Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 38 > Part II - General Benefits

• adjacent coastal State: means any coastal State which (A) would be directly connected by pipeline to a deepwater port, as proposed in an application. See 33 USC 1502
• 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.
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• affiliate: means any entity owned or controlled by, any person who owns or controls, or any entity which is under common ownership or control with an applicant, licensee, or any person required to be disclosed pursuant to section 1504(c)(2)(A) or (B) of this title. See 33 USC 1502
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Agreement: means the Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas, adopted by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on November 24, 1993. See 16 USC 5502
• Agreement: means the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, done at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in Rome, Italy, November 22, 2009, and signed by the United States November 22, 2009. See 16 USC 7402
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• American folklife: means the traditional expressive culture shared within the various groups in the United States: familial, ethnic, occupational, religious, regional. See 20 USC 2102
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Anadromous fish: means fish of the species listed in the Annex to the Convention that migrate into the Convention area. See 16 USC 5002
• Anadromous stocks: means stocks of species listed in the Annex to the Convention that migrate into the Convention area. See 16 USC 5002
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• anonymous work: is a work on the copies or phonorecords of which no natural person is identified as author. See 17 USC 101
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• applicable program: means any program for which the Secretary or the Department has administrative responsibility as provided by law or by delegation of authority pursuant to law. See 20 USC 1221
• application: means an application submitted under this Act for a license for the ownership, construction, and operation of a deepwater port. See 33 USC 1502
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• area studies: means a program of comprehensive study of the aspects of a society or societies, including study of its history, culture, economy, politics, international relations and languages. See 20 USC 1132
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• arts: includes , but is not limited to, music (instrumental and vocal), dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, industrial design, costume and fashion design, motion pictures, television, radio, film, video, tape and sound recording, the arts related to the presentation, performance, execution, and exhibition of such major art forms, all those traditional arts practiced by the diverse peoples of this country. See 20 USC 952
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• assets: means cash on hand, including the amount in checking and savings accounts, time deposits, money market funds, trusts, stocks, bonds, other securities, mutual funds, tax shelters, qualified education benefits (except as provided in paragraph (3)), and the net value of real estate, income producing property, and business and farm assets. See 20 USC 1087vv
• association: when used in reference to a corporation, shall be deemed to embrace the words "successors and assigns of such company or association" in like manner as if these last-named words, or words of similar import, were expressed. See 1 USC 5
• Atlantic striped bass: means members of stocks or populations of the species Morone saxatilis, which ordinarily migrate seaward of the waters described in paragraph (3)(A)(i). See 16 USC 5152
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authorized officer: means a law enforcement official authorized to enforce this chapter under section 5008(a) of this title. See 16 USC 5002
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Balanced budget: A budget in which receipts equal outlays.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Board: shall mean the Benefits Review Board. See 33 USC 902
• Board: means the Board of Trustees of the Center. See 20 USC 2102
• borrower: as used in this part shall include a parent borrower under this section. See 20 USC 1078-2
• business assets: means property that is used in the operation of a trade or business, including real estate, inventories, buildings, machinery, and other equipment, patents, franchise rights, and copyrights. See 20 USC 1087vv
• Canal: means the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, including its towpath. See 16 USC 410y
• carrier: means any person or fund authorized under section 932 of this title to insure under this chapter and includes self-insurers. See 33 USC 902
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• Center: means the American Folklife Center established under this subchapter. See 20 USC 2102
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Child: shall include a posthumous child, a child legally adopted prior to the injury of the employee, a child in relation to whom the deceased employee stood in loco parentis for at least one year prior to the time of injury, and a stepchild or acknowledged illegitimate child dependent upon the deceased, but does not include married children unless wholly dependent on him. See 33 USC 902
• citizen of the United States: means any person who is a United States citizen by law, birth, or naturalization, any State, any agency of a State or a group of States, or any corporation, partnership, or association organized under the laws of any State which has as its president or other executive officer and as its chairman of the board of directors, or holder of a similar office, a person who is a United States citizen by law, birth or naturalization and which has no more of its directors who are not United States citizens by law, birth or naturalization than constitute a minority of the number required for a quorum necessary to conduct the business of the board. See 33 USC 1502
• Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
• coastal environment: means the navigable waters (including the lands therein and thereunder) and the adjacent shorelines including ¹ waters therein and thereunder). See 33 USC 1502
• coastal State: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5152
• coastal State: means any State of the United States in or bordering on the Atlantic, Pacific, or Arctic Oceans, or the Gulf of Mexico. See 33 USC 1502
• coastal waters: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5152
• collective work: is a work, such as a periodical issue, anthology, or encyclopedia, in which a number of contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are assembled into a collective whole. See 17 USC 101
• Commission: means the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission provided for by article VIII of the Convention. See 16 USC 5002
• Commission: means the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission established under the interstate compact consented to and approved by the Congress in Public Laws 77-539 and 81-721. See 16 USC 5152
• Commission: means the Keweenaw Historic Preservation Advisory Commission established by section 410yy-8 of this title. See 16 USC 410yy-1
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Compensation: means the money allowance payable to an employee or to his dependents as provided for in this chapter, and includes funeral benefits provided therein. See 33 USC 902
• compilation: includes collective works. See 17 USC 101
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• computer program: is a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result. See 17 USC 101
• Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
• Congressional Record: The substantially verbatim account of daily proceedings in Congress. It is printed for each day Congress is in session. At the back of each daily issue is the "Daily Digest," which summarizes the day's floor and committee activities.
• construction: means the supervising, inspection, actual building, and all other activities incidental to the building, repairing, or expanding of a deepwater port or any of its components, including, but not limited to, pile driving and bulkheading, and alterations, modifications, or additions to the deepwater port. See 33 USC 1502
• Contingent beneficiary: Receiver of property or benefits if the first named beneficiary fails to receive any or all of the property or benefits in question before his (her) death.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• control: means the power, directly or indirectly, to determine the policy, business practices, or decisionmaking process of another person, whether by stock or other ownership interest, by representation on a board of directors or similar body, by contract or other agreement with stockholders or others, or otherwise. See 33 USC 1502
• Convention: means the Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks of the North Pacific Ocean, signed in Moscow, February 11, 1992. See 16 USC 5002
• convention: means the International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969, including annexes thereto. See 33 USC 1471
• Convention area: means the waters of the North Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas, north of 33 degrees North Latitude,¹ beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. See 16 USC 5002
• convention oil: means crude oil, fuel oil, diesel oil, and lubricating oil. See 33 USC 1471
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• copies: includes the material object, other than a phonorecord, in which the work is first fixed. See 17 USC 101
• Copyright Royalty Judge: is a Copyright Royalty Judge appointed under section 802 of this title, and includes any individual serving as an interim Copyright Royalty Judge under such section. See 17 USC 101
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• default: includes only such defaults as have existed for (1) 270 days in the case of a loan which is repayable in monthly installments, or (2) 330 days in the case of a loan which is repayable in less frequent installments. See 20 USC 1085
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Education. See 20 USC 1221
• Department: means the Department of Education or any component thereof. See 20 USC 3404
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• deputy commissioner: means the deputy commissioner having jurisdiction in respect of an injury or death. See 33 USC 902
• Deputy Secretary: means the Deputy Secretary of Education. See 20 USC 3404
• derivative work: is a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted. See 17 USC 101
• determined to be obscene: means determined, in a final judgment of a court of record and of competent jurisdiction in the United States, to be obscene. See 20 USC 952
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• digital transmission: is a transmission in whole or in part in a digital or other non-analog format. See 17 USC 101
• Directed fishing: means fishing targeted at a particular species or stock of fish. See 16 USC 5002
• Disability: means incapacity because of injury to earn the wages which the employee was receiving at the time of injury in the same or any other employment. See 33 USC 902
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• distribute: means to sell, or to lease, bail, or otherwise transfer, or to offer to sell, lease, bail, or otherwise transfer. See 17 USC 901
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Ecologically related species: means living marine species which are associated with anadromous stocks found in the Convention area, including, but not restricted to, both predators and prey of anadromous fish. See 16 USC 5002
• educational programs abroad: means programs of study, internships, or service learning outside the United States which are part of a foreign language or other international curriculum at the undergraduate or graduate education levels. See 20 USC 1132
• Electronic funds transfer: The transfer of money between accounts by consumer electronic systems-such as automated teller machines (ATMs) and electronic payment of bills-rather than by check or cash. (Wire transfers, checks, drafts, and paper instruments do not fall into this category.) ^{Source: OCC}
• eligible institution: means an institution of higher education, as defined in section 1002 of this title, except that, for the purposes of sections 1077(a)(2)(C)(i) and 1078(b)(1)(M)(i) of this title, an eligible institution includes any institution that is within this definition without regard to whether such institution is participating in any program under this subchapter and includes any institution ineligible for participation in any program under this part pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection. See 20 USC 1085
• eligible lender: means &mdash. See 20 USC 1085
• eligible not-for-profit holder: means an eligible lender under subsection (d) (except for an eligible lender described in subsection (d)(1)(E)) that requests a special allowance payment under section 1087-1(b)(2)(I)(vi)(II) of this title or a payment under section 1141 of this title and that is&mdash. See 20 USC 1085
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• employee: means any person engaged in maritime employment, including any longshoreman or other person engaged in longshoring operations, and any harbor-worker including a ship repairman, shipbuilder, and ship-breaker, but such term does not include&mdash. See 33 USC 902
• employer: means an employer any of whose employees are employed in maritime employment, in whole or in part, upon the navigable waters of the United States (including any adjoining pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, building way, marine railway, or other adjoining area customarily used by an employer in loading, unloading, repairing, or building a vessel). See 33 USC 902
• En banc: In the bench or "full bench." Refers to court sessions with the entire membership of a court participating rather than the usual quorum. U.S. courts of appeals usually sit in panels of three judges, but may expand to a larger number in certain cases. They are then said to be sitting en banc.
• Enforcement officer: means a law enforcement official authorized by any Party to enforce this chapter. See 16 USC 5002
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. ^{Source: OCC}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• establishment: is a store, shop, or any similar place of business open to the general public for the primary purpose of selling goods or services in which the majority of the gross square feet of space that is nonresidential is used for that purpose, and in which nondramatic musical works are performed publicly. See 17 USC 101
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• excludable income: means &mdash. See 20 USC 1087vv
• Exclusive economic zone: means the zone established by Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983. See 16 USC 5002
• exclusive economic zone: has the meaning given such term in section 3(6) ¹ of the Magnuson Act (16 U. See 16 USC 5152
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
• export education: means educating, teaching and training to provide general knowledge and specific skills pertinent to the selling of goods and services to other countries, including knowledge of market conditions, financial arrangements, laws and procedures. See 20 USC 1132
• Fair Credit Reporting Act: A federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• FAO: means the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. See 16 USC 5502
• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and state banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. ^{Source: OCC}
• Federal lands: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5207
• Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• final judgment: means a judgment that is either&mdash. See 20 USC 952
• financial gain: includes receipt, or expectation of receipt, of anything of value, including the receipt of other copyrighted works. See 17 USC 101
• 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.
• Fish: means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine mammals and birds. See 16 USC 5002
• fish: means finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and all other forms of marine animal and plant life other than marine mammals and birds. See 16 USC 7402
• Fishing: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5002
• fishing: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5152
• Fishing vessel: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5002
• food service or drinking establishment: is a restaurant, inn, bar, tavern, or any other similar place of business in which the public or patrons assemble for the primary purpose of being served food or drink, in which the majority of the gross square feet of space that is nonresidential is used for that purpose, and in which nondramatic musical works are performed publicly. See 17 USC 101
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• function: includes any duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, activity, or program. See 20 USC 3404
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Germane: On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governor: means the Governor of a State or the person designated by State law to exercise the powers granted to the Governor pursuant to this chapter. See 33 USC 1502
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• group: includes any State or other public agency, and any nonprofit society, institution, organization, association, museum, or establishment in the United States, whether or not incorporated. See 20 USC 952
• group: includes any State or public agency or institution and any nonprofit society, institution, organization, association, or establishment in the United States. See 20 USC 2102
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• guaranty agency: means any State or nonprofit private institution or organization with which the Secretary has an agreement under section 1078(b) of this title. See 20 USC 1085
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• high seas: means the waters beyond the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone (or the equivalent) of any nation, to the extent that such territorial sea or exclusive economic zone (or the equivalent) is recognized by the United States. See 16 USC 5502
• high seas fishing vessel: means any vessel of the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States used or intended for use&mdash. See 16 USC 5502
• historical park: means the Adams National Historical Park established in section 410eee-2 of this title. See 16 USC 410eee-1
• holder: means an eligible lender who owns a loan. See 20 USC 1085
• humanities: includes , but is not limited to, the study and interpretation of the following: language, both modern and classical. See 20 USC 952
• Incidental taking: means catching, taking, or harvesting a species or stock of fish while conducting directed fishing for another species or stock of fish. See 16 USC 5002
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• independent: when used with respect to a student, means any individual who&mdash. See 20 USC 1087vv
• individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
• infringing semiconductor chip product: is a semiconductor chip product which is made, imported, or distributed in violation of the exclusive rights of the owner of a mask work under this chapter. See 17 USC 901
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• injury: means accidental injury or death arising out of and in the course of employment, and such occupational disease or infection as arises naturally out of such employment or as naturally or unavoidably results from such accidental injury, and includes an injury caused by the willful act of a third person directed against an employee because of his employment. See 33 USC 902
• innocent purchaser: is a person who purchases a semiconductor chip product in good faith and without having notice of protection with respect to the semiconductor chip product. See 17 USC 901
• institution of higher education: means , in addition to institutions which meet the definition of section 1001 of this title, institutions which meet the requirements of section 1001 of this title except that (1) they are not located in the United States, and (2) they apply for assistance under this subchapter in consortia with institutions which meet the definition of section 1001 of this title. See 20 USC 1132
• insurance beneficiary: means the insured or its authorized representative assigned in accordance with section 1079(d) of this title. See 20 USC 1085
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• international business: means profit-oriented business relationships conducted across national boundaries and includes activities such as the buying and selling of goods, investments in industries, the licensing of processes, patents and trademarks, and the supply of services. See 20 USC 1132
• international conservation and management measures: means measures to conserve or manage one or more species of living marine resources that are adopted and applied in accordance with the relevant rules of international law, as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and that are recognized by the United States. See 16 USC 5502
• internationalization of curricula: means the incorporation of international or comparative perspectives in existing courses of study or the addition of new components to the curricula to provide an international context for American business education. See 20 USC 1132
• Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
• IUU fishing: means any activity set out in paragraph 3 of the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. See 16 USC 7402
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• joint work: is a work prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole. See 17 USC 101
• Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
• 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.
• Jurisprudence: The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
• lawful hunt: means the taking or harvesting (or attempted taking or harvesting) of wildlife or fish, on Federal lands, which&mdash. See 16 USC 5207
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
• Legal tender: coins, dollar bills, or other currency issued by a government as official money. ^{Source: U.S. Mint}
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• length: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5502
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Librarian: means the Librarian of Congress. See 20 USC 2102
• licensee: means a citizen of the United States holding a valid license for the ownership, construction, and operation of a deepwater port that was issued, transferred, or renewed pursuant to this chapter. See 33 USC 1502
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• line of credit: means an arrangement or agreement between the lender and the borrower whereby a loan is paid out by the lender to the borrower in annual installments, or whereby the lender agrees to make, in addition to the initial loan, additional loans in subsequent years. See 20 USC 1085
• Lineal descendant: Direct descendant of the same ancestors.
• listed IUU vessel: means a vessel that is included in a list of vessels having engaged in IUU fishing or fishing-related activities in support of IUU fishing that has been adopted by a regional fisheries management organization of which the United States is a member, or a list adopted by a regional fisheries management organization of which the United States is not a member if the Secretary determines the criteria used by that organization to create the IUU list is comparable to criteria adopted by RFMOs of which the United States is a member for identifying IUU vessels and activities. See 16 USC 7402
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Local government: means any political subdivision of a State, including a county, municipality, city, town, township, or a school or other special district created pursuant to State law. See 16 USC 410y
• Magnuson Act: means the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U. See 16 USC 5152
• Magnuson-Stevens Act: means the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U. See 16 USC 7402
• Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
• Mandatory spending: Spending (budget authority and outlays) controlled by laws other than annual appropriations acts.
• marine environment: includes the coastal environment, waters of the contiguous zone, and waters of the high seas. See 33 USC 1502
• mask work: is a series of related images, however fixed or encoded&mdash. See 17 USC 901
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• moratorium area: means the coastal waters with respect to which a declaration under section 5154(a) of this title applies. See 16 USC 5152
• moratorium period: means the period beginning on the day on which moratorium is declared under section 5154(a) of this title regarding a coastal State and ending on the day on which the Commission notifies the Secretaries that that State has taken appropriate remedial action with respect to those matters that were the case of the moratorium being declared. See 16 USC 5152
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• motion picture exhibition facility: means a movie theater, screening room, or other venue that is being used primarily for the exhibition of a copyrighted motion picture, if such exhibition is open to the public or is made to an assembled group of viewers outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances. See 17 USC 101
• national average weekly wage: means the national average weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonagricultural payrolls. See 33 USC 902
• National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. ^{Source: OCC}
• National Credit Union Administration: The federal regulatory agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. (NCUA also administers the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, which insures the deposits of federal credit unions.) ^{Source: OCC}
• national forest: means lands included in the National Forest System (as defined in section 1609(a) of this title). See 16 USC 5207
• national park: means lands and waters included in the National Park System (as defined in section 100501 of title 54). See 16 USC 5207
• Native Hawaiian: as used in this subchapter , means a descendant of not less than one-half part of the blood of the races inhabiting the Hawaiian Islands previous to the year 1778. See 16 USC 410jj-6
• natural gas: means either natural gas unmixed, or any mixture of natural or artificial gas, including compressed or liquefied natural gas, natural gas liquids, liquefied petroleum gas, and condensate recovered from natural gas. See 33 USC 1502
• net assets: means the current market value at the time of application of the assets (as defined in subsection (f)), minus the outstanding liabilities or indebtedness against the assets. See 20 USC 1087vv
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• notice of protection: means having actual knowledge that, or reasonable grounds to believe that, a mask work is protected under this chapter. See 17 USC 901
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• oath: includes affirmation, and "sworn" includes affirmed. See 1 USC 1
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• obscene: means with respect to a project, production, workshop, or program that&mdash. See 20 USC 952
• office: includes any office, institute, council, unit, organizational entity, or component thereof. See 20 USC 3404
• officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
• oil: means petroleum, crude oil, and any substance refined from petroleum or crude oil. See 33 USC 1502
• Outlays: Outlays are payments made (generally through the issuance of checks or disbursement of cash) to liquidate obligations. Outlays during a fiscal year may be for payment of obligations incurred in prior years or in the same year.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• parent: includes step-parents and parents by adoption, parents-in-law, and any person who for more than three years prior to the death of the deceased employee stood in the place of a parent to him, if dependent on the injured employee. See 33 USC 902
• Park: means the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, as herein established. See 16 USC 410y
• park: means the Keweenaw National Historical Park established by section 410yy-2(a)(1) of this title. See 16 USC 410yy-1
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Party: means Canada, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States, and any other nation that may accede to the Convention. See 16 USC 5002
• Per stirpes: The legal means by which the children of a decedent, upon the death of an ancestor at a level above that of the decedent, receive by right of representation the share of the ancestor
• performing rights society: is a n association, corporation, or other entity that licenses the public performance of nondramatic musical works on behalf of copyright owners of such works, such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music, Inc. See 17 USC 101
• person: means any individual (whether or not a citizen or national of the United States), any corporation, partnership, association, or other entity (whether or not organized or existing under the laws of any State), and any Federal, State, local, or foreign government or any entity of any such government. See 16 USC 5502
• person: means individual, partnership, corporation, or association. See 33 USC 902
• person: includes an individual, a public or private corporation, a partnership or other association, or a government entity. See 33 USC 1502
• Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, private nonprofit organization, or club. See 16 USC 410y
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• phonorecords: includes the material object in which the sounds are first fixed. See 17 USC 101
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plan: means a plan for managing Atlantic striped bass, or an amendment to such plan, that is prepared and adopted by the Commission. See 16 USC 5152
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• private educational: refer to independent, nonpublic, and private institutions of elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education. See 20 USC 3404
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• production: means plays (with or without music), ballet, dance and choral performances, concerts, recitals, operas, exhibitions, readings, motion pictures, television, radio, film, video, and tape and sound recordings, and any other activities involving the execution or rendition of the arts and meeting such standards as may be approved by the National Endowment for the Arts established by section 954 of this title. See 20 USC 952
• project: means programs organized to carry out the purposes of this subchapter, including programs to foster American artistic creativity, to commission works of art, to create opportunities for individuals to develop artistic talents when carried on as a part of a program otherwise included in this definition, and to develop and enhance the widest public knowledge and understanding of the arts, and includes, where appropriate, rental or purchase of facilities, purchase or rental of land, and acquisition of equipment. See 20 USC 952
• proprietor: is a n individual, corporation, partnership, or other entity, as the case may be, that owns an establishment or a food service or drinking establishment, except that no owner or operator of a radio or television station licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, cable system or satellite carrier, cable or satellite carrier service or programmer, provider of online services or network access or the operator of facilities therefor, telecommunications company, or any other such audio or audiovisual service or programmer now known or as may be developed in the future, commercial subscription music service, or owner or operator of any other transmission service, shall under any circumstances be deemed to be a proprietor. See 17 USC 101
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• protocol: means the Protocol Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Marine Pollution by Substances Other Than Oil, 1973, including annexes thereto. See 33 USC 1471
• pseudonymous work: is a work on the copies or phonorecords of which the author is identified under a fictitious name. See 17 USC 101
• Public debt: Cumulative amounts borrowed by the Treasury Department or the Federal Financing Bank from the public or from another fund or account. The public debt does not include agency debt (amounts borrowed by other agencies of the Federal Government). The total public debt is subject to a statutory limit.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• publicly: means &mdash. See 17 USC 101
• qualified education benefit: means &mdash. See 20 USC 1087vv
• qualified higher education expenses: has the meaning given the term in section 529(e) of title 26. See 20 USC 1087vv
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Ranking minority member: The highest ranking (and usually longest serving) minority member of a committee or subcommittee.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• residential property: means a single-family dwelling, the construction of which began before July 1, 1991, together with such land on which the dwelling and appurtenant buildings are located as is in the same ownership as such dwelling and as the Secretary designates as reasonably necessary for the owner's continued use and occupancy of the dwelling. See 16 USC 410x-2
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• safety zone: means the safety zone established around a deepwater port as determined by the Secretary in accordance with section 1509(d) of this title. See 33 USC 1502
• Secretaries: means the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior or their designees. See 16 USC 5152
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture. See 16 USC 4503d
• Secretary: means the Secretary of State. See 16 USC 5002
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Commerce or a designee of the Secretary of Commerce. See 16 USC 5152
• Secretary: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5207
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Commerce. See 16 USC 5502
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Commerce or his or her designee. See 16 USC 7402
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Education. See 20 USC 1221
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Labor. See 33 USC 902
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating. See 33 USC 1471
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Transportation. See 33 USC 1502
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Education. See 20 USC 3404
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Interior. See 16 USC 410y
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Interior. See 16 USC 410yy-1
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Interior. See 16 USC 410eee-1
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• ship: means &mdash. See 33 USC 1471
• sister: includes stepbrothers and stepsisters, half brothers and half sisters, and brothers and sisters by adoption, but does not include married brothers nor married sisters unless wholly dependent on the employee. See 33 USC 902
• Sole ownership: The type of property ownership in which one individual holds legal title to the property and has full control of it.
• special combat pay: means pay received by a member of the Armed Forces because of exposure to a hazardous situation. See 20 USC 1087vv
• State: means each of the 50 States, Guam, American Samoa, the Republic of Palau (until the Compact of Free Association enters into effect), Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See 16 USC 4503d
• State: includes a Territory and the District of Columbia. See 33 USC 902
• State: includes each of the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories and possessions of the United States. See 33 USC 1502
• State: includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. See 20 USC 3404
• State: means any State, and includes the District of Columbia. See 16 USC 410y
• State: includes , in addition to the several States of the Union, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. See 20 USC 952
• State: includes , in addition to the several States of the Union, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands. See 20 USC 2102
• 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
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
• student: means a person regularly pursuing a full-time course of study or training at an institution which is&mdash. See 33 USC 902
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• subscription: includes a mark when the person making the same intended it as such. See 1 USC 1
• substance other than convention oil: means those oils, noxious substances, liquefied gases, and radioactive substances&mdash. See 33 USC 1471
• Supplemental appropriation: Budget authority provided in an appropriations act in addition to regular or continuing appropriations already provided. Supplemental appropriations generally are made to cover emergencies, such as disaster relief, or other needs deemed too urgent to be postponed until the enactment of next year's regular appropriations act.
• supplementary work: is a work prepared for publication as a secondary adjunct to a work by another author for the purpose of introducing, concluding, illustrating, explaining, revising, commenting upon, or assisting in the use of the other work, such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial illustrations, maps, charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements, answer material for tests, bibliographies, appendixes, and indexes, and an "instructional text" is a literary, pictorial, or graphic work prepared for publication and with the purpose of use in systematic instructional activities. See 17 USC 101
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• transfer of copyright ownership: is a n assignment, mortgage, exclusive license, or any other conveyance, alienation, or hypothecation of a copyright or of any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, whether or not it is limited in time or place of effect, but not including a nonexclusive license. See 17 USC 101
• transmission program: is a body of material that, as an aggregate, has been produced for the sole purpose of transmission to the public in sequence and as a unit. See 17 USC 101
• treaty party: is a country or intergovernmental organization other than the United States that is a party to an international agreement. See 17 USC 101
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• tribally controlled college or university: has the meaning given the term in section 1801 of title 25. See 20 USC 1132
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Truth in Lending Act: The Truth in Lending Act is a federal law that requires lenders to provide standardized information so that borrowers can compare loan terms. In general, lenders must provide information on ^{Source: OCC}
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• United States: when used in a geographical sense, comprises the several States, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the organized territories under the jurisdiction of the United States Government. See 17 USC 101
• United States: when used in a geographical sense means the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia, including the territorial waters thereof. See 33 USC 902
• United States: means the States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and any other commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. See 33 USC 1471
• United States Section: means the United States Commissioners of the Commission. See 16 USC 5002
• untaxed income and benefits: means &mdash. See 20 USC 1087vv
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• useful article: is a n article having an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information. See 17 USC 101
• User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
• Usury: Charging an illegally high interest rate on a loan. ^{Source: OCC}
• Variable Rate: Having a "variable" rate means that the APR changes from time to time based on fluctuations in an external rate, normally the Prime Rate. This external rate is known as the "index." If the index changes, the variable rate normally changes. Also see Fixed Rate.
• vehicle: includes every description of carriage or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on land. See 1 USC 4
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• vessel: means any vessel, ship of another type, or boat used for, equipped to be used for, or intended to be used for, fishing or fishing-related activities, including container vessels that are carrying fish that have not been previously landed. See 16 USC 7402
• vessel: means any vessel upon which or in connection with which any person entitled to benefits under this chapter suffers injury or death arising out of or in the course of his employment, and said vessel's owner, owner pro hac vice, agent, operator, charter or bare boat charterer, master, officer, or crew member. See 33 USC 902
• vessel: means every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used as a means of transportation on or through the water. See 33 USC 1502
• vessel: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water. See 1 USC 3
• vessel of the United States: means &mdash. See 16 USC 5502
• veteran: includes a person who died in the active military, naval, air, or space service. See 38 USC 1301
• veteran: means any individual who&mdash. See 20 USC 1087vv
• Veto: The procedure established under the Constitution by which the President/Governor refuses to approve a bill or joint resolution and thus prevents its enactment into law. A regular veto occurs when the President/Governor returns the legislation to the house in which it originated. The President/Governor usually returns a vetoed bill with a message indicating his reasons for rejecting the measure. In Congress, the veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House.
• wages: means the money rate at which the service rendered by an employee is compensated by an employer under the contract of hiring in force at the time of the injury, including the reasonable value of any advantage which is received from the employer and included for purposes of any withholding of tax under subtitle C of title 26 (relating to employment taxes). See 33 USC 902
• whoever: include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals. See 1 USC 1
• widow or widower: includes only the decedent's wife or husband living with or dependent for support upon him or her at the time of his or her death. See 33 USC 902
• wildlife refuge: means lands and waters included in the National Wildlife Refuge System (as established by section 668dd of this title). See 16 USC 5207
• work of the United States Government: is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties. See 17 USC 101
• workshop: means an activity the primary purpose of which is to encourage the artistic development or enjoyment of amateur, student, or other nonprofessional participants, or to promote scholarship and teaching among the participants. See 20 USC 952
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1