Justice for Victims of Pan Am 103 – Expressed the Sense of the Senate that Libya must pay compensation to the families of the victims of Pan Am 103 and end support for international terrorism before multilateral sanctions are lifted (Sponsor – S.Con.Res. 23, approved by the Senate 4/6/01)

Enhanced Intelligence Community & FBI Cooperation – Advocated the “significant purpose” language in the USA Patriot Act that began to break down the wall between intelligence and law enforcement investigations that, in part, prevented the government from stopping the 9/11 attack. (P.L. 107-56, 10/26/01) 

Julian C. Dixon Post Office – Redesignated a United States Postal Service facility in Los Angeles, California, as the “Congressmen Julian C. Dixon Post Office Building.” (Sponsor – S.1381; P.L. 107-88, 12/18/01)

Master Teachers – Created demonstration grant program to help school districts establish master teacher positions as a way of retain qualified teachers who could help train other teachers.  (Sponsor – S.120, incorporated as an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Bill; P.L. 107-110, 1/8/02)
 
Small Schools – Authorized $5 billion over five years for grants to local school districts to construct new schools of no more than 500 elementary students, 750 junior high students or 1,500 high school students.  (Sponsor – S.308, incorporated as an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Bill; P.L. 107-110, 1/8/02)

Teacher Technology Training – Authorized $100 million to state education departments for grants to local school districts to train teachers in how to use technology in the classroom.  (Sponsor – S.307, incorporated as an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Bill; P.L. 107-110, 1/8/02)

Title I Funds for Educating Disadvantaged Students – Directed that these funds only be used to improve academic achievement and helping students meet state achievement standards.  (Sponsor – S.309, incorporated as an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Bill; P.L. 107-110. 1/8/02)

Campaign Finance Reform Contribution Limits – Led fight for a compromise bipartisan amendment, which helped win passage of the McCain-Feingold campaign reform bill, by linking the ban on unregulated “soft money” to an increase in regulated contributions to individuals from $1,000 per election cycle to $2,000.  (Incorporated as amendment to S.27, Campaign Finance Reform measure; P.L. 107-155, 3/27/02)

Border Security and Visa Entry Reform – Helped prevent terrorists from entering the United
States through loopholes in our immigration system.  Highlights included mandating an interoperable law enforcement and intelligence data system to provide immigration and law enforcement authorities immediate access to relevant crime and intelligence information on foreign nationals; reformed the visa waiver program and mandated the development of tamper-resistant, biometric visas, passports and other travel documents; and reformed the foreign student visa program, requiring that a tracking system be implemented by January 2003; and required more extensive background checks for foreign nationals.  (Sponsor – S.1627, incorporated into the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act; P.L. 107-173, 5/14/02)

International Affairs Budget – Expressed the Sense of the Senate that “if we are to win the war against terrorism and provide peace and security for all Americans,” the U.S. should increase foreign assistance spending by at least 25 percent for the next five years, with the goal of reaching an amount equal to or exceeding 3 percent of the federal budget.  (Sponsor – S.Res.182, approved by the Senate on 6/4/02)

Deadly Biological Agent Control Act – Established new strict controls for labs and individuals handling anthrax, small pox, and more than 30 dangerous biological agents and toxins: required registration and background checks for anyone seeking to possess deadly agents; established penalties for lacking such registration; required that the list of dangerous agents be reviewed every two years; and established a national database on the location and characterization of deadly biological agents.  (Sponsor – S.1661. Folded into a larger bioterrorism bill, the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Response Act; P.L.107-188, 6/12/02)

Ban on Corporate Loans – Prevented public companies from issuing loans to executive officers of that company. The bill included a limited exemption which allows for companies which are in the banking/credit business to provide standard loans to their executives. (Cosponsored with Senator Charles Schumer as an amendment to the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act; P.L. 107-204, 7/30/02)

Child Status Protection Act – Permitted qualified child beneficiaries (children of U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees) who filed timely immigration and naturalization applications to retain their eligibility for a visa after they have turned 21. (Sponsor – S.672; P.L. 107-208, 8/6/02)

Tibet Policy Act – For the first time, laid out U.S. policy toward Tibet and authorized $2.75 million for humanitarian assistance for the Tibetan people; also codified the position of Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues at the State Department; protected Tibetan culture and heritage; and encouraged dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government. (Sponsor - S.852 with Senator Thomas, folded into FY’03 Foreign Relations Authorization Act; P.L. 107-228, 9/30/02) 
 
Small Arms/Light Weapons Amendment – Strengthened the notification and reporting requirements for sales of small arms and light weapons. At the time, those seeking to export small arms and light weapons had to report any transaction greater than $14 million to Congress; with the law’s passage, exporters are required to notify Congress when the sale exceeds $1 million. (Sponsor – S.1555, incorporated into the Nonproliferation Assistance Coordination Act of 2001; P.L. 107-228, 9/30/02)

Nat King Cole Post Office – Redesignated a U.S. Postal facility in Los Angeles, California, as the “Nat King Cole Post Office.” (Sponsor - S.2929, P.L. 107-271, 10/30/02) 

State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) Reauthorization – Amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize annually $750 million in appropriations for fiscal years 2002 through 2006 to carry out the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). As part of the effort to secure reauthorization, Senator Feinstein successfully fought off efforts by the Bush Administration to eliminate the SCAAP program altogether.  (Sponsor – S.862, incorporated as an amendment to the FY’02 Department of Justice Authorization Act; P.L. 107-273, 11/2/02)

James Guelff and Chris McCurley Body Armor Act – Offered in honor of James Guelff, a San Francisco police officer killed in 1994 by an assailant wearing body armor, the bill enhanced criminal penalties against individuals who commit crimes wearing body armor, prohibited violent felons from obtaining body armor, and allowed Federal agencies to distribute surplus body armor to State and local law enforcement. (Sponsor – S.166, incorporated as an amendment to the Department of Justice Authorization Act; P.L. 107-273, 11/2/02)

Southwestern Border Judgeship Act – Authorized new permanent judgeships, including
five for the Southern District of California, where serious backlogs were caused by a shortage of judges.  (Sponsor – S.147, incorporated as an amendment to the Department of Justice Authorization Act; P.L. 107-273, 11/2/02)

Chick Hearn Post Office – Designated a U.S. Postal Service facility in Encino, California, as the “Francis Dayle ‘Chick’ Hearn Post Office.” (Sponsor –S.2931, P.L. 107-286, 11/6/02)

Breast Cancer Research Stamp – Authorized U.S. Postal Service to continue selling for at least two more years the Breast Cancer Research Stamp. (Sponsor, Amendment to the FY 2002 Treasury-Postal Appropriations Bill; P.L. 107-67, 11/12/02.) (As of September 2006, the stamp has raised more than $60 million for breast cancer research since it was begun in 1998)

Created Terrorist Watchlist Capability – Required a terrorist watch-listing capability and the creation of the National Virtual Translation Center. (Incorporated into the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2003; P.L. 107-306, 11/27/02) 
 
National AMBER Alert Network Act – Created the nationwide AMBER Alert communications network that helps law enforcement find abducted children. After the original bill stalled in Congress, Senators Feinstein and Kay Bailey Hutchinson spurred President Bush to implement core pieces of the legislation by Executive Order. (Original sponsor with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison - S.121, folded into the Child Abduction Protection Act; P.L. 108-21, 4/30/03)

Significant Negotiations:

Just and Reasonable Electricity Rates – With the electricity rates skyrocketing because of market manipulation during the California energy crisis, Senator Feinstein lobbied the President, other members of Congress and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to cap electricity and natural gas rates.  She also introduced S.26, which would have authorized the Department of Energy to impose price caps, S.287, to direct FERC to impose cost of service based rates on electricity and S.764 to give FERC the choice of either price caps based on demand or cost of service rates.  While the bills did not come up for a vote, Senator Feinstein was finally successful in convincing FERC, after new commissioners were sworn in, to impose price caps on their own.

San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds Restoration – Helped to negotiate the purchase of 16,500 acres of salt ponds from Cargill along the San Francisco Bay and Napa River – the largest such wetlands restoration project in California history – through an unprecedented public-private partnership (including $35 million from the Hewlett, Moore and Packard Foundations and the Goldman Fund). (Deal brokered on 5/29/02, and sale completed on 3/13/03)

Cadiz – Through legislative action and negotiations with the Metropolitan Water District, Senator Feinstein helped to fend off efforts by Cadiz to store water in the desert aquifer and sell it to Southern California. Senator Feinstein believed the project would have adversely affected the future of the California Desert by possibly depleting critical water sources for fragile desert wildlife. (MWD rejected the Cadiz proposal in October 2002)