ner consistent with this title of lands that are owned by 
such State, subdivision, or other person or entity and lo-
cated within the boundaries of the Refuge Complex and 
to promote public awareness of the resources of the west-
ern basin of Lake Erie and encourage public participation 
in the conservation of those resources. 
(e) USE OF EXISTING GREENWAY AUTHORITY.—The 
Secretary shall encourage the State of Ohio to use existing 
authorities under the Transportation Equity Act for the 
21st Century to provide funding for acquisition and devel-
opment of trails within the boundaries of the Refuge Com-
plex. 
SEC. 7. STUDY OF ASSOCIATED AREA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 
Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 
shall conduct a study of fish and wildlife habitat and
aquatic and terrestrial communities of the 2 dredge spoil 
disposal sites referred to by the Toledo-Lucas County Port 
Authority as Port Authority Facility Number Three and 
Grassy Island, located within Toledo Harbor near the 
mouth of the Maumee River. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 
date of the enactment of the Act, the Secretary shall com-
plete such study and submit a report containing the re-
sults thereof to the Congress. 
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the De-
partment of the Interior—
(1) such sums as may be necessary for the ac-
quisition of lands and waters within the Refuge 
Complex; 
(2) such sums as may be necessary for the de-
velopment, operation, and maintenance of the Ref-
uge Complex; and 
(3) such sums as may be necessary to carry out 
the study under section 7.
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