United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1997
Consumer Involvement in Breast Cancer Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Cancer Institute, to the extent practicable, to increase the involvement of people who are accountable to, represent, and report back to organizations that represent those affected by breast cancer in decision making at the Institute regarding breast cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Child Labor Free Labeling Standards Title II: Child Labor Free Commission Title III: Recognition of Exemplary Corporate Efforts Title IV: Definitions Child Labor Free Consumer Information Act of 1997 - Title I: Child Labor Free Labeling Standards - Directs the Secretary of Labor to issue regulations to ensure that a label using any term or symbol denying the use of child labor does not make a false statement or suggestion that the article or section of wearing apparel or sporting good was not made with child labor. Requires such standards to encourage the use of an easily identifiable symbol or term indicating that the article or section of wearing apparel or sporting good was not made with child labor. (Sec. 101) Requires a producer, importer, exporter, distributor, or other person intending to use any such label to notify the Child Labor Free Commission (CLFC, established under title II of this Act) specified source information. Requires the Commission to review the notification and inform the Secretary, whose permission is required for use of such label. Authorizes the Secretary to charge a fee to cover the CLFC's notification review expenses. Makes it a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) for any producer, importer, exporter, distributor, or seller of any article or section of wearing apparel or sporting good that is exported from or offered for sale in the United States to falsely indicate on the label or the packaging, or in the advertising, or otherwise falsely claim or suggest, that the item was not made with child labor. Amends FTCA to prescribe civil penalties for such violations. Establishes in the Treasury the Free the Children Fund for receipt of such penalties. Authorizes annual appropriations from the Fund for educational and other programs to eliminate child labor. Authorizes the CLFC to: (1) develop labeling standards similar to the labeling standards developed for any industry that is not otherwise covered under this Act; and (2) recommend their promulgation to the Secretary, so that this Act and the FTCA shall also apply to the labeling covered by those standards. (Sec. 102) Directs the CLFC to assist the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by reviewing petitions alleging violations of the labeling standards under this Act. Provides, on the basis of CLFC violation reports, for: (1) the Secretary's temporary withdrawal of permission to use such labels; and (2) the FTC's issuance of cease and desist orders. Title II: Child Labor Free Commission - Establishes the Child Labor Free Commission (CLFC) to: (1) assist the Secretary in developing child labor free labeling standards, and in developing and implementing a compliance system; and (2) commence developing an easily identifiable labeling standard that the Secretary of Labor may issue to encourage the use of voluntary labels informing consumers that an article of wearing apparel or sporting good was made without the use of sweatshop or exploited adult labor. Title III: Recognition of Exemplary Corporate Efforts - Directs the Secretary to: (1) report annually on companies making exemplary progress in ensuring that products they make, sell, or distribute are not made with abusive and exploitative child labor; and (2) develop and implement, with the CLFC, other methods of recognizing such exemplary company programs. Title IV: Definitions - Defines child as an individual who has not attained the age of: (1) 15 years, as measured by the Julian calendar; or (2) 14 such years, for a resident of a country that, by law, so defines a child.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1997
Fair Pay Act of 1997 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin. (Allows payment of different wages under seniority systems, merit systems, or systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production.) Prohibits the discharge of or any other discrimination against an individual for opposing any act or practice made unlawful by this Act, or for assisting in an investigation or proceeding under it. Directs courts, in any action brought under this Act for violation of such prohibition, to allow expert fees as part of the costs awarded to prevailing plaintiffs. Allows any such action to be maintained as a class action. Requires employers subject to such prohibition to: (1) preserve records which document and support the method, system, calculations, and other bases used by the employer in establishing, adjusting, and determining the wages paid to their employees, for periods of time prescribed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); and (2) make reports to the EEOC. Directs the EEOC to: (1) undertake studies and provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning effective means available to implement this Act; (2) carry on a continuing program of research, education, and technical assistance with specified components related to the purposes of this Act; and (3) include a separate evaluation and appraisal regarding the implementation of this Act in its annual report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1997
Student Health Insurance Portability Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply health insurance portability, access, and renewability requirements to coverage offered in connection with a college-sponsored health plan as they apply to a group health plan. Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to include coverage under a college-sponsored plan in the definition of "creditable coverage."
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1997
Child Health Insurance and Lower Deficit Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize each State to establish a children's health insurance program. Requires participating States to contract with insurance issuers, ensure that policies are available to all eligible children, and provide certain premium and cost sharing payments. Mandates coverage equivalent to the medical assistance available under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act. Requires each participating State, for each area served by a health center, to contract directly with the health center for direct services. Bases eligibility on family income (as a percentage of the poverty line), with assistance paid to the issuer (or, for a child receiving direct services, to the provider). Regulates the amount of grants to States. Provides for taking into account cost variations among States. Authorizes appropriations. Allows a State to use up to a specified percentage of the grants to meet the needs identified in the statewide needs assessments prepared under provisions of the Social Security Act relating to preventive and primary care services for pregnant women, mothers, and infants up to age one. Prohibits an employer that elects to make health coverage contributions from conditioning or varying the contributions because of an individual's eligibility for assistance under provisions of this Act. Provides for the application of specified provisions of title XXVII (Assuring Portability, Availability, and Renewability of Health Insurance Coverage) of the Public Health Service Act relating to preexisting conditions, portability, eligibility, guaranteed availability, and network plans and financial capacity. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the tax on cigarettes, cigars, cigarette papers, cigarette tubes, smokeless tobacco, and pipe tobacco. Imposes a tax on floor stocks of tobacco products and cigarette papers and tubes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1997
Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate a program for the conduct and support of research and training regarding Parkinson's disease. Directs the Director of the National Institutes of Health to provide for coordination of the program among all the national research institutes conducting Parkinson's research. Requires coordination to include the convening of a research planning conference at least once every two years. Provides for each such conference to prepare and submit to certain congressional committees a report concerning the conference. Requires Core Center Grants to encourage the development of innovative multidisciplinary research and provide training concerning Parkinson's, designating each grant recipient as a Morris K. Udall Center for Research on Parkinson's Disease. Establishes a grant program to support investigators with a proven record of excellence and innovation in Parkinson's research and who demonstrate potential for significant breakthroughs in the understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of Parkinson's. Limits the availability of grants for a period not to exceed five years. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1997
Post Office Relocation Act of 1997 - Modifies Federal postal provisions to require a 60-day notice before the renovation, relocation, closing, or consolidation (currently, the closing or consolidation) of a post office. Requires such notice to be: (1) hand delivered or delivered by mail; and (2) published in one or more newspapers of general circulation within the zip codes served by such post office. Sets forth provisions which: (1) allow any person served by the post office to offer an alternative renovation, relocation, consolidation, or closing proposal within such 60-day period; and (2) require the Postal Service to conduct a hearing to allow the individual to present oral or written testimony. Revises the factors to be considered in deciding whether or not to renovate, relocate, close, or consolidate a post office to include: (1) the extent to which the post office is part of a core downtown business area; (2) the sentiment of the community; (3) whether postal officials negotiated with persons served; (4) whether management of the post office contributed to a desire to relocate; and (5) the adequacy of the existing post office. Requires the Postal Service to follow a community's public participation procedures to address the renovation, relocation, closing, or consolidation of buildings in the community if participation requirements of such procedures are more stringent than those provided in this Act. Requires the Postal Service, in making a determination to renovate, relocate, close, or consolidate any post office, to comply with any zoning, planning, or land use regulations or building codes applicable to State or local public entities, including the zoning authority of the local jurisdiction. Includes within the Postal Service policy with respect to planning and building new postal facilities that the Service consider the effect a new facility may have on the community.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 1997 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or local governments. Requires States to grant public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees. Specifies related requirements for public safety employers. Requires the Director the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to issue regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in States that fail to comply with the requirements of this Act. Gives the FMCS the same authority as a State Labor Relations Board (or of the National Labor Relations Board where no such State Board exists) for public safety employers and employees covered by this Act. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such regulations through appropriate State courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Firefighters Pay Fairness Act of 1997 - Amends Federal law to provide that, for Federal fire fighters, the annual rate of basic pay shall be calculated on the basis of 26 administrative biweekly work periods of up to 106 hours each. Prescribes a formula for computing the basic biweekly pay of Federal employees who are not fire fighters but perform fire fighting duties. Extends existing biweekly pay period and pay computation requirements to Federal fire fighters and employees in and under the judicial branch. Removes employees of the District of Columbia government from coverage by such requirements. Repeals the current exception from such requirements for employees on the Isthmus of Panama in the service of the Panama Canal Commission. Requires compensation at time-and-a-half per hour for any hours worked in excess of 106 during a biweekly pay period by fire fighters subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Prescribes basic rates of pay for fire fighters: (1) promoted to a supervisory position; and (2) selected and assigned for training. Adds certain pay retention rights for Federal fire fighters subject to a reduction or termination of a rate of pay established under this Act. Authorizes a Federal agency to pay cash awards of up to five percent of basic pay to fire fighters or other employees performing fire fighting duties who make substantial use of: (1) special skills, such as handling hazardous materials; or (2) a certification or license, such as certification as an emergency medical technician. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to report to the Congress with respect to transition and funding increase plans and regulatory or legislative modifications necessary to prevent diminution in retirement benefits under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Children Health Insurance Access Amendments of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for the guaranteed availability of individual health insurance coverage to uninsured children.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Credit Union Membership Access Act - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to limit Federal credit union membership to one or more groups each of which has a common bond within such group.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
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 · 20 March 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that it recognizes: (1) the concern of the railroad industry that the current spousal annuity system is inadequate; and (2) that a process of dialogue must take place among all parties of the railroad community including rail labor, management, and retiree organizations before railroad annuity legislation can be enacted. Urges all parties to find a way to fund an amendment that would improve the survivor benefits component to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Secretary of the Treasury should initiate discussions with Mexican and Canadian Government officials to achieve parity in the duty-free allowance structure (personal allowance for duty-free merchandise purchased abroad by returning residents) of the respective North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries; and (2) in the event that parity is not achieved within one year after enactment of this resolution, the USTR and the Secretary should submit recommendations to the Congress on whether legislative changes are necessary to bring the United States duty-free allowance to a lower amount to conform to the allowance levels established by the other NAFTA countries.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Pension Access and Coverage Subtitle A: Improved Access to Individual Retirement Savings Subtitle B: Improved Fairness in Retirement Plan Benefits Subtitle C: Improving Retirement Plan Coverage Subtitle D: Simplifying Plan Requirements Title II: Security Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: ERISA Enforcement Title III: Portability Title IV: Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection Subtitle A: Pension Reform Subtitle B: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs Subtitle C: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements Subtitle D: Spousal Consent Required for Distributions From Section 401(k) Plans Subtitle E: Women's Pension Toll-Free Phone Number Title V: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments Retirement Security Act of 1997 - Title I: Pension Access and Coverage - Subtitle A: Improved Access to Individual Retirement Savings - Chapter 1: Contributions To Individual Retirement Plans Through Payroll Deductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to require a private contractor with the Secretary of Labor to establish a system under which: (1) eligible employees, through employer payroll deductions, may make contributions to individual retirement plans; and (2) amounts in the individual retirement plans are invested according to certain requirements. (Sec. 103) Provides for: (1) contributions to individual retirement plans; (2) investment options; (3) accounting and information; (4) administrative costs; (5) fiduciary responsibilities, liability and penalties, bonding, and investigative authority; and (6) selection of contractor. (Sec. 108) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the Secretary of Labor to design and award the contract for such system; and (2) the contractor to begin operations. Chapter 2: Nonrefundable Tax Credit for Contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts - Amends IRC to allow a nonrefundable tax credit for a portion of contributions to individual retirement plans, calculated according to a specified scale. Chapter 3: Expanded Individual Retirement Accounts to Increase Coverage and Portability - Subchapter A: IRA Deduction - Raises the income limitations for the individual retirement account (IRA) tax deduction, with a corresponding adjustment to the formula for the phaseout of such limitations. (Sec. 122) Prescribes an inflation adjustment for the IRA deductible amount and income limitations. Subchapter B: Distributions and Investments - Allows the use of distributions from individual retirement plans, without additional tax, to: (1) purchase first homes; (2) pay higher education expenses; or (3) pay financially devastating medical expenses. (Sec. 132) Allows the use without penalty of distributions from certain plans during periods of unemployment. (Sec. 133) Requires that contributions to individual retirement plans (other than special individual retirement accounts) be held for at least five years in certain cases before they may be distributed without specified tax consequences. Chapter 4: Periodic Pension Benefits Statements - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) with respect to periodic pension benefits statements in cases of defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, and multiemployer plans. Subtitle B: Improved Fairness in Retirement Plan Benefits - Amends IRC to require a specified minimum employer contribution to simple retirement accounts. Provides for an employer option to suspend contributions with 30-days' notice. Amends ERISA with respect to fiduciary duties in the case of such accounts. (Sec. 152) Amends IRC to set forth various nondiscrimination rules for qualified cash or deferred arrangements and matching contributions. (Sec. 153) Increases from $75,000 to $80,000 per year specified compensation criteria for a highly compensated employee. Excludes specified categories of employees with respect to age, short length of service, and part-time service from the meaning of highly compensated employee. Subtitle C: Improving Retirement Plan Coverage - Allows a tax credit for up to a maximum $500 of the qualified start-up costs of eligible small employers in establishing a qualified pension plan or qualified employer payroll deduction system. (Sec. 162) Limits annual benefits under governmental and multiemployer plans to $90,000, eliminating the alternative 100 percent of high three-year average compensation limitation. Exempts from the $7,500 or one third of includible compensation limit for annual benefits certain excess benefit arrangements under deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Prohibits such arrangements from being taken into account in determining whether any other plan is an eligible deferred compensation plan. (Sec. 163) Declares that compensation deferred under a mirror plan shall not be taken into account in applying certain limits (with respect to deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations) to compensation deferred under any other deferred compensation plan. (Sec. 164) Sets forth special rules to treat contributions by self-employed individuals as matching contributions. (Sec. 165) Amends specified Federal law relating to Federal employees to allow immediate participation in the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal employees by eliminating certain waiting periods. (Sec. 166) Amends the IRC to revise the limits on contributions excluded from the calculation of non-deductible contributions for purposes of the tax on non-deductible contributions to a qualified employer plan. (Sec. 167) Excludes from gross income any workers' compensation received by former police officers or fire fighters for heart disease or hypertension. Subtitle D: Simplifying Plan Requirements - Amends IRC and ERISA to set a full funding limitation for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 172) Eliminates IRC partial termination rules for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 173) Revises IRC nondiscrimination and minimum participation rules with respect to governmental plans. (Sec. 174) Eliminates specified ERISA requirements for plan descriptions and for filing of summary plan descriptions and descriptions of material modifications to a plan. (Sec. 175) Replaces the 150 percent of current liability factor in the calculation of the full-funding limit with an incremental scale from 155 percent in 1998 to 170 percent in 2001, followed by zero in 2002 and succeeding years. (Sec. 176) Directs the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Labor to expand their efforts to examine existing guidance regarding notice, recordkeeping, and operational requirements for retirement plans, in order to permit the use of new technologies by plan sponsors and administrators in ways which maintain the protection of the rights of participants and beneficiaries. Title II: Security - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Amends ERISA to provide investment protection for specified plans that include qualified cash or deferred arrangements under IRC ("401(k) plans") by setting limitations on investment in employer securities and employer real property by cash or deferred arrangements. Provides a transition rule for plans holding excess securities or property. (Sec. 202) Applies an ERISA requirement for annual, detailed investment reports to certain IRC 401(k) plans. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in prescribing regulations for required information in such reports, to consider including specified types of information. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the extent to which pension plans invest in collectibles; and (2) whether such investments present a risk to the pension security of the participants and beneficiaries of such plans. (Sec. 204) Amends IRC to prohibit qualified employer plans from making loans through credit cards and other intermediaries. (Sec. 205) Increases the amounts of multiemployer plan benefits guaranteed under ERISA. (Sec. 206) Increases the maximum amount of the civil penalty which may be assessed administratively for certain prohibited transactions. (Sec. 207) Amends ERISA with respect to substantial owner benefits to revise the phase-in of guarantee and the allocation of assets. (Sec. 208) Directs the Secretary of Labor to report annually to the President and the Congress on plans from which residual assets were distributed to employers (reversion report). (Sec. 209) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should: (1) review existing correction mechanisms to determine whether modifications might facilitate additional utilization by sponsors, improve voluntary compliance, and hasten the correction of pension plans; (2) consider whether additional means of addressing nonegregious violations should be explored; and (3) make appropriate legislative recommendations. Subtitle B: ERISA Enforcement - Amends ERISA enforcement provisions to repeal a limited scope audit requirement for employee pension benefit plans. Requires an accountant, in offering an opinion in the case of an employee pension benefit plan, to rely, to the extent consistent with generally accepted auditing standards, on the work of any independent public accountant of any bank or similar institution or insurance carrier that holds assets or processes transactions of the employee pension benefit plan, provided that such bank, institution, or insurance carrier is regulated, supervised, and subject to periodic examination by a State or Federal agency. (Sec. 212) Sets forth additional ERISA requirements for qualified public accountants. (Sec. 213) Amends ERISA and the IRC to exempt from the prohibition against assignment or alienation of an accrued pension benefit offsets for certain civil and criminal judgments against fiduciaries. Changes from mandatory to discretionary the imposition and amount of civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibilities. Title III: Portability - Amends ERISA and the IRC to provide for faster vesting of employer matching contributions. (Sec. 302) Revises certain restrictions on distributions from IRC 401(k) plans. (Sec. 303) Amends ERISA and IRC with respect to an accrued benefit not to be decreased by plan amendment to revise the treatment of transfers between defined contribution plans. (Sec. 304) Amends ERISA rules requiring transfer of benefits of missing participants to direct the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to prescribe similar rules for multiemployer plans that terminate. Requires transfer of missing participants' plan benefits to the PBGC by certain plans not otherwise subject to ERISA enforcement provisions. Title IV: Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection - Subtitle A: Pension Reform - Makes certain new rules for pension integration under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 applicable to all existing accrued benefits. (Sec. 401) Amends IRC to: (1) disallow integration for simplified employee pensions; and (2) provide for eventual repeal of certain pension integration rules. (Sec. 402) Sets forth rules regarding the application of minimum coverage requirements with respect to separate lines of business. (Sec. 403) Amends IRC and ERISA with respect to division of pension benefits upon divorce, at the former spouse's election, to deem any State divorce decree to be a domestic relations order specifying that half of the marital share of the participant's accrued benefit is to be provided to such former spouse. (Sec. 404) Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (RRA) to entitle divorced spouses to railroad retirement annuities independent of the employee's actual entitlement. Subtitle B: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs - Amends RRA to extend Tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former spouses pursuant to divorce agreements. (Sec. 412) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to survivor annuities for widows, widowers, and former spouses of Federal employees who die before attaining the age for deferred annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). (Sec. 413) Amends Federal law relating to the armed forces to terminate a two-tier annuity computation and social security offset under the military survivor benefit plan. (Sec. 414) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to payment of lump-sum benefits to former spouses of Federal employees under CSRS and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Subtitle C: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements - Modifies ERISA and IRC requirements for joint and survivor annuities to provide for an alternative joint and two-thirds survivor annuity payable while both the participant and the spouse are alive. Subtitle D: Spousal Consent Required for Distributions From Section 401(k) Plans - Amends IRC to require spousal consent for distributions from section 401(k) plans. Subtitle E: Women's Pension Toll-Free Phone Number - Directs the Secretary of Labor to contract with an independent organization to create a women's pension toll-free phone number and contact. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments - Sets forth dates for adoption of plan amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1997 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army or Naval 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. Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee for any benefit application of a member possessing such qualified service.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish birth defects prevention and research programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to provide for collection, analysis, and reporting of birth defects statistics from birth certificates, infant death certificates, hospital records, or other sources and to collect and disaggregate such statistics by gender and racial and ethnic group. Directs the Secretary to establish at least five regional birth defects monitoring and research programs to collect and analyze information on the number, incidence, correlation, and causes of birth defects. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Director of CDC, to award grants or enter into cooperative agreements with specified entities to serve as Centers of Excellence for Birth Defects Prevention Research. Requires one of the Centers to focus on birth defects among ethnic minorities. Requires the CDC to establish a clearinghouse for the collection and storage of data generated from birth defects monitoring programs developed under this Act. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to provide for the evaluation, and implementation of prevention strategies designed to reduce the incidence and effects of birth defects. Requires the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to consult with State and local governmental agencies, managed care organizations, nonprofit organizations, physicians, and other health professionals and organizations. Directs the Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee for Birth Defects Prevention. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources regarding birth defects. Subjects the provisions of this Act to requirements of the Privacy Act. Applies all Federal laws relating to the privacy of information to the data and information that is collected under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Research on Lupus Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus Lupus Research and Care Amendments of 1997 - Title I: Research on Lupus - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute with respect to lupus. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate such activities with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of Health; and (2) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, lupus, including research to determine the reasons underlying the elevated prevalence of the disease among African-American and other women. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus - Mandates grants for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with lupus and their families. Regulates fees imposed by grantees on service recipients. Authorizes technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: School Construction Assistance Program Title II: General Provisions Partnership to Rebuild America's Schools Act of 1997 - Title I: School Construction Assistance Program - Part 1: Program Authorized - Establishes a program to provide Federal funds to help States and local school districts finance the repair, renovation, modernization, and construction of their school facilities. (Sec. 104) Makes appropriations and specifies their allocation. Part 2: Grants to States - Provides for allocation of funds for formula grants to States by the Secretary of Education, on a proportional basis similar to that for Basic Grants for disadvantaged students under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) eligible State agencies; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) period for project initiation; (5) selection of localities and projects; (6) State applications; (7) amount of Federal subsidy; (8) separate funds or accounts; (9) prudent investment; and (10) State reports. Part 3: Direct Grants to Local Educational Agencies - Provides for direct grants both formula and competitive) to local educational agencies (LEAs) by the Secretary of Education. (Sec. 121) Makes eligible for grants the LEAs with the largest numbers of children aged five through 17 from families living below the poverty level. Makes LEAs for Hawaii and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ineligible for such grants. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) grantees; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) redistribution of funds; (5) local applications; (6) formula grants; (7) competitive grants; (8) amount of Federal subsidy; (9) separate funds or accounts; (10) prudent investment; and (11) local reports. Title II: General Provisions - Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) technical employees; (2) wage rates; (3) no liability of the Federal Government; and (4) consultation with Secretary of the Treasury by the Secretary of Education.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits insurers and health carriers from engaging in specified acts (such as denying, terminating, or limiting coverage) on the basis that the applicant or insured (or any person with whom the applicant or insured is associated) is, has been, or may be the subject of abuse involving a current or former household or family member, intimate partner, or caretaker. Prohibits insurers from using, disclosing, or transferring information about an applicant's or insured's abuse status or abuse-related medical condition for any purpose unrelated to the direct provision of health care unless required by an order of an insurance regulatory entity or a court order. Prohibits disclosure or transfer of an applicant's or insured's location or telephone number. Requires insurers to develop and follow written procedures to protect the safety and privacy of an abuse subject. Requires an insurer that takes any adverse action regarding an abuse subject to advise the individual of the specific reasons for the action. Prohibits subrogation of claims resulting from abuse without the consent of the abuse subject. Empowers the Federal Trade Commission to examine and investigate any insurer regarding compliance with this Act. Provides for a private cause of action against an insurer in Federal or State court by an abuse subject applicant or insured claiming to be adversely affected by an act or practice of the insurer.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Pharmacy Compounding Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to make specified provisions of that Act inapplicable to a drug or device that is compounded by a licensed pharmacist, licensed physician, or other licensed practitioner authorized by State law to prescribe drugs or devices. Declares null and void a proposed rule concerning exceptions to good manufacturing practices for makers of positron emission tomography drug products and a guideline on the manufacture of such products. Prohibits another proposed regulation or guideline on those matters.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Improved Patient Access to Clinical Studies Act of 1997 - Prohibits a health plan from denying, limiting, imposing additional conditions on, or discriminating against an enrollee on the basis of the enrollee's participation in an approved clinical study.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the time limitation on benefits for immunosuppressive drugs under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Breast Cancer Research Extension Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Domestic Violence Legal Services Eligibility Act - Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to require the Legal Services Corporation, in establishing income levels to determine if a client who is the victim of domestic violence is eligible for assistance, to prescribe that only that client's income will be considered in making such determination.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Help Equip Local Police Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to expand current Department of Defense procedures for the procurement by State and local law enforcement agencies of law enforcement equipment suitable for counter-drug activities to include equipment that is not suitable or intended for counter-drug activities, but excluding any equipment that the Department does not procure for its own purposes. Terminates such expanded authority two years after the enactment of this Act, but allows the Secretary to continue to process requests received before such date.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Late Term Abortion Restriction Act - Makes it unlawful, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, to knowingly perform an abortion after the fetus has become viable, unless, in the medical judgment of the attending physician, it is necessary to preserve the life of the woman or to avert serious adverse health consequences to her. Subjects a physician who violates this Act to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1997 - Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund - Establishes in the Treasury the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Specifies that any individual who has a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection shall receive $125,000 from amounts available in the Fund if the individual meets one of the following conditions: (1) has a blood-clotting disorder and was treated with blood-clotting agents between July 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987; (2) is the lawful spouse of such individual or the former lawful spouse and was the lawful spouse of the individual at any time after a date within such period on which the individual was treated; or (3) acquired the HIV infection through perinatal transmission from a parent who is such an individual. Requires that the following conditions be met with respect to such individual: (1) the individual submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services written medical documentation that the individual has an HIV infection; (2) a petition for payment be filed with the Secretary by or on behalf of such individual; and (3) that the Secretary determine that the claim meets the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 105) Specifies that any right under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable. Sets limits regarding the number of claims per victim. (Sec. 106) Prohibits the Secretary from making any payment with respect to any petition filed under this Act unless the petition is filed within three years after the enactment of this Act. Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs - Prohibits a settlement payment from being considered income or resources in determining a class member's eligibility for, or the amount of: (1) medical assistance under the Medicaid program; or (2) benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program. Defines the terms: (1) "class member"; and (2) "settlement payment."
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Railway Labor Act to apply its provisions regarding railway labor practices to U.S. air carrier flight operations (excluding ground operations performed by non-flight crew members) conducted in whole or in part outside of the United States and their flight crew members who perform their duties in whole or in part outside of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Safe and Sober Streets Act of 1997 - Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of the funds authorized for Federal aid highway programs for FY 2001, and ten percent of such amounts for subsequent fiscal years, from any State that has not enacted and is not enforcing a law that considers as intoxicated an individual who has an alcohol concentration level of 0.08 percent or greater while operating a motor vehicle in such State. Allows funds withheld from a State during FY 2001 to be available for up to three fiscal years after such date (to allow a State to meet such requirement within such period), but allows no grace period with respect to funds withheld during the subsequent fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Northern Forest Stewardship Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, at the request of the Governor of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, to: (1) provide technical assistance for sustainable forest management; (2) assist in coordinating ecological and economic research and implementation of interstate and Northern Forest Lands Council policies; (3) provide technical and financial assistance for State conservation land planning and acquisition (authorizes appropriations), and rural community assistance. Expresses the sense of the Congress regarding: (1) the need to address certain tax policies that work against Northern Forest conservation; (2) liability exemption for private landowners who permit public use of their land; and (3) nongame conservation funding. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, at the request of the Governor of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont, to provide technical and financial assistance for Northern Forest water quality assessment. Authorizes specified appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the post-1987 reduction in the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides, beginning in 1999, for cost-of-living adjustments in the State ceiling on such bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
NAFTA Accountability Act - Requires assessment of the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), renegotiation of certain NAFTA provisions, and withdrawal from NAFTA unless specified conditions are met and certified to. Sets forth conditions for continuing U.S. participation in NAFTA, which must be met before the end of 1998. Requires certifications by certain U.S. officials with respect to NAFTA, relating to: (1) overall trade balance between each NAFTA Party (United States, Canada, and Mexico) (by the Secretary of Commerce); (2) currency values (by the Secretary of the Treasury); (3) gains in U.S. jobs and living standards (by the Secretary of Labor); (4) health and environmental standards, with respect to food imports and to U.S.-Mexico border areas (by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Food and Drug Administration, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency); (5) flow of illegal drugs from Mexico and Canada (by the Attorney General); (6) NAFTA Party democracy and human freedoms (by the President); (7) U.S. agriculture (by the Secretary of Agriculture); and (8) compliance with U.S. transportation safety standards by Mexican commercial trucks or buses coming into the United States (by the Secretary of Transportation). Requires the President to renegotiate, in specified ways, the terms of NAFTA to: (1) correct trade deficits, currency distortions, loss of U.S. jobs, and agricultural tariff and quota provisions; and (2) ensure the safety of the public health and the environment, provide effective drug interdiction, and ensure compliance with certain U.S. transportation standards. Directs the President to consult regularly with the Congress regarding such renegotiations and certifications. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative to consult with appropriate congressional committees in developing technical and conforming amendments that may be required to carry out this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that until the conditions set by this Act are met: (1) the President should not engage in negotiations to expand NAFTA to include other countries; and (2) fast-track authority should not be renewed with respect to the approval of any such NAFTA expansion.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a postage stamp to honor law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Biomedical Research Commitment Resolution of 1997 - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that appropriations for the National Institutes of Health should be increased by 100 percent over the next five fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of Commerce should ensure that the information requested in the 2000 decennial census of population with respect to ancestry shall be at least as comprehensive as the information that was requested in the 1990 decennial census (in terms of content and the range of respondents from whom such information is sought).
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1997
Aviation Safety Protection Act of 1997 - Amends Federal transportation law to establish a whistleblower protection program for airline employees providing air safety information. Prohibits air carriers, contractors, and subcontractors from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee as to pay, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee: (1) is about to provide or has provided to the Federal Government information relating to air safety; or (2) is about to file or has filed a proceeding, or testified, or otherwise participated in a proceeding relating to air safety. Sets forth a Department of Labor complaint procedure for persons who believe they have been discharged or discriminated against in violation of this Act. Provides for award of attorney's fees of up to $5,000 to a prevailing employer for any such complaint found frivolous or brought in bad faith. Specifies civil penalties for violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1997
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to remove the requirement for an X-ray as a condition of coverage of chiropractic services under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1997
Women's Health Office Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Social Security Act, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish an Office of (or on) Women's Health and a related coordinating committee in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the Health Care Resources and Services Administration, and the Office of the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements, contracts, and interagency agreements with public and nonprofit private entities, agencies, and organizations. Requires that the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall directly or through contracts with public and private entities, agencies, and organization, provide for evaluations of projects carried out with financial assistance provided under the grants and for the dissemination of information developed as a result of such projects. Transfers to such Office all functions exercised by the Office on Women's Health of the Public Health Service prior to the enactment of this Act, including all personnel and compensation authority, all delegation and assignment authority, and all remaining appropriations. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary for FY 1998 through 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Working Families Child Care Act of 1997 - Amends the Child Care Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize appropriations for grants to States for child care for: (1) low-income working families; and (2) areas with child care shortages. Requires States to use certain of such funds to provide child care services for: (1) families who have left the State program of assistance under title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)) of the Social Security Act because of employment; (2) families that are at risk of becoming dependent on such assistance program; and (3) low-income working families meeting specified criteria. Requires States to use certain of such funds for child care activities in areas of the State that have child care supply shortages. Includes among such child care activities programs for: (1) infant care; (2) before- and after-school; (3) resources and referrals; (4) nontraditional work hours; (5) extending the hours of pre-kindergarten programs to provide full-day services; and (6) any other program the Secretary deems appropriate. Requires State reports to include information on access to child care by low-income working families. Requires reports of the Secretary to place particular emphasis on such access.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Morris K. Udall Wilderness Act of 1997 - Designates specified lands in Alaska as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Primary Care Health Practitioner Incentive Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to payments for medical and other health services, to cover services which would be physicians' services if furnished by a physician but: (1) which are performed by a clinical nurse specialist; and (2) which the clinical nurse specialist is legally authorized to perform by the State. Eliminates the requirement, with respect to such services performed by a nurse practitioner, that they be performed in a skilled nursing facility or other specified nursing facility. Covers, in addition, other services and supplies incidental to such services. Revises the formula for payment from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund for such services (thereby increasing such payment). Repeals the rural area restriction on services performed by nurse practitioners or clinical nurse specialists for which direct payment may be made. Requires a ten percent bonus payment from the Fund for services of a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist furnished in a health professional shortage area.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1997
Paperwork Elimination Act of 1997 - Amends the Paperwork Reduction Act to require the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to: (1) provide direction and oversee the use of information technology, including alternative information technologies to substitute for paper; (2) specifically promote the optional use of electronic information technology as such an alternative; and (3) provide within a required information resources strategic management plan a description of progress in providing for the use of electronic information as a substitute for paper. Requires each Federal agency to: (1) ensure that each information collection provides for the optional use of electronic maintenance, submission, or disclosure of information; (2) use alternative information technologies to reduce burden and improve data quality, agency efficiency, and responsiveness to the public; and (3) publish a description of how respondents may electronically maintain the information to be collected. Requires the Director to report to the Congress on the extent to which Federal agencies reduced the collection of information burden on small businesses and other persons through the use of electronic maintenance, submission, or disclosure of information as a substitute for paper maintenance, submission, or disclosure.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1997
Battered Women's Employment Protection Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to unemployment tax to require appropriate State laws to provide for unemployment compensation for an individual separated from employment due to circumstances directly resulting from the individual's experience of domestic violence. Amends the Social Security Act to require State laws approved under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act to provide for training for claims reviewers and hearing personnel in the nature of domestic violence, and in methods of ascertaining its existence, so that employment separations stemming from domestic violence are reliably screened, identified, and adjudicated. (Sec. 4) Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act to entitle an employee to such leave: (1) in order to care for the employee's child or parent, if such child or parent is addressing domestic violence and its effects; or (2) because the employee is addressing domestic violence and its effects, the employee is unable to perform any of the functions of the employee's position. Allows leave, in such cases, to be taken intermittently or on a reduced leave schedule. Allows the employee to elect, or the employer to require, substitution of accrued paid leave for such leave. Sets forth provisions Provides for certification and confidentiality of domestic violence information involved in such cases. (Sec. 5) Amends specified Federal law to provide for entitlement to leave for Federal employees in such domestic violence situations. (Sec. 6) Allows unemployment compensation or leave benefits under other laws, collective bargaining agreements, or employment benefit programs greater then those provided by this Act; but prohibits diminishment of the rights and benefits established by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1997
Health Insurance Bill of Rights Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require a health insurance issuer under provisions of this Act to comply with certain notice requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Requires an issuer, if coverage provides any emergency services benefits, to cover emergency services without authorization, participating provider, or (subject to exception) other restrictions. Requires an issuer, if the issuer requires or provides for an enrollee to designate a participating primary care provider, to permit a female enrollee to designate an obstetrics and gynecology specialist as the enrollee's primary care provider. Prohibits an issuer, if an enrollee has not designated such a specialist as a primary care provider, from requiring prior authorization for coverage of routine gynecological care and pregnancy-related services provided by such a specialist. Requires an issuer to refer to a specialist an enrollee who requires treatment by a specialist. Provides, in certain circumstances, for: (1) a specialist to provide and coordinate an enrollee's primary and specialty care; and (2) standing referrals. Requires an issuer, if a contract between the issuer and a provider is terminated, to permit an enrollee undergoing a course of treatment to continue with the provider during a transitional period. Requires an issuer to permit each enrollee to receive: (1) primary care from any available participating primary care provider; and (2) subject to limitation, specialty care from any available qualified participating provider. Prohibits issuer discrimination against an enrollee on the basis of the enrollee's participation in a clinical study or investigation approved and funded by specified Federal agencies. Regulates coverage of prescription drugs when an issuer uses a formulary. Requires issuers to: (1) maintain a quality assurance and improvement program; (2) collect uniform quality data; (3) have a written process for the selection of participating professionals; (4) maintain a drug utilization program; (5) conduct utilization review; (6) disclose specified information to enrollees and prospective enrollees; (7) ensure compliance with confidentiality laws; and (8) maintain a complaints and appeals system. Authorizes appropriations for grants to States to establish and maintain a Health Insurance Ombudsman. Prohibits agreements between issuers and providers from: (1) restricting the provider from engaging in medical communications with a patient (allowing the issuer to advise of the coverage's limitations on particular services based on the religious or moral convictions of the issuer); or (2) transferring to the provider any liability relating to actions or omissions of the issuer or agent. Imposes requirements on physician incentive plans. Prohibits an issuer from limiting the manner in which covered services are delivered. Requires each health issuer to comply with patient protection requirements of this Act regarding group and individual health insurance coverage it offers. Allows a State to establish requirements at least as stringent on issuers as the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1997
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Public Health Service Act to require any group health plan which provides emergency health services to cover emergency services furnished to a plan participant: (1) without need for any prior authorization; (2) subject to stated exceptions, whether or not the physician or provider is plan participant; and (3) subject to stated exceptions, without regard to any other term or condition of the plan. Defines "emergency medical services" and related terms. Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) to provide for the provision of the same benefits to Medicare and Medicaid plan participants. Provides for the establishment of guidelines by the appropriate Secretaries in order carry out the provisions of this Act. Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish an advisory panel to assist in the development of such guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Commemorative Coins Title II: Circulating Coins Thomas Alva Edison Sesquicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Title I: Commemorative Coins - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison in commemoration of the sesquicentennial of his birth. Directs the Secretary to conduct an open design competition for the design of the obverse and reverse of the coins. Terminates the authority to mint such coins after December 31, 1997. Requires that certain surcharges received from coin sales be distributed to specified entities. Title II: Circulating Coins - Amends Federal law to declare that half-dollar coins minted between specified dates shall have the same design as the commemorative coins minted under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to add providers of assistance to families or individuals with annual incomes below the poverty line to the list of organizations eligible to receive surplus personal property allocated by the Administrator of the General Services Administration.
![Official portrait of Rep. Baldacci, John Elias [D-ME-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000081_200.jpg)