United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1991 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army Transport Service, during World War II constituted active military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge under such Act to each merchant marine member whose qualified service warrants such a discharge. Defines "qualified service." Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee of a specified amount for any benefit application for such qualified service. Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to add references to components or ingredients of equipment, materials, or commodities in certain cargo preference provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure, and Health Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue water quality criteria for pathogens in coastal recreation waters. Requires States to adopt water quality standards for such waters consistent with such criteria. Directs the Administrator to promulgate standards for States that fail to do so. Requires the Administrator to publish regulations specifying methods to be used by States to monitor coastal recreation waters, during periods of use by the public, for compliance with standards. Directs States to notify local governments and the public of violations of water quality standards for coastal recreation waters. Requires the Administrator to: (1) issue guidance on uniform assessment and monitoring procedures for floatable materials in coastal recreation waters; and (2) specify the conditions under which the presence of floatable material constitutes a threat to public health and safety. Authorizes States to delegate responsibility for monitoring and posting of coastal recreation waters to local governments. Directs the Administrator to conduct an ongoing study and report to the Congress on additional information for developing better indicators for detecting the presence of harmful bacteria and viruses in coastal recreation waters. Requires State coastal zone management agencies to provide technical assistance to local governments to ensure that coastal recreation waters and beaches are as free as possible from floatable materials. Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to authorize grants to eligible coastal States for the reduction of floatable materials in coastal recreation waters. Permits the use of grants for the acquisition of beach and coastal recreation water clean-up equipment. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to States to fulfill requirements under this Act. Limits the total amount of grants to States. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Freedom of Choice Act of 1991 - Provides that a State may not restrict the right of a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy: (1) before fetal viability; or (2) at any time, if such termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman. Allows a State to impose requirements medically necessary to protect the life or health of such women.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Prohibits entities that employ more than 20 employees in Northern Ireland and Ireland from receiving U.S. funds from the International Fund for Ireland unless they comply with certain fair employment principles known as the MacBride Principles.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Civil Rights Act of 1991 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide for the burdens of proof which must be met by the various parties when an allegation of an unlawful employment practice is based on disparate impact. ( Wards Cove Packing Co. Inc. v. Atonio, 1989, held that, in cases brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove an employer had no business necessity for a practice with discriminatory effects.) Allows a rule barring employment based on illegal discriminatory intent. Declares that, when an employment practice is alleged to have mixed motives, an unlawful employment practice is established when it is shown that a discriminatory basis was a contributing factor, even though other factors also contributed. Bars certain types of relief and limits damages to the injury that is attributable to the unlawful practice. Provides for the finality of litigated or consent judgments or orders resolving an employment discrimination claim, barring actions (challenging an employment practice that implements and is within the scope of a judgment or order) by persons who had certain types of notice and opportunity. Modifies the time limitations within which certain actions must be taken in alleged employment discrimination cases. (In Lorance v. AT&T Technologies, the Supreme Court held that seniority plans cannot be challenged as discriminatory unless complaints are filed soon after the plans are adopted.) Declares the application of a seniority system, if the system was included in a collective bargaining agreement with discriminatory intent, an unlawful employment practice. Allows punitive damages, certain types of compensatory damages, and jury trials only in connection with certain claims of intentional discrimination under the Act or under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Allows any party, if compensatory or punitive damages are sought, to demand a jury trial. Includes expert fees and other litigation expenses in attorney's fees which may be awarded in certain circumstances. Prohibits consent orders or judgments settling a claim, or stipulations of dismissal, unless the parties or their counsel attest that a waiver of all or substantially all attorney's fees was not compelled as a condition of the settlement.( Independent Federation of Flight Attendants v. Zipes held that attorneys' fees can be recovered under Title VII against losing intervenors only if the intervenor's action is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.) Allows the court, in its discretion to promote fairness, in a proceeding in which a judgment or order granting relief under employment discrimination provisions is challenged, to allow the prevailing party in the original action to recover attorney's fees and costs incurred in defending the judgment or order. Extends the time limit for filing against the Government a civil action involving employment discrimination. Requires, except for prejudgment interest on compensatory damages, the same interest payment by the Government as in cases involving non-public parties. Requires all Federal civil rights laws to be interpreted broadly to provide equal opportunity and provide effective remedies. Prohibits, except as expressly provided, interpreting any Federal civil rights law to repeal or amend by implication any other such law. Prohibits using this Act as a basis for limiting civil rights laws not expressly amended by this Act. Amends Federal law to declare that: (1) for purposes of provisions relating to equal rights under the law, the right to make and enforce contracts includes the making, performance, modification, and termination of contracts, and the enjoyment of all benefits, privileges, terms, and conditions of the contract; and (2) the rights protected by the amended provisions are protected against impairment by non-governmental discrimination as well as against impairment under color of State law. (In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled, in Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, that an 1866 law forbidding discrimination in contracts applies only to hiring agreements, not on-the-job bias.) Prohibits construing the amendments made by this Act to: (1) require or encourage an employer to adopt hiring or promotion quotas; or (2) affect court-ordered remedies, affirmative action, or conciliation agreements that are otherwise in accordance with the law. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to apply equal employment opportunities provisions to the Congress, with enforcement as determined by each House of the Congress. Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to modify requirements, including time limitations, regarding filing of a civil action. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to notify the person aggrieved if an age discrimination charge is dismissed by the Commission. Allows a civil suit to be brought within a specified time limit after the dismissal. Encourages the use of alternative means of dispute resolution to resolve disputes arising under the Acts amended by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1991 - Title I: General Requirements for Leave - Establishes certain requirements for family and medical leave for permanent employees. (Excludes from such coverage: (1) employees at worksites at which the employer employs less than 50 persons, if the total number of employees of that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is less than 50; and (2) Federal officers and employees covered under title II of this Act.) Entitles employees to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period because of: (1) the birth of their child; (2) the placement of a child for their adoption or foster care; (3) their care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition; or (4) their own serious health condition which makes them unable to perform the functions of their position. Conditions such leave for the birth or placement of a child as follows: (1) the entitlement ends 12 months after the birth or placement; (2) both parents may not take such leave at the same time; and (3) such leave may not be taken intermittently unless employee and employer agree otherwise. Allows all leave to which an employee is entitled under this title: (1) to be taken on a reduced leave schedule, upon agreement with the employer; and (2) to consist of unpaid leave, except under specified conditions when substitution of certain types of paid leave may be elected or required. Declares that nothing in this Act shall require an employer to provide paid sick or medical leave in any situation in which the employer would not normally provide any such paid leave. Requires employees to: (1) give reasonable notice of the need for leave to which they are entitled under this Act, when foreseeable; and (2) make a reasonable effort to schedule medical treatment or supervision so as not to disrupt unduly the employer's operations, subject to approval of the health care provider. Allows limitation of the dual aggregate leave entitlement to 12 weeks in any 12-month period, in the case of spouses employed by the same employer, if such leave is for the birth or placement of a child or for the care of a sick parent. Sets forth conditions of certification for leave entitlements under this Act, including provisions relating to: (1) sufficient certification; (2) explanation of inability to perform job functions; (3) second opinion; (4) resolution of conflicting opinions; and (5) subsequent recertification. Sets forth employment and benefits protections relating to leave entitlements under this Act, including provisions relating to: (1) restoration to position; (2) denial of such restoration in the case of certain highly compensated employees; (3) maintenance of health benefits; and (4) no bar to agreement concerning alternative employment. Prohibits employers or other persons from interfering with employee rights under this Act or from discriminating against any individual because of participation in proceedings or inquiries under this Act. Provides for administrative enforcement of this title by the Secretary of Labor, as well as enforcement by civil action. Sets forth provisions for investigative authority, injunctive and monetary relief, attorneys' fees, and limitation of actions. Sets forth special rules concerning employees of local educational agencies, including provisions relating to intermittent leave for instructional employees, periods near the completion of an academic term, and reduction of liability. Requires employers to post notice of the pertinent provisions of this title. Requires fines for willful violations of such requirement. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this title. Title II: Family Leave and Temporary Medical Leave for Civil Service Employees - Amends specified Federal law to entitle civil service employees to family and temporary medical leave for specified periods. Allows such employees up to: (1) 18 administrative workweeks in any 24-month period for family leave (i.e., leave because of the birth or placement of a child or care of a sick child or parent), but such leave may not be used at a time more than 12 months after such birth or placement; and (2) 26 administrative workweeks during any 12-month period for temporary medical leave. Provides that such leave will be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave for part of such leave. Provides for protection for job position and health insurance benefits of employees using such leave. Sets forth certification provisions and prohibitions against coercion. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for administration of this title which are consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under title I of this Act. Title III: Commission on Leave - Establishes the Commission on Leave. Requires the Commission to report on its study of family and medical leave (which may include legislative recommendations concerning coverage of small businesses and alternative and equivalent State enforcement of this Act with respect to employees of local educational agencies) to the Congress within two years after the Commission first meets. Terminates the Commission within 30 days after its report to the Congress. Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth the effect of this Act on existing laws and existing employment benefits. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting more generous leave policies. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this title within 60 days. Title V: Coverage of Congressional Employees - Applies the rights and protections under title I of this Act to employees of the House of Representatives, except for the exemption concerning highly compensated employees. Requires that the remedies and procedures under the Fair Employment Practices Resolution be applied in administering such coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Flight Attendant Duty Time Act - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish limitations on duty time for flight attendants. Requires the Secretary to issue final regulations by a specified deadline. Prohibits any air carrier from operating an aircraft using a flight attendant who has been on duty in excess of specified hours or who has had less than a specified number of hours of rest if such regulations have not been promulgated by a certain time. Permits modification of the specified hours of duty if the Secretary determines such modification is in the public interest and submits a copy of the modifying regulations to certain congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to make it an unfair labor practice for an employer to offer or grant: (1) permanent replacement employee status during a labor dispute; or (2) any employment preference to an individual who worked or indicated a willingness to work during a labor dispute over an employee who exercised specified rights during such dispute and who is working for, or has unconditionally offered to return to work for, the employer.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from diminishing existing allocations of spectrum (available radio frequencies) to the amateur radio service after January 1, 1991. Requires the FCC to provide replacement spectrum to the service for any frequency reallocation after such date.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act - Makes it unlawful for any licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun to an unlicensed individual unless: (1) after the most recent proposal of such transfer by the individual, the transferor has received a statement of eligibility from the individual, has notified the chief law enforcement officer for such individual's place of residence about the proposed transfer, and either has received a response indicating that such transfer is not prohibited by law or has not received a response indicating otherwise within seven days; (2) the individual has presented to the transferor a statement from the officer, issued in the past ten days, that the individual requires a handgun because of a threat to him or his family; (3) the individual has presented to the transferor a permit to possess a handgun that has been issued in the past five years by the State in which the transfer is to take place under a State law which requires law enforcement verification of the individual's legal qualification to possess a handgun; (4) State law either requires a waiting period of at least seven days or requires that an authorized government official verifies that the information available to such official does not indicate that possession of a handgun by the purchaser would be unlawful; or (5) the transferor has received a report from any system of felon identification established by the Attorney General under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 that the individual's possession or receipt of the handgun would not violate Federal, State, or local law. Requires the statement of eligibility to include a statement that the individual: (1) is not under indictment for and has not been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; (2) is not a fugitive; (3) is not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance; (4) has not been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution; (5) is not an alien who is illegally in the United States; (6) has not been dishonorably discharged from the armed forces; and (7) is not a person who has renounced U.S. citizenship. Requires any transferor who, after a transfer, receives a report from such officer that receipt or possession of the handgun by the individual violates the law, to: (1) furnish information about the transfer and the individual to the chief law enforcement officer of the transferor's place of business and the individual's place of residence; and (2) keep confidential any information received which is not otherwise available to the public, with exceptions. Requires a transferor to retain a copy of the individual's statement. Requires the law enforcement officer to destroy any copy of the individual's sworn statement and any record containing information derived from such statement within 30 days, unless such officer determines that the transaction would violate Federal, State, or local law.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Eliminates the requirement that a Federal employee make retroactive contributions to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund upon electing survivor annuity benefits for a spouse by a post-retirement marriage. Sets forth provisions regarding the administration of this Act by the Office of Personnel Management.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Federal Bureau of Investigation First Amendment Protection Act of 1991 - Prohibits the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from initiating or conducting any investigation that may involve the collection of information about the exercise by a U.S. person of first amendment rights, except as specified. Requires the Attorney General to issue guidelines for investigations covered by this Act. Sets forth standards to be followed by the FBI in the conduct of an investigation, the disposition of any records obtained, and the periodic review of open investigations. Provides a civil remedy for any person aggrieved by a violation of this Act. Waives the provisions of this Act with respect to background investigations conducted with the consent of the subject regarding: (1) nominees to judicial and executive branch positions requiring the advice and consent of the Senate; (2) employees of the Department of Justice; or (3) the granting or retention of security clearances.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Voter Participation Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to allow an individual who is otherwise eligible to vote in a Federal election to register to vote in such election by submitting a registration form, in person or by mail, to appropriate State election officials at least 20 days before the election. Authorizes such an individual to register to vote in a Federal election at the appropriate polling place on the date of the election. Requires States to provide for maximum accessibility to registration offices and forms. Directs the Federal Election Commission to prescribe regulations to carry out this Act, taking into consideration the need for uniformity in voter registration procedures. Declares that this Act does not prevent any State from providing greater access to voter registration.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Ovarian Cancer Research Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the Director of the National Cancer Institute, to conduct or support basic research on certain aspects of ovarian cancer. Prohibits the Secretary from conducting or supporting clinical research on the same matters. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
National Health Insurance Act - Title I: Benefits and Eligibility - Makes medical, dental, podiatric, home-nursing, hospital, and auxiliary services available as benefits to eligible individuals and defines such services. Directs the National Health Insurance Board, established by this Act, to survey the resources and needs of each State and to develop in each State a program to assure maximum participation and use of health personnel and facilities. Authorizes the Board to limit health services when personnel, facilities, or funds are inadequate to ensure the provision of all services. Allows every individual eligible for personal health services available under this Act to select the physician, dentist, podiatrist, nurse, medical group, or hospital to render services and to change such selection under certain circumstances. Sets forth eligibility requirements. States that the United States shall be subrogated to all rights of an individual who receives benefits under this Act with respect to any workers' compensation injury or disability. States that Federal grants to States under title XIX (Medicaid) and part A of title IV (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of the Social Security Act shall be available to the States for provision of personal health services for noninsured needy individuals. Title II: Participation of Physicians, Dentists, Nurses, Hospitals, and Others - Prescribes criteria to govern which physicians, dentists, podiatrists, nurses, hospitals, or providers of auxiliary services will be deemed qualified to perform services under this Act. Authorizes specified State agencies to enter into agreements with qualified individuals or with organizations for the provision of personal health services. Lists provisions to be included in such agreements, including methods of payment for services. Sets standards applicable to rates or amounts of payment for services rendered as benefits under this Act. Directs that such rates and amounts be adapted to take into account relevant regional, State, or local conditions and practices. Authorizes patient limits. Allows health care providers entering into an agreement under this title to accept or reject patients. Title III: Local Administration - Decentralizes the responsibility for administration of this Act's benefit provisions to local administrative committees or local administrative officers within health-service areas designated by each State. Lists the duties of such local administrative committees or officers. Requires the establishment in each health-service area of: (1) a local area committee; and (2) local professional committees representative of the health care providers in the area to assist local administrative committees and officers. Title IV: State Administration - Expresses the intent of the Congress that this Act's benefit provisions be administered by each of the several States, in accordance with an approved plan of operations. Catalogs provisions that must be included in such a plan. Describes procedures to be followed if a State: (1) fails to submit a plan; or (2) fails to comply with an approved plan. Title V: National Health Insurance Board; National Advisory Medical Policy Council; General Administrative Provisions - Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services a National Health Insurance Board to administer the provisions of this Act. Establishes a National Advisory Medical Policy Council to advise the Board regarding matters of general policy, the formulation of regulations, and the establishment of professional standards. Requires the Board to undertake certain studies and to make reports to the Congress at specified times. Title VI: Eligibility Determinations, Complaints, Hearings, and Judicial Review - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine benefit eligibility. Describes procedures for complaint investigation and adjudication. Title VII: Application of Act to Individuals Covered Under Medicare Program - States that when an individual is entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Medicare, the personal health services available as benefits under this Act shall be limited to those services for which the individual is ineligible under the Medicare program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a study of the interrelationship between the program of national health insurance under this Act and the Medicare program. Requires that the Secretary submit to the President and to the Congress, within one year of this Act's enactment, a report of such study, along with certain findings and detailed recommendations. Title VIII: Fiscal Provisions - Declares that funds in the National Health Care Trust Fund, created by this Act, shall be available, subject to exception, for all expenditures necessary or appropriate to carry out this Act. Directs the Board to determine: (1) amounts to be made available from the Fund during a given fiscal year for the provision of various classes of personal health services benefits; and (2) allotments to be made to the States for the provision of such benefits. Sets standards to govern the Board's determinations. Authorizes the Board to make grants to: (1) certain educational institutions or agencies in order to fund endeavors that show promise of making valuable contributions to the training of personnel providing or administering benefits under this Act; and (2) certain individuals participating in courses relating to the provision or administration of personal health services benefits. Authorizes appropriations. Title IX: Miscellaneous Provisions - Defines terms used in this Act. States that personal health services shall first become available as benefits under this Act on October 1, 1992. Title X: Value Added Tax and National Health Care Trust Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a five-percent tax on the taxable amount of each taxable transaction (the sale of property, performance of services, and importing of property by a taxable person in a commercial-type transaction). Sets the tax rate at zero for: (1) retail food, principal residence housing (sale and rental), and medical care; (2) certain transactions involving governmental entities; (3) in certain circumstances, specified tax-exempt organizations. Allows as a tax credit the aggregate tax which has been paid by sellers to the taxpayer of property and services which the taxpayer uses in the business to which the transaction relates. Makes the person selling the property or services liable for the tax. Requires the seller to give the purchaser a tax invoice if the seller has reason to believe that the purchaser is a taxable person. Allows a person whose aggregate taxable transactions for the current calendar year and the next calendar year do not exceed specified amounts to elect to be treated as a non-taxable person for the next calendar year, except for: (1) sale or leasing of real property; and (2) importing. Allows the taxpayer to elect, in certain circumstances, to treat: (1) two taxable businesses as one taxable person; and (2) separate divisions of the same business as separate taxable persons. Mandates notification to the Secretary of the Treasury of any change in the form of a business which might affect the administration of taxes under this Act. Sets forth special rules relating to: (1) coordination with subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) sales which include incidental services and services which include incidental transfers of property; (3) zero rating de minimis transactions; (4) treating importing as both selling and purchasing; (5) treating subchapter S corporations as not corporations; and (6) property and services held for use. Treats as a taxable transaction: (1) personal use by an owner of business property or services; and (2) any gift of business property or services. Sets forth special rules regarding: (1) dispositions of nonbusiness real property; and (2) insurance contracts. Establishes in the Treasury the National Health Care Trust Fund. Appropriates to the Fund amounts equivalent to the amounts received from the value added tax. Allows the Fund to be used only to carry out the program of health benefits under this Act. Title XI: Study and Development of Cost Control Mechanisms - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct a study on controlling costs of benefits under this Act, including the effects of the costs on medical malpractice claims and malpractice insurance; (2) report to the Congress; and (3) implement recommendations in the report.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Comprehensive Health Care for All Americans Act (Claude Pepper Comprehensive Health Care Act) - Division A: Comprehensive Health Care Act - Comprehensive Health Care Act - Title I: Universal Eligibility and Enrollment - Makes a U.S. resident who is a lawful resident alien or a U.S. citizen or national eligible to enroll in a health plan approved by the Comprehensive Health Care (CHC) program of the State in which he or she resides. Allows the National CHC Board to make classes of nonimmigrant aliens eligible for coverage. Makes the enrollment of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) beneficiaries applicable only to benefits not covered by the Medicare program. Title II: Benefits and Providers - Lists the basic health services which health plans must provide, to which Federal funding will be limited, and which may not include items or services for which Medicare coverage is unavailable. Permits States or health plans to offer additional health care benefits. Prohibits private health insurance from duplicating basic health service coverage. Restricts limitations on the amount, duration, or scope of basic health services to be provided to enrollees. Makes Medicare provider standards applicable to providers of basic health services. Authorizes the National CHC Board to impose additional conditions on providers of high-risk, high-cost, elective, or over-utilized items or services. Title III: Financing - Sets forth the procedure for determining CHC program budgets and the formula for determining the Federal share of expenditures. Establishes a Health Security Partnership Fund for each State into which revenues to finance the CHC program shall be placed. Requires each State CHC program to make monthly payments to health plans equal to their adjusted average per capita costs for required services provided to each class of enrollee they serve. Requires providers to accept payment from health plans on an assigned basis. Directs the National CHC Board to develop financial incentives in payment methods to promote a continuum of care. Pays institutional providers pursuant to a biennial prospective budgeting system to be developed by each State. Pays physicians pursuant to payment schedules based on a national relative value scale to be developed by the National CHC Board, but allows alternative payment mechanisms if they are no more costly than the payment schedules. Makes CHC payment methodologies established in a State applicable to Medicare payments for services furnished in such State. Provides States with Federal funds for implementing their CHC programs. Limits the cost-sharing amounts health plans may charge enrollees. Bans the imposition of any cost-sharing requirements on individuals whose family income is less than 200 percent of the Federal poverty level. Establishes the Federal Long-Term Care Trust Fund from which Federal payments to States for long-term care benefits in the State shall be made. Title IV: Administration - Establishes a National CHC Board as an independent agency responsible for the overall administration of the Comprehensive Health Care Act. Directs each State to submit its CHC program to the National CHC Board for review of the program's compliance with specified requirements. Imposes sanctions against States whose program fails to meet such requirements and who fail to take corrective action within 90 days of a finding of noncompliance. Requires the National CHC Board to establish a National Commission on Quality to establish, evaluate, and update national minimum standards to assure the quality of CHC services and to monitor State CHC Boards' quality assurance efforts. Requires each State CHC Board to establish a State Commission on Quality to implement national minimum standards in each State. Directs the National CHC Board to establish a National Advisory Commission on Technology Assessment and Clinical Effectiveness to make recommendations related to the effectiveness of health care items and procedures, and the possible coverage of new drugs and technological procedures and discontinuance from coverage of inefficient procedures. Establishes a National Resources Equalization Fund to be administered by the National CHC Board and used to augment the capability of medically underdeveloped areas to provide CHC services and to strengthen their abilities to provide local services. Authorizes appropriations for such Fund. Title V: Effective Dates; Transition; Relation to Other Programs - Makes the CHC program applicable to health care services furnished during the third calendar year beginning after this Act's enactment. Authorizes appropriations for the planning and development of State CHC programs. Requires Federal Employee Health Benefit Plans to be CHC-approved. Establishes the CHC program's relationship to other health care programs, making the Medicare program the primary payor in the event of duplicative CHC program coverage and the Medicaid program (title XIX of the Social Security Act) inapplicable in States having an operative State CHC program. Division B: Life Care Long-Term Care Protection Act - Lifecare Long-Term Care Protection Act - Adds a new title to the Social Security Act: Lifecare Long-Term Care Protection Program. Requires Long-Term Care Screening Agencies to assess individuals' eligibility for home and community-based care and Long-Term Care Case Management Agencies to conduct comprehensive needs assessments of eligible individuals, develop plans of care for such individuals, review such plans at least once every three months, and maintain a registry of qualified providers of home and community-based and nursing home care to assist individuals in choosing qualified providers to carry out their care plan. Sets the method for determining State fund contributions. Requires that the family be treated as a partner in the provision of long-term care. Sets forth eligibility requirements for home and community-based care services, including requirements that the individual be: (1) 65 or older, under age 19, or eligible for benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act as the result of a disability; and (2) dependent, cognitively impaired, or unable to perform daily living activities without assistance or supervision. Enumerates the criteria for receipt of respite care benefits. Lists those entities considered to be qualified service providers, including adult day health care centers certified by the State. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to make monthly payments to each case management agency equal to amounts allotted by the screening agency for eligible individuals in the case management agency's jurisdiction. Requires such agencies to make direct payments to qualified providers of home and community-based care which shall be accepted as payment in full for such services. Limits payments for home health and community-based care for the next three years to 65 percent of the average amount payable for Medicare nursing home care and, for subsequent years, to the costs of nursing home care minus the costs of room and board. Allots payments among individuals on the basis of severity of need with chronically ill individuals receiving amounts equivalent to Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) payments for institutional care. Establishes the Home and Community-Based Care Advisory Council to review and assist the Secretary in the implementation of home and community-based care. Requires States to establish quality assurance boards to monitor quality of care and a community advisory board for each case management agency. Establishes a home and community-based care consumers' bill of rights. Imposes quality assurance requirements on providers of such care, including the requirement that they implement consumer grievance review mechanisms, ensure that their employees and other providers whom they have under contract have received adequate training, and annually evaluate the care furnished by such employees and providers. Establishes certification procedures for a survey of home care agencies, home health agencies, and adult day care health centers to determine eligibility for participation in the program under this Act. Outlines reimbursement procedures. Provides, subject to certain limitations, for nursing facility services for up to six months for individuals who are eligible for home and community-based care services. Allows additional nursing home coverage if: (1) the individual has not been an inpatient for at least six consecutive months; (2) the diagnosis is different; or (3) there has been a substantial worsening of the individual's condition since the latest discharge. Directs the Secretary to establish an optional insurance program for individuals 45 and over to cover nursing home stays that exceed six months. Prescribes procedures for setting premium rates and requires annual rate revisions by the Secretary. States that the rates are expected to cover 45 percent of the estimated nursing home costs of stays exceeding six months. Covers a portion of a low-income individuals' premium and room and board costs. Requires the Secretary to give individuals the option of purchasing coverage of nursing home stays exceeding six months without regard to age. Requires the Secretary, to the extent feasible, to establish a prospective payment mechanism for payment of nursing home services that takes into account the expected resource utilization of the patient based on the degree of disability and other factors. Requires the making of grants to schools of nursing, social work, allied health, and public health of universities to develop training programs for the provision of home and community-based care and nursing home care for the elderly, the disabled, and chronically ill children, and in the administration of such programs. Authorizes appropriations. Requires that grants be made to State-approved programs to train individuals in the provision of home health aide services. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the making of grants to university schools of nursing to develop model consumer training programs regarding the delivery of home care services. Authorizes appropriations. Requires that grants or contracts be made to assist public and private nonprofit entities in meeting the costs of developing centers for multidisciplinary health planning development and assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct demonstration projects to determine the relative effectiveness, cost, and impact on quality of long-term home care of using different models of providing and reimbursing long-term home care services for seriously mentally ill individuals and family caregivers. Authorizes appropriations from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Mandates demonstration projects on the feasibility of providing long-term home care benefits for working-age individuals with severe functional limitations. Directs the Secretary to make specified amounts available from such Fund. Division C: Grants to States for Establishment and Implementation of State Health Objectives Plans - Health Objectives 2000 Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for allotments to States for developing and implementing a plan to develop and collect data on the public health needs and status of State residents. Requires the plan to provide, for FY 1993 and thereafter, for use of the allotments for additional purposes described in specified provisions relating to preventive health and health services block grants. Requires the State plan to contain, among other elements, a set of at least five State health objectives chosen from the National Health Priorities described by the Secretary under this Act. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) the National Health Objectives Advisory Committee; (2) National Health Priorities (NHPs) to form the basis for all activities that receive assistance under this Act; (3) from the NHPs, a set of Core Priorities that shall be included in each State Plan; and (4) an estimate of the personnel and training needed to accomplish the NHPs. Directs the Secretary, from the amounts made available for allotments, to use: (1) a limited amount for the professional training of public health personnel; and (2) remaining amounts to assist research, pilot and demonstration projects, and programs the Secretary determines to show the potential impact of regional or national significance with respect to NHPs. Repeals specified provisions relating to preventive health and health services block grants. Division D: Independence for Older Americans - Independence for Older Americans Act - Title I: Geriatric Research and Training Centers - Amends the Public Health Service Act to modify the purposes, affiliations, and activities of Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers (formerly centers of geriatric research and training). Title II: Availability of Information to Health Professionals, Older Americans, and the General Public - Directs the Secretary to prepare a comprehensive plan for a National Independence for Older Americans Information Program. Provides for the establishment of an information clearinghouse, a toll-free telephone communications system, and public information campaigns concerning the maintenance and improvement of the health and independence of older Americans. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title. Title III: Prevention of and Recovery from Chronic Illness - Requires the National Institute on Aging to support research, and report to the Congress on the most effective: (1) techniques of geriatric assessment; (2) method of targeting comprehensive geriatric assessment to appropriate populations of older persons to determine their health care needs; and (3) means of providing for such needs to maximize health and independence. Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) model techniques to aid in the prevention and rehabilitation of older persons from frailty and other mobility problems; and (2) model curricula for the health professions for training in the use of such techniques. Authorizes the National Institute on Aging to establish up to five demonstration programs at Comprehensive Independence Research Training and Demonstration Centers to prevent the loss of mobility and to help frail older persons regain independence, using existing and experimental techniques. Directs the Secretary to conduct research on the extent to which falls are associated with the loss of an individual's confidence in functioning independently and his or her need for long-term care. Requires the Secretary to develop and report to the Congress on the development of: (1) model techniques to aid in the recovery and rehabilitation of older persons from chronic and debilitating illness; and (2) model curricula for the health professions for training in the use of such techniques. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this title. Title IV: Research on Health, Retirement, and Independence - Directs the Secretary to: (1) commence a ten-year health and retirement history survey; and (2) establish an advisory panel on data collection to review existing government surveys and census data to coordinate information on the health and retirement status of older Americans. Requires the National Center for Health Statistics to: (1) include persons age 75 and over in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; (2) develop questions related to health promotion and disease prevention for older persons for inclusion in the National Health Interview Survey and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; and (3) develop questions related to the health promotion and disease prevention practices of health care providers with special relevance to older persons for inclusion in the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Directs the National Institute on Aging to request proposals from individual and team investigators on behavioral, social, and environmental mechanisms for promoting the health and independence of older Americans. Authorizes appropriations for carrying out this title. Title V: Authorization of Appropriations for NIH - Authorizes appropriations to be added to the National Institute on Aging and other institutes in proportion to their current spending levels on aging research. Division E: Authorization of Additional Funds for Research for AIDS, Hypertension, Sickle Cell Anemia, Infant Mortality, and Breast Cancer - Authorizes additional appropriations for research for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), hypertension, sickle cell anemia, infant mortality, and breast cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to permit the deferral of payments on student loans during professional internships of any duration (by removing a two-year limitation).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Guam Commonwealth Act - Title I: Political Relationship - Creates the Commonwealth of Guam. Grants the people of Guam the right of full self-government through adoption of a Constitution, consistent with U.S. sovereignty over Guam and the supremacy of U.S. law applicable to Guam, and within specified guidelines. Recognizes the right of self-determination of the people of Guam. Directs the U.S. Government, through additional federally-funded programs, to promote preservation of the Chamorro culture, enhanced economic, social, and educational opportunities for Chamorros, and training of Chamorros for employment. Provides that nothing in this Act or the Constitution of Guam shall impair the U.S. citizenship of the residents of Guam or their descendants or their rights and privileges as U.S. citizens under the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Directs Guam to establish a land trust for the benefit of the indigenous Chamorro people and to establish residency requirements under the Constitution of Guam for voting and holding elective office. Allows this Act to be modified only with the mutual consent of the Governments of the United States and Guam. Title II: Applicability of Federal Law - Makes specified provisions of, and amendments to, the U.S. Constitution applicable to Guam, in addition to those portions which currently apply. Makes Federal laws, rules, or regulations passed after the date of this Act inapplicable unless mutually consented to by the Governments of the United States and Guam. Creates the Joint Commission on the Applicability of Federal Law. Specifies its duties, including: (1) participating in consultations between the Governments of the United States and Guam; (2) studying existing statutes and regulations affecting the U.S.-Guam relationship; (3) reviewing policies and procedures of Federal agencies relating to such relationship; (4) compiling data; (5) drafting modifications in existing laws, regulations, policies, and procedures and obtaining such modifications by negotiation and mediation concerning issues such as land claims and war claims; and (6) seeking to obtain maximum economic development and political autonomy for Guam, consistent with U.S. security interests. Provides that the United States will bear the cost of the work of the Commission. Authorizes the President or his designee to delegate to the Governor of Guam total or partial performance of functions now vested in Federal administrative agencies. Title III: Foreign Affairs and Defense - Grants the United States responsibility for authority with respect to matters relating to foreign affairs and defense that affect Guam. Provides for U.S. consultation with Guam in advance of negotiations toward any treaties or international or executive agreements affecting Guam, and with respect to proposals to increase or decrease Department of Defense activities within Guam. Prohibits the establishment of military security zones or the stationing of foreign military personnel on the Island of Guam without the approval of the Government of Guam except in time of declared war, or the establishment of military bases without consultation with the Governor. Provides for U.S. assistance to Guam in the establishment of offices in the United States and abroad, in becoming a member or participant in appropriate regional and international organizations, and in obtaining from other countries favorable treatment for exports. Prohibits the United States from using the Island of Guam or the water surrounding it for the dumping or storage of nuclear waste or hazardous chemicals. Provides for the clean up by the United States of chemical dump sites used by the military in the past. Requires the United States to compensate any person injured as a result of hazardous materials stored, used, or disposed of by the U.S. Government in Guam or its waters. Title IV: Courts - Specifies provisions governing the relations between U.S. courts and the local courts of Guam, the jurisdiction of the District Court of Guam, and the applicable district court rules. Provides for the appointment of a judge for the District Court of Guam, a U.S. attorney, and a U.S. marshal for Guam. Title V: Trade - Establishes a Guam-United States free trade area, under which neither party may impose duties, quotas, or other restrictions on each other's products, nor shall the United States treat products of Guam as having originated in any other country. Defines "products of Guam" to mean articles that contain at least 30 percent value added in Guam, and specifies costs included in value added. Authorizes Guam to impose, increase, reduce, or eliminate duties and other restrictions on: (1) products that originate outside the customs territory of the United States and that are imported into Guam; and (2) exports from Guam, whether or not products of Guam. Requires the Governor of Guam to certify that the origin of "products of Guam" is, in fact, Guam, and provides for customs inspections of products brought into the United States. Title VI: Taxation - Makes U.S. income tax laws applicable to Guam. Deems such laws to impose a separate tax, payable to the Government of Guam, to be known as the Guam Commonwealth income tax. Grants the Governor the same administrative and enforcement powers and remedies with regard to such tax (pursuant to the laws of Guam) as the Secretary of the Treasury and other executive branch officials have with respect to the U.S. income tax. Sets forth similar enforcement authority with respect to criminal violations, tax liens, and suits to recover erroneously or illegally assessed taxes. Grants the District Court of Guam exclusive jurisdiction over all judicial proceedings in Guam, both criminal and civil, with respect to such tax. Allows the Government of Guam to provide for the rebate or reduction of taxes in order to assist new industries or economic development. Grants Guam the power to determine the nature and amount of taxes imposed upon the income and property of persons within its jurisdiction. Repeals applicable U.S. tax laws one year after Guam has enacted a replacement comprehensive local income tax. Exempts all bonds or other obligations issued by Guam from taxation by Federal, State, or local governments of the United States. Title VII: Immigration - Applies the Immigration and Nationality Act and pertinent Federal regulations to Guam for two years from enactment of this Act. Directs Guam to enact a comprehensive law on immigration to become effective at the end of the two-year period. Provides that such law shall not impair the free movement of U.S. citizens to and from Guam, include the authority to naturalize aliens for U.S. citizenship, or alter the Governor's authority to issue U.S. passports. Authorizes U.S. consular officials to issue visas for travel only to Guam for any alien seeking to enter Guam as a non-immigrant in order to encourage investors and tourists to come to Guam. Title VIII: Labor - Grants preference to qualified residents of Guam in all Federal civil service vacancies occurring in Guam. Grants Guam the authority to enact and enforce all laws regulating or affecting employment in Guam. Provides that all pertinent U.S. laws regulating employment on Guam on the effective date of this Act shall remain applicable until replaced by duly enacted law of the Guam Legislature. Title IX: Transportation and Telecommunications - Precludes application of any U.S. law barring the U.S. registration and use of any foreign-built vessel within the waters around Guam for any purpose. Exempts from the coastwise laws of the United States any shipment of fish or fish products from Guam to any U.S. coastwise destination. Directs the Commission periodically to examine the applicability of such laws and to recommend termination of their applicability upon determining that such laws constrain Guam's economic development. Authorizes the Governor of Guam to sponsor any qualified air service carrier to come to Guam, subject to presidential consultation concerning U.S. foreign policy and security interests. Exempts Guam from all bilateral treaties between the United States and foreign states with respect to scheduling and technical specifications of aircraft, other than safety requirements. Provides that Guam shall remain an "eligible point" for purposes of being ensured essential air transportation to and from the United States. Defines Guam as "domestic" for Federal Communications Commission rate setting purposes. Title X: Land, Natural Resources and Utilities - Grants the Government of Guam the power of eminent domain. Grants Guam jurisdiction over all natural resources of the seabed, subsoil, tidelands, and adjacent territorial waters of the Island of Guam. Sets limits on U.S. acquisition of real property on Guam. Exempts Guam from Federal regulations governing the transfer or sale of excess Federal real property. Provides for the transfer of all excess Federal property to Guam, with specified exceptions. Provides for access and use by the residents of Guam of certain retained Federal property, subject to military security requirements. Authorizes the granting of easements on such property to the Government of Guam in specified circumstances. Directs the United States to transfer ownership of island utilities to Guam. Title XI: United States Financial Assistance - Provides for the return of U.S. revenues from taxes and fees collected in Guam or from its residents or products to the Government of Guam. Makes U.S. laws providing Federal benefits and financial assistance which are applicable to the States likewise applicable to Guam on an equal basis. Directs the Governor of Guam, in preparing an annual budget, to identify the costs and benefits to Guam brought about by its role as one of the principal U.S. military bases. Requires the Governor to submit such information to the Guam Legislature and the Office of Management and Budget for use in reviewing the Governor's request for appropriations for the annual Federal payment to Guam, which request the Governor shall submit to the President for transmission to the Congress each year. Provides for assistance to aid Guam's transition to a Commonwealth, including: (1) U.S. financing of the costs of institutional changes connected with the change in Guam's political relationship with the United States; (2) help in meeting the capital needs of Guam necessary for long-term, self-sustaining development; and (3) establishing an economic development fund to assist expansion of the private sector. Title XII: Technical Amendments and Interpretation - Makes technical and conforming amendments. Calls for this Act to be interpreted liberally to accomplish its purpose of providing for complete, internal self-government for Guam. Requires this Act to be submitted to the registered voters of Guam for ratification after being passed by the Congress. Repeals the Organic Act of Guam.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Federal Employees' Political Activities Act of 1991 - Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of any election. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority to intimidate, threaten, coerce, command, or influence: (1) any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of any individual to vote as the individual may choose, or of causing any individual to vote, or not to vote, for any candidate or measure in any election; (2) any person to give or withhold any political contribution; or (3) any person to engage, or not to engage, in any form of political activity. Prohibits an employee from using, attempting to use, or permitting the use of any official information, unless such information is available to the general public. Prohibits an employee from: (1) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or to refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; or (3) giving or handing over a political contribution to a superior of the employee. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving, or from being in any manner concerned with soliciting, accepting, or receiving, a political contribution: (1) from another employee (or a member of another employee's immediate family) with respect to whom the employee is a superior; or (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official or an individual receiving salary or compensation from the Treasury. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution from, or giving a political contribution to, any person who: (1) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employing agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by that agency; or (3) has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance of the employee's official duties. Directs the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board to prescribe regulations which exempt employees from such prohibitions. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Authorizes leave without pay or accrued annual leave to an employee who is a candidate, upon request, to allow such employee to engage in activities relating to that candidacy. Declares that such request may be denied if the exigencies of the public business so require. Declares that such employee may be required to take leave without pay or accrued annual leave in order to be a candidate if activities relating to the candidacy interfere with the employee's performance of duties. Applies this Act to postal employees and employees of the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the requirement that the amount of monthly benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent be reduced by the amount such individual receives in monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that payment under a life insurance contract to an insured who is terminally ill be treated as a death benefit, making such payment eligible for exclusion from gross income. Provides that any reference to life insurance shall be treated as referring to a qualified terminal illness rider. Provides for the tax treatment of such riders. Describes such a rider as one which provides for payments to an insured upon the insured's becoming terminally ill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a 100 percent tax on income from frozen Iraqi assets. Authorizes the President to modify such tax if the armed forces of Iraq withdraw from Kuwait within the time and in the manner determined by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer a tax credit for 20 percent of qualified mammography screening costs. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish standards to assure the safety and accuracy of such mammography screening.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Provides that the United States shall continue to support multinational efforts to maintain economic sanctions against Iraq until all Iraqi forces and personnel are withdrawn from Kuwait. Bars the U.S. armed forces from engaging in offensive military action against nonmilitary or military targets or forces in Iraq or Kuwait for at least one year.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Directs the President to furnish to the House of Representatives specified documents discussing: (1) estimated casualties that would be suffered by U.S. military personnel or by military and civilian personnel of other countries in combat operations under Operation Desert Shield; (2) the possibility that a U.S. combat operation would be the catalyst for a wider, regional conflict; (3) the long-term effects of exposure to the biological and chemical weapons now available to the Iraqi Government or the effects of attacking Iraqi facilities that produce such weapons or components of such weapons; (4) the effect of an armed conflict on the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf region to the United States, our Western allies, or Japan; (5) possible targets of terrorist activity as a result of U.S. participation in combat activities in the Persian Gulf or estimated casualties of possible terrorist activities within the United States as a result of such activities; (6) U.S. efforts to obtain or increase the participation of other countries in Operation Desert Shield, the commitments obtained, and any tradeoffs agreed upon; (7) budgetary options for paying for Operation Desert Shield; and (8) options regarding a post-conflict Iraq should a military conflict occur, including the possibility of a permanent United States or United Nations presence in Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control to conduct continuing oversight and review of the problems of narcotics, drug, and polydrug abuse and control.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in furtherance of the shared responsibility of the executive and legislative branches to oversee and develop energy efficiency and conservation policies, the Congress: (1) urges the President to convene a national energy summit including experts on the environment and energy from both governmental and private sectors; and (2) believes the National Energy Strategy being developed by the Department of Energy should be an important part of the discussion at the energy summit.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1986
Omnibus Job Training and Retraining Act of 1986 - Title I: Unemployment Compensation and Related Matters - Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act - Subtitle A: Improved Program of Extended Unemployment Compensation - Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 to revise formulas for determining the amount and number of weeks of extended unemployment compensation for which an individual is eligible. Revises provisions duration periods for purposes of such formulas. Revises formulas for payments to States. Amends the Social Security Act to authorize appropriations for additional transfers to the extended unemployment compensation account. Directs the Secretary of Labor, within 18 months of the date of enactment of this Act, to implement a program of job training and extended benefits. Subtitle B: Worker Adjustment and Retraining - Establishes the Worker Retraining and Adjustment Fund in the Treasury. Provides that amounts in such Fund shall be available, as provided in appropriation Acts, to carry out title III (Employment and Training Assistance for Dislocated Workers) of the Job Training Partnership Act. Provides that revenues for such Fund shall be through imposition of a uniform duty on all imports and through funds received under certain unemployment taxes. Subtitle C: Advance Notice and Adjustment Assistance - Labor Management Notification and Adjustment Assistance Act of 1986 - Prohibits any employer from ordering a plant closing or mass layoff until 90 days after the employer serves written notice of a proposal to issue such an order to: (1) the representative of the affected employees or, if none, to each affected employee; and (2) the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Provides for reduction of such notification period if unavoidable business circumstances prevent the employer from withholding such closing or layoff until the end of such period. Amends title III of the Job Training Partnership Act to reserve ten percent of funds under such title to provide assistance for worker readjustment and placement committees which are established by employers who must give notice of plant closing or mass layoffs. Provides that such committees shall facilitate and coordinate the readjustment or relocation of workers through retraining counseling, placement, human resource, community, education, and other services. Subtitle D: Provision Relating to Regular Unemployment Compensation - Authorizes States to establish short-time compensation programs under their unemployment compensation law and encourages them to do so in accordance with specified provision of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. Repeals outdated provisions of such Act. Subtitle E: Additional Assistance for Dislocated Workers - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish and maintain the capacity to estimate the employment and unemployment impact of Federal programs, and the termination of Federal programs, including programs of financial assistance. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to set forth special provisions for dislocated workers with respect to Pell Grants. Directs the Secretary of Education, where a student is a certified dislocated worker, to disregard: (1) all equity in a single principal place of residence from the computation of assets; and (2) the amount of unemployment benefits paid to such student from the computation of effective income. Authorizes appropriations to pay the additional entitlement to dislocated workers resulting from such amendments. Prohibits payment of such entitlements unless funds for them are provided for in an appropriation Act. Revises guaranteed student loan provisions to provide that, in the case of an identified dislocated worker, determinations of need shall be based on current income. Authorizes the private industry council in each service delivery area to provide information concerning training opportunities, as well as opportunities provided under amendments made by this subtitle. Provides that acceptance of training and retraining, and enrollment in a postsecondary institution with assistance made available pursuant to the amendments made by this subtitle, shall be deemed to be acceptance of training with the approval of the State within the meaning of any other provision of Federal law relating to unemployment benefits. Subtitle F: Demonstration Projects and Reports - Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into an agreement with at least three States to carry out a demonstration project concerning extended unemployment compensation for sub-State areas. Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into an agreement with at least five States to carry out a demonstration project to promote training programs for individuals receiving unemployment compensation. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish, before July 1, 1987, and carry out during FY 1987 through 1991 a demonstration project to assist at least six States to improve: (1) employment testing, counseling, referral, and listing services for the unemployed, including reopening of employment service offices; and (2) coordination with other State, Federal, and private programs designed to assist the unemployed. Directs the Secretary of Labor, before the end of the six-month period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to report to the Congress on the nationwide computerized job bank and matching program. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish before July 1, 1987, and carry out during FY 1987 and 1988 a demonstration project to assist from two to four States in improving their ability to: (1) identify individuals receiving employment compensation who have speical difficulties associated with obtaining employment; and (2) provide additional counseling, testing, and other activities that will assist such individuals in obtaining employment. Directs the Secretary of Labor to enter into an agreement with two to four States for a demonstration project under which unemployed individuals have the option of receiving job search and relocation assistance or self-employment assistance in lieu of regular unemployment compensation to which they are entitled. Directs the Secretary of Labor to conduct a study of one cause or causes of the difference between the total unemployment rate and the insured unemployment rate. Requires the Secretary to report on such study to the Congress within six months after the enactment of this Act, including recommendations for Federal legislative action for increasing the number of individuals receiving unemployment compensation. Permits the Secretary of Labor to obligate a expend amounts for any purpose under this subtitle only to the extent that funds are available for such purpose. Title II: Work Opportunities and Retraining of AFDC Recipients - Work Opportunities and Retraining Compact of 1986 - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require AFDC applicants and recipients to register with a State agency for employment counseling, training, and assignment. Authorizes AFDC recipients to refuse employment which results in a net loss in their income. Directs an agency of each State to: (1) establish a single intake and registration process for AFDC applicants and recipients; (2) determine whether training or education is needed to prepare registered applicants and recipients for employment and then provide counseling regarding prospects and needs; (3) arrange for participation in one or more of the work-related programs established under title IV of the Act or other Federal law, while coordinating such programs to enhance the availability and efficiency of services provided; and (4) develop an employment plan for each AFDC applicant or recipient. Requires the State agency to provide AFDC applicants and recipients assigned to employment, training, or education programs with child care and transportation services. Sets the Federal contribution to education, training, and assignment costs at 70 percent and the Federal share of administrative and support service costs at 50 percent. Increases, by five percent in any fiscal year after FY 1987, the Federal share of education, training, and assignment costs, provided a State meets certain performance standards to be developed by the Office of Technology Assessment. Provides that such standards shall measure a State's success in reducing welfare costs and helping AFDC recipients achieve self-sufficiency, while accounting for differing conditions among the States. Title III: Community Youth Learn and Earn - Community Youth Learn and Earn Act - Amends title II (Training Service for the Disadvantaged) of the Job Training Partnership Act to add a new part C, Community Youth Learn and Earn Programs. Sets forth provisions for allotments to States and within State allocations. Sets a 12 through 21 age limitation on dropout prevention programs. Provides that a requirement that an individual be economically disadvantaged shall not apply to programs of school to work transition assistance. Requires the appropriate private industry council and local educational agency for each service delivery area desiring to receive an allocation to submit to the State designated agency a plan for the use of funds. Permits part C funds to be used for specified activities and for: (1) a stay-in-school program; (2) a youth career service program; and (3) a community youth services corps. Sets forth administrative provisions and provisions for the Federal share of part C programs. Authorizes appropriations for part C for FY 1987 through 1991. Title IV: National Campaign to End Illiteracy - National Campaign to End Illiteracy Act - Directs the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the States, to conduct a nationwide survey of the incidence and degree of adult illiteracy. Provides for allotment of funds to States to conduct State literacy surveys and to develop State literacy plans. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States with approved plans to pay the Federal share of the cost of establishing or expanding literacy education programs to be carried out by local education agencies and by public or private agencies, organizations, and institutions. Sets forth allotment formulas based on relative number of unemployed individual and illiterate adults. Sets forth requirements for State plans. Sets the Federal share of 50 percent of the cost of the State programs. Directs the Secretary to support applied research, development, demonstration, dissemination, evaluation, and related activities which will contribute to the improvement and expansion of literacy education in the United States. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1988 for grants for surveys and development of plans. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1989 through 1994 for grants for literacy programs. Title V: Educational and Training Assistance for Workers - Subtitle A: Exclusion of Educational Assistance from Gross Income - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal a provision which terminated the exclusion of educational assistance from gross income. Limits the maximum annual exclusion for educational assistance to $5,000, except in the case of graduate students engaged in teaching or research activities. Subtitle B: Individual Training Accounts - Establishes a national individual training account program to provide incentives to employers and employees to invest in a system of individual training account to defray the costs of employee training in the event an employee becomes or is about to become involuntarily unemployed. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to enter into an agreement with any State, or with any agency administering the unemployment compensation laws of any State, under which such State or agency shall: (1) issue and redeem vouchers to pay training and relocation expenses; (2) accept contributions from employers and employees for deposit into individual training accounts and distribute any amount in any such account at specified times; (3) provide individual counseling or job and training referral services to any program participant; and (4) cooperate with Federal officers or any other State in carrying out the purposes of this subtitle. Outlines the duties of the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the Treasury in carrying out this subtitle. Sets forth provisions relating to distrubtion from individual training accounts. Sets forth provisions for certification of eligible training programs by the Secretary of Labor. Sets forth provisions for approval of qualified relocation expenses by the Secretary of Labor. Amends the Social Security Act to establish individual training accounts as separate book account in the Unemployment Trust Fund. Subtitle C: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 Relating to Individual Training Accounts - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require approval of a State individual training account program for approval of State unemployment compensation laws. Sets forth requirements for approval of State individual training account programs. Allows employee and employer tax deductions for contributions to individual training accounts. Provides for no reduction in Federal unemployment tax in the case of large (25 or more employees) employers who refuse to participate in the national individual training account program. Subtitle D: Amendment to Title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 - Amends the Higher Education of 1965 Act to rename title I as Postsecondary Programs for Non-Traditional Students. Provides for institutional development grants (for working and non-traditional students, parents, and adults). Establishes off-campus education program grants for postsecondary institutions. Provides for adult and continuing education staff development. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 for such program and planning grants. Requires at least 55 percent of such funds to be available for institutional development grants. Requires evaluation of the above programs and reports on such evaluations. Establishes a program of adult learning research. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991 to cary out national programs of evaluation and adult learning research. Title VI: National Partnership for Training Council - Establishes in the executive branch as an independent agency the National Partnership for Training Council to facilitate cooperative activities between business, labor, and government. Repeals Job Training Partnership Act provisions relating to the National Commission for Employment Policy. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1986
Child Victim Witness Protection Act of 1986 - Amends the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 to authorize the Attorney General to make additional annual grants and other payments from the Crime Victims Fund to States for the protection of victims of child sexual abuse. Makes a State eligible for assistance if such State has enacted statutes with respect to the investigation and adjudication of child abuse which: (1) minimize the additional trauma to the child victim; and (2) improve the chances of successful criminal prosecution or legal action. Requires that such assistance be used to implement these statutes. Establishes a formula based on State population to determine the amount of the State's allotment. Requires the Attorney General to use up to $12,000,000 from the Crime Victims Fund each fiscal year for this purpose. Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to increase the level of the Crime Victims Fund. Directs the Attorney General to acquire statistical data for 1987 and 1988 regarding the incidence of child sexual abuse and annually publish a summary of such data.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should direct the Secretary of Education to form a National Task Force on the Problem of Functional Illiteracy.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should attend a summit meeting of the leaders of the "front-line states" that border South Africa to discuss Southern Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1986
Provides for the continuation of the three-year income tax basis recovery rule with respect to annuities of Federal employee contributions to Federal retirement systems. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to report to specified congressional committees on the effects of a retroactive repeal of such rule on the Federal workforce.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1986
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Services Research Act of 1986 - Title I: Council on Alzheimer's Disease - Establishes the Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease as a Council of the Department of Health and Human Services through FY 1991. Sets forth the duties of such Council which include assisting the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment in developing a coordinated agenda for the activities authorized by this Act and in making necessary adjustments in planned research programs. Directs the Council to report to the Congress and the public within nine months of enactment of this Act on the proposed agenda, and annually thereafter regarding the Alzheimer's disease research authorized by this Act. Title II: National Institute on Aging - Requires the National Institute on Aging to initiate a services-relevant research program on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias which stresses research in: (1) epidemiology and the identification of risk factors in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias; and (2) the development and evaluation of reliable and valid multidimensional diagnostic and assessment procedures and instruments. Directs the National Institute on Aging to: (1) cooperate with the Council in coordinating its program with the others authorized by this Act; and (2) disseminate its findings. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991. Title III: National Institute of Mental Health - Requires the National Institute of Mental Health to initiate a services-relevant research program on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias which stresses research in: (1) mental health services relevant to the problems associated with such dementias; (2) discovery of the optimal range and cost effectiveness of community and institutional services relevant to such dementias; (3) assessment of the efficacy of the various special care units developing around the country for Alzheimer's disease victims; (4) discovery of the ways formal support services provided by health care professionals can be combined with informal support services provided by family and friends as well as ways to provide relief to family caregivers; and (5) discovery of the best methods of delivering the varied services available to dementia victims. Directs the National Institute of Mental Health to: (1) cooperate with the Council in coordinating its program with the others authorized by this Act; and (2) disseminate its findings. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991. Title IV: National Center for Health Services Research - Requires the National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment to initiate a services-relevant research program on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias which: (1) inventories and analyzes existing data sets and studies relevant to such dementias; and (2) develops estimates of costs borne by dementia patients and their families, stressing what distinguishes the needs of dementia victims from the needs of other patients with long-term care needs. Directs the National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment to: (1) cooperate with at the Council in coordinating its program with the others authorized by this Act; and (2) disseminate its findings. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991. Title V: Dissemination - Directs the National Institute on Aging to establish a clearinghouse to organize and disseminate services-relevant information on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and annually publish a summary of such information. Requires the Institute to establish a project, through a grant or contract with a nonprofit organization, to assist it in disseminating nontechnical information about State and private initiatives providing care to Alzheimer's disease victims and support to families caring for such individuals. Requires such nonprofit organization to demonstrate that it will undertake activities to become financially independent at the close of FY 1991. Directs the Institute to: (1) compile information and translate research and technical information about government and private sector initiatives relating to services for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias; and (2) establish a national toll-free telephone line for information dissemination, but set an appropriate fee for other information dissemination. Provides for clearinghouse reports summarizing the findings of the research programs mandated by this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1986
Arms Export Reform Act of 1986 - Requires the President to submit to the Congress a certification in the case of any letter of offer under the Arms Export Control Act, any application for an export license, and any lease or loan agreement relating to certain military equipment regardless of the dollar amount involved in such sale, export, lease, or loan, specifically: (1) turbine-powered military aircraft, rockets, missiles, anti-aircraft artillery, and associated control target acquisition and electronic warfare equipment and software; (2) helicopters designed or equipped for combat operations; (3) main battle tanks and nuclear-capable artillery; and (4) submarines, aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, frigates, destroyers, and auxiliary warships. Sets forth the information to be contained in the President's certification to the Congress. Prohibits the issuance of any such letter of offer and export license and the making of any such lease or loan to: (1) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, any member country of such Organization, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, or any country which is a party to the Camp David Accords, or an agreement based on such Accords, if the Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval within 15 days of receiving the certification; and (2) to any other country or international organization unless the Congress enacts a joint resolution or other provision of law authorizing such sale, export, lease, or loan. Declares that the congressional actions described in the previous sentence shall not be required if the President states in the certification that an emergency exists which requires the proposed sale, export, lease, or loan. Provides for expedited consideration of such joint resolutions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1986
Prohibits an agency from requesting or requiring that an employee submit to a drug test unless at least two individuals having supervisory or oversight authority with respect to such employee concur that: (1) the employee's performance is impaired; and (2) there is reason to believe the impairment is due to the employee's being under the influence of a controlled substance. Declares that an employee having a positive result in a drug test may be requested or required to submit to a confirmatory drug test. Authorizes an agency to take action against any employee who tests out positive in a confirmatory drug test, or who refuses to submit to a confirmatory drug test. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to establish general guidelines to carry out this Act. Authorizes persons aggrieved by a violation of this Act to bring a civil action in the appropriate U.S. district court. Declares that employees subject to collective bargaining agreements shall not be subject to drug tests: (1) if, or to the extent, such tests would violate such agreement; or (2) if drug tests are not covered by such agreement, unless or until there has been consultation in accordance with applicable law. Declares that this Act does not apply to employees of the Central Intelligency or the National Security Agency. Makes this Act applicable to an executive agency, a military department, a court of the United States, the Administrative Office of the United States, the Library of Congress, the Botanic Garden, and the Government Printing Office.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1986
Pornography Victims Protection Act of 1986 - Amends the Federal criminal code with respect to the prohibition against the sexual exploitation of children to add as a condition triggering Federal penalties that the person concerned know that a minor was transported in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of producing pornography. Makes it a criminal offense for any person to coerce, intimidate, or fraudulently induce an individual 18 years or older to engage in any sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of producing any visual depiction of such conduct. Grants the U.S. district courts jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General or any person threatened with loss or damage by such conduct to institute a civil suit. Provides for treble damages for a victim who suffers physical injury, emotional distress, or property damage. Imposes civil penalties for violation of the prohibition against sexual exploitation of children.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1986
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should convene a summit meeting of world leaders to adopt a program against international terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 15 August 1986
Satellite Television Security and Fair Marketing Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to subject any person who willfully or maliciously interferes with the operation of any satellite or the transmission of any satellite communication to up to a $250,000 fine and ten years' imprisonment. Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to commence an inquiry into equipment, methods, and systems for detecting and preventing such violations and other satellite communication signal interferences. Requires any person who encrypts any satellite cable programming for private viewing: (1) to make such programming available for private viewing by home satellite antenna users; (2) if such person uses cable systems to distribute such programming to home satellite antenna users, to not restrict such systems from selling outside of their franchised areas, to not discriminate in price, terms, or conditions based on whether sale of such programming is for cable subscribers or home satellite antenna users, to establish reasonable financial and character criteria under which noncable distributors may qualify to distribute such programming to home satellite antenna users, and to not discriminate among different distributors offering similar distribution services; and (3) to conduct such encryption according to FCC- approved standards designed to comply with specified criteria. Authorizes aggrieved persons to commence civil actions to enforce this Act. Defines "home satellite antenna user" and "reasonable financial and character criteria" for purposes of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 August 1986
Prevention, Identification, and Treatment of Elder Abuse Act of 1986 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an office known as the National Clearinghouse on Elder Abuse to: (1) compile an annual summary of recently conducted research on elder abuse; (2) develop and maintain an information clearinghouse on all programs for the prevention and treatment of such abuse; (3) compile training materials for personnel engaged in elder abuse prevention; (4) provide technical assistance for the planning and implementation of programs relating to the problems of elder abuse; and (5) investigate the causes and national incidence of elder abuse. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to or enter into contracts with public agencies or nonprofit organizations for demonstration projects designed to prevent and treat elder abuse. Sets forth the terms and conditions for such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for the development and implementation of elder abuse prevention and treatment programs. Requires such States to have in effect a State elder abuse law with mandatory reporting provisions. Sets forth other requirements for eligibility. Prohibits the use of assistance for construction of facilities. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria to achieve equitable distribution of assistance among the States. Authorizes appropriations.
![Official portrait of Rep. Abercrombie, Neil [D-HI-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/a000014_200.jpg)