The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Rep. Pelosi, Nancy [D-CA-11]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000197_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
5,290 records where Rep. Pelosi, Nancy [D-CA-11] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1991
Designates the week of September 22 through 28, 1991, and September 20 through 26, 1992, as Religious Freedom Week.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1991
Extends nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to the products of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to remove their products from the column two duty rate.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1991
Designates October 30, 1991, as Refugee Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
National Air and Space Museum Expansion Site Selection Act of 1991 - Establishes the National Air and Space Museum Expansion Site Advisory Panel to conduct a national competition for the evaluation of possible expansion sites for the National Air and Space Museum. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to select the site after considering the recommendation of the Panel. Terminates the Panel 30 days after such selection. Requires the General Accounting Office to review and evaluate the selection by the Board of Regents and report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Decennial Census Improvement Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study and report to specified congressional committees on ways to improve data collection and enumeration methods under the decennial census.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the annual cap on the amount of payment for outpatient physical therapy and occupational therapy services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance).
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary Notification Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services' annual notice to Medicare beneficiaries to: (1) notify such beneficiaries of the availability of and the requirements to qualify for Medicaid (title XIX of the Act) payment of their premiums, deductibles, and copayments under Medicare; and (2) contain an initial application for such assistance. Requires participating physicians and hospitals to post conspicuously a notice of the availability of such assistance. Amends the Medicaid program to State plans to provide for the establishment and operation of a toll-free hotline to provide information on such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Pollution Prevention, Community Recycling, and Incinerator Control Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the issuance of permits for construction or expansion to municipal solid waste incinerators. Prohibits Federal agencies, State or local governments, or other waste management jurisdictions from issuing permits to such incinerators after December 31, 1999, unless the applicant demonstrates and the State finds that: (1) an annual waste composition analysis of the solid waste generated within the area to be served by the facility is conducted by the applicant and by entities from which the facility accepts waste; (2) such entities divert specified percentages of glass, paper, metals, plastics, and yard and food waste to waste management methods other than incineration; (3) the facility will not interfere with diversion rates; (4) it is not feasible to manage the remaining solid waste through source reduction, reuse, or recycling; (5) the facility will not adversely affect the environment or human health and is not situated in a nonattainment area identified under the Clean Air Act; (6) the facility will not harm the local economy; (7) the full cost of the facility over its entire life will be less costly than reducing, recycling, or composting waste; (8) the waste management jurisdiction conducts a public participation process (including a technical assistance grant to local community groups concerned about the project); (9) the proposed construction or expansion is approved by the unit of local government in whose boundaries the facility would be sited; (10) firms operating the facility are in compliance with environmental and public health statutes, have paid outstanding fines for violations of such statutes, and make disclosure statements available; and (11) an approved environmental impact statement is completed. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) promulgate standards for waste composition analyses; and (2) review diversion rates triennially and require higher rates, if feasible. Treats ash from municipal solid waste incinerators as a hazardous waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Requires such ash to be managed in a monofill containing only such ash and designed to: (1) prevent the migration of constituents during the operation of the facility; and (2) prevent the infiltration of precipitation during any closure or postclosure monitoring period. Provides for compliance with such requirement by existing incinerators within three years of the enactment of this Act. Prohibits the use of such ash for any purpose. Prohibits the incineration of household hazardous waste, batteries, chlorinated plastics, consumer electronics, and yard waste in such incinerators. Prohibits the issuance of permits or prior approval for the construction or expansion of hazardous waste incinerators unless: (1) waste composition analyses are conducted by the applicant and generators of waste to be incinerated at the facility; (2) specified toxics use reduction requirements have been met and the facility will not interfere with the implementation of such requirements; (3) the facility will not adversely affect the environment or human health; (4) the facility will not harm the local economy; (5) there is no safer disposal or treatment technology available for any of the wastes; (6) the waste management jurisdiction conducts a public participation process (including a technical assistance grant to local community groups concerned about the project); (7) the proposed construction or expansion is approved by the unit of local government in whose boundaries the facility would be sited; (8) firms operating the facility are in compliance with environmental and public health statutes, have paid outstanding fines for violations of such statutes, and make disclosure statements available; and (9) an approved environmental impact statement is completed. Requires hazardous waste generators, as part of the permit process, to report annually on the use, and reduction of the use, of toxic or hazardous substances at their facilities. Directs permit applicants to demonstrate that the State in which the incinerator is located, and each State in which generators of hazardous waste to be incinerated at the facility are located, are implementing toxics use reduction programs. Applies this Act's requirements to any facility that burns hazardous waste.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Exhibition Animal Protection Act - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to establish standards for the exhibition of animals. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a related advisory board, whose membership shall include a representative of the film industry. Extends the investigation and inspection authority of the Secretary to include film production.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Semiconductor Investment Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify the depreciable life for semiconductor manufacturing equipment as three-year property.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Veterans' Hospice Services Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a pilot program to: (1) assess the feasibility and desirability of furnishing hospice care to terminally ill veterans; and (2) determine the most efficient and effective means of furnishing such care. Directs the Secretary to designate 15 to 30 Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities for such demonstration projects. Requires the Secretary to ensure that: (1) Department medical facilities conducting such projects include both urban and rural area facilities; (2) the full range of affilitation between medical facilities of the Department and medical schools is represented by the facilities selected to conduct such projects; and (3) such facilities vary in the number of beds they operate and maintain. Allows such hospice care to be accomplished by Department medical facilities and personnel by contract where inpatient services are provided by Department medical facilities, or by contract where inpatient services are provided by a non-Department medical facility. Allows such inpatient care to be provided at a facility not designated in the contract when the provision of such care at such other facility is necessary under the circumstances. Limits the amount paid for hospice care programs under this Act to the equivalent of hospice care payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Allows the Secretary to pay in excess of such amounts for hospice care when the Secretary determines, on a case-by-case basis, that: (1) the furnishing of such care is necessary and appropriate; and (2) the amount paid under Medicare would not compensate the program for the cost of furnishing such care. Directs the Secretary, during the pilot program period, to designate not less than five Department medical facilities at which palliative care is being furnished to terminally ill veterans either by Department personnel and facilities providing such care or by Department personnel monitoring care provided by non-Department facilities. Directs the Secretary to ensure that terminally ill veterans who have been informed of their medical prognosis receive information relating to their eligibility for hospice care and services under Medicare. Directs the Secretary to submit annual reports to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees relating to the conduct of the pilot program and the furnishing of hospice care to terminally ill veterans under the demonstration projects. Requires the Secretary to also report to such committees an evaluation and assessment of the hospice care program, including information enabling the committees to fully evaluate the feasibility of furnishing palliative care to terminally ill veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 1991 - Title I: Tax Relief for Middle-Income Taxpayers - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide an additional exemption amount ($1,000) to the regular personal exemption ($2,000) for middle-income taxpayers. Specifies the maximum gross income amounts for such taxpayers. Provides a formula for reducing the additional exemption amount for middle-income taxpayers whose incomes exceed certain transitional dollar amounts. Provides for inflation adjustments of amounts under this title. Title II: Revenue Provisions - Increases the individual income tax rates for certain higher-income taxpayers. Imposes a surtax on the individual tax rate or the alternative minimum tax rate for individuals whose incomes exceed $225,000. Increases the rate of corporate income tax and the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
San Gabriel Basin Demonstration Project Act of 1991 - Authorizes any public agency, with the prior approval of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Board (Regional Board), to carry out a plan to construct facilities to assist in the restoration of the San Gabriel Aquifer whether or not the demonstration project authorized by this Act is being implemented. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the EPA Administrator to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Regional Board to provide water treatment to remove volatile organic compounds and other contaminants from water in the San Gabriel Aquifer. Requires the agreement to provide for consultation with specified regional water districts and authorities. Directs the Regional Board, pursuant to the agreement, to: (1) withdraw, treat, and reinject water from the San Gabriel Valley Groundwater Basin (Basin); or (2) provide treatment for water withdrawn by qualified public water systems from the Basin. Provides for such treatment without reimbursement from the owners or operators of such systems. Denies treatment pursuant to the agreement until the Administrator finds that: (1) State and local governments have made commitments to provide advance reimbursement for ten percent of total costs incurred by the Administrator in carrying out this Act; (2) the State has established a board to enforce rules governing the location of wells used to withdraw water from the Basin and governing the quantity of water to be withdrawn (prohibits more than 50 percent of a board's members from being representatives of persons entitled to withdraw water); and (3) 85 percent of potentially responsible parties (persons who may be liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (Superfund) for the cleanup of hazardous substances in the Basin and who represent 80 percent of the anticipated revenue from all identified parties) have entered into contracts providing for annual reimbursements to the Administrator for costs incurred in carrying out this Act. Designates persons entering into contracts as participating parties. Requires participating parties entering into such contracts to: (1) conduct environmental audits of all of their property in the San Gabriel Valley; and (2) carry out removal and remedial actions with respect to hazardous substances in the soil of such property to comply with Superfund standards. Directs the Administrator to establish a cost allocation formula for such parties. Bases the share of costs to be paid by a party on the following: (1) the Standard Industrial Code Number (SIC) of the party and the Administrator's estimate of the likelihood that industrial operations having that SIC Number contributed to contamination of the Basin; (2) the gross sales of the party in a baseline year established by the Administrator; (3) the ability of the party to pay; and (4) prior expenditures made by the party for groundwater remediation in the Basin. Requires the total contribution of such parties to equal 80 percent of the costs of carrying out the treatment project, except that the maximum obligation of a party shall not exceed 200 percent of such party's share of estimated total costs. Requires water treatment to be adequate to insure compliance with standards applicable to drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act or any more stringent State law. Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator to cover ten percent of the costs of carrying out this Act. Makes Federal and State costs under this Act recoverable under Superfund from potentially responsible parties not participating in contracts. Absolves participating parties of liability for the removal or response costs with respect to hazardous substances in the Basin or for damages to natural resources to the extent that releases occurred before the enactment of this Act and are identified in site assessments. Removes the exemption from liability if the party: (1) has failed to make any portion of the contribution required by the contract or to carry out required activities; or (2) has filed a suit against another person for contribution of costs. Prohibits participating parties from bringing actions against other persons for contributions of costs. Absolves owners or operators of public water systems of liability in suits for recovery of response costs brought by potentially responsible parties who are not participating in the project under this Act. Sets forth requirements for environmental audits.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Designates October 1991 as Ending Hunger Month.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) with respect to occupational safety and health programs, committees, employee representatives, coverage, standards, enforcement, antidiscrimination, training and education, hazard and illness evaluation, State plans, and victims' rights. Title I: Safety and Health Programs - Amends OSHA to establish requirements for each employer to set up and carry out a written occupational safety and health program that includes methods and procedures for: (1) identifying, evaluating, and documenting hazards; (2) correcting them; (3) investigating work-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths; (4) providing occupational safety and health services, including emergency response and first aid procedures; (5) employee participation in implementing such program, including, where applicable, a safety and health committee; (6) responding to such committee's recommendations; (7) providing safety and health training and education to employees and committee members; (8) designating an employer representative qualified to and responsible for identifying hazards and initiating corrective action; and (9) at a worksite where employees of two or more employers work, protecting employees from hazards under the other employers' control. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to modify the application of such requirements to classes of employers where, in light of the risks faced by the employer's employees, such a modification would not reduce their safety and health protection. Directs the Secretary to issue final regulations on the required employer occupational safety and health programs, covering employee training and education as well, including annual refresher courses. Title II: Safety and Health Committees and Employee Safety and Health Representatives - Amends OSHA to require each employer of 11 or more employees to provide for: (1) safety and health committees; and (2) employee safety and health representatives. Requires, in general, such employers to establish such a committee at each worksite, but authorizes the Secretary to modify application of this requirement to: (1) an employer whose employees do not primarily report to or work at a fixed location; (2) covered employers at worksites where less than 11 of their employees are employed; and (3) worksites where employees of more than one employer are employed. Requires committee membership to consist of elected or appointed employee representatives and up to an equal number of employer representatives. Requires the committee to be cochaired by an employer representative and an employee representative. Grants each committee the reasonable right to: (1) review occupational safety and health related employer programs, incidents of death, injury, or illness, complaints of hazards, the employer's work injury and illness records (other than personally identifiable medical information), and other related reports and documents; (2) conduct worksite inspections (and related employee interviews) at least once every three months and in response to complaints; (3) conduct meetings at least once every three months; (4) observe the measurement of employee exposure to toxic materials and harmful physical agents; (5) establish procedures for exercising committee rights; (6) make advisory recommendations for improvements and corrections; and (7) accompany the Secretary's representative during certain physical inspections of the worksite. Requires the employer to permit committee members to take such time from work as is reasonably necessary to exercise committee rights, without any loss of pay or benefits for such time. Directs the Secretary to issue final regulations for the establishment and functioning of such committees. Sets forth procedures for selection of employee representatives by and from nonmanagerial employees. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations on safety and health representatives, including specified numbers and selection procedures. Title III: Coverage - Revises the OSHA definition of employer to include the Federal Government (except certain congressional employees) and State and local governments, thus extending OSHA coverage to public employees. (Includes under such OSHA coverage the executive and judicial branches and the following agencies of the legislative branch: the Botanic Garden, the General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Copyright Royalty Tribunal.) Authorizes the Secretary to cede OSHA jurisdiction to a Federal agency with respect to specified standards or regulations affecting occupational safety and health of some or all employees within that agency's regulatory jurisdiction, if the agency has promulgated and is enforcing standards and regulations so that its employees are being protected at least as effectively as they would be by the Secretary. Declares that nothing in OSHA shall apply to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. Applies OSHA to employment performed in the Federal nuclear facilities under the control or jurisdiction of the Department of Energy. Extends an employer's duties under OSHA to all employees working at the place of employment (even if they are not the employer's employees). Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Standards - Revises provisions for OSHA standards. Requires specified timeframes for setting such standards after the Secretary has received: (1) a recommendation of an advisory committee, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; or (2) a petition from an interested person setting forth with reasonable particularity the facts claimed to establish that a standard should be promulgated, modified, or revoked. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days after such receipt, to publish a response stating whether the Secretary intends to publish a proposed rule with respect to such standard, or if not, the reasons for the decision not to publish such a rule. Directs the Secretary, if such rule is intended to be published, to do so within 12 months after the receipt of the recommendation or petition. Directs the Secretary to: (1) afford interested persons a period of at least 30 days to submit written data or comments after publication of a proposed rule promulgating, modifying, or revoking an OSHA standard; and (2) issue a final rule within 180 days after the public comment period (or within 180 days after a required public hearing on objections to such rule). Allows any adversely affected person to petition for judicial review, in the U.S. court of appeals for the appropriate circuit, of the Secretary's refusal or failure to issue such rules or standards. Requires that such a petition to appeal the Secretary's determination not to propose a rule with respect to a standard be filed within 60 days after publication of such determination. Requires set-aside of the Secretary's determination if it is found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law. Allows a petition to appeal the Secretary's failure to publish a proposed rule within the required 12-month time frame to be filed at any time after such time period has elapsed. Directs the reviewing court to compel the Secretary to take any such action that is found to have been unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed. Provides that the withholding or delaying of action shall not be justified by the Secretary's desire to consult with, or receive approval from any other Federal agency or executive official, except where this is required by applicable law and pursued in timely fashion. Revises the definition of "occupational safety and health standard" to mean a standard which addresses a significant risk to the safety or health of employees by requiring conditions, or the adoption or use of one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes that most adequately assure, to the extent feasible, safe and healthful employment and places of employment. Requires each OSHA standard also to prescribe requirements for recording or reporting a work-related illness determined as a result of a medical examination or test conducted under the standard. Directs the Secretary to place in the public record all written comments and communications and a summary of all verbal communications with parties outside the Department of Labor (DOL) (including communications with executive branch officials) regarding promulgation, modification, or revocation of an OSHA standard. Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of HHS and in addition to other OSHA standards, to modify and establish exposure limits for toxic materials and harmful physical agents on a regular basis in a specified manner. Directs the Secretary of HHS, acting through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to: (1) regularly evaluate available scientific evidence, data, and information to determine if such exposure limits should be modified or be established to protect exposed employees from material impairment of health or functional capacity; and (2) at least every three years, on the basis of such evaluation, develop and transmit to the Secretary recommendations identifying materials and agents for which exposure limits should be modified or established to protect employees from such impairment. Directs the Secretary: (1) within 30 days of receipt of such recommendations, to publish them and provide a 30-day public comment period; (2) within six months of their receipt evaluate them and the public comments and publish a proposed rule for the exposure limits of each material and agent for which the Secretary of HHS has made a recommendation (explaining why any proposed limit is not the same as a recommended limit); (3) within one year of publication of the proposed limits, issue a final standard (explaining why any final limit is not the same as the recommended limit); and (4) establish or modify such limits whenever warranted, in addition to a periodic review. Directs the Secretary, within two years after the effective date of this Act, to promulgate final standards on exposure monitoring and medical surveillance programs, including specified requirements. Directs the Secretary to issue a final standard on ergonomic hazards to protect employees from work-related musculoskeletal disorders, including specified requirements. Sets forth timetables for the Secretary to issue various OSHA final standards. Title V: Enforcement - Revises OSHA enforcement provisions. Provides that time spent by an employee in accompanying the Secretary's representative on an OSHA inspection shall be deemed to be hours worked, with no loss of pay, benefits, or seniority. Requires the Secretary to notify employees or their representative within 30 days after receipt of their request for inspection that there are no reasonable grounds to believe a violation or danger exists. Directs the Secretary also to make a special inspection after determining that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an imminent danger or serious violation exists in a place of employment, upon notification from any other source (as well as upon notification by an employee or employee representative as in current law). Directs the Secretary to establish and carry out a special emphasis inspection program for conducting inspections of industries or operations where existing hazards or newly recognized or new hazards introduced into work sites warrant more intensive than normal inspections. Requires annual designation of the industries and operations for such program and the number of inspections planned and number of enforcement personnel required. Requires that special emphasis inspections be in addition to other programmed and complaint inspections conducted under OSHA before the effective date of this Act. Requires a report on such program in the Secretary's annual OSHA report to the Congress. Requires the Secretary to investigate any work-related death or serious incident (i.e. one resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees). Requires the employer to: (1) notify the Secretary of any death or serious incident occurring in a place of employment covered by OSHA; and (2) prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence that would assist in investigating such death or incident. Requires OSHA citations to state if the Secretary or the Secretary's representative believes that an alleged violation is serious and presents such a substantial risk to the safety or health of employees that initiation of review proceedings should not suspend the running of the period for correction of the violation. Revises the correction period to make it begin to run from the date of receipt of the citation, with specified exceptions. Requires employers to verify the abatement of a serious, willful, or repeated violation in writing to the Secretary within 30 days after the correction period has expired. Requires employers, within ten days after verification of abatement, to prominently post notice of such abatement at or near each place the violation occurred and to make a copy of the verification available to employers and employee representatives. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations implementing such abatement verification and notice requirements. Grants employees the right to contest: (1) citations' designations of the character of the violation or of the OSHA provision, standard, rule, regulation, or order violated (in addition to contesting the abatement period, as in current law); and (2) proposed penalties as inadequate. Grants employee representatives the right to participate in other proceedings (as well as hearings) conducted under specified OSHA enforcement procedures. Requires, if the Secretary intends to withdraw or modify a citation as a result of any agreement with the employer, the Commission's rules of procedure to provide for prompt notice to affected employees or their representatives. Grants employees or their representative, regardless of whether they have previously elected to participate in the proceedings, the right to file a notice alleging that the proposed agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of OSHA within 15 days after receipt of notice of the agreement. Directs the Secretary to consider the matter and, upon determination to proceed with the agreement, respond with particularity to the objections. Grants employees or their representative, within 15 days after the Secretary's response, the right to a hearing upon request to the Commission. Provides that if the Commission determines the proposed agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of OSHA, the proposed agreement shall not be entered as a Commission order and the citation shall not be withdrawn or modified in accordance with the proposed agreement. Revises OSHA provisions for restraining imminent dangers. Directs the Secretary to inform the employer and the affected employees and request that a condition or practice that poses an imminent danger be corrected immediately or that employees be immediately removed from exposure to such danger. Requires such actions if the Secretary determines, on the basis of an inspection or investigation, that a condition or practice in the place of employment is such that an imminent danger to safety or health exists which could reasonably be expected to cause death, serious physical harm, or permanent impairment of health or functional capacity of employees if not corrected immediately. Directs the Secretary to determine whether to post a notice in the workplace if the employer refuses to comply with the Secretary's request. Requires that such notice identify the source of the imminent danger. Grants employees the right to refuse to perform a duty that has been identified as the source of an imminent danger by such a notice, and prohibits discrimination against them for such refusal. Subjects an employer to a civil penalty of from $10,000 to $50,000 for each day during which an employee continues to be exposed if the employer does not immediately correct the hazard referred to in the posted notice or remove all employees from exposure to it, unless the Commission determines that the condition or practice is not covered by such imminent danger provisions. Revises OSHA criminal penalties to increase the maximum amount of fines and the length of prison terms for specified violations, including those for a willful violation causing death, an improper advance notice of an inspection, or a false statement. Establishes criminal penalties for a willful violation that causes serious bodily injury. Prohibits a penalty or fine which is imposed on a director, officer, or agent of an employer from being paid out of the employer's assets on behalf of that individual. Provides that nothing in OSHA shall preclude State and local law enforcement agencies from conducting criminal prosecutions in accordance with State or local laws. Title VI: Protection of Employees from Discrimination - Revises OSHA antidiscrimination provisions to extend coverage to an employee's: (1) reporting any injury, illness, or unsafe condition to the employer, employer's agent, safety and health committee, or employee safety and health representative; and (2) refusing to perform duties when reasonably apprehensive that doing so would result in serious injury to himself/herself or other employees, after having sought and been unable to obtain from the employer corrections of the circumstances causing such refusal. Revises procedures for consideration of complaints of discrimination. Increases the period for filing such complaints from 30 to 180 days after the alleged discrimination. Requires the Secretary, within 60 days after receipt of the complaint, to investigate and notify the complainant and the alleged violator of the findings. Requires such findings to be accompanied by a preliminary order providing relief, if the Secretary has concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe a violation has occurred. Allows the alleged violator or the complainant to file, within 30 days, objections to the findings and/or the preliminary order, and to request a hearing on the record. Provides that such filing of objections shall not operate to stay any reinstatement remedy in the preliminary order. Requires such hearings to be conducted expeditiously. Deems the preliminary order a final order not subject to judicial review if a hearing is not timely requested. Directs the Secretary to issue a final order within 120 days after the conclusion of such hearing. Allows such proceedings to be terminated at any time in the interim on the basis of a settlement agreement by the Secretary, the complainant, and the alleged violator. Requires the Secretary, upon determination that a violation of antidiscrimination provisions has occurred, to order: (1) correction of the violation; (2) reinstatement to the former position with all compensation (including back pay), terms, conditions, and privileges of such employment; and (3) compensatory damages. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request of the complainant, to assess against the person against whom such order is issued all costs and expenses (including attorney's fees) incurred by the complainant in connection with bringing the complaint. Allows adversely affected or aggrieved persons to petition within 60 days to obtain review of such orders in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit. Directs the Secretary to file a civil action in the appropriate U.S. district court to enforce such orders against persons who fail to comply. Authorizes such court to grant appropriate relief. Provides that the legal burdens of proof that prevail under the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 shall govern adjudication of protected activities under OSHA antidiscrimination provisions. Title VII: OSHA and NIOSH Training and Education - Revises OSHA provisions for training and education. Includes education programs for employees and members of safety and health committees, as appropriate, among those programs which the Secretary of HHS is to conduct through NIOSH. Requires the Secretary (of Labor) to develop training materials, model curricula, and programs to assist employers in: (1) providing the training and education required under the new provisions for employer occupational safety and health programs; and (2) complying with OSHA standards. Title VIII: Recordkeeping and Reporting - Revises OSHA provisions relating to statistics to require the Secretary to collect information and conduct analyses that identify: (1) industries, employers, processes, operations, and occupations that have a high rate of injury or illness; (2) factors that cause or contribute to injuries and illnesses; and (3) workers' compensation costs associated with the injuries and illnesses. Requires such data to be publicly available in a form suitable for further statistical analysis, and to be used in setting safety and health standards, targeting inspections of individual establishments, and evaluating standard setting and enforcement programs. Directs the Secretary to require each employer covered by OSHA to report: (1) each work-related death of an employee immediately upon knowledge; and (2) each serious incident resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees within 24 hours of the incident. Revises OSHA requirements for employer records and reports to include (in addition to work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses) suspected work-related illnesses, including a work-related illness reported by an employee or an employee's physician, unless the employer makes a reasonable determination that the illness is not work-related. Provides that all such employer records and reports shall be made available to the Secretary, the Secretary of HHS, employees, and employee representatives. Title IX: NIOSH - Revises OSHA provisions relating to duties of the Secretary of HHS acting through NIOSH. Includes under hazard evaluation reports an evaluation of whether any hazardous condition or harmful physical agent found in the place of employment poses a risk to exposed employees. Directs the Secretary of HHS, if a final determination of hazard is not made within six months of a request, to provide to the employer and employees an interim report on the known or suspected hazards, a recommendation for control, and an estimate of the time in which a final determination will be made. Directs the Secretary of HHS to identify major factors contributing to occupational injuries and deaths through accident investigations and epidemiological research. Directs the Secretary of HHS to carry out a program to identify and notify employees at increased risk of occupational illnesses, injuries, and deaths, including public information and education programs, and recommendations for appropriate medical surveillance. Requires notification, if they are found to be at increased risk, of subjects of studies funded or conducted by the Secretary of HHS under such program. Specifies that the authority of the Secretary of HHS, and of NIOSH, to inspect records extends to the Secretary's designees and contractors. Directs the Secretary of HHS, through NIOSH (and in cooperation with other HHS agencies and the Secretary of Labor), to establish a national surveillance program to identify cases of occupational illnesses, deaths, and serious injuries. Requires coordination with State health agencies and Federal and State workers' compensation agencies under such program. Directs the Secretary of HHS to collect data each year on the number and characteristics of all occupational deaths and selected occupational illnesses and injuries. Requires, in making such selections, consideration of known frequency and severity of the disorder and of the size of the population at risk. Directs the Secretary of HHS to report on and analyze the occupational deaths, illnesses, and injuries collected under such program, and transmit such information to the Secretary of Labor, State health agencies, employers, employees, and other interested parties. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to require an employer, through a physician or health professional employed by or under contract to the employer, to report information on occupational deaths, illnesses, and injuries. Establishes NIOSH as a separate agency within the U.S. Public Health Service in the Department of HHS. Title X: State Plans - Revises OSHA requirements for State plans to provide for: (1) development of safety and health programs and safety and health committees and training programs that are at least as effective as those under the new OSHA requirements; and (2) reporting requirements, protection of employee rights, and access to information that are at least as effective as those under OSHA or other Federal laws governing access to information related to OSHA. Requires a State to enforce a Federal OSHA standard until a State standard at least as effective is in effect, if a State fails to adopt or promulgate such a standard within six months after the Federal standard is promulgated. Requires the Secretary (of Labor) to: (1) promptly investigate complaints against a State plan if there are reasonable grounds to believe a deficiency exists; (2) investigate complaints alleging a deficiency in a State enforcement action within 30 days of receipt; and (3) within 30 days of completion of the investigation, transmit findings and recommendations for correction to the State and complainant (or notify the complainant if there are no reasonable grounds to believe a deficiency exists). Requires a State to respond as to what action it has taken on the Secretary's findings and recommendations within 30 days of their receipt. Directs the Secretary to issue a citation with reasonable promptness if, after receipt of the State's response, the Secretary believes a serious violation of OSHA exists for which the State has failed to issue a citation. Requires the Secretary, upon determination that there are reasonable grounds to conclude there is a failure to comply substantially with any provision or assurance of the State plan, to: (1) notify the State and allow six months for correction of deficiencies; (2) institute proceedings for withdrawal of approval of the State plan, if the State has not corrected the deficiencies within six months (unless there are exceptional circumstances); and (3) during the pendency of such proceedings, exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the State over the safety and health issues that are subject to the State plan. Requires States which are operating State safety and health plans to modify them to conform to this Act. Title XI: Victim's Rights - Sets forth provisions for victims' rights under OSHA. Defines a victim as: (1) an employee who has sustained a work-related injury or illness which is the subject of an OSHA inspection or investigation; or (2) the family member of an employee who either is killed or cannot reasonably exercise victim's rights as a result of such an injury or illness. Grants victims the right, on request, to: (1) meet with the Secretary or a representative respecting the inspection or investigation before the Secretary's decision to issue a citation or to take no action; (2) receive a free copy of any citation or report issued as a result of the inspection or investigation; (3) be informed of any notice of contest filed; (4) be provided an explanation of the rights of employees and employee representatives to participate in OSHA enforcement proceedings; and (5) be provided an opportunity to appear and make a statement before the parties conducting any settlement negotiations, before the Secretary agrees to withdraw or modify the citation. Provides that a victim shall have the same rights as an employee under OSHA enforcement procedures. Entitles a victim, if such victims' rights are violated, to declaratory relief, injunctive relief, recovery of costs of securing specified documents, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Directs the Secretary to take reasonable actions to inform victims of these rights. Title XII: Worker's Compensation Study - Establishes the Federal Worker's Compensation Commission. Directs the Commission to study worker's compensation laws and system with respect to: (1) the recommendations of the National Commission on State Workmen's Compensation Laws; (2) the feasibility of using workers' compensation data to target loss prevention activities on high risk occupations; (3) the laws' adequacy in providing for needs of injured workers, occupational illnesses and diseases, quality control and medical and rehabilitation costs with cost control, and time for recuperation and counseling before return to full-time work; (4) the administrative system's adequacy and the appropriateness of such laws as the exclusive remedy; (5) the relationship between workers' compensation, safety and health programs, and insurance rates and services; (6) the feasibility and appropriateness of transferring the branch of the Department of Labor involved in workers' compensation studies from the Employment Standards Administration to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; and (7) the feasibility of preempting State workers' compensation laws with a national program. Requires such Commission to report the results of such study to the President and the Congress. Title XIII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1991 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to such retirement pay is based solely on: (1) age; (2) length of service; or (3) both. Reduces the amount of retirement pay, in the case of individuals receiving both types of pay, by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, once the Federal budget deficit has been reduced, the Congress should reexamine and eliminate any offset of retired pay by a veteran's disability compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education Act - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) an Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education to be headed by a Director. Requires a State that desires to participate in the Police Corps program to designate a lead agency and submit a State plan containing assurances with respect to: (1) lead agency cooperation with other State and local agencies; (2) the State advertising of the assistance available; (3) State screening and selection of law enforcement personnel for participation in the program; and (4) compliance with other specified requirements. Authorizes the Director to award college scholarships (including direct payments to institutions and reimbursement of educational costs) to participants who agree to work for four years in a State or local police force after completion of a baccalaureate program and police corps training, subject to specified conditions. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) scholarship assistance for dependent children of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty; (2) the selection of participants; (3) minority recruitment; and (4) leaves of absence. Requires the Director to establish programs to provide basic law enforcement training to State Police Corps program participants. Authorizes such programs to be carried out: (1) at up to three training centers established and administered by the Director; or (2) by contracting with existing State training facilities. Requires participants to attend two eight-week training sessions at such training centers and to meet certain performance standards in order to remain in the Police Corps program. Requires the Director to pay participants a weekly stipend during training. Provides for the swearing in of participants as members of the police force to which they are assigned after completing Federal training and meeting the requirements of that police force. Authorizes the Director, upon a showing of good cause, to permit a participant to complete the service obligation in an equivalent alternative law enforcement service, if the police force of which the participant is a member subjects the participant to discipline which would preclude completion of four years of service on that force. Requires a State, in order to participate in the Police Corps program, to submit a plan for implementing such program to the Director for approval. Requires such plan to: (1) include assurances that participants will receive effective training and leadership; (2) provide that program participants shall be assigned to community and preventive patrol in geographic areas with the greatest need for additional law enforcement personnel; and (3) prohibit participant assignment to any local police force whose size has declined by a specified portion or which has members who have been laid off but not retired. Requires the Director to report annually on the Police Corps program to the Attorney General, the President, and specified congressional officials. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to certain spinal manipulations and physical examinations and X-rays furnished to an individual to determine if spinal manipulations are appropriate therapy, conducted by State-licensed chiropractors who are legally authorized by the State to provide such services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to require air carriers that have acquired a certificate transferring air route authority from another air carrier to hire from such air carrier, in order of seniority, no less than the number of employees required to operate such route. Affords such hired employees seniority integration protections provided in Tiger International Seaboard Acquisition Case, CAB Docket 33712. Provides for the enforcement of such seniority protections by U.S. district courts. Amends the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 to declare that air carrier employees who are furloughed or terminated by an air carrier (other than for cause) prior to the last day of the 17-year (currently, ten-year) period beginning upon enactment of such Act shall have first right of hire, regardless of age in his or her occupational speciality by any other air carrier that is hiring additional employees.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Defense Coordinated Health Care Act of 1991 - Requires the medical health care system of the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to be administered solely by the Coordinated Health Care Agency (CHCA). Directs the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense of Health Affairs to organize the CHCA and requires the CHCA to be established by January 15, 1992. Requires the Assistant Secretary to develop and implement policy over: (1) all functions necessary to operation of the military health care system; (2) readiness of combat medical support in operating and field forces; (3) delivery of health care services in field facilities; (4) training and development of health services personnel; (5) service unique operational medical support; and (6) preparation for wartime medical mobilization (to be developed jointly by the three Surgeons General). Directs the Surgeons General to advise and provide technical information to assist the Assistant Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Designates May 1992 as National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Establishes a Joint Committee on the Organization of the Congress to: (1) make a full and complete study of the organization and operation of the Congress; and (2) recommend improvements in such organization and operation with a view toward strengthening its effectiveness, simplifying its operations, improving its relationships with other branches of the Government, and improving the orderly consideration of legislation. Requires a report to the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than the adjournment sine die of the 102d Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1991
Hispanic Access to Higher Education Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish an integrated early outreach program. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants and contracts to specified types of entities for providing various educational services to develop the academic skills and self-confidence of program participants necessary for success in higher education. Requires that: (1) at least two-thirds of program participants be low-income, racial or ethnic minorities underrepresented in higher education who are first-generation college students; and (2) the remaining one-third of such participants be either low-income individuals or first-generation college students. Requires participants to have completed three years of elementary education, and be between eight and 19 years of age (unless such limitations would defeat program purposes). Requires annual program reports to include data on student academic progress, appropriate income measures, gender, English proficiency, and the racial and ethnic background of program participants and service providers. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct a biennial survey, through the National Center for Educational Statistics, of factors associated with participation of low-income and minority students in various types of postsecondary education. Sets forth requirements for development of such survey and types of data to be included. Establishes a demonstration program of Stafford student loan forgiveness for any borrower employed as a full-time teacher: (1) in a school which qualifies under HEA for loan cancellation for Perkins student loan recipients who teach at such schools; and (2) of mathematics, science, foreign languages, special education, bilingual education, or any other field where the State educational agency determines there is a shortage of qualified teachers. Directs the Secretary to assume the obligation to repay the following percentages of Stafford loans incurred during the borrower's last two undergraduate years: (1) 15 percent for the first or second academic year in which the borrower is a full-time teacher; (2) 20 percent for the third or fourth such years of teaching; and (3) 30 percent for the fifth year. Sets forth a special rule authorizing such repayments with respect to Stafford loans for a maximum of two years in returning to an institution of higher education after graduation to obtain a teaching certificate. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to conduct Teacher Corps activities. Bases the amount of such grants on relative school-age population. Directs the Secretary to use funds for such program to: (1) disseminate information nationally about the availability of Teacher Corps scholarships to individuals leaving the armed services; and (2) conduct activities, with SEA cooperation, which foster communications and meetings, including training, of Teacher Corps members. Authorizes each SEA receiving such a grant to use such funds for: (1) grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for induction and mentor programs; (2) in-service and mentoring program for Teacher Corps members at State and local levels; (3) technical assistance to LEAs for Teacher Corps and induction programs; (4) evaluation of Teacher Corps membership applications and awarding Teacher Corps scholarships; (5) Teacher Corps awards to individuals in training to become a school psychologist, school social worker, or a school counselor; (6) ensuring that members understand repayment obligations resulting from noncompliance with scholarship conditions; (7) assistance for employment placement of Teacher Corps members; and (8) collection of scholarship repayments. Requires SEAs to give priority in awarding grants to LEAs with the greatest proportion of disadvantaged students, including racial and ethnic minorities. Allows each SEA to choose to administer such program through a preexisting experienced panel. Authorizes LEAs receiving grants to use such funds for: (1) induction programs for new Teacher Corps members and other new teachers; and (2) ensuring that Teacher Corps members participate in an induction program for at least one year, including working with a mentor teacher designated by the LEA. Allows such induction programs to be developed in cooperation with institutions of higher education. Requires the SEA, in cooperation with the State higher education agency, to select Teacher Corps members. Requires the SEA-established criteria to include specified factors. Requires special consideration for individuals who intend to teach limited English-proficient students, preschool age children, or students with disabilities (or to provide related services to students with disabilities). Requires priority consideration for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities and individuals with disabilities, who are underrepresented in the teaching profession or the curricular areas in which they are preparing to teach. Sets forth application requirements for Teacher Corps membership, SEAs, and LEAs. Provides for Teacher Corps scholarships. Limits individual eligibility to a maximum of three years of specified types of programs of study. Limits individual scholarship amount and duration. Requires that such scholarships be considered in determining eligibility for HEA student assistance. Requires that total assistance not exceed need. Provides for continued eligibility. Sets forth scholarship conditions, including agreement to work as a teacher, upon completion of education, for five years in a school which qualifies for Perkins student loan cancellation under HEA, or to repay all or part of the scholarship, plus interest, if scholarship conditions are not complied with. Requires SEAs receiving Teacher Corps assistance to: (1) publicize availability of and application procedures for Teacher Corps scholarships, particularly among specified types of students and individuals; and (2) recruit minority students to participate in the Teacher Corps program. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits any such funds from being appropriated unless the amount appropriated to carry out the Paul Douglas Congressional Teacher Scholarships program under HEA equals or exceeds a specified amount. Amends HEA to establish the Teacher Opportunity Corps (TOC) program, to encourage institutions of higher education to offer educational programs and financial assistance to enable paraprofessionals working in shortage area schools serving disadvantaged students to become certified teachers. Directs the Secretary to allocate TOC program grant funds to States according to the same formula under which States receive funding for education of disadvantaged children. Requires TOC grant program agreements to include provisions for administration and recordkeeping by the State education or higher education agency. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to support TOC programs at institutions of higher education. Sets forth State grant application requirements and general criteria for State grants, including: (1) involvement of institutions of higher education and shortage area schools or school districts; (2) full creditability to a baccalaureate program leading to teacher certification; (3) a program evaluation system; and (4) appropriate credit for paraprofessional classroom experience as practice or student teaching. Requires any paraprofessional who receives student financial assistance under the TOC program to agree to act as a paraprofessional in a shortage area school for at least one year for each year of such assistance, within ten years after completing the postsecondary education. Requires repayment of all or part of such assistance, plus interest and reasonable collection costs, if the recipient fails to comply with this service requirement, except in specified circumstances. Requires that such student financial assistance supplement, but not supplant, other Federal or State assistance for which the student would otherwise qualify. Requires TOC program grants to be for a term of at least five years, subject to availability of appropriations. Allows States to use TOC program funds for: (1) student financial assistance to paraprofessionals to pay part or all of the costs of attendance (including child care) in postsecondary education programs required for teacher certification; (2) supportive services for such paraprofessionals during participation in such programs; and (3) payment of wage costs of substitute paraprofessionals to afford employed paraprofessionals release-time to attend postsecondary classes required for teacher certification. Authorizes appropriations. Revises HEA with respect to Special Programs for Student from Disadvantaged Backgrounds to require the Secretary to consider the geographic location of first-time applicants for such funding to ensure that projects are evenly distributed geographically and are able to service the needs of large concentrations of disadvantaged students. Includes community-based organizations among the entities which may receive grants and contracts for such programs. Authorizes the Secretary to compile data on the students served by the projects assisted. Requires such data to include specified minimum components. Revises HEA special programs for students whose families are engaged in migrant and seasonal farmwork. Expands eligibility for the high school equivalency program and the college assistance migrant program to include certain persons who have participated in specified programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or the Job Training Partnership Act. Extends the grant period from three to five years. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the high school equivalency program and the college assistance migrant program. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a National Mini-Corps Program to: (1) provide certain migrant college students with training to help them serve as student or teacher role models, links to the community, and tutors and teachers of migrant children; (2) designate college coordinators at participating institutions to train, supervise, and assign migrant students in cooperation with the operating State agency in which migrant children with special needs have been identified; (3) provide academic assistance, home visits, parental involvement, parent-student advisement services, and family advocacy; (4) provide that the instructional services for migrant children are to be coordinated with the overall educational goals of the operating State agency; and (5) provide that migrant students participating in such programs work from ten to 15 hours per week and receive stipends for such services. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1991
Assault Weapon Act of 1991 - Prohibits the importation or manufacture of: (1) a firearm having features designed to facilitate the attachment of a silencer, bayonet, grenade launcher, flash suppressor, or folding stock; (2) such features; (3) a shotgun with a fixed magazine which is capable of holding seven or more rounds of ammunition; or (4) a detachable magazine, feed strip, or similar device which has a capacity of, or can be readily converted to accept, ten or more rounds of ammunition or related parts. Provides for a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment of not more than ten years, or both for violation of such prohibition. Provides for enhanced penalties for the possession or use of such a firearm weapon or related device in a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1991
Designates September 18, 1991, as National Biomedical Research Day.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Research Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Services Research Act of 1986 to rename the Act as the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Research Act of 1991. Changes, with regard to the Council on Alzheimer's Disease: (1) the composition and designated chair; (2) Council duties; and (3) congressional reporting requirements. Replaces, on the Advisory Panel on Alzheimer's Disease, the Director of the National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment with the Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Provides for staggered terms for Panel members. Modifies: (1) vacancy procedures; (2) minimum meeting frequency; and (3) compensation requirements. Abolishes the Panel on September 30, 1994. Authorizes appropriations. Alters the Alzheimer's disease research responsibilities of: (1) the National Institute of Mental Health; and (2) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Services Act to allow Federal payments to Alzheimer's disease centers to be used for construction of the centers, but not for land acquisition. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Medicare Physician Payment Reform Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the transition rules for phasing in the resource-based relative value scale (RB RVS) method of payment for physician services to prohibit adjustments for asymmetry in the transition and for behavioral responses. Declares spending under this Act to be an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and exempt from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Designates November 1991 as National Red Ribbon Month.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1991
Medicare Hospice In-Home Respite Care Coverage Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover up to 40 hours of in-home respite care for individuals during any of the 90-day periods or the subsequent 30-day period in which they are receiving Medicare hospice care. Sets the payment rate for such care.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1991
Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1991 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to absolve municipalities or other persons from liability to any person other than the United States for claims of contribution or other response costs or damages related to the generation or transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge unless there is a basis for liability under provisions governing owners or operators. Prohibits the President from initiating or maintaining an action against any person (other than owners or operators) in the absence of exceptional circumstances. Provides that exceptional circumstances exist where the President obtains evidence that: (1) the release of hazardous substances on which liability is based is not that ordinarily found in municipal solid waste or sewage sludge and the hazardous substances were derived from a commercial, institutional, or industrial process or activity; (2) the total contribution to the site of hazardous substances from such activities is insignificant in terms of volume and toxicity when compared to the volume and toxicity of the municipal solid waste and sewage sludge; or (3) absent the contribution of such substances, the contribution of hazardous substances from the municipal solid waste and sewage sludge would be a significant cause of the release that will result in the response action. Authorizes the President, when the release involves trash from commercial, institutional, or industrial sources, to require persons handling such materials to provide evidence that the general composition and toxicity of the trash are similar to those of waste generated by households. Authorizes a municipality, whenever an administrative or judicial action is brought against the municipality for acts or omissions concerning the handling of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge, to request the President to settle the municipality's potential liability for response costs or damages to natural resources. Prohibits an action from being commenced or pursued during the period the President is considering the settlement request. Limits permissible reasons to fail to reach a settlement to one or more of the following: (1) the settlement offer from the municipality does not meet the cost allocation criteria; (2) the municipality refuses to agree to settlement terms required in consent decrees; or (3) insufficient information exists to permit a cost allocation. Provides that if the President completes a settlement with a party other than the municipality requesting a settlement, such settlement creates a rebuttable presumption that the President cannot invoke insufficient information as a reason for failing to settle with the municipality concerning matters addressed in the other party's settlement. Provides that settlements shall: (1) require the municipality to pay for costs based on the quantity of hazardous constituents in municipal solid waste and sewage sludge, subject to a certain condition; (2) limit a municipality's payments if such payments would force a municipality to dissolve, declare bankruptcy, or default on debt obligations; and (3) be reached even in the event that a municipality may be liable for response costs or damages in other actions. Requires the President to provide a covenant not to sue with respect to the facility concerned to any municipality which has entered into a settlement. Directs the President to prepare a nonbinding preliminary allocation of responsibility (based on the quantity of hazardous constituents in municipal solid waste and sewage sludge) upon the request of a municipality. Applies this Act to all administrative or judicial actions commenced before this Act's effective date, unless a final court judgement has been rendered or a court-approved settlement agreement has been reached.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1991
Augustus F. Hawkins Medical Assistance Act of 1991 - Amends part B (Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities) of title III (Institutional Aid) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to add provisions for an assistance program for medical and health profession training institutes to conduct education and research to improve the health and education development of residents within underserved and economically disadvantaged communities. Directs the Secretary of Education to award such program grants to institutions of higher education that are making a substantial contribution to the medical education and training opportunities for individuals from minority groups who are underrepresented in medical or allied health professions. Sets forth requirements relating to grant size, duration, matching funds, applications, and authorized uses of funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996 for such program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the people of the United States should recognize: (1) the tenth anniversary of "An Artistic Discovery" (the Congressional High School Art Competition); and (2) its success in encouraging the creative endeavors of our Nation's young artists and forging strong working relationships among the Congress, businesses, and the arts community towards the ultimate goal of providing opportunities for high school students to express their artistic talents.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1991
Federal Safe Syringe and Needle Promotion Act of 1991 - Mandates guidelines for requiring health care providers to use only nonreusable or self-destructing syringes and nonreusable or retracting needles except where medically necessary. Prohibits funds made available by the Federal Government from being used to obtain or use, unless medically necessary, any syringes or needles other than such syringes and needles. Mandates a study and report to the Congress on the effects of requiring health care providers to use only such syringes and needles on the costs of needles and syringes and on the access of individuals and entities, including health care providers in developing nations and diabetics, to reasonably priced needles and syringes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1991
Designates August 29, 1991, as National Sarcoidosis Awareness Day.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
Lead-Based Paint Hazard Abatement Act - Title I: Abatement of Lead-Based Paint Hazards - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a program of formula allotments to States and city and urban entities for abatement of lead-based paint hazards. Sets requirements for annually increasing matching funds. Describes grant purposes, including inspection of residential and child day-care structures for lead hazards, removal of hazards, housing for displaced occupants, and counseling on lead poisoning. Allows grant abatement expenditures only if the income of a residential structure's occupants is 80 percent or less of the median income of the geographic area; or, for other eligible structures, only if a public health service agency has determined the structure is a significant-hazard structure. Prescribes rulemaking procedures for the issuance of program standards, requiring the use of specified regulations of the State of Massachusetts if a final rule is not issued within one year. Requires the establishment of an advisory council to supply advice on the administration of the program. Sets forth additional standards regarding authorized grant activities, planning requirements, annual reports, and allotment reallocations. Title II: Lead Abatement Trust Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on lead removed from any U.S. smelter and imported lead and lead products of 75 cents per pound for primary lead and 37 cents per pound for secondary lead. Terminates the tax after ten years. Establishes the Lead Abatement Trust Fund in the Treasury. Title III: General Provisions - Sets forth the effective dates for the formula grants and the imposition of the excise tax.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
California Desert Protection Act of 1991 - Title I: Wilderness Additions - Designates as additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System 77 wilderness areas within the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA), the Yuma District, and the Bakerfield District of the Bureau of Land Management. Permits grazing in such areas. Prohibits the approval of any plan of operation prior to determining the validity of unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites affected by plans in such areas. States that non-designated areas within the CDCA have been adequately studied for inclusion in the System and releases them from otherwise applicable restrictions. Designates certain lands within the CDCA as the White Mountains Wilderness Study Area. Title II: Death Valley National Park - Establishes the Death Valley National Historic Park which subsumes the Death Valley National Monument. Withdraws the additional lands from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites within such additional lands and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Preserves grazing privileges on such lands for persons holding permits as of July 1, 1991. Terminates all grazing on July 1, 2016. Title III: Joshua Tree National Park - Establishes the Joshua Tree National Park which subsumes the Joshua Tree National Monument. Withdraws the additional lands from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites within such additional lands and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Continues the validity of certain rights-of-way of the Metropolitan Water District. Title IV: Mojave National Park - Establishes the Mojave National Monument which subsumes the East Mojave National Scenic Area. Withdraws Federal lands within the Monument from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites within the Monument and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Authorizes the Secretary to regulate mining in such Monument. Preserves grazing privileges on such lands for persons holding permits as of July 1, 1991. Terminates all grazing on July 1, 2016. Continues the validity of existing rights-of-way for specified activities. Directs the Secretary to submit a management plan for the Monument to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Designates the Granite Mountains Natural Reserve within the Monument. Authorizes the Secretary to construct a visitors' center and acquire lands. Title V: National Park Wilderness - Designates as wilderness the Death Valley National Park Wilderness, the Joshua Tree National Park Wilderness Additions, and the Mojave National Monument Wilderness. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to transfer Red Rock Canyon State Park Additions in the CDCA to California. Establishes the Desert Lily Sanctuary within the CDCA. Prohibits the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture from: (1) disposing of lands within the boundaries of any wilderness, park, or monument designated by this Act; (2) granting rights-of-way in lands within designated wilderness; and (3) making lands within such boundaries available for use by the Metropolitan Water District. Requires the Secretary to transfer certain Federal lands selected by the California State Lands Commission upon transfer to the United States of State school lands of equivalent value that are included in areas designated as wilderness and national parks under titles I through IV of this Act. Sets forth procedures for establishing fair market value. Creates the California Desert State Lands Credit Account in the event that the value of selected Federal lands is less than that of transferred State lands. Authorizes the Secretary to exchange Federal mineral interests in lands in California for private mineral interests in wilderness areas and national parks designated by this Act. Directs the Secretary to insure nonexclusive access to the wilderness areas, parks, and monument designated by this Act for traditional Indian cultural and religious purposes. Reserves Federal water rights for wilderness areas designated by this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Definitions - Sets forth specified definitions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
Designates October 1991 as Country Music Month.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1991
Social Security Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to exclude the appropriations for the administration of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund from Federal budget deficit calculations and to exempt such appropriations from sequestration under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1991
Designates May 1992 as National Trauma Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1991
Designates October 1991 as Crime Prevention Month.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
National Wildlife Refuge System Act of 1991 - Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to set forth new purposes for which the National Wildlife Refuge System shall be administered, including: (1) acquiring, restoring, maintaining, and managing of lands and water to conserve native fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats with special attention focused on endangered species of fish, wildlife, and plants in refuges; and (2) helping to fulfill the international treaty obligations of the United States with respect to fish and wildlife and their habitats. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to issue regulations governing the manner of finding whether an existing or proposed new use in a refuge is compatible or incompatible with the established purposes of such refuge. Directs the Secretary to prepare and revise at least once every ten years a comprehensive plan governing the administration of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Requires the Director to: (1) review, within two years of enactment of this Act, cooperative agreements and memoranda of understanding governing refuges not under the primary jurisdiction of the Service; and (2) negotiate modification of terms and conditions with the appropriate agencies, if needed, to achieve the purposes for which the refuges were established. Directs the Secretary to identify and discontinue incompatible uses of refuges that do not meet established refuge purposes. Requires annual reports to specified congressional committees, together with one special report, a year after enactment, on: (1) the usefulness of comprehensive planning for individual refuges; and (2) the role of the System in maintaining biological diversity in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Community Right-To-Know More Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise congressional findings, objectives, and national policy provisions. Title I: Expansion of Toxics Release Inventory - Requires owners or operators of facilities subject to toxic chemical release requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 that meet threshold requirements under this Act to include supplemental information comparable to that required in toxic chemical release forms for transfers or releases of chemicals that are: (1) priority pollutants relating to steam electric power point source pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (2) specified hazardous wastes listed under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (3) specified chemicals listed under the Clean Air Act; (4) pesticides with respect to which the registration has been denied, cancelled, or is under suspension or pesticides undergoing administrative review or that are classified for restricted use; (5) chemicals listed under the Safe Drinking Water Act for which maximum contaminant levels have been proposed; (6) chemicals identified as carcinogens by the Carcinogen Assessment Group of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or the National Toxicology Program; (7) extremely hazardous substances listed pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986; (8) chemicals listed in 90 California Regulatory Notice Register 990 as reproductive toxins; or (9) listed under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 that are not used at a level that meets threshold requirements for reporting but are released to the environment or transferred to an offsite waste management facility in amounts meeting the threshold under this Act. Provides that a facility meets the threshold requirements with respect to a chemical listed under this Act if the facility: (1) uses the chemical at a level that meets the threshold requirement for reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986; or (2) releases to the environment or transfers to an offsite waste management facility a chemical in an amount greater than or equal to 100 pounds annually in the case of metals or metal compounds or 2,000 pounds annually for any other chemical. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to establish lower thresholds for any chemical, user segment, or facility. Permits authorized States to establish lower thresholds for facilities in their jurisdictions. Authorizes the Administrator to delete a carcinogen or reproductive toxin from the list under this Act if it is not otherwise listed under this Act or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Applies toxic chemical release reporting requirements to facilities employing at least ten full-time employees that are not currently subject to such requirements, but meet threshold reporting requirements under this Act or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Title II: Toxics Use Reduction - Requires owners or operators of covered facilities to submit: (1) annual toxics use reduction reports for each covered chemical for which such facilities are required to file toxic chemical release forms or supplemental information pursuant to title I; and (2) annual plans for reducing the use of covered chemicals. Sets forth report and plan requirements and submission deadlines. Authorizes the Administrator to modify such plans. Requires the Administrator to establish an advisory board to determine a professional code of practice for toxics use reduction materials accounting and planning. Directs owners or operators of facilities in violation of standards, permit conditions, or regulations pertaining to the management or release of covered chemicals, upon the request of 50 citizens or employees, to establish a workplace toxic use reduction committee to provide ongoing dialogue and appraisal of the progress toward pollution prevention. Requires the committee to meet at least quarterly to review a facility's progress on toxics use reduction. Directs the Administrator to implement a strategy to promote toxics use reduction. Requires the Administrator, Federal agencies, and States or political subdivisions, in issuing or approving regulatory action under specified environmental, consumer protection, occupational health and safety, and energy Acts, to make toxics use reduction an integral part of the planning, decisionmaking, and rulemaking process. Authorizes the Administrator to require owners or operators of facilities to provide records and information and grants the Administrator access to records, products, or raw materials. Requires the Administrator to establish a technical assistance and research program to promote and study toxics use reduction. Directs the Administrator to analyze information on production units reported by facilities for purposes of classifying such units into groups that use similar production processes and covered chemicals. Authorizes the Administrator to classify such units into groups on the basis of industrial categories according to Standard Industrial Classification codes. Requires the Administrator to: (1) classify ten groups, to be referred to as user segments; (2) evaluate the reduction in the use and generation of covered chemicals by each production unit in each user segment; and (3) prepare and make available to the public an annual percentile ranking of each unit according to use and generation as byproduct. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate regulations to establish minimum toxics use reduction performance requirements for production units in user segments. Sets forth regulation requirements. Applies provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 concerning trade secrets, the provision of information to health professionals, and public availability of information to toxics information under this Act. Waives Federal facility compliance with toxics use reduction and reporting requirements upon the request of the Secretary of Defense and the President's determination that such waiver is in the interest of national security. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on methods of encouraging the reporting of toxics information through the use of computer telecommunication and other means. Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to study and report to the Administrator and the Congress on the provision to the public of toxic release inventory information and related information required to be submitted to the Administrator. Prescribes civil and administrative penalties for violations of toxics use reduction and reporting requirements. Sets forth provisions concering civil actions with respect to such violations. Requires the Administrator to establish a grant program to assist States and local governments in establishing innovative toxics use reduction programs. Directs States to make 75 percent of a grant available to local governments for carrying out toxics use reduction. Bases the awarding of grants on the extent to which chemical substances are manufactured, processed, used, and disposed of in a State, the extent of exposure to such substances in a State, and the population density of a State. Authorizes appropriations for such grants and for toxics use reduction under this Act. Requires the Administrator to: (1) implement a procurement policy that reduces, avoids, or eliminates the acquisition of agency procurement items made with or containing covered chemicals and hazardous secondary materials; and (2) make recommendations to the Congress for a national toxics use reduction procurement policy covering all procuring agencies, Federal facilities, and government contractors. Amends the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 to increase the amounts authorized to be appropriated for functions under such Act and to increase and extend the authorization of appropriations for technical assistance grants to States. Title III: Waste Stream Reporting - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise recordkeeping and reporting requirements for hazardous waste generators. Directs hazardous waste generators to report annually to the Administrator and authorized State agencies on the quantity of hazardous waste generated from each catastrophic event, remedial action, or one-time event not associated with production processes. Sets forth reporting requirements for generators of solid waste in amounts in excess of 11,000 pounds a month and for facilities managing solid and certain special wastes generated by fossil fuels combustion, mining, and activities involving cement kilns. Reqiures the Administrator to: (1) maintain publicly accessible databases for hazardous, solid, and special waste stream data reported under this Act; (2) make the data accessible on a cost reimbursable basis; and (3) report to the Congress on links between EPA databases and changes that would facilitate links between all major EPA operations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Designates February 16, 1992, as Lithuanian Independence Day.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1991
Lead Contamination Control Act Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise provisions concerning grants for lead poisoning prevention programs to authorize grants to public and nonprofit entities (currently, State and local governments). Requires priority in making grants to be given to applications for programs that will serve areas with a high incidence of elevated blood-lead levels in infants and children. Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from making such grants unless, in the case of any service that is made available pursuant to the State plan approved under title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid) for the State involved, the grant applicant: (1) will provide the service directly and has entered into a participation agreement under the State plan and is qualified to receive payments under the plan; or (2) will enter into an agreement with a Medicaid provider under which the provider will provide the service and the provider has entered into a participation agreement and is qualified to receive such payments. Waives the requirement to enter into an agreement for such providers if the provider does not impose a charge or accept reimbursement from a third-party payor with respect to health care services. Prohibits grant recipients from making payments from the grant for any service to the extent that payment can reasonably be expected to be made for such service: (1) under any State compensation program, under an insurance policy, or under any Federal or State health benefits program; or (2) by an entity that provides health services on a prepaid basis. Waives such prohibition in the case of those providers through which the grantee provides services if the Secretary has provided a waiver with respect to secondary participation agreements. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the grant program through FY 1996. Sets forth the requirements for the national primary drinking water regulation for lead. Applies such requirements to community and noncommunity water systems. Establishes a limit for lead in tap water. Provides that the maximum contaminant level goal for lead in drinking water is zero. Requires requirements set forth in this Act to supersede requirements concerning lead in drinking water promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 6, 1991, except for requirements relating to analytical methods. Permits the Administrator to promulgate regulations concerning lead in drinking water only if they are more protective of human health than corresponding requirements of this Act. Provides that the maximum contaminant level for lead in effect before May 6, 1991, shall be effective upon this Act's enactment date. Sets forth deadlines by which water systems shall complete applicable corrosion control treatment requirements. Deems a system to have optimized corrosion control and exempts a system from completion of corrosion control treatment steps if the system satisfies one of the following criteria: (1) in the case of a small- or medium-sized system, the system meets the tap water lead limit during two consecutive six-month monitoring periods; or (2) in the case of any water system, the system demonstrates to the State that it has conducted activities equivalent to applicable corrosion control steps required by this Act or it submits monitoring results that demonstrate for two consecutive six-month monitoring periods that the difference between the highest tap water lead concentration and the highest source water lead concentration is not detectable. Permits a small-or medium-sized water system to cease completion of treatment steps whenever such systems meet tap water lead limits during two consecutive monitoring periods and submit the results to the State. Sets forth corrosion control treatment steps and deadlines for large-, medium-, and small-sized systems. Requires small- and medium-sized systems exceeding the tap water lead limit to recommend installation of at least one of the following corrosion control treatments: (1) alkalinity and pH adjustment; (2) calcium hardness adjustment; and (3) the addition of a phosphate or silicate corrosion inhibitor to maintain an effective residual concentration in test tap samples. Authorizes a State to require such systems to perform specified corrosion control studies to identify optimal corrosion control treatment. Sets forth study requirements. Requires a State to approve the option recommended by the system or to designate alternative treatments. Directs systems to install and operate the treatments designated by the State. Requires States to evaluate the results of lead tap and water quality parameter samples submitted by water systems to determine whether a system has properly installed and operated the designated corrosion control treatment. Directs States to designate: (1) a minimum range of values for pH measured at each entry point to the distribution system; (2) a minimum pH value measured in all tap samples; (3) a minimum range of concentrations for a corrosion inhibitor (if used) measured at each entry point to the system and in all tap samples; (4) a minimum range of concentrations for alkalinity (if alkalinity is adjusted) measured at each entry point to the system and in all tap samples; and (5) a minimum range of concentrations for calcium measured in all tap samples (if calcium carbonate stabilization is used as part of corrosion control). Requires systems to maintain water quality parameter values at or above minimum values or within ranges designated by a State. Authorizes States to modify optimal corrosion control treatment or water quality parameters, subject to certain conditions. Establishes a maximum contaminant level for lead in source water. Requires public water systems that fail to meet the tap water lead limit to replace lead service lines. Directs a system to replace such lines at an annual rate that will replace 20 percent of the lead lines or ten percent of all service lines, whichever results in replacement of a greater number of lead service lines. Sets forth a replacement schedule. Provides for extensions of replacement deadlines upon the application of a system with a large number of lead service lines in the distribution system. Exempts a system from replacement requirements if the State determines that the service line does not contribute to tap water lead concentrations in excess of ten parts per billion. Requires a system to replace the entire service line unless it demonstrates to the State that it controls less than the entire service line. Sets forth requirements for replacing portions of service lines. Presumes that a system controls the entire lead service line (up to the building inlet) unless the State determines that it does not have the following forms of control over the entire line: (1) legal authority; (2) authority to set standards for construction or maintenance or to replace, repair, or maintain the line; or (3) ownership of the line. Provides for shorter replacement schedules, where feasible. Permits a system to cease replacing such lines whenever the tap water samples meet lead limits during two consecutive monitoring periods and the results are submitted to the State. Requires States to establish programs to encourage public water systems to: (1) provide a voluntary service of referring building owners in a system's service area to approved contractors to remove lead plumbing, fixtures, or solder from the buildings; and (2) offer to fund such removal and to bill their water customers in a manner that allows easy payment for such removal. Directs the Administrator to distribute a model State program. Requires water systems that exceed the tap water limit to deliver certain public education materials and public service announcements with respect to lead in drinking water. Sets forth required texts of such materials. Provides that in communities where a significant proportion of the population speaks a language other than English, such materials shall be communicated in the appropriate languages. Sets forth delivery requirements with respect to such materials. Permits a system to discontinue delivery if the system has met the tap water lead limit during the most recent six-month monitoring period. Requires systems failing to meet such limit to offer to sample the tap water of any customer who requests such sampling. Directs systems which fail to comply with a maximum contaminant level for lead or any related requirement to notify persons served by such systems of the violation. Requires water systems to complete a materials evaluation of their distribution systems to identify a pool of targeted sampling sites sufficiently large to ensure the collection of required lead tap samples. Prohibits faucets with devices designed to remove inorganic contaminants from being included as sampling sites. Requires systems to use information relating to special monitoring for corrosivity characteristics when conducting materials evaluations. Sets forth sources of information to be used when such systems' information is insufficient to locate the requisite number of lead sampling sites. Sets forth required sampling sites. Requires water systems whose distribution systems contain lead service lines to draw 50 percent of samples from sites that contain lead pipes or copper pipes with lead solder and 50 percent of those samples to be from sites served by a lead service line. Designates tap samples collected for lead (except for lead service line samples) as first draw samples. Requires: (1) first draw tap samples for lead to be one liter in volume and to have stood motionless in the plumbing system of each sampling site for at least six hours; and (2) service line samples to be one liter in volume and to have stood motionless in the lead service line for at least six hours. Sets forth collection requirements. Requires systems to collect at least one sample during each monitoring period (at six-month intervals) from the number of sites listed under this Act. Bases the number of sites required to be monitored on the size of the system. Provides for reduced monitoring for systems that meet lead limits during consecutive monitoring periods. Requires water systems that exceed the tap water lead limit to monitor water quality parameters. Provides that tap samples shall be representative of water quality throughout a distribution system, taking into account the number of persons served, the different sources of water, the different treatment methods, and seasonal variability. Requires samples collected at entry points to distribution systems to be from locations representative of sources after treatment. Directs systems to collect two tap samples for water quality parameters at six-month intervals. Bases the number of sites required to be monitored on the size of the system. Sets forth parameters to be measured and general monitoring requirements. Provides for reduced monitoring for systems that maintain the range of values for water quality parameters during consecutive monitoring periods. Requires systems to collect (at six-month intervals) lead source water samples in accordance with requirements specified in regulations of the Administrator relating to inorganic chemical sampling. Provides for reduced monitoring for systems using groundwater, surface water, or a combination of the two which demonstrate that finished drinking water entering distribution systems has been maintained below the source water maximum contaminant level during specified consecutive periods. Requires systems to: (1) report to States on tap water samples, source water monitoring, corrosion control treatment, lead service line replacements, and public education requirements; and (2) submit to States annually a letter certifying the extent of compliance with such requirements. Sets forth recordkeeping and reporting requirements for public water systems. Sets forth provisions concerning EPA review of State determinations concerning drinking water regulation for lead. Provides that issuance of a final order by the Administrator shall constitute requirements of the national primary drinking water regulation for lead and shall supersede any inconsistent State treatment requirements. Withdraws enforcement responsibility from States which fail to implement this Act's requirements for public water systems. Authorizes States to require public water systems to use bottled water or other means as a condition of: (1) granting variances or exemptions from requirements of the national primary drinking water regulations to avoid an unreasonable health risk; or (2) granting an exemption from corrosion control treatment requirements for lead or source water and lead service line replacement requirements to avoid such risk. Requires systems that use bottled water as a condition for receiving a variance or exemption to meet specified requirements, including: (1) a State-approved monitoring program for bottled water or a certification from the bottled water company that the water has been taken from an approved source (as defined by the Administrator of the Food and Drug Administration) and the company has conducted monitoring; and (2) the provision of sufficient quantities of bottled water to every person supplied by the public water system. Prohibits the EPA Administrator from promulgating any national primary drinking water regulations under the Public Health Service Act which are based on an action level in lieu of a maximum contaminant level or a treatment technique prescribed by such Act. Voids any such regulations promulgated before this Act. Requires the Administrator to promulgate drinking water regulations consistent with such Act for any contaminant, other than lead, for which regulations are voided. Directs local educational agencies to complete testing for lead contamination in drinking water from coolers and other drinking water outlets at schools under their jurisdiction. Requires the Administrator to revise a guidance document and protocol concerning lead in school drinking water to provide for follow-up sampling and to recommend remedial steps whenever the lead concentration exceeds a specified level. Directs local educational agencies, if lead concentration in such water exceeds such level, to submit to school personnel, parents of children, and the agency with primary enforcement responsibility for the public water system serving the school a lead disclosure statement and a description of actions to be taken in response to test results. Requires (currently, permits) grants made to States for programs regarding lead in school drinking water to be used to reimburse local educational agencies for expenses incurred in testing and remedial action. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such grants. Imposes civil penalties upon local educational agencies that fail to comply with requirements for testing and remedying lead in school drinking water. Requires pipe fittings and fixtures used in public water systems or in plumbing providing water for human consumption to be lead-free. Makes it unlawful to: (1) introduce into commerce any pipe, pipe fitting, or fixture that is not lead free; (2) sell solder or flux plumbing supplies which are not lead free; or (3) introduce into commerce any solder or flux which is not lead free unless such solder or flux bears a label stating that is illegal to use such materials in the installation or repair of plumbing providing water for human consumption. Revises the definition of "lead free" to provide that four years after this Act's enactment, such term refers to pipes, pipe fittings, fixtures, solder, and flux that have no lead content or that have been certified as lead free by the Administrator. Prescribes civil penalties for violations of such prohibitions. Applies provisions authorizing citizens' civil actions against the Administrator for violations of safety requirements for public water systems to States with primary enforcement responsibility. Applies recordkeeping and inspection provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act to any person subject to requirements of this Act. Directs the Secretary to establish programs to: (1) accredit individuals to train lead inspectors to comply with lead inspection standards and deleaders to comply with lead abatement standards; (2) license lead inspectors and deleaders; and (3) certify laboratories as qualified to test substances for lead. Requires the Secretary to maintain lists (by State or metropolitan area) of licensed lead inspectors and deleaders, accredited instructors, and certified laboratories. Makes such lists available to the public. Provides for annual fees for accreditations, certifications, or licensings. Authorizes suspensions or revocations whenever the Secretary determines that the holder of an accreditation, license, or certification has violated relevant requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report on methods and devices available to inspect for lead paint and lead hazards and to abate lead hazards; and (2) promulgate standards for the performance of lead inspections and lead abatement of covered premises. Sets forth requirements for lead inspection and abatement standards. Permits petitions for the modification of such standards to include or delete an inspection or abatement methods or device. Prohibits: (1) the performance of a lead inspection or lead abatement of a covered premise for compensation, except in compliance with such standards; (2) the sale or distribution in interstate commerce of any device for lead inspection or abatement, unless the device is approved under such standards. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations for the disclosure of indoor lead paint and lead hazards. Requires persons who sell or lease covered residential premises to provide purchasers or lessees with lead hazard inspection reports (and, in cases where a lead hazard is present, with lead disclosure statements) before such individuals are obligated to purchase or lease the premises. Directs persons who perform renovations of covered premises for compensation to provide lead disclosure statements to owners and occupants prior to commencing renovations. Requires the Secretary to publish and periodically revise a standard lead disclosure statement. Sets forth statement requirements. Requires the Secretary to undertake a public education program to inform the public about the risks of lead poisoning and the requirements for lead inspection, abatement, and disclosure. Directs the Secretary to require local educational agencies to conduct lead inspections for covered schools or day care centers and to provide all school or day care personnel and parents of children attending the school or day care center with a copy of the inspection report and disclosure statement (as well as response actions) in each case in which a lead hazard is detected. Requires the Secretary to make grants to States for assisting such agencies in testing for, and abating, lead hazards in schools and day care centers. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes States which seek to administer the indoor lead contamination program to submit programs to the Secretary. Provides for the approval of programs that are at least as protective of human health and welfare as the Federal program and that provide for adequate enforcement. Requires the Secretary to promulgate a model State program. Prescribes civil penalties and authorizes civil actions for violations of indoor lead contamination inspection and abatement requirements. Applies Federal, State, interstate, and local lead hazard control requirements to Federal facilities in the same manner as such requirements apply to nongovernmental entities. Authorizes the Secretary to promulgate rules under which an Indian tribe may be treated as a State for purposes of such requirements. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem a food to be adulterated if: (1) it is packaged in a can or other container that contains solder or flux with lead content; or (2) it contains lead, unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services has determined that the level of lead contained in the food is safe. Directs the Secretary to promulgate regulations to establish standards, testing, and certification procedures with respect to lead in ceramic and crystal ware as are necessary to make food that contacts such ware safe. Prohibits the introduction into interstate commerce of any ceramic or crystal ware that has not been certified as safe with respect to lead by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1991
Designates March 19, 1992, as National Women in Agriculture Day.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) promote the maximum conservation and protection of whale, dolphin, and porpoise populations; (2) work to strengthen and maintain the current International Whaling Commission moratorium on the commercial killing of whales; (3) work to strengthen the Commission by reaffirming its competence to regulate whaling on all species of cetaceans and take actions to assure global protection for small cetaceans; and (4) in promoting protection, make use of diplomatic channels, domestic and international law, and all other means.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1991
Water Desalination Act of 1991 - Declares it to be U.S. policy to provide for: (1) the development of a means of producing, from saline or biologically impaired waters, water of a quality suitable for agricultural, industrial, municipal and other uses; and (2) related research on a scale sufficient to determine the feasibility of large scale development. Defines "saline water" to mean sea water, brackish water, and other mineralized or chemically impaired water. Directs the Secretary to establish a desalination program comprised of the phases outlined below. Directs the Secretary to conduct studies to determine the most efficient means by which usable water can be produced from saline water as Phase I. Directs the Secretary to endeavor to obtain results in Phase I sufficient to support recommendations to the Congress. Directs the Secretary to conduct a demonstration program to demonstrate the feasibility of desalting processes as Phase II. Requires the information from the studies under this Act, with exceptions for national defense and patent rights, to be available to the public. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) accept technical and administrative assistance from public or private agencies in connection with work relating to the desalting of water; and (2) enter into contracts or agreements to provide for cost sharing. Authorizes the Secretary to take other actions in carrying out this Act, including making grants and contracts. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1991
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct ten demonstration projects to examine the feasibility of broader use of arrangements for the sharing of health-care resources with other Federal health-care providers. Requires the Secretary to enter into agreements for such demonstration projects with the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services with respect to facilities, providers, and beneficiaries of health care. Requires each demonstration project to be carried out through a sharing agreement between the Secretary and one of the other named Secretaries with respect to care and services provided by a particular Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility. Requires medical centers selected for the demonstration projects to be located in rural and urban areas in different regions of the country. Provides for the reciprocal provision of health-care services by medical centers participating in the project, as well as for reciprocal reimbursement for services provided. Directs the Secretary to evaluate the demonstration projects on an ongoing basis and to submit two annual reports on such evaluation to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1991 - Prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State (the government) from burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except that the government may burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person: (1) is essential to further a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. Sets forth provisions pertaining to judicial relief, attorney's fees, and applicability.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide that title I (Protection of Employee Benefit Rights) does not preempt any State law which provides for: (1) the payment of prevailing wages; or (2) standards or other requirements relating to apprenticeship or other training programs.