Part A National Institutes of Health
Part B General Provisions Respecting National Research Institutes
Part C Specific Provisions Respecting National Research Institutes
Part D National Library of Medicine
Part E Other Agencies of Nih
Part F Research On Women’s Health
Part G Awards and Training
Part H General Provisions
Part I Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Part J Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health

Terms Used In U.S. Code > Title 42 > Chapter 6A > Subchapter III - National Research Institutes

  • administering organization: means the recognized, voluntary, private sector, consensus standards body with specific experience in developing model residential building codes and standards involving all disciplines regarding construction and safety that administers the consensus standards through a development process. See 42 USC 5402
  • 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.
  • affiliate: shall mean an entity effectively controlled or owned by the Corporation, except that such term shall not include an originator (as defined in section 2279aa of this title). See 12 USC 2279aa-11
  • Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
  • agricultural research: means research in the food and agricultural sciences. See 7 USC 3103
  • 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.
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • 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.
  • application for restructuring: means a written request&mdash. See 12 USC 2202a
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • appropriate committees of Congress: includes the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. See 22 USC 1465ff
  • 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
  • armored car company: means a company&mdash. See 15 USC 5904
  • armored car crew member: means an individual who provides protection for goods transported by an armored car company. See 15 USC 5904
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • 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
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • 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 of Directors: means the Board of Directors of the Corporation. See 12 USC 2277a
  • Bureau: means the Bureau of the Census. See 13 USC 1
  • Chairman: means the Chairman of the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies. See 22 USC 262r
  • clinical research: means patient oriented clinical research conducted with human subjects, or research on the causes and consequences of disease in human populations involving material of human origin (such as tissue specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator or colleague directly interacts with human subjects in an outpatient or inpatient setting to clarify a problem in human physiology, pathophysiology or disease, or epidemiologic or behavioral studies, outcomes research or health services research, or developing new technologies, therapeutic interventions, or clinical trials. See 42 USC 284d
  • Commission: means the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States, established pursuant to Reorganization Plan Numbered 1 of 1954 (68 Stat. See 22 USC 1641
  • Commission: means the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States, established, pursuant to Reorganization Plan Number 1 of 1954 (68 Stat. See 22 USC 1642
  • 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.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • 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.
  • consensus committee: means the committee established under section 5403(a)(3) of this title. See 42 USC 5402
  • consensus standards development process: means the process by which additions, revisions, and interpretations to the Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards and enforcement regulations shall be developed and recommended to the Secretary by the consensus committee. See 42 USC 5402
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: means the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation established in section 2277a-1 of this title. See 12 USC 2277a
  • 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.
  • cost of foreclosure: includes &mdash. See 12 USC 2202a
  • county: includes a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States. See 1 USC 2
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • defect: includes any defect in the performance, construction, components, or material of a manufactured home that renders the home or any part thereof not fit for the ordinary use for which it was intended. See 42 USC 5402
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Department: means the Department of State. See 22 USC 1433
  • Department of Agriculture: means the United States Department of Agriculture. See 7 USC 3103
  • 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.
  • design approval primary inspection agency: means a State agency or private organization that has been approved by the Secretary to evaluate and either approve or disapprove manufactured home designs and quality control procedures. See 42 USC 5402
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Director: means the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. See 15 USC 5503
  • 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:
  • distressed loan: means a loan that the borrower does not have the financial capacity to pay according to its terms and that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics:

    (A) The borrower is demonstrating adverse financial and repayment trends. See 12 USC 2202a

  • distributor: means any person engaged in the sale and distribution of manufactured homes for resale. See 42 USC 5402
  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • 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
  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • executive department: means any executive department, agency, or independent establishment of the United States or any corporation wholly owned by the United States. See 42 USC 201
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • extension: means the informal education programs conducted in the States in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture. See 7 USC 3103
  • 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.
  • 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 manufactured home construction and safety standard: means a reasonable standard for the construction, design, and performance of a manufactured home which meets the needs of the public including the need for quality, durability, and safety. See 42 USC 5402
  • 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
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • 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).
  • 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
  • foreclosure proceeding: means &mdash. See 12 USC 2202a
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • functions: shall be deemed to include references to duty, obligation, power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, and activity, or the plural thereof, as the case may be. See 42 USC 5874
  • 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
  • German Democratic Republic: includes the government of any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof or under its control. See 22 USC 1644a
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Government agency: means any executive department, board, bureau, commission, or other agency of the Federal Government, or independent establishment, or any corporation wholly owned (either directly or through one or more corporations) by the United States. See 22 USC 1433
  • Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
  • 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.
  • heart diseases: means diseases of the heart and circulation. See 42 USC 201
  • high-end computing: means the most advanced and capable computing systems, including their hardware, storage, networking and software, encompassing both massive computational capability and large-scale data analytics to solve computational problems of national importance that are beyond the capability of small- to medium-scale systems, including computing formerly known as high-performance computing. See 15 USC 5503
  • imminent safety hazard: means an imminent and unreasonable risk of death or severe personal injury. See 42 USC 5402
  • incumbent domestic licensee: means a licensee as provided in section 153(c) 1 of title 47 that was broadcasting a television signal as of January 1, 1989. See 22 USC 1465ff
  • 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
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • installation standards: means reasonable specifications for the installation of a manufactured home, at the place of occupancy, to ensure proper siting, the joining of all sections of the home, and the installation of stabilization, support, or anchoring systems. See 42 USC 5402
  • institution-affiliated party: means &mdash. See 12 USC 2271
  • insured obligation: means any note, bond, debenture, or other obligation issued under subsection (c) or (d) of section 2153 of this title&mdash. See 12 USC 2277a
  • insured System bank: means any System bank whose participation in notes, bonds, debentures, and other obligations issued under subsection (c) or (d) of section 2153 of this title is insured under this part. See 12 USC 2277a
  • 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 energy program: means the Agreement on an International Energy Program, signed by the United States on November 18, 1974, including (A) the annex entitled "Emergency Reserves" (B) any amendment to such Agreement which includes another nation as a party to such Agreement, and (C) any technical or clerical amendment to such Agreement. See 42 USC 6202
  • Internet: means the international computer network of both Federal and non-Federal interoperable data networks. See 15 USC 5503
  • 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.
  • Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
  • Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
  • Legacy: A gift of property made by will.
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • licensee: has the meaning provided in section 153(c) 1 of title 47. See 22 USC 1465ff
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Litvinov Assignment: means (A) the communication dated November 16, 1933, from Maxim Litvinov to President Franklin D. See 22 USC 1641
  • loan: means a loan made to a farmer, rancher, or producer or harvester of aquatic products, for any agricultural or aquatic purpose and other credit needs of the borrower, including financing for basic processing and marketing directly related to the borrower's operations and those of other eligible farmers, ranchers, and producers or harvesters of aquatic products. See 12 USC 2202a
  • manufactured home: means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which, in the traveling mode, is eight body feet or more in width or forty body feet or more in length, or, when erected on site, is three hundred twenty or more square feet, and which is built on a permanent chassis and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation when connected to the required utilities, and includes the plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical systems contained therein. See 42 USC 5402
  • manufactured home construction: means all activities relating to the assembly and manufacture of a manufactured home including but not limited to those relating to durability, quality, and safety. See 42 USC 5402
  • manufactured home safety: means the performance of a manufactured home in such a manner that the public is protected against any unreasonable risk of the occurrence of accidents due to the design or construction of such manufactured home, or any unreasonable risk of death or injury to the user or to the public if such accidents do occur. See 42 USC 5402
  • manufacturer: means any person engaged in manufacturing or assembling manufactured homes, including any person engaged in importing manufactured homes for resale. See 42 USC 5402
  • medical library: means a library related to the sciences related to health. See 42 USC 286b-1
  • Memorandum of Understanding: means the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Italy regarding Italian assets in the United States and certain claims of nationals of the United States, signed at Washington, District of Columbia, August 14, 1947 (61 Stat. See 22 USC 1641
  • monitoring: means the process of periodic review of the primary inspection agencies, by the Secretary or by a State agency under an approved State plan pursuant to section 5422 of this title, in accordance with regulations promulgated under this chapter, giving due consideration to the recommendations of the consensus committee under section 5403(b) of this title, which process shall be for the purpose of ensuring that the primary inspection agencies are discharging their duties under this chapter. See 42 USC 5402
  • 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
  • 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
  • networking and information technology: means high-end computing, communications, and information technologies, high-capacity and high-speed networks, special purpose and experimental systems, high-end computing systems software and applications software, and the management of large data sets. See 15 USC 5503
  • oath: includes affirmation, and "sworn" includes affirmed. See 1 USC 1
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • 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.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • 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.
  • performance: when used in relation to functions, shall be deemed to include the exercise of power, authority, rights, and privileges. See 42 USC 5874
  • Person: means a natural person, partnership, association, other unincorporated body, corporation, or body politic. See 22 USC 1631
  • Person: means a natural person, partnership, association, other unincorporated body, corporation, or body politic. See 22 USC 1641
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • petroleum: includes crude oil, gases (including natural gas), natural gasoline, and other related hydrocarbons, oil shale, and the products of any of such resources. See 42 USC 6501
  • petroleum product: means crude oil, residual fuel oil, or any refined petroleum product (including any natural liquid and any natural gas liquid product). See 42 USC 6202
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • 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.
  • primary inspection agency: means a State agency or private organization that has been approved by the Secretary to act as a design approval primary inspection agency or a production inspection primary inspection agency, or both. See 42 USC 5402
  • production inspection primary inspection agency: means a State agency or private organization that has been approved by the Secretary to evaluate the ability of manufactured home manufacturing plants to comply with approved quality control procedures and with the Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards promulgated hereunder, including the inspection of homes in the plant. See 42 USC 5402
  • Program: means the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program described in section 5511 of this title. See 15 USC 5503
  • Property: means any property, right, or interest. See 22 USC 1631
  • Property: means any property, right, or interest. See 22 USC 1641
  • Property: means any property, right, or interest. See 22 USC 1642
  • property: means any property, right, or interest, including any leasehold interest, and debts owed by enterprises which have been nationalized, expropriated, or taken by the German Democratic Republic for which no restoration or no adequate compensation has been made to the former owners of such property. See 22 USC 1644a
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • 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.
  • purchaser: means the first person purchasing a manufactured home in good faith for purposes other than resale. See 42 USC 5402
  • qualified lender: means &mdash. See 12 USC 2202a
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • restructuring: include rescheduling, reamortization, renewal, deferral of principal or interest, monetary concessions, and the taking of any other action to modify the terms of, or forbear on, a loan in any way that will make it probable that the operations of the borrower will become financially viable. See 12 USC 2202a
  • retailer: means any person engaged in the sale, leasing, or distribution of new manufactured homes primarily to persons who in good faith purchase or lease a manufactured home for purposes other than resale. See 42 USC 5402
  • Russian national: includes any corporation or business association organized under the laws, decrees, ordinances, or acts of the former Empire of Russia or of any government successor thereto, and subsequently nationalized or dissolved or whose assets were taken over by the Soviet Government or which was merged with any other corporation or organization by the Soviet Government. See 22 USC 1641
  • sciences related to health: includes medicine, osteopathy, dentistry, and public health, and fundamental and applied sciences when related thereto. See 42 USC 286b-1
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. See 42 USC 5302
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Commerce. See 13 USC 1
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. See 42 USC 5402
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Energy. See 42 USC 6202
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of State. See 22 USC 1433
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States. See 7 USC 3103
  • Secretary: means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. See 42 USC 201
  • Service: means the Public Health Service. See 42 USC 201
  • 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.
  • Soviet Government: means the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, including any of its present or former constituent republics, other political subdivisions, and any territories thereof, as constituted on or prior to November 16, 1933. See 22 USC 1641
  • State: means any State of the United States or the District of Columbia. See 15 USC 5904
  • State: includes each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Canal Zone, and American Samoa. See 42 USC 5402
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or any territory or possession of the United States. See 42 USC 6202
  • State: means any of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, any Territory of the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or the Virgin Islands. See 12 USC 2277a
  • State: means &mdash. See 7 USC 3103
  • 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.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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
  • uniformed service: means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See 42 USC 201
  • United States: when used in the geographical sense means all of the States and the Outer Continental Shelf. See 42 USC 6202
  • United States district courts: means the Federal district courts of the United States and the United States courts of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Canal Zone, and American Samoa. See 42 USC 5402
  • 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: 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: includes every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water, exclusive of aircraft and amphibious contrivances. See 42 USC 201
  • 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.
  • violation: includes without limitation any action (alone or with another or others) for or toward causing, bringing about, participating in, counseling, or aiding or abetting a violation. See 12 USC 2271
  • whoever: include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals. See 1 USC 1