GAC COMMITTEE APPROVES DC FAMILY
COURT REFORM OTHER BILLS ARE ADOPTED AND SENT TO
THE SENATE FLOOR
November 14, 2001
WASHINGTON - Governmental Affairs Committee
Chairman Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., presided over a
Committee business meeting Wednesday at which
several pieces of legislation, and one
nomination, were adopted unanimously and sent to
the full Senate for a vote.
Chief among the bills acted upon was a
reorganization of the District of Columbias
family court system, which would create a
specialized court within the Superior Court whose
judges would be family law specialists. The
Committee also adopted legislation that would
allow federal employees to retain for personal
use frequent flyer benefits they accrue while on
government business trips, a bill allowing judges
to redact certain information on financial
disclosure forms that might compromise their
security, and a bill to streamline government-required
paperwork for small businesses.
Following are the measures passed out of
Committee:
S. 1498, which would allow federal employees,
foreign service officers, members of the
uniformed services, family members and dependents
of such employees to retain for personal use
promotional items received as a result of
official government travel. H.R. 2456,
a House version of the bill, was also reported
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
S. 1382 and H.R. 2657, the House and Senate
versions of the District of Columbia Family Court
Act of 2001, were reported with identical
amendments in the nature of a substitute. These
bills would reform the family bench of the
District of Columbia Superior Court to provide
more efficient and consistent legal services for
abused and neglected children in the nations
capital.
H.R. 2336, an act to make permanent the authority
to redact financial disclosure statements of
judicial employees and judicial officers in the
interest of their safety.
H.R. 1499, District of Columbia College Access
Improvement Act, was reported with an amendment
in the nature of a substitute. The bill
would expand the D.C. Tuition Assistance Program,
which provides D.C. residents with grants for
college, including grants to allow them to attend
public colleges nationwide at in-state rates.
S. 1271, Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2001, as amended, which would help small
businesses deal with the demands of federal
paperwork requirements.
H.R. 2199, District of Columbia Police
Coordination Amendment Act of 2001.
H.R. 2061, an act to amend the charter of
Southeastern University of the District of
Columbia.
H.R. 2559, an act to amend chapter 90 of title 5,
United States Code, relating to Federal long-term
care insurance.
Four Post Office Naming Bills
Odessa F. Vincent to be an Associate Judge for
the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
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