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United States · Official source
1,312 records where Rep. Anthony, Beryl, Jr. [D-AR-4] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Designates November 30 through December 6, 1992, as National Education First Week.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1992
Designates December 1, 1992, as World AIDS Day.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1992
Pension Funding Improvement Act of 1992 - Title I: Amendments to Pension Plan Funding Requirements - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to revise minimum funding standards for pension plans. Revises the additional funding requirements for pension plans that are not multiemployer plans to provide for an underfunding reduction requirement and solvency maintenance requirement. Title II: Required Security for Certain Plan Amendments - Amends IRC and ERISA to increase required funding percentages and required security under provisions for pension plan termination insurance. Applies such required funding and security provisions to multiemployer plans, as well as to other pension plans. Applies specified criminal penalties to violations of such requirements. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Requires the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to submit separate reports to the Congress setting forth alternative increases in premiums that would be required for the assets of the single-employer program (established under ERISA provisions for pension plan termination insurance) to equal or exceed such program's current and expected liabilities by 2002. Amends ERISA to require inclusion in annual PBGC reports of actuarial evaluations of pension benefit guaranty funds for the next five, ten, twenty, and thirty years. (Currently, inclusion of such evaluations for the next five years only is required.) Requires such evaluations to set forth alternative premium schedules to assure that PBGC assets equal or exceed its liabilities during such periods. Authorizes the CBO to transmit a separate report analyzing and commenting upon the actuarial evaluation (and premium schedules) prepared by the PBGC, for any fiscal year the CBO deems appropriate. Authorizes the PBGC to require certain plan sponsors or members of a sponsor's controlled group to provide it with records, documents, or other information necessary to determine liabilities and assets of plans covered by ERISA plan termination insurance provisions, or the financial condition of sponsors or members of sponsors' controlled groups maintaining such plans. Applies such information requirements to a plan if: (1) its underfunding exceeds $10,000,000; (2) it has more than 2,000 participants; or (3) it has been granted minimum funding waivers in excess of $1,000,000. Treats all plans maintained by the same sponsor (or any member of such sponsor's controlled group) as one plan for purposes of such information requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1992
Emergency Community Development Loan Guarantee Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to enter into additional annual housing loan guarantee commitments under section 108 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit regulations waiving yield restrictions on tax-exempt bond arbitrage if certain arbitrage rebate requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to declare that unrelated trade or business does not include the activity of soliciting and receiving qualified sponsorship payments (payments received by tax-exempt organizations from corporations and other sponsors in connection with certain athletic and other public events) for purposes of the tax on unrelated business income of charitable, etc., organizations. Excludes royalties received by certain tax-exempt olympic organizations for the 1996 Olympics as income from an unrelated trade or business. Includes income received by a tax-exempt organization (other than a tax-exempt credit union) from exchanging or leasing its membership list or its identifying symbol for use in connection with credit or debit cards as income derived from an unrelated trade or business.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Supports the planting of 500 redwood trees from California on the northwest coast of Spain in commemoration of the quincentenary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World. Designates such trees as a gift to the people of Spain made in the name of the people of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Information Services Fair Competition Act of 1992 - Amends the Communication Act of 1934 to make it unlawful for any common carrier or its affiliate engaged in the provision of information services to include in its charges for telephone exchange service any operating expenses, costs, depreciation charges, or other expenses determined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to be properly associated with the provision of information services by such carrier or affiliate. Directs the FCC to adopt regulations to ensure that these provisions are not evaded by carriers subject to this Act. Directs a common carrier or its affiliate engaged in the provision of information services to meet requirements such as: (1) book maintenance in a specified manner; (2) interconnection to its network that is equal in price, quality, and type to the interconnection that the carrier provides to itself or to its affiliate; (3) information concerning the network interface specifications that allows such information service provider to connect to that carrier's network; (4) public disclosure of the specifications for any new or changed type of network interface for information services that the carrier or its affiliate provides or may provide; and (5) response, on a nondiscriminatory basis, to a bona fide request for a new type of basic service necessary to support an information service within 120 days after receipt of such request, and offer such service on an unbundled basis if it is technically feasible and if the marketing and economic demand forecast support such offering. Authorizes the FCC, upon application of a carrier which shows that it is technically unable to meet one or more of the requirements mentioned above, to grant a waiver to such carrier only if the public interest would be served thereby. Requires the FCC to adopt regulations that specify the form and manner in which the network disclosure information shall be made by common carriers. Requires common carriers, subject to this Act, to comply with any relevant regulations already in effect until such regulations are adopted and published in the Federal Register. Prescribes guidelines for the release of network disclosure information. Makes it unlawful for a common carrier or its affiliate to use, in connection with the provision of such carrier's information services, customer proprietary network information that the carrier has collected in the course of providing telephone exchange service unavailable to unaffiliated providers of information services unless prior consent of the customer has been obtained or in cases where the FCC has determined that the use of disclosure of such information serves the public interest. Prohibits: (1) any common carrier or affiliate from engaging in the provision of a burglar alarm service until ten years after the enactment of this Act unless such service was provided to a customer by the carrier or affiliate on July 1, 1992; and (2) a Federal agency or State from regulating the rates, terms, or conditions for the provision of information services. Authorizes the FCC to impose any remedy, without limitation, to ensure that the costs of providing information services are not borne by subscribers to telephone exchange service.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1992
Directs that, in the administration of any benefits program established by or under Federal law which requires the use of data obtained in the most recent decennial census, the 1990 adjusted census data be considered the official data for such census.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1992
Open Space Preservation Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross estate tax the value of land subject to a qualified conservation easement (less the amount of any indebtedness secured by such land). Includes in the gross estate tax the value of each development right retained by the donor in the conveyance of the easement. Makes such tax due upon the disposition of the property. Provides that such land subject to the exclusion will have a carryover basis for purposes of determining gain or loss. Excludes from the gift tax transfers by gift of land subject to a conservation easement (other than development rights retained by the donor of such easement). Defers the reduction in certain estate tax rates after 1993 and before 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through January 1, 1994, the duty on 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the special depreciation rules applicable under the adjusted current earnings provisions of the minimum tax. Requires the depreciation deduction with respect to any property for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 1991, to be the same as the depreciation deduction allowable in computing alternative minimum taxable income for such taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1992
Arkansas-Idaho Land Exchange Act of 1992 - Provides for the exchange of lands of approximately equal value in Arkansas and Idaho between the Federal Government and the Potlatch Corporation. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to add specified lands acquired through the exchange to the Cache River and White River National Wildlife Refuges. Directs that lands within the Grandmother Mountain Wilderness Study Area transferred to the Forest Service under this Act shall be managed so as not to impair their wilderness suitability until completion of a specified land and resource plan revision. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare a specified environmental analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Used Oil Recycling Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the listing or identification of used oil destined for recycling, used oil to be burned for energy recovery, recycled oil, or affiliated material as hazardous wastes. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) promulgate regulations for the management of used oil and to encourage recycling of such oil; and (2) take into account the effect of such regulatons on small businesses. Exempts from such regulations used oil generated, collected, or stored by an individual who removes oil from the engine of a motor vehicle, aircraft, household appliance, or item of domestic equipment if owned by such individual and used only for personal purposes. Sets forth regulation requirements for used oil generators, including to: (1) prohibit the storage of used oil in an underground tank unless it meets specified requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (2) prohibit the storage of used oil for more than 12 months; (3) make used oil in above ground tanks subject to the Spill Prevention and Countermeasure Control Plan requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and (4) require owners or operators of such tanks or other used oil containers to notify the Administrator of releases of used oil in excess of 25 gallons and to clean up such releases and comply with closure or disposal requirements. Authorizes the transfer of used oil by generators only to: (1) a permitted used oil recycling facility or a burner of used oil for energy recovery that complies with specifed regulations; (2) a permitted hazardous waste management facility; or (3) a used oil transporter obligated by contract to deliver used oil to another such transporter or to one of the aforementioned facilities. Sets forth recordkeeping requirements for generators, transporters, and recyclers and requires records to be maintained for at least three years. Applies used oil storage and transfer requirements for generators to transporters, except permits transporters to store such oil for only 60 days before transferring it to another transporter or authorized facility. Requires transporters to: (1) comply with all requirements of the Secretary of Transportation for the shipping of used oil; (2) comply with financial responsibility requirements of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act; and (3) have identification numbers provided by the Administrator. Sets forth regulation requirements for recyclers of used oil. Exempts from regulations used oil generated by: (1) petroleum refining or exploration, production or transportation facilities, or bulk terminals which is to be refined or processed along with normal process streams at a refining facility; and (2) a manufacturer or processor or by an electric or gas utility that is processed, reclaimed, or refined by such generator or its parent, subsidiary, or corporate affiliate, provided that the oil is reused by such entities and such activities meet certain storage, shipping, financial responsibility, contingency, and release detection requirements under this Act. Applies storage requirements similar to those for generators and transporters to recyclers, as well as requiring: (1) aboveground storage tanks and containers of used oil recyclers to comply with hazardous waste storage standards; (2) recyclers to maintain contingency plans to minimize unanticipated damage from used oil; (3) recyclers to comply with requirements for maintenance and operation of used oil recycling facilities and training of personnel; (4) detection of releases of used oil at recycling facilities and cleanup; (5) testing by recyclers, prior to processing, of all used oil received for levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, halogens, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other materials, as appropriate, and for the testing of fuel for such materials before it leaves the facility; (6) the separate storage of used oil contaminated with any hazardous waste for a specified time period; (7) financial responsibility equivalent to that required for hazardous waste facilities; and (8) class permits for recycling facilities. Requires the Administrator to conduct annual inspections of used oil recycling facilities to determine compliance with permit requirements. Makes a facility ineligible to apply for a permit if: (1) the facility has utilized any pit, pond, lagoon, or other surface impoundment for containing used oil; and (2) there has been a release from such impoundments which requires corrective action or is otherwise subject to post closure care requirements. Permits States to be authorized by the Administrator to carry out permit programs. Prohibits: (1) the placement of used oil in such impoundments or in any uncovered tank; (2) the mixing of used oil with a hazardous waste unless the mixture is managed as a hazardous waste; and (3) the use of used oil as a dust suppressant. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations for the closure of such impoundments and tanks containing used oil, to include requirements for: (1) corrective action or postclosure care; (2) allowable fuel specification levels for lead and halogens for the burning of used oil for energy recovery; and (3) lead levels for the burning of industrial specification used oil. Requires oil fuels failing to meet lead limitations to be burned in specified facilities. Directs the Administrator to implement education activities to inform the public about the hazards associated with the improper handling and disposal of used oil and the benefits derived from legitimate used oil recycling. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to publish guidelines to assist State and local governments and other public service organizations in the development of used oil collection programs. Makes used oil generators who comply with this Act eligible for an exclusion from cost recovery authorities of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Directs the Administrator to propose regulations establishing guidelines for the procurement of used oil by Federal agencies and other governmental entities.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Designates July 2, 1992, as National Literacy Day.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Medical Cost Containment Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income medical care savings benefits. Describes such benefits as a health plan which provides that all or part of the premium differential realized by instituting a qualified higher deductible health plan is credited to participating employees to pay for medical care for a plan year. Requires amounts remaining at the end of such plan year to be deposited into a tax-exempt medical care savings account (subject to rules similar to those for retirement plans) for use by the participant for medical expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Designates February 21 through 27, 1993, as American Wine Appreciation Week. Commends the winegrape and fruit growers and vintners of the United States for the production of high quality agricultural products.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $1,000 to $5,000 the amount of proceeds from certain gambling that is exempt from income tax withholding. (Currently, only proceeds from State-conducted lotteries are exempt up to such amount.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1992
Designates October 4 through 10, 1992, as National Customer Service Week.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) as part of the Uruguay Round and North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations, negotiate tariffication of Canada's chicken supply management system and the elimination of processed chicken from Canada's Import Control List; (2) seek the elimination of new duties imposed by Canada on chicken imports in accordance with the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement; and (3) oppose any Canadian activity which results in lost sales for U.S. chicken exporters and restricts U.S. access to Canadian markets.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a first-time homebuyer who purchases a principal residence a tax credit of ten percent of the purchase price of such residence. Limits the credit to $5,000. Requires married individuals filing jointly to both be first-time homebuyers. Allows the use of 50 percent of the credit in the first taxable year in which the residence is purchased and the remaining 50 percent in the succeeding taxable year. Makes this credit applicable to residences acquired after February 1, 1992, and before January 1, 1993, or for which a binding contract is entered into during such period.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1992
Designates the week beginning July 26, 1992, as Lyme Disease Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1992
Prohibits a Government motor vehicle or driver from being assigned to a Member of the House because he or she is a political party whip.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1992
Designates the week beginning October 25, 1992, as World Population Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1992
Designates August 15, 1992, as 82d Airborne Division 50th Anniversary Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1992
Designates September 14 through 20, 1992, as National Small Independent Telephone Company Week.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1992
Commonwealth Scientists Immigration and Exchange Act of 1992 - Authorizes the special admission into the United States of certain scientists of the Commonwealth of Independent States (Commonwealth) as employment-based immigrants under the Immigration and Nationality Act for a four-year period. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) Commonwealth scientists should be given priority consideration for U.S. international exchange programs; and (2) in making available Soviet threat reduction funds priority should be given to retraining and employing Commonwealth scientists in areas that would enhance the objectives of nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1992
Commends the New York Stock Exchange on the occasion of its bicentennial on May 17, 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1992
Democracy Corps Act of 1992 - Establishes a Democracy Corps Board to carry out this Act. Requires the Board to establish a Democracy Corps composed of U.S. citizens who have expertise relevant to the development of democratic institutions and free market economies in eligible former Soviet republics and the Baltic States. Directs the Corps to: (1) recruit and train teams of Corps members and assign such teams to eligible republics to make onsite assessments of the needs of individuals and organizations for training and other assistance relevant to the development of democratic institutions and free market economies; (2) prepare reports on critical needs at the regional and local levels; (3) identify local leaders who might benefit from training programs in the United States and other democratic countries; and (4) review the effectiveness of the distribution of U.S. humanitarian assistance. Requires the teams to establish Democracy Houses in localities to assist local efforts to create democratic institutions and a market economy and to provide logistical support and information to U.S. Government agencies and nongovernmental organizations assisting in the development of democracy. Directs the Corps to disseminate the needs assessments to relevant Government agencies, the National Endowment for Democracy, and other nongovernmental organizations and foreign governments engaged in assisting the transition to democratic institutions and free market economies. Requires the Corps to seek to obtain support in the United States for those working to consolidate such transition. Permits funds made available under this Act to be used to compensate Corps members. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992
Medicare Geographic Data Accuracy Act of 1992 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to consult with State medical societies in revising the geographic adjustment factors used to determine reimbursements for physician services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of Medicare. Requires the Secretary to base geographic-cost-of-practice indices under Medicare upon the most recent available data.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992
Amends the National School Lunch Act to suspend specified compliance and accountability rules issued by the Secretary of Agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992
Designates the week beginning April 19, 1992, as National Credit Education Week.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992
Designates May 10, 1992, as Infant Mortality Awareness Day.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1992
Designates April 22, 1992, as Earth Day.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1992
Expansion of Processed and High-Value Agricultural Exports and Employment Opportunities Act of 1992 - Establishes: (1) export credit guarantee and enhancement program set-asides for processed and high-value agricultural products; and (2) related reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) consideration of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) should be a high priority; (2) LIHEAP funding for FY 1993 should be increased to a level greater than or equal to funding for FY 1992; and (3) the President should accept the LIHEAP funding level for FY 1993 as recommended by the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1992
Cancer Registries Amendment Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants or contracts to operate population-based, statewide cancer registries in order to collect certain data for each form of in-situ and invasive cancer except basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Authorizes grants for planning the registries. Mandates a study on factors contributing to elevated rates of breast cancer mortality in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, directly or through grants and contracts, or both, to provide technical assistance to the States in the establishment and operation of statewide registries. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1991 - Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain river segments in Arkansas as components of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Requires the State to manage other designated river segments as part of such system. Declares that nothing in this Act is intended to prohibit the Secretary of the Army from: (1) operating Gillham Lake, including lake levels and releases, in a manner consistent with the Gillham project; or (2) establishing a public use area for float trip termination at the confluence of the Cossatot River with Gillham Lake.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Designates January 16, 1993, as National Good Teen Day.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1992
Designates the week beginning November 1, 1992, as National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1992
Designates October 1992 as Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1992
Designates April 15, 1992, as National Recycling Day.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly report to the President and the Congress on the differences in program rules under the food stamp program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (part A of title IV of the Social Security Act), and Medicaid program (title XIX of the Social Security Act) and how such rules could be made uniform. Requires coordination of such report with the report of the Advisory Committee on Welfare Simplification and Coordination.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
United States Commercial Center Pilot Program Act of 1990 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish, as a pilot program, a United States Commercial Center in one country each in the Baltics, including one of the former Soviet republics, Asia, and Latin America to provide additional resources for the promotion of exports of U.S. goods and services to such countries. Requires the Secretary to use the Market Development Cooperator Program to assist the Centers in providing such resources. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Crop-Sharing Hunger Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for charitable contributions of agricultural commodities on the surplus commodity list to tax-exempt organizations (other than certain private foundations) if the use of the property by the donee is solely for the purpose of feeding individuals in famine, disaster, or other economically depressed areas and if such use meets other specified requirements. Excludes such contribution from the definition of capital gain property for purposes of the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain business entities to elect to use a fiscal year for tax purposes other than the required taxable year. Modifies provisions concerning required payments for such entities.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Designates 1993 as the Year of American Craft: A Celebration of the Creative Work of the Hand.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Federal Program Improvement Act of 1991 - Title I: Provisions Relating To The Medicare Program - Subtitle A: Durable Medical Equipment - Amends the Social Security Act to: (1) prohibit unsolicited telephone contacts from suppliers of items of durable medical equipment to Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) beneficiaries; (2) require suppliers to provide information to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on sales and billing practices; (3) prohibit carrier forum shopping; (4) prohibit issuance of multiple provider numbers; (5) require a description of such items in forms explaining benefits; (6) require the Secretary to develop a standardized prescription for such items; (7) mandate adjustments to final payments amounts which the Secretary determines are not inherently reasonable; (8) require an advanced determination for decubitus care mattresses; (9) require the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on implementation of advanced determination requirements; and (10) set forth miscellaneous study and reporting requirements respecting item definitions and quality standards, supplier costs, and items treated as prosthetics devices. Subtitle B: Secondary Payer Identification and Enforcement - Amends the Social Security Act to: (1) make changes to aid the identification of Medicare secondary payer situations and the recovery of erroneous payments from primary payers; and (2) set forth miscellaneous study and reporting requirements respecting carrier recovery efforts and contractor eligibility requirements. Title II: Customs Overtime Pay Reform - Revises the overtime pay system for U.S. Customs Service inspectors. Amends the Customs Procedural Reform and Simplification Act of 1978 to require the authorization for the Customs Service to specify the maximum amount available for payment of overtime. Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to terminate reimbursement of appropriations for overtime costs. Requires a General Accounting office study and report to specified congressional committees on overtime costs. Title III: Availability And Use of Death Information Under The Old-Age, Survivors, And Disability Insurance Program - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate State restrictions on the use of death certificates to correct OASDI and other Federal benefit program information; (2) provide for the provision of Social Security Administration death information to States free of charge; and (3) restrict the use of social security account numbers by States which have not contracted to participate in the program providing for the exchange of death information. Requires an HHS study and report to specified congressional committees on improvements in gathering and reporting such information. Title IV: PBGC Report On Employers With Underfunded Plans - Requires the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to submit an annual report to the Congress on employers with underfunded pension plans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 1991 - Title I: Additional Safeguards to Protect Taxpayers' Rights - Subtitle A: Taxpayers' Advocate - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the Office of Taxpayers' Advocate, headed by the Taxpayers' Advocate, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Office to: (1) assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS; (2) identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the IRS; (3) propose changes in the administrative practices of the IRS to mitigate such problems; and (4) identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems. Requires the Taxpayers' Advocate to annually report to specified congressional committees on Office activities. Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to establish procedures requiring a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the Commissioner by the Taxpayers' Advocate. Authorizes the terms of a Taxpayer Assistance Order to require the Secretary of the Treasury to take certain actions (currently, only to cease or refrain from taking such actions). Subtitle B: Modifications to Installment Agreement Provisions - Requires prior notification to taxpayers under an installment agreement to pay tax liability before altering, modifying, or terminating such an agreement. Provides for administrative review of denials of requests for installment agreements. Suspends the failure to pay penalty during any period an installment agreement is in effect. Subtitle C: Interest - Extends from ten days to 21 days the period for which interest will not be imposed after notice and demand for payment, if such payment is less than $100,000. Provides for the abatement of interest in the case of an assessment due to the error or delay of an IRS managerial act. Increases the interest rate for overpayment of tax from two percent to three percent (making such rate equal to the interest rate for underpayment of tax). Waives interest on all overpayments refunded within 45 days after a return is filed. Subtitle D: Joint Returns - Requires separate deficiency notices in the case of a joint income tax return if the most recent data available to the IRS shows that such spouses did not file a joint return with each other. Allows the disclosure of collection activities to an individual requesting such information in the case of a joint return where such individual is no longer married to or resides in the same household as the other joint filer. Removes limitations on filing a joint return after filing separate returns. Subtitle E: Collection Activities - Authorizes the Secretary, if it is determined to be in the best interest of the taxpayer and the United States, to: (1) withdraw a notice of a lien; (2) return property that has been levied upon; and (3) offer compromises in civil or criminal cases. Requires the Secretary, at the request of the taxpayer, to make reasonable efforts to notify credit reporting agencies and financial institutions of such withdrawal notice. Subtitle E (sic): Erroneous and Fraudulent Information Returns - Requires payee statements to provide the phone number of the person providing payment. Establishes civil damages for the fraudulent filing of information returns. Requires the Secretary to take reasonable steps to corroborate the accuracy of an information return when making a determination of a deficiency by a third party, when such return is disputed by the taxpayer. Subtitle F: Modifications to Penalty for Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax - Declares that a person shall not be liable for any penalty for failure to collect and pay over tax if such person: (1) is not a significant owner, or highly compensated employee of the trade or business; (2) notifies the Secretary within ten days after such failure; and (3) such notification was before any notice by the Secretary with respect to such failure. Requires the Secretary to disclose certain information where more than one person is liable for a penalty. Subtitle G: Awarding of Costs and Certain Fees - Repeals the "substantially justified" test for determining whether a taxpayer may recover costs and fees incurred as part of an administrative or court proceeding. Provides for the awarding of reasonable litigation or administrative costs to a prevailing party who represents himself in an administrative or court proceeding. Makes IRS employees personally liable in certain cases. Provides that any failure to agree to an extension of time for the assessment of any tax shall not be taken into account in determining whether a prevailing party has exhausted all administrative remedies. Subtitle H: Other Provisions - Revises provisions on the required content of tax due, deficiency, and other notices. Provides for the treatment of returns prepared for or executed by the Secretary for purposes of certain tax penalties. Provides protection for taxpayers who rely on certain guidance published by the IRS. Title II: Form Modifications, Studies - Subtitle A: Form Modifications - Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that taxpayers are aware of permission to pay tax in installments, extensions of time for payment of tax, and compromises of tax liability; (2) improve procedures for taxpayers to notify the Secretary of changes in names and addresses; (3) include in a specified publication a section on the rights and responsibilities of divorced individuals; (4) ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities under the Federal tax system and that the public is aware of penalties for failure to collect and pay over tax; and (5) notify taxpayers any payments that cannot be associated with any outstanding tax liability. Subtitle B: Studies - Requires the Secretary to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a pilot program for appeals of certain enforcement actions (including lien, levy, and seizure actions; (2) a study on ways to assist the elderly, physically impaired, foreign-language speaking, and other taxpayers with special needs to comply with IRS laws; (3) the scope and content of the IRS taxpayer-rights education program for its officers and employees; and (4) cases involving complaints about misconduct of IRS employees and the disposition of such complaints. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a study of notices of deficiency; (2) the accuracy and clarity of 25 of the most commonly used IRS forms, notices, and publications; and (3) a study of IRS employee-suggestion programs.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1991
Earned Income Credit Simplification Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the calculation of the earned income credit by: (1) repealing the supplemental young child credit and the health insurance credit; and (2) increasing the credit percentage of the taxpayer's earned income.