a report filed with the Environmental Protection Agency that specifies what environmental effects a proposed policy would have; the National Environmental Policy Act requires that whenever any agency proposed to undertake a policy that is potentially disruptive of the environment, the agency must file a statement with the EPA an agency of the federal government created in 1970 and charged with administering all the government's environmental legislation; it also administers policies dealing with toxic wastes; this is the largest federal independent regulatory agency organizations contracted by individuals or insurance companies to provide health care for a yearly fee; such network health plans limit the choice of doctors and treatments; about sixty percent of Americans are enrolled in HMOs or similar programs a public assistance program designed to provide health care for poor Americans; it is funded by both the states and the national government (compare Medicare) a program under the U

1. environmental impact statement

a report filed with the Environmental Protection Agency that specifies what environmental effects a proposed policy would have; the National Environmental Policy Act requires that whenever any agency proposed to undertake a policy that is potentially disruptive of the environment, the agency must file a statement with the EPA

2. Environmental Protection Agency

an agency of the federal government created in 1970 and charged with administering all the government's environmental legislation; it also administers policies dealing with toxic wastes; this is the largest federal independent regulatory agency

3. health maintenance organizations (HMOs)

organizations contracted by individuals or insurance companies to provide health care for a yearly fee; such network health plans limit the choice of doctors and treatments; about sixty percent of Americans are enrolled in HMOs or similar programs

4. Medicaid

a public assistance program designed to provide health care for poor Americans; it is funded by both the states and the national government (compare Medicare)

5. Medicare

a program under the U.S. Social Security Administration that reimburses hospitals and physicians for medical care provided to qualifying people over 65 years old

6. National Environmental Policy Act

a law passed in 1969 that is the centerpiece of federal environmental policy in the U.S.; the NEPA established the requirements for environmental impact statements

7. national health insurance

a compulsory insurance program for all Americans that would have the government finance citizens' medical care; first proposed by President Harry S Truman, the plan has been soundly opposed by the American Medical Association

8. nonrenewable resources

minerals and other resources that nature does not replace when they are consumed; many commonly used energy resources, such as oil and coal, are nonrenewable

9. socialized medicine

a system in which the full cost of medical care is borne by the national government; Great Britain and the former Soviet Union are examples of countries that have socialized medicine (compare Medicaid and Medicare)

10. Superfund

a $1.6 billion dollar fund created by Congress in the late 1970s and renewed in the 1980s to clean up hazardous waste sites; money for the fund comes from taxing chemical products

11. Water Pollution Control Act of 1972

a law intended to clean up the nation's rivers and lakes; it requires municipal, industrial, and other polluters to secure permits from the Environmental Protection Agency for discharging waste products into waters; according to the law, polluters are supposed to use "the best practicable pollution control technology"