Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 22 > Chapter 23 > Subchapter II - Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability

• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Advisory Committee: means the Advisory Committee established under section 7704(a)(5) of this title. See 42 USC 7703
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• community resilience: means the ability of a community to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse seismic events. See 42 USC 7703
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
• Interagency Coordinating Committee: means the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction established under section 7704(a) of this title. See 42 USC 7703
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• lifeline infrastructure: means public works and utilities, including transportation facilities and infrastructure, oil and gas pipelines, electrical power and communication facilities and infrastructure, and water supply and sewage treatment facilities. See 42 USC 7703
• narcotic: means opium and coca leaves and the several alkaloids derived therefrom, the best known of these alkaloids being morphia, heroin, and codeine, obtained from opium, and cocaine derived from the coca plant. See 42 USC 201
• officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Program: means the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program established under section 7704 of this title. See 42 USC 7703
• Program agencies: means the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. See 42 USC 7703
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. See 42 USC 201
• State: means each of the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States. See 42 USC 7703
• State: includes , in addition to the several States, only the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. See 42 USC 201
• State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• United States: means , when used in a geographical sense, all of the States as defined in paragraph (4). See 42 USC 7703
• writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1