United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Health Plan Requirements Title II: Office of Consumer Advocacy for Health Title III: Independent Consumer Advisory Committees Title IV: Coordination Among Office, Committees, and Secretary Patient and Health Care Provider Protection Act of 1996 - Title I: Health Plan Requirements - Prohibits a health plan that is part of any contract or agreement with a health care provider from providing any restriction on or interference with any medical communication (other than a knowing misrepresentation): (1) between the provider and a current, former, or prospective patient (or the guardian or legal representative of a patient); (2) between the provider and or any employee or representative of the plan; or (3) between the provider and any employee or representative of any State or Federal licensing or oversight authority. Authorizes States to establish or enforce requirements related to such prohibition, but only if they are more protective of a medical communication than that provided by such prohibition. (Sec. 102) Prohibits the operation of an improper health care provider incentive plan. (Sec. 103) Requires health plans to: (1) establish criteria for the denial of plan services, as well as criteria to assure the quality of plan care; (2) provide for an initial physical exam of enrollees before denying plan services; and (3) establish standards and procedures to protect certain private information from public disclosure. (Sec. 106) Requires a health plan to pay the State an annual fee of one percent of the total amount of the annual premiums paid by State residents enrolled in the plan. (Sec. 107) Provides for the enforcement of this title through the imposition of civil monetary penalties. (Sec. 108) Prohibits the taking of adverse actions against health care providers for certain actions, including those taken for the purpose of notifying a health plan of potentially dangerous conditions. Title II: Office of Consumer Advocacy for Health - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish for each State an independent Office for such State to assist consumers in dealing with problems that arise with respect to health plans and health care providers operating in the State, including assistance to individuals with grievances against a plan as well as assistance for individuals who seek to report dangerous conditions in health care services. (Sec. 201) Requires the Secretary, through a competitive grant award process, to designate a non-profit organization to serve as the Office for a State, which shall be headed by a Consumer Advocate for Health for the State selected from among individuals with expertise and experience in the fields of health care and consumer advocacy. Requires the State Office to establish a local office in each community rating area established by the Secretary. Gives the Secretary oversight over such offices. (Sec. 208) Funds such Offices out of certain fees collected under this Act that are imposed on health plans. Title III: Independent Consumer Advisory Committees - Requires each health plan to establish and maintain an independent Consumer Advisory Committee to develop and coordinate programs for outreach to the community and ensure that enrollee grievances are addressed. (Sec. 305) Requires each Committee to report annually to the Office for the State in which the health plan offers services, providing recommendations for improvements in health care delivery under the plan. (Sec. 306) Provides for funding of Committees. Title IV: Coordination Among Office, Committees, and Secretary - Requires an Office to establish and maintain a system of referrals among the Office, other consumer advocacy organizations, legal assistance providers serving low-income persons, and protection and advocacy systems for individuals with disabilities. (Sec. 402) Requires an Office to provide technical assistance to such Committees and distribute and account for funding for them. (Sec. 403) Requires annual submissions from each Committee to each Office, and from each Office to the Secretary, of compilations of enrollee quality care data, for analysis and use in developing Federal guidelines for evaluating the performance of health plans operating in community rating areas.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1996
Designates the U.S. courthouse to be constructed at the corner of Superior and Huron Roads, in Cleveland, Ohio, as the Carl B. Stokes United States Courthouse.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1996
Residential Windstorm Insurance Plan Act of 1996 - Instructs the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to study the advisability and feasibility of establishing a Residential Windstorm Insurance Program designed to provide windstorm insurance to residential property owners unable to obtain coverage in the private market. Delineates Program contents and considerations. Requires the Director to: (1) submit to specified congressional committees study conclusions and estimated Program costs; and (2) enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a feasibility study regarding the establishment of a Federal earthquake insurance program modeled after the "Write Your Own" Program under the National Flood Insurance Program. Directs the Comptroller General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Commerce to report to the Congress the results of a joint study evaluating the public policy issues associated with conferring favorable Federal tax treatment to multiyear insurance reserves set aside by private insurers for future catastrophic natural disasters.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1996
Consumer Internet Privacy Protection Act of 1996 - Prohibits an interactive computer service from disclosing to a third party any personally identifiable information provided by a subscriber without the subscriber's informed written consent. Permits the subscriber to revoke such consent at any time and requires the service to cease disclosing such information. Prohibits such service or its employee from knowingly disclosing to a third party any personally identifiable information provided by a subscriber that such service has knowingly falsified. Requires, at a subscriber's request, such service to: (1) provide such individual with his or her personally identifiable information maintained by the service; (2) permit the subscriber to verify and to correct such information; and (3) provide to the subscriber the identity of the third party recipients of such information. Prohibits the service from charging a fee to the subscriber for making such information available. Grants the Federal Trade Commission the authority: (1) to investigate whether a service has been or is engaged in any act or practice prohibited by this Act; and (2) if so, to issue a cease and desist order as if such service were in violation of specified provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Allows a subscriber aggrieved by a violation of this Act to obtain appropriate relief in a civil action.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1996
Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Act - Requires the Northern Mariana Islands to be represented in the Congress by an elected nonvoting Delegate to the House of Representatives. Provides that the Resident Representative of the Islands shall be the Delegate.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1996
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee to Investigate CIA involvement in Crack Cocaine Sales in South Central Los Angeles to investigate and report to the House on the alleged involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency in: (1) the financing, distribution, and sale of crack cocaine in south central Los Angeles and the surrounding area; and (2) the use of profits from such alleged activities to fund anti-government forces in Nicaragua.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1996
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee to Investigate CIA Involvement in Crack Cocaine Sales to Fund Contras to investigate and report to the House regarding: (1) existence of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) files on cocaine purchases and arms transfers to inner-city south central Los Angeles residents; (2) CIA employment of Danilo Blandon and Edwin Menenses as informants; (3) diversion or intended diversion of funds appropriated by the Congress for assistance to Nicaraguan contras or the sale of crack cocaine for such purposes; and (4) any other matters deemed appropriate or germane to either CIA involvement in unauthorized or illegal drug sales or the use of informants to provide information on sale of crack cocaine to such residents.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1996
Calls for aggressive prosecution by the Department of Justice of perpetrators of armed conspiracies against the Government and of the illegal possession of firearms, explosives, or any substances or devices of destruction.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1996
Agent Orange Benefits Act of 1996 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide needed health care to a child of a Vietnam veteran who is suffering from spina bifida, for any associated disability. Authorizes the Secretary to provide such health care directly or by contract or other arrangement with a health care provider. Includes within such care home, hospital, nursing home, outpatient, preventive, and rehabilitative care, case management, respite care, the training of family members in the provision of necessary home care, and necessary pharmaceuticals, supplies, and equipment. Authorizes the Secretary to provide vocational training to such a child if the Secretary determines that the achievement of a vocational goal by such child is reasonably feasible. Limits such training to 24 months, unless the Secretary determines that an extension is necessary (up to 24 additional months). Requires a child eligible for more than one assistance program through the Department of Veterans Affairs to elect one program for participation. Directs the Secretary to pay a monetary allowance to any such child for any disability resulting from spina bifida based on the degree of disability. Requires an increase in such disability benefit whenever there is an increase in benefits payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act. Provides veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation for the additional disability or death of a veteran which was: (1) not the result of the veteran's own willful misconduct; (2) caused by care, treatment, or examination furnished to the veteran through the Department; and (3) incurred as a proximate result of such care, treatment, or examination.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1996
Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Act - Requires the Northern Mariana Islands to be represented in the Congress by an elected nonvoting Delegate to the House of Representatives. Provides that the Resident Representative of the Islands shall be the Delegate.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1996
Microenterprise Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to provide certain assistance to increase the availability of credit to micro- and small enterprises lacking full access to credit. Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (AID) to provide grant assistance for programs of credit and other assistance for microenterprises in developing countries. Urges the Administrator to establish a monitoring system that establishes performance goals for such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1996
Child Care Consolidation and Investment Act of 1996 - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize appropriations for FY 1997 through 2001 for child care services for eligible children through the awarding of grants to States. Requires (currently, authorizes) child care and development block grants for States. Decreases from 25 to 20 percent the amount of funds to be reserved by States per fiscal year for activities to improve the quality of child care and to provide before- and after-school and early childhood development services. Directs States to reserve at least 50 percent of grant amounts for child care activities to support low-income working families. Requires State plans to assure that the availability of child care will be coordinated with AFDC requirements and to ensure that the parent of a dependent child is not required to undertake an education, job training or search, or employment requirement unless child care assistance is available. Sets forth a matching requirement for States with respect to amounts that exceed amounts received in FY 1995. Increases from 20 to 50 percent the minimum percentage of reserved amounts States must use to carry out specified activities to improve the quality of child care. Directs the Secretary to establish a child care quality improvement incentive initiative to make funds available to States that demonstrate progress in the implementation of: (1) innovative teacher training programs; or (2) enhanced child care quality standards and licensing and monitoring procedures. Decreases from 75 to 50 percent the minimum percentage of reserved amounts States must use to carry out early child development and before- and after-school services. Requires amounts allotted to States under this Act to include the base amount such States received under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 and under AFDC provisions repealed under this Act. Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act to repeal the AFDC, Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Training program, and transitional child care programs, as well as the at-risk child care program. Repeals the Child Development Assistance Associate Scholarship Assistance Act of 1985, and the authority for State dependent care grants under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
Church Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits an insurer from canceling, declining to renew, or requiring a higher premium or contribution for fire insurance for a religious property based on: (1) the race, color, religion, or national origin of property users; (2) the status of the property as religious property; (3) any previous arson against the property; or (4) any perceived arson threat. Places authority and responsibility for investigating and enforcing this Act in the Attorney General. Authorizes the Attorney General to begin a civil action. Authorizes preventive relief and mandates civil monetary damages.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1996
Sweatshop Product Ban Act of 1996 - Prohibits the Defense Commissary Agency (DCA) or any nonappropriated fund instrumentality (NFI) which operates a military commissary or exchange store from purchasing for resale at such store any consumer item imported into the United States if the DCA or NFI has reason to believe that such item was not procured in conformity with minimum labor standards. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) develop the minimum labor standards to be applied; and (2) annually develop and submit to the Secretary of Defense a list of companies and manufacturers that are not in compliance with such standards. Requires the Secretary of Defense to annually certify to the Congress that the DCA and NFI have not purchased any consumer items from companies and manufacturers so listed.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1996
Tobacco Medicaid Recovery Act of 1996 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to reward States that recover by lawsuit from manufacturers of tobacco products Federal and State health care costs incurred under Medicaid for the treatment of individuals with diseases attributable to the use of tobacco products. Provides for: (1) attributing a portion of such recovered costs to the non-Federal share of expenditures under the Medicaid programs of such States; and (2) paying another portion to the National Institutes of Health for disease research.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1996
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants for States and local governments to develop, implement, or continue a drug testing project when individuals are arrested and during the pretrial period and after post-conviction release. Sets forth State and local application requirements. Requires a State, to be eligible to receive funds, to develop or maintain programs of urinalysis or similar drug testing of individuals upon arrest and on a regular basis pending trial for the purpose of making pretrial detention decisions. Provides for the allocation and distribution of funds. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of total project costs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1996
Prohibits the President from providing economic assistance, military assistance, or arms transfers to Sudan (or to any foreign country involved in chattel slavery in Sudan) unless he certifies to the Congress that Sudan has taken action to eliminate chattel slavery, including: (1) enactment of antislavery laws that punish violators; and (2) rigorous enforcement of such laws. Directs the Secretary of State to designate an individual from the diplomatic mission in Khartoum, Sudan, for monitoring slavery there. Requires the President to report to the Congress on all forms of covert and overt forms of slavery in Sudan. Directs the President to instruct: (1) the U.S. representative to each international financial institution to oppose any assistance to Sudan until it has taken action to eliminate chattel slavery; and (2) the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations to pursue passage of any U.N. Security Council resolution that enhances cooperation of other countries in applying sanctions against Sudan. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should work with foreign countries and appropriate international organizations to ensure that humanitarian assistance organizations have access to all parts of Sudan for the purpose of assisting individuals who have been enslaved to resettle in Sudan.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1996
Safe Medications for the Elderly Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) coverage of certain pharmaceutical care services; and (2) direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a relative value scale and fee schedules for the payment of such services.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Equalization of Medicare Reimbursement Rates to Health Maintenance Organizations and Competitive Medical Plans Title II: Grants to Encourage Establishment of Community Rural Health Networks Title III: Medicare Rural Primary Care Hospitals and Rural Emergency Access Care Hospitals Subtitle A: Rural Primary Care Hospital Program Subtitle B: Rural Emergency Access Care Hospitals Title IV: Incentives for Health Professionals to Practice in Rural Areas Subtitle A: National Health Service Corps Subtitle B: Primary Care Services Furnished in Shortage Areas Title V: Classification of Rural Referral Centers Title VI: Promotion of Health Centers in Rural Regions Title VII: Medicare Payment Methodologies Title VIII: Antitrust Title IX: Financing Rural Health Improvement Act of 1996 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that this Act reflects the dedication of the late U.S. Representative Bill Emerson to ensuring health care access for all rural Americans. Title I: Equalization of Medicare Reimbursement Rates to Health Maintenance Organizations and Competitive Medical Plans - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise provisions for payments to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and competitive medical plans (CMPs) for the stated purpose of equalizing Medicare reimbursement rates to HMOs and CMPs. Title II: Grants to Encourage Establishment of Community Rural Health Networks - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide grants over a three year period to eligible States for development of plans to increase access to health care services for residents of areas in the State that are designated as chronically underserved. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 202) Directs the HHS Secretary to make funds available to provide technical assistance and advice for certain entities seeking to establish or enhance a community rural health network in an underserved rural area. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 203) Directs the HHS Secretary to provide financial assistance (development grants) to eligible entities for the development and implementation of community rural health networks, giving priority to eligible entities in States with developed plans to increase the access of residents of chronically underserved areas to health care services. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 205) Ends Federal financing for the grant program for rural health transition under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 and a certain program for rural outreach grants. Title III: Medicare Rural Primary Care Hospitals and Rural Emergency Access Care Hospitals - Subtitle A: Rural Primary Care Hospital Program - Replaces the Essential Access Community Hospital Program (EACH) under Medicare with the Medicare Rural Primary Care Hospital Program, while continuing payment to designated EACHs. Bases payment for inpatient and outpatient rural primary care hospital services on the reasonable costs of the hospital in providing such services. Lengthens from 72 to 96 hours the maximum period of permitted inpatient stay at a rural primary care hospital. Subtitle B: Rural Emergency Access Care Hospitals - Provides for a new Medicare Rural Emergency Access Care Hospital program, detailing coverage and payment for services. Title IV: Incentives for Health Professionals to Practice in Rural Areas - Subtitle A: National Health Service Corps - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude qualified National Health Service Corps scholarship payments and loan repayments from gross income. (Sec. 402) Requires the HHS Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the allocation of Corps members among shortage areas. (Sec. 403) Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary to give special priority to applications by community rural health networks for the assignment of Corps personnel for providing health services in or to a health professional shortage area. Subtitle B: Primary Care Services Furnished in Shortage Areas - Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for an increase in the amount of additional Medicare payments for primary care services (currently, physicians' services) furnished in rural shortage areas, and for services that are furnished by a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or nurse midwife that would be physicians' services if furnished by a physician. Extends such payment for former shortage areas. Requires carriers to report on services provided. Title V: Classification of Rural Referral Centers - Amends SSA title XVIII to prohibit denial of a rural referral center's request for reclassification on the basis of comparability of wages. Provides for the continuing treatment of previously designated rural referral centers. Title VI: Promotion of Health Centers in Rural Regions - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the HHS Secretary, in making grants in rural areas for new or expanded services for each fiscal year, to give priority to projects that would be located in a State, or county or region of a State, that is not already serviced by an existing community health center. Requires also the Secretary to give special consideration to projects which have entered into a collaborative agreement with a community hospital meeting certain requirements. Title VII: Medicare Payment Methodologies - Directs the HHS Secretary to establish a methodology for making payments under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for telemedicine services furnished on an emergency basis to rural residents. Title VIII: Antitrust - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Federal Trade Commission, in conjunction with the Department of Justice, give special consideration to antitrust guidelines affecting physician and hospital networks located in rural areas during its ongoing review of such guidelines; and (2) the completion of the Commission's review be expedited to provide relief and clarification to physicians and hospitals working to develop alternative means of providing accessible, affordable, and quality health care services to all Americans, especially those living and working in rural areas. Title IX: Financing - Revises Medicare secondary payer requirements. Makes permanent the requirements for: (1) employer responses to fiscal intermediary or carrier inquiries about the coverage of an employee or employee's spouse under a group health plan of the employer; and (2) the prohibition against a large group health plan's taking into account that the employee or a dependent of the employee is entitled to Medicare or end stage renal disease benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Additional Empowerment Zones Title II: New Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Title III: Expensing of Environmental Remediation Costs Title I: Additional Empowerment Zones - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from: (1) 9 to 11 the number of areas which may be designated as empowerment zones; (2) six to eight the number of such zones which may be in urban areas; and (3) 750,000 to 1,000,000 the aggregate population allowable in all urban area zones. Title II: New Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities - Permits, before January 1, 1998, the designation, in the aggregate of an additional: (1) 80 nominated areas as enterprise communities; and (2) 20 nominated areas as empowerment zones, subject to availability of eligible nominated areas. Modifies eligibility criteria. Prohibits: (1) applying the employment credit to the new empowerment zones; and (2) in certain developable sites, application of increased expensing provisions for certain depreciable business assets. Modifies provisions concerning: (1) enterprise facility zone bonds; and (2) the enterprise zone business definition. Title III: Expensing of Environmental Remediation Costs - Permits a taxpayer to expense any defined qualified environmental remediation expenditure which is not chargeable to capital account.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
Provides that when considering proposed welfare legislation the Congress should: (1) seriously evaluate whether it would exacerbate certain ramifications of domestic violence against women and children; (2) require that State-implemented or State-adopted welfare-to-work or education programs take domestic violence into account; (3) require the Comptroller General to study the incidence and effect of domestic violence on AFDC recipients; and (4) provide, in any such legislation, mechanisms identifying and aiding in specified ways recipients and their children victimized by or at risk of violence.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1996
Medicare Hospice Benefit Amendments of 1996 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to hospice care to: (1) restructure the hospice care benefit period; (2) cover ambulance services, diagnostic tests, and anticancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy services; (3) permit contracting with independent physicians or physician groups for hospice care services; (4) allow waiver of certain staffing requirements for hospice care programs in non-urbanized areas; (5) define coverage denial, with respect to the limitation on the liability of beneficiaries and providers, to mean a determination that an individual is not terminally ill; and (6) extend the period for physician certification of an individual's terminal illness.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1996
Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to declare unlawful, and to deny authority to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to issue a license for, the construction or operation of a permanent or interim nuclear waste storage facility at a place outside one of the 50 States or the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1996
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise certification standards for waiver of the requirement that the Secretary of the Treasury instruct the U.S. Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to vote against the provision of assistance to a major illicit drug producing or drug-transit country under the international narcotic control program. Allows waiver of such requirement if during the previous year such a country has taken substantial steps, but has been unable, to fully cooperate with the United States, or has taken substantial, but inadequate, steps on its own, to achieve full compliance with the objectives established by the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Requires the Secretary of State, in addition to other reporting requirements, to report annually to specified congressional committees on the list of objectives that such countries and the United States agree on for purposes of certification.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 and for each of the four succeeding fiscal years for awards to National Science Scholars. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to carry out a program of awarding scholarships to students for the study of the physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Deems students awarded such scholarships National Science Scholars. Sets forth the selection of scholars for initial awards and eligibility requirements for initial and continuation awards and directs the Secretary to notify all public and private secondary schools and all higher education institutions in each State annually of the availability of scholarships. Limits the amount of a scholarship awarded for any academic year to $5,000. Requires that students receiving scholarships shall be given priority consideration for federally financed summer employment in federally funded research and development centers that, to the maximum extent practicable, complements and reinforces the educational program of these students.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon the request of the Governor of the Virgin Islands, to enter into an agreement to transfer to the Governor authority to manage Christiansted National Historic site, located in Christiansted, Virgin Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Virgin Islands Organic Revision Act of 1996 - Amends the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands to declare that the absence of either the Governor or the Lieutenant Governor while on official business shall not be construed as a "temporary absence" involving a surrender of authority and power. Amends a specified Act to revise bond priority guidelines to declare that Virgin Islands revenue bonds, instead of the current priority for payment in the order of the date of issue, shall have a parity lien with every other subsequently issued obligation.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Condemns the burning of African-American churches. Sends condolences to affected individuals. Supports the activities of local law enforcement officials, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Treasury in investigating these incidents. Urges: (1) the United States Attorney General and local prosecutors to seek the maximum penalty available under law to punish the perpetrators; and (2) the President to make the fullest possible use of all available law enforcement resources to bring the culprits to justice. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) attacks on places of worship because of the race, color, denomination, or ethnicity of the congregation undermine fundamental American ideals; (2) these fires appear to be hate crimes and implicitly interfere with the First Amendment and other civil rights of the victims; (3) the arson of a place of worship is repulsive to us as a society; and (4) it is important that the Congress enact legislation to ensure that Federal law enforcement has the necessary tools to punish and deter such acts. Encourages: (1) the people of the United States to work within their own communities to prevent arson against African-American or any other house of worship; and (2) American citizens to observe a national week of prayer beginning June 16, and ending June 23, 1996, in their places of worship.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Condemns the burning of African-American churches. Sends condolences to affected individuals. Supports the activities of local law enforcement officials, the Department of Justice, and the Department of the Treasury in investigating these incidents. Urges: (1) the United States Attorney General and local prosecutors to seek the maximum penalty available under law to punish the perpetrators; and (2) the President to make the fullest possible use of all available law enforcement resources to bring the culprits to justice. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) attacks on places of worship because of the race, color, denomination, or ethnicity of the congregation undermine fundamental American ideals; (2) these fires appear to be hate crimes and implicitly interfere with the First Amendment and other civil rights of the victims; (3) the arson of a place of worship is repulsive to us as a society; and (4) it is important that the Congress enact legislation to ensure that Federal law enforcement has the necessary tools to punish and deter such acts. Encourages: (1) the people of the United States to work within their own communities to prevent arson against African-American or any other house of worship; and (2) the American people to use June 16th as a day of prayer concerning these tragedies.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Recognition of the Millennium Society Title II: Commemorative Coins Title III: Commemorative Postage Stamps Millennium Society Act of 1996 - Title I: Recognition of the Millennium Society - Recognizes the Millennium Society (a nonprofit U.S. corporation chartered and organized under the laws of the State of Illinois on November 21, 1983) and any other organization that is organized and operated by the corporation exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. (Sec. 105) Sets forth the goals and purposes of the Society, which include: (1) establishing national goals for commemoration and celebration of the millennium in the United States and U.S. participation in such international events; (2) exercising exclusive jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to U.S. participation in commemorations or celebrations of the millennium; (3) coordinating activities and holding forums and symposiums to promote educational and cross-cultural exchange; and (4) establishing, endowing, and administering the Millennium Scholars Program. (Sec. 114) Grants the Society the sole and exclusive right to the use of specified symbols, emblems, trademarks, and names to carry out its functions. Authorizes the Society to allow contributors and suppliers of goods and services to use the Society's trade name, trademarks, symbols, insignia, emblems, seals, descriptive or designating marks, and slogans in advertising under specified conditions. Subjects to a civil action by the Society for the remedies provided in the Trademark Act of 1946 any person who, without the Society's consent, uses its trademark, symbol, insignia, emblem, seal, descriptive or designating mark, or slogan: (1) for the purposes of trade; (2) to induce the sale of any goods or services; (3) or to promote any theatrical exhibition, performance, or competition. Exempts persons who lawfully used such a symbol or slogan before the enactment of this Act. Allows the individuals to continue such lawful use for the same purpose and for the same goods or services. Title II: Commemorative Coins - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the events of the second millennium and the advent of the third. (Sec. 204) Provides for the issuance of such coins beginning on July 1, 1999, and ending on January 1, 2001. (Sec. 207) Requires all surcharges received from coin sales to be promptly paid to the Society, under specified conditions, to be used only for the purpose of supporting the Millennium Scholars Program. Title III: Commemorative Postage Stamps - Urges the U.S. Postal Service to cooperate with the Secretary and the Society in the: (1) issuance of appropriate first day of issuance postage stamps commemorating the end of the second millennium and the advent of the third; and (2) production of a philatelic numismatic combination as a unique item to be made available to the public for such commemoration.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1996
Declares, with regard to AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, and substance abuse, the sense of the Congress concerning women, youth, families, extended family members, and other nonbiological relatives.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1996
Condemns the rash of arson against African-American churches across the United States during the past 18 months. Pledges to take steps to assist law enforcement authorities in apprehending the persons responsible. Supports the bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Conyers and Hyde to facilitate the prosecution of, and increase penalties against, arsonists who target houses of worship. Encourages the people of the United States to work within their own communities to prevent arson against African-American houses of worship.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1996
Victims of Domestic Abuse Insurance Protection Act of 1996 - Prohibits insurers and group health plans from engaging, directly or indirectly, in specified discriminatory acts or practices on the basis that the applicant or insured, or any person employed by the applicant or insured or with whom the applicant or insured has a relationship or association, or a beneficiary or plan participant, is, has been, or may be the subject of domestic abuse. Sets forth limitations upon the use or transfer of information among insurers or group health plans with respect to such subjects. Requires the insurer or group health plan to furnish a written explanation of any adverse action taken on a claim or medical condition that the insurer has reason to know is abuse-related. Prescribes parameters within which a life insurer may decline to issue a life insurance policy on the life of an individual if the applicant or prospective policy owner is or would be the designated beneficiary, and if such applicant or prospective policy owner: (1) lacks an insurable interest in the insured; or (2) is known in police or court records to have committed an act of domestic abuse in relation to the individual. Prohibits subrogation of claims resulting from domestic abuse without the informed consent of the subject of domestic abuse. Mandates that: (1) an insurer develop protocols specifying how employees, agents, and brokers will pursue an insurance action that may affect the safety of a subject of domestic abuse involved with that action; and (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services promulgate standards for insurers to implement this Act if the National Association of Insurance Commissioners fails to adopt a Model Act that establishes standards to implement this Act. Prescribes guidelines for State and Federal enforcement of this Act, including a civil money penalty for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 May 1996
Decennial Census Improvement Act of 1996 - Requires the Bureau of the Census, in conducting the 2000 decennial census, to: (1) attempt to contact every household directly, whether by mail or in person (and allows the use of sampling as a substitute for direct contact in a particular census tract only after direct contact has been made with at least 90 percent of the households in such tract); and (2) seek to make more effective use of State and local government offices and appropriate local groups to reduce the undercount and include in a specified report a description of the measures it intends to carry out such requirement. Modifies Federal law regarding exemptions for reemployed annuitants and former uniformed service members to make such law: (1) applicable to service in any temporary position within the Bureau established for purposes relating to the 2000 decennial census; and (2) inapplicable to any service performed after December 31, 2000. Prohibits taking into account compensation for services performed by an individual appointed to a temporary position in or under the Bureau for purposes relating to the 2000 decennial census (if the position is so designated by the Bureau, in writing, at the time of such individual's appointment) for purposes of: (1) State programs for aid and services to needy families with children and for child- welfare services, and for certain medical assistance, under the Social Security Act; (2) the Food Stamp program; (3) certain programs for housing assistance; (4) specified assistance under the school breakfast and lunch programs, the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, and the Job Training Partnership Act; (5) any Head Start program; and (6) assistance pursuant to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
Fairness for Disabled Veterans Act of 1996 - Allows payments to members of the armed forces under the Special Separation Benefits program or the Voluntary Separation Incentive program of the Department of Defense without a concurrent pro rata reduction of veterans' disability compensation paid to such members through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
Church Arson Prevention Act of 1996 - Makes Federal criminal code prohibitions against damaging religious property applicable where: (1) the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce; and (2) the amount of the loss resulting from the damage exceeds $5,000. (Currently such provisions apply where: (1) the defendant, in committing the offense, travels in interstate or foreign commerce or uses a facility or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce in interstate or foreign commerce; and (2) the loss exceeds $10,000.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
Consumer Automobile Leasing Act of 1996 - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) to include in the definition of "consumer lease" contracts not exceeding $50,000 (currently, not exceeding $25,000). Modifies requirements regarding consumer lease disclosures and advertising and imposes new requirements applicable to automobile lease disclosures and advertising. Prohibits any stipulation, provision, or term of any lease from waiving a lessor's liability or depriving a lessee of any right or benefit under Federal or State law. Amends the Truth in Lending Act (title I of the CCPA) to limit the total civil liability for violation of any consumer lease provision requirement to $10,000. Mandates model disclosure forms. Requires a study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of instituting a procedure for standardizing the terms and costs of automobile leases similar to unit pricing for consumer perishable goods.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit an employer from obtaining from any source genetic information about an employee or prospective employee without that person's written authorization meeting specified requirements. Allows aggrieved persons to bring civil actions for actual damages and equitable relief against employers who violate this Act. Declares that nothing in this Act authorizes an employer to obtain, disclose, or use genetic information about an employee or prospective employee in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or any other Federal or State law that restricts access to, disclosure of, or use of genetic information.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
Federal Health Program Benefit Change Accountability Act - Amends Federal law to require that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) prepare an annual report concerning the health benefits program for Federal employees which shall describe any substantial changes in maximums, limitations, exclusions, or other definitions of benefits that it intends to propose for implementation in the upcoming contract year. Directs that OPM publish each report in the Federal Register and submit a copy of each such report to both Houses of the Congress as early in the year as possible.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1996
Breast-Cancer Research Stamp Act - Requires the U.S. Postal Service to establish a special rate of postage for first-class mail that is one cent higher than the regular rate as an alternative that patrons may use voluntarily to contribute to funding for breast-cancer research. Authorizes the Service to design and sell special stamps. Requires the Service to pay amounts attributable (additional revenues minus costs) to the one-cent differential to the National Institutes of Health as mutually agreed.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1996
Effective Antiterrorism Tools for Law Enforcement Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal criminal code to apply provisions regarding pen registers and trap and trace devices to foreign counterintelligence and international terrorism investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Requires any common carrier, public accommodation facility, physical storage facility, or vehicle rental facility to comply with a request for records in its possession by the FBI under specified circumstances. Provides that provisions prohibiting the use as evidence of intercepted wire or oral communications in violation of the Federal criminal code shall not apply to the disclosure by the United States in a criminal trial or hearing or before a grand jury of the contents of a wire or oral communication, or evidence derived therefrom, unless the violation involved an interception under provisions covering specified emergency situations or bad faith by law enforcement. Grants: (1) wiretap authority in cases of terrorism-related or explosives felonies; and (2) temporary emergency wiretap authority involving terrorism crimes. Expands authority for multi-point wiretaps. Authorizes the Attorney General to request, and the Secretary of Defense to provide (if specified conditions are met), technical assistance in support of Department of Justice activities in situations involving biological or chemical weapon emergencies. Sets penalties for the use without lawful authority of, or attempts or conspiracy to use, chemical weapons. Modifies Federal prohibitions against the use of weapons of mass destruction to prohibit and penalize only such use without lawful authority.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1996
Medigap Protection Act of 1996 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the issuer of a Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policy to provide for certain enrollment periods during which an individual who is enrolled in a Medicare select policy, and who would be eligible to enroll under the Medicare supplemental policy of the issuer at the time the individual became (or becomes) 65 years of age, may elect without prejudice coverage under any of the issuer's Medicare supplemental policies as a replacement for the Medicare select policy.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1996
Varian Fry Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to the representatives of the late Varian Fry in recognition of the tremendous effort he made at great personal risk to secure the escape of thousands of trapped Jewish artists, writers, and intellectuals from the Nazis in Europe. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1996
American Cities Investment Act of 1996 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to: (1) set limitations on maximum outstanding loan guarantees issued by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (2) authorize the Secretary to guarantee advances from Federal Home Loan Banks; and (3) expand the community participation requirements to include major stakeholders. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to authorize advances to units of local government for community development purposes pursuant to such loan guarantees.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1996
Child Support Enforcement Improvements Act of 1996 - Prescribes guidelines under which depository institutions shall not be liable to any person for disclosing a financial record to a State child support enforcement agency attempting to establish, modify, or enforce an individual's child support obligation. Authorizes a civil action for damages for wrongful disclosure of an individual's financial records by a State officer or employee. Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to provide State child support enforcement agencies access to, and use of, consumer reports in child support cases. Amends part D of title IV (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of the Social Security Act to condition Federal approval of State plans for aid and services to needy families with children upon inclusion within State child support orders of statutorily prescribed procedures for health care coverage of the child. States that, for the incentive payments program, successful State enforcement of a support order requiring an absent parent to obtain health insurance for one or more children shall be considered the collection of support from the absent parent. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to specified congressional committees on incentives that should be provided to encourage States to enforce obligations of noncustodial parents to pay reasonable and necessary health and dental expenses of their children. Requires employers withholding wages to pay child support obligations to pay such withheld wages to the State within ten days. Imposes a penalty for late payments. Instructs the Secretary to expand the Parent Locator Service to establish a national network to provide access to specified State and Federal sources of information based on the comprehensive statewide child support enforcement systems developed by the States.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1996
Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases Research Act of 1996 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require specified institutes of the National Institutes of Health to expand and intensify research on osteoporosis and related bone diseases. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1996
Middle Class Child Care Affordability Act of 1996 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the amount of employment-related expenses incurred which may be taken into account applicable to the child care credit. Eliminates certain offset provisions regarding foreign sales corporations.
![Official portrait of Del. Frazer, Victor O. [I-VI-At Large]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000351_200.jpg)