Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 22 > Chapter 52 > Subchapter XI - Grievances

• abroad: means all areas not included within the United States. See 22 USC 3902
• 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.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• agency: means an agency as defined in section 552(e) ¹ of title 5. See 22 USC 3902
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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
• certification: means a written assertion, based on supporting evidence, which shall be kept available for inspection by the Secretary, the Inspector General and the public, which assertion shall be deemed to be accurate for purposes of this Act, unless the Secretary determines otherwise after inspecting the evidence and providing due notice and opportunity for comment. See 42 USC 12704
• Chairman: means the Chairman of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies. See 22 USC 262r
• chief of mission: means the principal officer in charge of a diplomatic mission of the United States or of a United States office abroad which is designated by the Secretary of State as diplomatic in nature, including any individual assigned under section 3982(c) of this title to be temporarily in charge of such a mission or office. See 22 USC 3902
• community housing development organization: means a nonprofit organization as defined in paragraph (5), that&mdash. See 42 USC 12704
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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.
• county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
• Department: means the Department of State, except that with reference to the exercise of functions under this chapter with respect to another agency authorized by law to utilize the Foreign Service personnel system, such term means that other agency. See 22 USC 3902
• 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.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• displaced homemaker: means an individual who&mdash. See 42 USC 12704
• 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.
• 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.
• first-time homebuyer: means an individual and his or her spouse who have not owned a home during the 3-year period prior to purchase of a home with assistance under subchapter II, except that&mdash. See 42 USC 12704
• 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.
• Fixed Rate: Having a "fixed" rate means that the APR doesn't change based on fluctuations of some external rate (such as the "Prime Rate"). In other words, a fixed rate is a rate that is not a variable rate. A fixed APR can change over time, in several circumstances:
  • You are late making a payment or commit some other default, triggering an increase to a penalty rate
  • The bank changes the terms of your account and you do not reject the change.
  • The rate expires (if the rate was fixed for only a certain period of time).
• Foreign Service: means the Foreign Service of the United States. See 22 USC 3902
• Government: means the Government of the United States. See 22 USC 3902
• housing: includes manufactured housing and manufactured housing lots and elder cottage housing opportunity units that are small, free-standing, barrier-free, energy-efficient, removable, and designed to be installed adjacent to existing 1- to 4-family dwellings. See 42 USC 12704
• individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
• 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}
• 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.
• jurisdiction: means a State or unit of general local government. See 42 USC 12704
• 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.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• low-income families: means families whose incomes do not exceed 80 percent of the median income for the area, as determined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller and larger families, except that the Secretary may establish income ceilings higher or lower than 80 percent of the median for the area on the basis of the Secretary's findings that such variations are necessary because of prevailing levels of construction costs or fair market rents, or unusually high or low family incomes. See 42 USC 12704
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• nonprofit organization: means any private, nonprofit organization (including a State or locally chartered, nonprofit organization) that&mdash. See 42 USC 12704
• 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.
• officer: includes any person authorized by law to perform the duties of the office. See 1 USC 1
• Oral argument: An opportunity for lawyers to summarize their position before the court and also to answer the judges' questions.
• participating jurisdiction: means any State or unit of general local government that has been so designated in accordance with section 12746 of this title. See 42 USC 12704
• 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.
• principal officer: means the officer in charge of a diplomatic mission, consular mission (other than a consular agency), or other Foreign Service post. See 22 USC 3902
• public housing agency: has the meaning given the term in section 1437a(b) of this title. See 42 USC 12704
• Ranking minority member: The highest ranking (and usually longest serving) minority member of a committee or subcommittee.
• Secretary: means the Secretary of State, except that (subject to section 3921 of this title) with reference to the exercise of functions under this Act with respect to any agency authorized by law to utilize the Foreign Service personnel system, such term means the head of that agency. See 22 USC 3902
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, unless otherwise specified in this Act. See 42 USC 12704
• Secretary: means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. See 42 USC 201
• Service: means the Public Health Service. See 42 USC 201
• single parent: means an individual who&mdash. See 42 USC 12704
• State: means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any agency or instrumentality thereof that is established pursuant to legislation and designated by the chief executive officer to act on behalf of the State with regard to the provisions of this Act. See 42 USC 12704
• 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
• 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
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• 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.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• unit of general local government: means a city, town, township, county, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a State. See 42 USC 12704
• United States: when used in a geographic sense, means the several States and the District of Columbia. See 22 USC 3902
• very low-income families: means low-income families whose incomes do not exceed 50 percent of the median family income for the area, as determined by the Secretary with adjustments for smaller and larger families, except that the Secretary may establish income ceilings higher or lower than 50 percent of the median for the area on the basis of the Secretary's findings that such variations are necessary because of prevailing levels of construction costs or fair market rents, or unusually high or low family incomes. See 42 USC 12704
• writing: includes printing and typewriting and reproductions of visual symbols by photographing, multigraphing, mimeographing, manifolding, or otherwise. See 1 USC 1