United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1994
Sheep Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1994 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to issue a sheep and wool promotion, research, education, and information order. Includes in such order: (1) establishment of a National Sheep Promotion, Research, and Information Board; and (2) assessment of fees. Provides for approval referenda among producers, feeders, and importers. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1994
Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to extend from three years to five years the period during which Medicare select policies may be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1994
Federal Integrated Spent Fuel and High-Level Waste Management Act of 1994 - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to instruct the Secretary of Energy to begin taking possession and providing for the removal from existing storage facilities of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel by a specified deadline. Transfers title to such waste or spent fuel to the Secretary at the time of its Federal removal or possession. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Federal Integrated Spent Fuel and High-Level Waste Management Program to implement such directive; and (2) submit annual status reports to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: American Heritage Areas Partnership Program Title II: Designation of American Heritage Areas Title III: Studies Regarding Potential American Heritage Areas Title IV: Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Amendments Title V: Bramwell National Historic District Title VI: Southwestern Pennsylvania American Heritage Area Amendments American Heritage Areas Act of 1994 - Title I: American Heritage Areas Partnership Program - American Heritage Areas Partnership Program Act of 1994 - Establishes the American Heritage Areas Partnership Program within the Department of the Interior, consisting of such Areas designated by this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) evaluate nominated Areas; (2) advise State and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate entities as to suitable methods of recognizing and preserving thematically and geographically linked natural, historic, and cultural resources and recreational opportunities; and (3) consider any designated Heritage Area for nomination to the World Heritage List if the Area meets the nomination qualifications. Provides that an area may be designated as an American Heritage Area only by an Act of the Congress or by the means provided in title II. Conditions such designation on the Secretary of the Interior's approval of an Area feasibility study and compact. (Sec. 106) Sets forth provisions regarding compacts (relating to the objectives and management of Areas proposed for designation) and management plans (which shall present comprehensive recommendations for the conservation, funding, management, and development of such Areas). Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical and financial assistance for early actions that are important to the theme of an Area and that protect resources that would be in imminent danger of irreversible damage otherwise. (Sec. 107) Authorizes the management entities named in the compacts for American Heritage Areas to receive Federal funds in support of cooperative partnerships to prepare and implement the management plans and otherwise perform the functions contemplated in this title. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) withdrawal of the designation of an Area; (2) matching grants; (3) technical and other assistance; (4) spending Federal funds on non-federally owned property; (5) reporting requirements; (6) duties of Federal entities conducting Area activities; and (7) the lack of effect of this Act on other land use regulation. (Sec. 111) Authorizes appropriations. Specifies funding limitations. Title II: Designation of American Heritage Areas - Designates the following areas, subject to specified requirements, as part of the American Heritage Areas Partnership Program: (1) American Coal Heritage Area, West Virginia and Virginia; (2) Augusta Canal American Heritage Area, Georgia; (3) Cane River American Heritage Area, Louisiana; (4) Essex American Heritage Area, Massachusetts; (5) Hudson River Valley American Heritage Area, New York; (6) Ohio & Erie Canal American Heritage Area, Ohio; (7) Shenandoah Valley Battlefields American Heritage Area, Virginia; (8) Steel Industry American Heritage Area, Pennsylvania; (9) Vancouver American Heritage Area, Washington; and (10) Wheeling American Heritage Area, West Virginia. Title III: Studies Regarding Potential American Heritage Areas - Directs the Secretary to complete a study on the suitability and feasibility of designating the following as American Heritage Areas: (1) Ohio River corridor, from its headwaters in Pennsylvania to its confluence with the Mississippi River; (2) Fox and Lower Wisconsin River corridors, Wisconsin; (3) a corridor formed by Oconee and other specified counties, South Carolina; and (4) Tryon County, in the Mohawk Valley of New York State, and the Country of the Six Nations (Iroquois Confederacy). Title IV: Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Amendments - Amends the Act establishing the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to make changes with respect to boundaries, membership and termination of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission, and plan revision and implementation. Directs the Commission to revise the Cultural Heritage and Land Management Plan and submit the revised plan to the Secretary and the Governors of Massachusetts and Rhode Island for approval. Specifies that the revision shall address any change in the boundaries of the Corridor that occurs after submission of the plan and shall include a natural resource inventory of areas or features that should be protected, restored, or managed because of the natural and cultural significance of the areas or features. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the Secretary to provide funds for projects in the Corridor that exhibit national significance or provide a wide spectrum of historic, recreational, environmental, educational, or interpretive opportunities, without regard to whether the projects are in public or private ownership. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) application procedures; and (2) funding and funding limitations. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Bramwell National Historic District - Designates the Bramwell National Historic District, West Virginia. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the State of West Virginia, or any political subdivision thereof, to further the purposes of the Historic District. Sets forth provisions regarding the ration of non-Federal funds and agreements regarding payments. Authorizes appropriations. Title VI: Southwestern Pennsylvania American Heritage Area Amendments - Southwestern Pennsylvania American Heritage Amendments Act - Amends the Act establishing in the Department of the Interior the Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission (the Act) to designate the Southwestern Pennsylvania American Heritage Area. Specifies that such Area shall not be considered an American Heritage Area for purposes of the American Heritage Areas Partnership Program Act of 1994 or the American Heritage Areas Partnership Program. (Sec. 604) Directs the Commission to revise: (1) the management plan developed before the date of enactment of this title to provide for limited Federal involvement; and (2) the scope and cost document developed before such date to reflect the total cost of each project proposed for approval and the Federal portion of such cost. Specifies that both the management plan and the scope and cost document shall be submitted to the Secretary for approval. Bars the Commission from making loans or grants involving Federal funds except as provided in this title. Limits specified funds available for the preservation or restoration of historic properties in an amount not to exceed $100,000 for each project so assisted. Specifies that Federal funds available under the Act with respect to projects may be made available only for projects that are consistent with the Standards and Guidelines for Historic Properties promulgated by the Secretary. Sets forth additional funding limitations. (Sec. 606) Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 607) Authorizes the Secretary to provide signs, interpretive materials, and other informational devices for a vehicular tour route known as the Path of Progress Heritage Route.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 1994
Missing Service Personnel Act of 1994 - Requires the military commander of the unit, facility, or area to which the following persons are assigned to conduct an investigation as to their whereabouts after receiving factual information that their status is uncertain: (1) military personnel who disappear during a period of war, national emergency, or hostilities; and (2) any civilian Federal employee (including an employee of a Federal contractor) who serves with or accompanies an armed force in the field during such a period. Requires such persons to be placed in a missing status and requires notification of such status to either the officer having general court-martial authority over the person (for military personnel) or the Secretary of the military department employing such person (for civilian and contractor employees). Requires such officials to be kept informed (specifies deadlines) as to all information and inquiries concerning efforts to locate such missing personnel. Requires such officials to appoint a board to conduct an inquiry into the whereabouts and status of such persons. Provides for: (1) board composition, activities, and access to information; (2) inquiry proceedings (requiring the appointment of counsel, with specified duties, to represent the missing person); (3) a board recommendation as to the official status of a person following such an inquiry; (4) board reports to the officials involved as to board conclusions (prohibiting public availability of such reports for a one-year period); (5) report review by the official; (6) a report from such official to interested persons; and (7) an additional investigation and inquiry by an additional board upon receipt of new information within one year after the date of the first official notice of a person's disappearance. Allows interested persons (family members, dependents, next of kin) to participate at the proceedings of the board during such additional inquiry. Provides for the availability of appropriate information to board personnel conducting investigations and inquiries. Provides similar procedures for the second board with respect to meetings (open to the public, with exceptions), recommendations, reports, review by the Secretary of the military department concerned, and reports to interested persons. Requires a board to be reconvened when information becomes available that would directly lead to a determination of a person's status. Requires the Secretary concerned to appoint a board to conduct an inquiry as to the status of a missing person: (1) on or about three years after the first official notice of the disappearance of such person; and (2) not later than every three years thereafter until a total of 12 years after the first official notice. Provides for: (1) the release to a board by the Secretary concerned of all personnel file information concerning missing persons; (2) the treatment of classified information; (3) penalties for the wrongful withholding of information; (4) limited circumstances under which a board may recommend that a missing person be declared officially dead; (5) the submission by the board of appropriate information if such recommendation occurs; and (6) judicial review for interested persons of a board decision to declare a person officially dead. Provides for the appointment of a board to review the status of a person previously declared dead, with board procedures similar to those described above. Requires a person previously declared dead or in a missing status who is subsequently found alive to be paid for the full time of their absence.
United States · United States Congress · 19 August 1994
Weather Service Modernization Performance Review Act of 1994 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) ensure that the implementation of the National Implementation Plan (Plan) for modernization of the National Weather Service does not result in service degradation in any specific geographic area; and (2) provide for an independent review of the Plan by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences.
United States · United States Congress · 18 August 1994
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to restore the business meal expense deduction to 80 percent (currently 50 percent) for individuals subject to the hours of service limitations of the Department of Transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1994
Amends the Mississippi River Corridor Study Commission Act of 1989 to extend until June 30, 1996, the deadline for the Mississippi River Corridor Study Commission to make its final report.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1994
Requires the administrative agency to which the Secretary of Labor has delegated the authority to adjudicate Federal workers' compensation claims to select physicians on an impartial basis when seeking a second medical opinion in such a claim.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1994
Requires the administrative agency to which the Secretary of Labor has delegated authority to adjudicate workers' compensation claims of Federal employees under civil service law to select only board-certified physicians to provide second opinions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1994
Smithsonian Institution Sesquicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the scientific, educational, and cultural significance of the Smithsonian Institution. Mandates that: (1) all but a certain portion of surcharges received from coin sales be paid by the Secretary to the Smithsonian Institution to support programming related to the 150th anniversary and general activities of the Smithsonian Institution; and (2) a certain portion of such surcharges be dedicated to supporting the operation and activities of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1994
Central Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Amendments Consent Act of 1993 - Grants the consent of the Congress to amendments made by the States of Illinois and Kentucky to the Central Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1994
Vegetable Oil Use Promotion Act - Establishes in the Commodity Credit Corporation the Vegetable Oil Industrial Products Fund to promote industrial products containing vegetable oils from specified oilseeds. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make annual estimates of vegetable oil stocks; and (2) engage in activities, including purchases, to increase vegetable oil consumption and demand if stocks exceed certain limits.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
Child Labor Deterrence Act of 1994 - Urges the President to seek agreement with governments that trade with the United States to secure an international ban on trade in products of child labor. (Sec. 4) Requires the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to identify foreign industries that: (1) do not comply with national laws prohibiting child labor; (2) utilize child labor in the export of products; and (3) have on a continuing basis exported such products to the United States. Authorizes any person to file a petition with the Secretary requesting that a particular foreign industry and its host country be identified. Requires the Secretary, before making such identification, to: (1) consult with the United States Trade Representative and the Secretaries of State, Commerce, and the Treasury; (2) hold at least one public hearing for public comment; and (3) publish notice in the Federal Register that such identification is being considered and the time and place for public comment. (Sec. 5) Prohibits the importation of products which have been produced by child labor. (Sec. 6) Sets forth civil and criminal penalties. (Sec. 9) Authorizes approriations for a U.S. contribution to: (1) the International Labor Organization for activities of the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor; and (2) the United Nations Commission on Human Rights for activities relating to bonded child labor that are carried out by the Subcommittee and Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1994
Multiple Sclerosis Home Treatment Equity Act of 1994 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide coverage and payment for self-administered betaseron (Interferon beta-1b) for patients with multiple sclerosis.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1994
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) June 21, 1994, is designated as Freedom Summer Remembrance Day; and (2) it reaffirms the goal of removing remaining barriers to full voter participation in this Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1994
United States-China Act of 1994 - Declares that if nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) is not granted to China by reason of the enactment of a congressional disapproval resolution, such treatment shall continue to apply to goods that are produced by a person that is not a state-owned Chinese enterprise, but not apply to any goods that are produced by a state-owned Chinese enterprise. Provides that if nondiscriminatory treatment is granted to China for a 12-month period on July 3, 1994, such treatment shall not apply to: (1) any good that is produced by the People's Liberation Army or a Chinese defense industrial trading company; or (2) any nonqualified good that is produced by a state-owned Chinese enterprise. Provides that in order for such treatment to be granted to China, the Secretary of the Treasury shall consult with American businesses that have significant trade with or investment in China, to encourage them to adopt a voluntary code of conduct that: (1) follows internationally recognized human rights principles; (2) ensures the employment of Chinese citizens is not discriminatory in terms of sex, ethnic origin, or political belief; (3) ensures that no convict, forced, or indentured labor is knowingly used; (4) recognizes the rights of workers to freely organize and bargain collectively; and (5) discourages mandatory political indoctrination on business premises. Requires the Secretary to determine, and publish in the Federal Register, which persons are state-owned Chinese enterprises and Chinese defense industrial trading companies. Authorizes the President to waive any condition or prohibition imposed under this Act if he determines and reports to the Congress that its continued imposition would have a serious adverse effect on vital U.S. national security interests. Declares that if the President recommends in 1995 that the waiver of human rights and emigration requirements for nondiscriminatory treatment for China be continued, he shall state in a specified report to the Congress the extent to which China has made progress with respect to: (1) adhering to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (2) ceasing the exportation to the United States of products made with convict, forced, or indentured labor; (3) ceasing unfair and discriminatory trade practices which restrict and unreasonably burden American businesses; and (4) adhering to the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime and the controls adopted by the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Australia Group.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1994
Persian Gulf War Veterans' Compensation Act of 1994 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) develop and implement a uniform case assessment protocol to ensure thorough assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of all Persian Gulf War (War) veterans suffering from illnesses the origins of which are currently unkown but which may be attributable to service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during such War; (2) develop case definitions or diagnoses for such illnesses; and (3) implement a comprehensive outreach program, including a newsletter and a toll-free telephone number, to inform War veterans and their families of the medical care and other benefits that may be provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a result of service in such War. Directs the Secretary to pay compensation to a War veteran suffering from a disability resulting from an undiagnosed illness if such disability becomes manifest to a degree of ten percent or more within three years of separation from active military service. Provides exceptions to the payment of such compensation (i.e., when there is a preponderance of evidence to show that the disability was not incurred during such service or occurred after such service). Allows the Secretary to cease such payments after providing specified congressional committees with a scientific report showing that such disabilities are not connected to service in the War. Directs the Secretary to enter into: (1) an agreement with the Secretary of Defense for access to all clinical data on War veterans who remain on active duty, and to continually compile such data (with a required annual report); and (2) a contract for the conduct of an epidemiological study designed to assess the short- and long-term health consequences of service in such War (with appropriate oversight, a status report, and annual and final reports). Authorizes appropriations for FY 1995 through 2000 for such study. Authorizes appropriations to the Department for FY 1995 through 1998 for the conduct of research to advance the understanding of health risks and effects of service in the Gulf during such War and the means of treating such health effects.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1994
Amends the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act to increase the amounts transferred from State fish restoration and management project appropriations for grants for recreational boating safety programs. Revises funding from the same appropriations for grants to coastal and inland States for: (1) the construction and renovation of pumpout stations and waste reception facilities; and (2) education of recreational boaters about the problems of human body waste discharges from vessels.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1994
Designates September 16, 1994, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Requires the display of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag at: (1) all national cemeteries and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 30, 1994 (Memorial Day), September 16, 1994 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day), and November 11, 1994 (Veterans Day); and (2) the White House and the buildings containing the primary offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Selective Service System on September 16, 1994 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day).
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
Requires the head of any Federal agency to differentiate between fats, oils, and greases of animal, marine, or vegetable origin, and other oils and greases in issuing certain regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act Title II: Amendments to the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act Marine Fish Conservation Amendments of 1994 - Title I: Amendments to Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act - Amends the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act to declare that it is the policy of the Congress to: (1) assure that the national fishery conservation and management program encourages development of practical measures that reduce bycatch (the incidental catch, take, or harvest of certain fish, marine mammals, and other specified animals) to insignificant levels approaching zero; and (2) ensure that all State and Federal actions are consistent with the conservation and management of fisheries under such Act. (Sec. 105) Revises national standards for fishery conservation and management to require conservation and management measures to: (1) provide an adequate margin of safety to act as a buffer against overfishing; and (2) reduce bycatch to the lowest level practicable and avoid unnecessary waste of fish. (Sec. 106) Revises requirements for Regional Fishery Management Councils to direct the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that at least 25 percent of the appointed members of each Council are persons selected for their fisheries expertise, as demonstrated by university, environmental organization, or other non-user group affiliation and by past actions and accomplishments. Provides for removal of a Council member for cause upon the Secretary's determination of a conflict of interest. Requires that each Council decision be recorded by roll call vote registered and forwarded to the Secretary for review. Authorizes each Council to request the Secretary to initiate consultation with a Federal agency about certain agency activity which may affect the essential fishery habitat of a fishery under its jurisdiction designated in a fishery management plan. Revises financial disclosure requirements for Council members to include financial interests held by children, grandchildren, parents, or siblings. Requires any Council member holding a financial interest requiring disclosure to recuse him or herself from voting on or participating in all Council actions that would affect such interest. Authorizes Council members and the public to challenge, in writing to the Secretary, any vote of a Council member alleged to have been made in violation of such recusal requirement. (Sec. 107) Requires any fishery management plan to: (1) specify an objective definition of overfishing for each fish species or population involved in the fishery; (2) contain a recovery plan for any overfished fishery; (3) specify allowable gear types for the fishery, requiring the use of types which minimize bycatch and associated mortality; (4) provide for the stationing on U.S. fishing vessels of observers to gather reliable data; (5) establish a system of fees to pay for plan implementation; (6) assess the bycatch of all gear types used in the fishery; and (7) contain conservation and management measures to minimize or eliminate the adverse impacts of fishing gear and practices on habitat for fish. Requires the Secretary to review each existing fishery management plan for compliance with the definition of overfishing in this Act. (Sec. 108) Specifies plan review, plan preparation, and overfishing determination duties of the Secretary. Mandates the contents of regulations establishing a system to collect fees to pay for fishing vessel observers. Establishes a National Fishery Observer Fund. Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register a list of fish species, populations, and population complexes that are overfished and the objective definition of overfishing used to make that determination. Requires the Secretary to develop a research plan to identify and gather needed data on fish species, populations, and population complexes for which information is insufficient. Revises the approval voting requirements for a management plan for any fishery under the authority of more than one Council. Declares that any Secretary-prepared fishery management plan or amendment addressing a highly migratory species fishery, which was in effect on July 1, 1993, shall remain in effect until superseded by a plan or amendment prepared by the appropriate Councils and approved by the Secretary. Sets forth procedures for adoption of a recovery plan addressing overfishing with respect to fish species, populations, or population complexes subject to a fishery management plan. Directs the Secretary to provide for the elimination of bycatch through fees and incentive programs, including cooperative efforts with the Federal Government on research and development of selective fishing gear and other technological devices for the reduction of bycatch. Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register and submit to the Congress a report on the cumulative impacts on fishery habitats of the actions authorized, funded, or carried out by Federal agencies, including an assessment of how fishery habitats identified in approved fishery management plans are affected. Directs the Secretary to review: (1) the feasibility of establishing a risk sharing pool through a reasonable fee to provide coverage for vessels and vessel owners against liability from civil suits by observers; and (2) the availability of comprehensive commercial insurance for vessel and owner liability against such suits. Requires the Secretary to establish such a pool unless such insurance is available to all fishing vessels and U.S fish processors required to have observers, and it will provide a greater measure of coverage at a lower cost. Requires the Secretary to establish an alternative observation program for vessels on which facilities for quartering of an observer, or for carrying out observer functions, are inadequate to ensure the health or safety of the observer or the safe operation of the vessel. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the Secretary or the appropriate Council (subject to the Secretary's approval) to adopt regulations as an interim measure in the absence of a fishery management plan. Prescribes general requirements for such regulations. Requires the Secretary to comment on and make recommendations concerning any actual or proposed action authorized, funded, or carried out by a State or Federal agency that may result in the destruction or adverse modification of the essential habitat designated in a fishery management plan. Prescribes guidelines for Federal agency response to such comments or recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to prohibit any such Federal agency actions. Provides for: (1) citizen suits to enforce such Act; and (2) citizen petitions to compel the Secretary to make a finding or determination or take any other action authorized by such Act. Title II: Amendments to the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act - Amends the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 to require the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service (or his or her designee) to be one of the three U.S. Commissioners on the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. (Sec. 201) Prohibits any U.S. Commissioner from having a financial interest or from serving as an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee with an organization with a financial interest in any catching, harvesting, processing, or marketing activity undertaken within any fishery over which the Commission has jurisdiction. Repeals certain knowledge and experience requirements, with respect to commercial and recreational fishing, for non-governmental Commissioners. Allows regulations to carry out Commission recommendations which may have the effect of decreasing any allocation or quota of fish to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Time-Limited Transitional Assistance Title II: Make Work Pay Subtitle A: Health Care Subtitle B: Earned Income Tax Credit Subtitle C: Child Care Subtitle D: AFDC Work Disregards Subtitle E: AFDC Asset Limitations Title III: The Work First Program Subtitle A: AFDC Subtitle B: Targeted Jobs Tax Credit Title IV: Family Responsibility and Improved Child Support Enforcement Subtitle A: Enhancement of Ability to Identify and Locate Noncustodial Parents Subtitle B: Paternity Establishment Subtitle C: Improvement of Child Support Order Establishment Process Subtitle D: Child Support Enforcement Title V: Teen Pregnancy and Family Stability Subtitle A: Federal Role Subtitle B: State Role Title VI: Program Simplification Subtitle A: Increased State Flexibility Subtitle B: Coordination of AFDC and Food Stamp Programs Subtitle C: Fraud Reduction Title VII: Financing Subtitle A: Ineligibility of certain Aliens for certain Social Services Subtitle B: Other Provisions Relating to Aliens Subtitle C: Limitation on Emergency Assistance Expenditures Subtitle D: Family Day Care Homes Program Improvements Subtitle E: Collection of Certain State and Local Taxes on Out-of-State Sales Title VIII: Effective Date Independence for Families Act of 1994 - Title I: Time-Limited Transitional Assistance - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) require States opting below to have work first programs to make ineligible for AFDC any family with a member who has participated in such work program for two years; (2) condition eligibility for AFDC on participation in job search activities except during unsubsidized full-time private sector employment; (3) provide transitional child care for families cut off AFDC after two years; and (4) direct the Secretary of Health and Human Service (Secretary) to establish a database of work first and community service programs participants for use by States opting to have work first programs. Title II: Make Work Pay - Amends SSA titles XIX (Medicaid) and IV part A (AFDC), as well as the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and other specified Federal law, to make various specified changes with regard to, among others, extended Medicaid enrollment for former AFDC recipients, increased AFDC earned income disregards, limited AFDC income and resource disregards of savings for education, first time home or automobile purchase, microenterprise initiatives, increased child care funding and transitional benefits for two parent families, and refundable tax credits for dependent care and other expenses connected with gaining employment in order to enable AFDC recipients to become self-sufficient. (Sec. 229) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Child Care Development and Block Grant Act should be reauthorized to allow States greater flexibility to use their funds to strengthen child care; and (2) States should institute a child care voucher system to enable families on AFDC to purchase child care services, create Consumer Information Centers for providing information on eligible child care providers, and loosen their regulations to allow for reimbursement of certain provider costs. Title III: The Work First Program - Amends SSA title IV to: (1) replace the current Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program under part F with a new Work First Program that allows participating States to establish work programs similar to those operated by Riverside County, California and the State of Oregon; (2) add a new part G (Community Service Program); (3) include a work supplementation component under each such program that provides for subsidized private sector or State or local government jobs; (4) give States the option of having such programs; and (5) require States exercising such option to provide participants with the necessary case management services to ensure integrated benefits and services provided under such programs. (Sec. 311) Amends IRC to provide for an increase in the minimum period of employment required to receive a targeted jobs tax credit. Title IV: Family Responsibility And Improved Child Support Enforcement - Amends SSA title IV parts A and D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to make specified changes with regard to AFDC recipient cooperation in establishing paternity of illegitimate children, locate services for enforcing child support orders, parenting services for new fathers, and distribution of child support proceeds. (Sec. 411) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) certain actions pursuant to a child support order, such as the denial of visitation rights, should be treated as irrelevant in actions brought to enforce other provisions of the order; (2) the Secretary should investigate accessing certain Federal data banks not linked to the Parent Locator Service; (3) the national network established under this title for handling locate requests should be used to access State records only through the agency administering the State part D plan; (4) social services should be provided in hospitals to women whose pregnancy results from rape or incest; and (5) States should implement methods for verifying locate information and develop programs like the State of Wisconsin's program for noncustodial parents unable to meet support obligations. (Sec. 421) Establishes the National Child Support Guidelines Commission to: (1) study and develop a national child support guideline if one proves advisable; and (2) submit a report on the study's results to the President and the Congress. (Sec. 431) Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a system for enabling child support information to be obtained at the workplace via W-4 form reporting by employees. Amends IRC to require employers to: (1) deduct and withhold child support obligations from employee wages; (2) pay withholdings to the appropriate payee; and (3) include withheld obligations on the employee's W-2 form. Makes various other specified changes to SSA title IV part D involving: (1) State procedures for comparing information in the national registry of child support orders (NR) established under this title with information obtained above from W-4 form reporting, and for imposing monetary penalties on employees who fail to report support obligations; (2) development of uniform withholding orders; (3) garnishment of certain Federal benefits and seizure of lottery winnings and other payouts to satisfy support arrearages; (4) State reporting of support obligations to credit bureaus; and (5) liability of grandparents for financial support of children of their minor children. Title V: Teen Pregnancy and Family Stability - Amends SSA title IV part A (AFDC) with respect to Federal and State roles in reducing teenage pregnancy and promoting family stability; by: (1) requiring States to deny AFDC for additional children (except those born as a result of rape or incest) of AFDC families unless the State plan explicitly provides for such additional children; and (2) providing for unmarried minors who are pregnant or who have children to live under adult supervision in order to receive AFDC. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a task force to reduce teenage pregnancy. (Sec. 511) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) children should be educated about the risks of early parenthood; (2) reproductive family planning and education should be made available to potential parents; and (3) States should use SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) funds to provide comprehensive services to high-risk youth and work with schools for early identification and referral of such children. Title VI: Program Simplification - Amends SSA titles IV part A and XI, as well as the Food Stamp Act of 1977, to give States increased flexibility in providing AFDC benefits (including restoring those wrongfully terminated) through, among other means, use of electronic benefit transfers, quicker action on waiver requests, and coordination with food stamp rules. (Sec. 631) Expresses the support of the Congress for certain efforts by the Social Security Administration to reduce fraud and abuse in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program under SSA title XVI. (Sec. 632) Requires the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of issuing a single counterfeit-resistant ID card to replace the current social security card and any health security card issued under health reform legislation. Title VII: Financing - Amends the SSA, the IRC, and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to make certain aliens ineligible for AFDC, SSI, Medicaid, food stamps, and the earned income tax credit. (Sec. 711) Sets forth special rules concerning aliens and general public assistance. (Sec. 714) Authorizes appropriations for financial assistance to States for assistance to resident aliens. Specifies the annual allocation of such Federal financial assistance for each State and the District of Columbia through FY 1988. (Sec. 721) Amends SSA title IV part A (AFDC) to revise: (1) the definition of "emergency assistance to needy families with children"; and (2) the limitation on State expenditures for such assistance. (Sec. 731) Amends the National School Lunch Act to: (1) modify family and group day care home reimbursement provisions under the child and adult care food program; and (2) provide grants to States for making grants to family and day care homes. Tax Fairness for Main Street Business Act of 1994 - States that the Congress: (1) recognizes that some States will be adversely affected by provisions of this Act which deny immigrants certain public assistance; (2) pledges to help those States offset the potential cost shift; and (3) encourages States, in authorizing them below to require out-of-State companies to collect sales taxes on certain purchases, to use increased revenues resulting from such collections to offset such cost shift and design assistance programs addressing special needs of immigrants. (Sec. 744) Authorizes a State or local jurisdiction to require certain out-of-State businesses to collect sales taxes on tangible personal property sold to residents of the State or local jurisdiction. (Sec. 745) Provides an in-lieu fee rate where local taxes are not uniform. (Sec. 746) Prohibits a State from requiring out-of-State businesses to file reporting returns more than once every calendar quarter. (Sec. 749) Requires a State to establish toll-free information services to provide such businesses with necessary forms and instructions. Title VIII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
Timber Fair Trade and Forest Conservation Act of 1994- Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), in order to determine whether a critical shortage exists of unprocessed timber, or of any species or grade of unprocessed timber, for domestic manufacturing, to monitor: (1) exports of, and contracts to export, unprocessed timber; and (2) domestic supplies of such unprocessed timber for domestic manufacturing purposes. Requires the Secretary to impose quantitative restrictions on the export of unprocessed timber in any State or region where a critical shortage exists. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress specified quarterly reports. Requires the Secretary, whenever such export restrictions are imposed, to give preference in the allocation of export licenses to persons who own or have ownership interests in fewer than 3,000 acres of forest land. Authorizes the President to suspend such export restrictions if a ruling is issued under the formal dispute resolution procedures of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) finding that they violate GATT Article XI prohibitions on export restrictions and are not allowable under such Article's exceptions. Directs the Secretary to impose quantitative restrictions on exports of unprocessed timber from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Montana.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
Senior Citizens Against Marketing Scams Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for enhanced penalties for telemarketing fraud that targets or victimizes persons over age 55. Directs the court to order offenders to: (1) pay restitution to persons who sustained losses as a result of the fraudulent activity; and (2) forfeit to the United States property constituting or derived from proceeds obtained as a result of the offense. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if necessary, amend the sentencing guidelines to ensure that victim related adjustments for fraud offenses against persons over age 55 are adequate. Authorizes the Attorney General to make awards for furnishing information leading to the prosecution and conviction of telemarketing fraud offenders. Authorizes appropriations. Makes the mail fraud statute applicable to matter sent or delivered by any private or commercial interstate carrier. Sets forth provisions regarding fraud and related activity in connection with access devices. Directs the Attorney General to establish a national, toll-free telemarketing fraud hotline.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1994
Veterans' Persian Gulf War Benefits Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) develop and expeditiously implement a uniform case assessment protocol that will ensure thorough assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of all Persian Gulf War veterans suffering from illnesses attributed to service in the Persian Gulf theater of operations during the Persian Gulf War; (2) expedite efforts to develop case definitions or diagnoses for illnesses associated with such service; and (3) develop and implement a comprehensive outreach program to inform such veterans and their families of health-care services, including comprehensive medical evaluations, that may be available through the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Directs the Secretary to pay compensation to Persian Gulf War veterans suffering from a chronic disability resulting from an undiagnosed illness that became manifest to a degree of ten percent or more within one year after completion of active duty in the Gulf War, with exceptions. Terminates compensation payments three years after the date of enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Veterans Affairs for: (1) FY 1995 through 1997 for conducting research of the health risk and effects of service during the Gulf War and the treatment of such effects; and (2) FY 1995 for a survey of Persian Gulf veterans as to the incidence and nature of health problems occurring in such veterans and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Welfare Reform Subtitle A: Aid To Families With Dependent Children Subtitle B: Earned Income Tax Credit Subtitle C: Microenterprise and Small Business Development Subtitle D: Effective Date Title II: Federal Job Training Program Reforms Subtitle A: Studies and Reports Subtitle B: Economic Self-Sufficiency Standards for Federal Job Training Programs Subtitle C: Effective Date Title III: Child Support Enforcement Working Off Welfare Act of 1994 - Title I: Welfare Reform - Subtitle A: Aid to Families with Dependent Children - Amends parts A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) and F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make various specified changes with regard to, among other things, income disregards, support services and case management, school attendance and child care, and job training and education in order to enable families on welfare to become self-sufficient. Subtitle B: Earned Income Tax Credit - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to submit to the Congress recommendations for procedures under which the Federal Government may make quarterly advance payments of earned income credit. Subtitle C: Microenterprise and Small Business Development - Amends SSA title IV part A to give States the option of disregarding certain income and resources related to microenterprise initiatives or designated for education, training, or employability through the use of a qualified asset account. (Sec. 141) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) study and report to the Congress on the use of such accounts; and (2) report to the Congress on the AFDC asset limit on automobiles. Provides for the inclusion of microenterprise training and activities in the JOBS program. Subtitle D: Effective Date - Sets forth effective dates for this title. Title II: Federal Job Training Program Reforms - Subtitle A: Studies and Reports - Requires the Secretaries of Education, of HHS, and of Labor (Secretaries) each to study the effectiveness of the job training programs under their respective jurisdictions for a report to the Congress. (Sec. 202) Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on the effectiveness of such programs, including the extent to which they are successful at placing participants into certain unsubsidized employment. Subtitle B: Economic Self-Sufficiency Standards for Federal Job Training Programs - Requires the Secretaries jointly to develop and publish in the Federal Register proposed standards for measuring the minimum amount of wages and employment benefits that a participant should receive after termination from such program in order to ensure his or her long-term economic self-sufficiency. Subtitle C: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date for this title. Title III: Child Support Enforcement - Directs the Secretary to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a national registry (NR) of all child support orders, maintaining an abstract of each order containing certain specified information. (Sec. 301) Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to require certain State procedures, including procedures for ensuring that: (1) a copy of each child support order issued, modified, or being enforced in the State is transmitted to the NR; and (2) a notice of court or administrative review and, under certain conditions, a statement of arrears owed are included with each order transmitted. Requires NR, upon the receipt from an employer of a W-4 form completed by an employee, to report to the employer information on: (1) whether the employee is subject to a child support order for wage withholding; and (2) the aggregate amount of support involved. (Sec. 302) Requires the Secretary to establish a system for enabling such information, as well as information identifying the person to whom any child support is owed, to be obtained at the workplace via W-4 form reporting by employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require employers to deduct and withhold child support obligations from employee wages, pay withholdings to the Secretary, forward individual W-4 forms to NR, and include withheld obligations on the employee's W-2 form; (2) require individuals with monthly shortfalls in child support payments because of inadequate wage withholding to make payments directly to the Secretary, with the full amount due by the end of the applicable tax year subject to the same collection process and penalties applicable to back taxes; and (3) provide for a tax credit for withholdings and payments in excess of applicable obligations. (Sec. 304) Directs the Secretary to pay to the appropriate payee on a monthly basis a portion of the amount of child support received on account of an obligation payable to such payee, with interest payable on late payments. (Sec. 305) Amends SSA title IV part D to require: (1) certain individuals applying for child support collection or paternity determination services to use a new Federal application form in applying for such services; (2) State part D plans to provide for ongoing outreach programs to persons eligible for plan services; and (3) the separate organizational unit under the direction of the Secretary of HHS' designee to issue regulations for ensuring State plans for serving underserved populations and accommodations for assisting non-English speaking persons and the hearing impaired. (Sec. 306) Establishes the Commission on Child Support Guidelines to recommend to the Congress national child support guidelines to be followed by State courts and administrative bodies in setting child support award amounts. (Sec. 307) Directs the Secretary of HHS to: (1) establish by a certain deadline the staffing requirements already required for State child support programs; (2) streamline the child support audit process; and (3) jointly issue with the Secretary regulations governing coordination of State child support collection activities with those of the IRS. Provides for: (1) an increase in the Federal matching rate as an incentive for States increasing paternity establishment and meeting staffing requirements for child support programs; and (2) inclusion in consumer credit reports of information on individual consumers' overdue support obligations. Adds: (1) maintenance of effort requirements for State child support and AFDC programs; and (2) additional specified requirements with respect to procedures for paternity establishment and acknowledgment affidavits.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Initiatives Within the Department of the Interior Title II: Initiatives Within the Department of Energy Title III: Lower Mississippi Delta Development Center Lower Mississippi Delta Initiatives Act of 1994 - Title I: Initiatives Within the Department of the Interior - Establishes within the Department of the Interior an Office of Education to: (1) promote education in selected areas of environmental, natural, historic, and cultural resources; and (2) establish initiatives at minority schools of higher education. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) report annually to certain congressional committees on opportunities for minority schools of higher education to participate in Departmental programs; (2) establish a scholarship program for degrees in natural resource and environmental related fields at minority schools of higher learning in the Lower Mississippi Delta Region; (3) encourage pre-college education programs in designated subject areas; (4) implement a volunteer educational enrichment program in cooperation with State departments of education and local school districts in the Delta Region; (5) establish a Center for Excellence in the Sciences and a Center for Aquaculture to encourage women and minority students in the Delta Region to pursue careers in the sciences and in aquaculture; and (6) coordinate the educational programs under this Act with those of other Federal agencies. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to transmit to the Congress: (1) a study of nationally significant sites within the Delta Region; (2) recommendations for a transportation network linking such sites; and (3) a study outlining recommendations for funding a Delta Region Native American Heritage Corridor and Heritage and Cultural Center, and a Delta Region African American Heritage Corridor and Heritage and Cultural Center (including a Music Heritage Program). Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State Humanities Councils to assist minority and rural museums and related associations in the Delta region. (Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary to provide technical and financial assistance to historically Black colleges and universities to undertake: (1) a survey of historic and prehistoric structures on campus; and (2) their preservation. (Sec. 106) Directs the Secretary to: (1) transmit to the Congress a feasibility study regarding establishment of a Delta Antiquities Trail or Delta Antiquities Heritage Corridor; and (2) conduct a research and preservation program of significant historic and archeological resources in the Delta. (Sec. 108) Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Initiatives Within the Department of Energy - Directs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to establish the Delta Energy Technology and Business Development Center (the Center). Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to the Center. (Sec. 203) Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require the Secretary to make grants to schools or hospitals for energy conservation projects, and to provide supplemental Federal financing for energy conservation projects at schools and hospitals in the Delta Region. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 204) Requires the Secretary to: (1) report annually to certain congressional committees regarding opportunities for minority colleges and universities to participate in Department of Energy (DOE) activities and laboratories; (2) establish scholarship programs for students pursuing energy-related and/or technical disciplines at minority colleges and universities in the Delta Region; (3) encourage pre-college programs in energy-related and/or technical disciplines; (4) implement a volunteer program for education at DOE; and (5) implement a program to encourage women and minority students in the Delta Region to pursue careers in technical disciplines. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 205) Directs the Secretary to conduct a research and demonstration program to determine the economic viability of integrated biomass energy systems within the Delta Region. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 206) Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to direct the Secretary to make grants to States and Indian tribal organizations in the Delta Region for weatherization of low-income dwelling units. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 207) Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to qualify for incentive payments certain renewable energy facilities owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Title III: Lower Mississippi Delta Development Center - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make a grant to the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Center to implement the recommendations made in the final report of the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Commission. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1994
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the reduction of any tax credit or refund to pay past-due, legally enforceable State tax obligations. Provides for the disclosure of information to States requesting such a reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1994
A Child is Waiting Resolution - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) any health care reform legislation include guaranteed full funding for the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC); and (2) specified amounts should be made available to move toward such full funding goal.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1994
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through September 30, 1995, the duty on used machinery for the manufacture of nonwoven textiles by hydroentanglement, valued at not more than $800,000.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1994
Youth Development Block Grant Act of 1993 - Establishes a youth development block grant program. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth formulas for allocation of funds to States and for distribution of funds through State commissions to local boards for community-based youth development services. Requires establishment of county or multicounty Local Youth Development Boards to receive such assistance. Requires establishment of a State Youth Development Commission in each State desiring to receive such assistance. Establishes a National Youth Development Commission to advise the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services on implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1994
Secure Assurance for Families Everywhere (SAFE) Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a national registry of all child support orders maintaining an abstract of each order containing certain specified information. (Sec. 2) Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require certain State procedures, including procedures for ensuring that: (1) a copy of each child support order issued, modified, or being enforced in the State is transmitted to the national registry; and (2) a notice of court or administrative review and, under certain conditions, a statement of arrears owed are included with each order transmitted. Requires the national registry, upon the receipt from an employer of a W-4 form completed by an employee, to report to the employer information on: (1) whether the employee is subject to a child support order for wage withholding; and (2) the aggregate amount of support involved. (Sec. 3) Requires the Secretary to establish a system for enabling such information, as well as information identifying the person to whom any child support is owed, to be obtained at the workplace via W-4 form reporting by employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require employers to deduct and withhold child support obligations from employee wages, pay withholdings to the Secretary, forward individual W-4 forms to the national registry, and include withheld obligations on the employee's W-2 form; (2) require individuals with monthly shortfalls in child support payments because of inadequate wage withholding to make payments directly to the Secretary, with the full amount due by the end of the applicable tax year subject to the same collection process and penalties applicable to back taxes; and (3) provide for a tax credit for withholdings and payments in excess of applicable obligations. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to pay to the appropriate payee on a monthly basis a portion of the amount of child support received on account of an obligation payable to such payee, plus a child support assurance benefit for payees cooperating in establishing the support order and child paternity. Disregards the first $100 of such benefit for purposes of AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) benefits. (Sec. 7) Amends SSA title IV part D to require: (1) individuals applying for child support collection or paternity determination services under the State part D plan who are not otherwise eligible for such services to use a new Federal application form in applying for such services; (2) such plans to provide for ongoing outreach programs to persons eligible for plan services; and (3) the separate organizational unit under the direction of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' designee to issue regulations for ensuring State plans for serving underserved populations and accommodations for assisting non-English speaking persons and the hearing impaired. (Sec. 8) Establishes the Commission on Child Support Guidelines to recommend to the Congress national child support guidelines to be followed by State courts and administrative bodies in setting child support award amounts. (Sec. 9) Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish by a certain deadline the requirements already required to be established under current law for the staffing of State child support programs; (2) streamline the process for conducting child support audits; and (3) jointly issue with the Secretary of the Treasury regulations governing coordination of State child support collection activities with those of the IRS. Provides for an increase in the Federal matching rate as an incentive for States increasing paternity establishment and meeting staffing requirements with regard to their child support programs. Adds: (1) maintenance of effort requirements for State child support and AFDC programs; and (2) additional specified requirements with respect to procedures for paternity establishment and paternity acknowledgment affidavits.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1994
Amends the Flood Control Act of 1968 to: (1) allow user fees at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) lakes and reservoirs to be collected only from users of highly developed facilities requiring continuous maintenance and supervision; and (2) prohibit the collection of such fees for access to or use of water areas, undeveloped or lightly developed shoreland, and related areas where no mechanical or hydraulic equipment is provided. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to require the Corps, at Corps lakes and reservoirs where camping is permitted, to provide at least one primitive campground where no charge is imposed.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1994
Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to prohibit the establishment of a limitation on the amounts available to any one State for emergency reclamation projects. Appropriates funds from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund for the emergency restoration and reclamation program with respect to abandoned mines.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1994
Helium Act of 1994 - Amends the Helium Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) enter into agreements with private parties for the recovery and disposal of helium on Federal lands; (2) grant leasehold rights to such helium; (3) store and transport crude helium; and (4) maintain and operate existing crude helium storage at the Bureau of Mines Cliffside Field. Directs the Secretary to: (1) cease producing, refining, and marketing refined helium; and (2) dispose of all facilities, equipment, and Federal property interests relating to refined helium activities. Requires the Secretary to impose fees for helium storage, withdrawal, or transportation services. Prescribes guidelines for: (1) the purchase of helium by Federal agencies from certain private persons; and (2) the sale of crude helium by the Secretary. Mandates that proceeds from helium sales be paid to the Treasury. Instructs the Secretary to eliminate helium stockpiles by a prescribed deadline. Repeals the Secretary's authority to borrow under the Helium Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1994
Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to extend the compliance date for certain provisions of the worker protection standard relating to pesticide safety requirements to October 23, 1995. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) develop and distribute pesticide safety training materials that convey, at a minimum, specified information set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations; and (2) assist the appropriate State, Federal, and tribal agencies in implementing pesticide safety training programs. Extends the compliance date for meeting a requirement for worker protection labeling statements on certain pesticide products from April 21, 1994, to October 23, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Insurance Reform Subtitle A: Increased Availability and Continuity of Health Coverage for Employees and Their Families Subtitle B: Reform of Health Insurance Marketplace for Small Business Subtitle C: Preemption Subtitle D: Health Deduction Fairness Title II: Preventing Fraud and Abuse Subtitle A: Establishment of All-Payer Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program Subtitle B: Revisions to Current Sanctions for Fraud and Abuse Subtitle C: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions Subtitle D: Amendments to Criminal Law Title III: Malpractice Reform Subtitle A: Findings; Purpose; Definitions Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims Subtitle C: Requirements for State Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems (ADE) Title IV: Paperwork Reduction and Administrative Simplification Title V: Expanding Access/Preventive Care Subtitle A: Expanding Access Through Community Health Authorities Subtitle B: Expansion of Public Health Programs on Preventive Health Title VI: Antitrust Provisions Title VII: Prefunding Government Health Benefits for Certain Annuitants Health Reform Consensus Act of 1994 - Title I: Insurance Reform - Subtitle A: Increased Availability and Continuity of Health Coverage for Employees and Their Families - Requires each employer to make available to each eligible employee a group health plan under which: (1) coverage of each eligible individual with respect to such employee may be elected on an annual basis; (2) coverage is provided for at least the required coverage specified; and (3) employees may elect to have premiums collected through payroll deduction. Does not require employer contributions to the cost of coverage under such a plan. Provides for the exclusion of: (1) employers who have been employers for less than two years or who have no more than two eligible employees or no more than two eligible employees not covered under any group health plan; and (2) family members under specified circumstances. Specifies that a group health plan shall not be treated as failing to meet the requirements of this Act solely because a period of service by an eligible employee of not more than 60 days is required for coverage. Specifies that the required coverage is standard coverage, except that in the case of a small employer that has not contributed during the previous plan year to the cost of coverage for any eligible employee under any group health plan, the required coverage for the plan year is coverage under a standard plan and a catastrophic plan. Provides for a five-year transition for existing group health plans. (Sec. 1002) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) compliance with applicable requirements through multiple employer health arrangements; and (2) coverage options under a State medical health allowance program. (Sec. 1011) Prohibits a group health plan from imposing (and an insurer from requiring an employer from imposing through a waiting period for coverage under a plan or similar requirement) a limitation or exclusion of benefits relating to treatment of a preexisting condition if: (1) the condition relates to a condition that was not diagnosed or treated within three months before the date of coverage under the plan; or (2) the limitation or exclusion extends over more than six month after the date of coverage, applies to an individual who, as of the date of birth, was covered under the plan, or relates to pregnancy. Specifies that, in the case of an individual who is eligible for coverage under a plan but for a waiting period imposed by the employer, the individual shall be treated as having been covered under the plan as of the earliest date of the beginning of the waiting period. (Sec. 1012) Requires each group health plan to waive any period applicable to a preexisting condition for similar benefits with respect to an individual to the extent that the individual, prior to enrollment in such plan, was covered for the condition under any other health plan. (Sec. 1013) Prohibits: (1) a multiemployer plan and an exempted multiple employer health plan from canceling or denying renewal of coverage under such a plan for an employer other than for nonpayment of contributions, fraud or other misrepresentation, noncompliance with plan provisions, failure to maintain minimum participation rates (in the case of a small employer) misuse of a provider network provision, or because the plan is ceasing to provide any coverage in a geographic area; (2) an insurer from canceling a health insurance plan or denying renewal of coverage other than as prescribed above; and (3) an insurer who terminates the offering of health insurance plans in an area from offering such a plan to any employer in the area until five years after the date of the termination. (Sec. 1021) Makes provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 applicable with respect to enforcement of this Act (by the Department of Labor). Imposes a civil penalty ($100 per day for each individual involved, subject to specified limitations) on the failure of an insurer to comply with the requirements of sections 1011 through 1013, unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) determines that the State has in effect a regulatory enforcement mechanism that provides adequate sanctions. Subtitle B: Reform of Health Insurance Marketplace for Small Business - Requires each insurer that makes available a health insurance plan to a small employer in a State to make available to each small employer in the State a standard plan and a catastrophic plan, with exceptions for health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and if a State provides for guaranteed availability (rather than guaranteed issue). Requires each insurer that offers a standard or catastrophic plan to a small employer in a State to accept: (1) every small employer in the State that applies for coverage; and (2) every eligible individual who applies for enrollment on a timely basis. Sets forth provision regarding: (1) special rules for HMOs; (2) timely enrollment requirements; and (3) enrollment of spouses and dependents. Makes such requirements inapplicable in a State that has provided (in accordance with specified standards) a mechanism under which each insurer offering a health insurance plan to a small employer in the State must participate in a program for assigning high-risk small employer groups (or individuals within such a group) among some or all such insurers, if the insurers comply. (Sec. 1102) Defines "health plan" as a health insurance plan that: (1) is designed to provide standard coverage with substantial cost-sharing or only catastrophic coverage; (2) meets applicable requirements relating to guaranteed issue; (3) meets specified consumer protection standards; and (4) meets any participation requirements with respect to an applicable reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanism. States that standard coverage includes: (1) inpatient and outpatient hospital care; (2) inpatient and outpatient physicians' services; (3) diagnostic tests; (4) specified preventive services; and (5) specified inpatient hospital care for mental disorders. Sets forth coverage scope, including that there be no limits on the amount, scope, or duration of items number one, two, and three in the preceding sentence. Sets forth exceptions. Sets forth limitations on deductibles, copayments and coinsurance, and out-of-pocket expenses. Defines a catastrophic benefits package. Provides for the determination of target actuarial values for standard and catastrophic coverage. (Sec. 1103) Directs the Secretary to request NAIC to develop model regulations that specify standards with respect to requirements: (1) that insurers make available health plans; (2) of guaranteed availability of health plans to small employers; (3) relating to limits on premiums and certain consumer protections; (4) relating to limitation of annual premium increases; and (5) for standard and catastrophic coverage. Requires the Secretary to review such standards and, if NAIC fails to specify standards meeting such requirements, to promulgate standards. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the application of health plan standards and consumer protection standards by the States; (2) the Federal role; and (3) consumer protection standards. (Sec. 1104) Sets forth provisions: (1) regarding limits on premiums and annual premium increases; and (2) requiring an insurer, at the time of offering a health insurance plan to a small employer, to fully disclose rating practices for health insurance plans, including rating practices for different populations and benefit designs. (Sec. 1106) Directs the Secretary to: (1) request NAIC to develop models for reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms for health insurance plans made available to small employers for whom an insurer is at risk of incurring high costs under the plan; and (2) review such models or specify models. Sets forth provisions regarding implementation of reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms by the States and the Federal role. (Sec. 1108) Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of Private Health Care Coverage. Requires the Office Director to submit to the Congress annual reports evaluating health care coverage reform. (Sec. 1109) Authorizes the Director to conduct: (1) research on the impact of this subtitle on the availability of affordable health coverage for employees and dependents in the small employers group health care coverage market and other specified topics; and (2) demonstration projects relating to such topics. Requires the Director to develop: (1) methods for measuring the relative health risks of eligible individuals in terms of the expected costs of providing benefits under health insurance plans and, in particular, health plans; (2) a model for equitably distributing health risks among insurers in the small employer health care coverage market. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Preemption - Prohibits: (1) State benefit mandates for group health plans; and (2) State or local law prohibitions against two or more employers obtaining coverage under an insured multiple employer health plan. (Sec. 1203) Preempts State restrictions concerning: (1) reimbursement rates or selective contracting; (2) differential financial incentives; and (3) utilization review methods. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the benefits and cost effectiveness of the use of managed care in the delivery of health services. (Sec. 1211) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow a limited exemption under preemption rules for multiple employer plans providing health benefits subject to certain Federal standards. Relieves exempted multiple employer plans providing medical care benefits of certain restrictions on preemption of State law. Treats such plans as employee welfare benefit plans. Allows commencement of new arrangements only if such exemption is in effect or an application is pending and the Secretary of Labor determines that provisional protection is appropriate. Sets forth exemption procedures, eligibility requirements, and additional requirements applicable to exempted arrangements. Requires certain disclosures to participating employers, maintenance of reserves, and corrective actions. Provides for expiration, suspension, and revocation of exemptions, and for review of actions by the Secretary. (Sec. 1213) Revises provisions relating to scope of preemption rules, and to treatment of single employer arrangements and of certain collectively bargained arrangements. (Sec. 1215) Establishes special rules for employee leasing healthcare arrangements. Treats such arrangements as multiple employer welfare arrangements except when they are multiple employer health plans. (Sec. 1216) Sets forth enforcement provisions relating to multiple employer welfare arrangements and employee leasing health care arrangements. (Sec. 1217) Sets forth filing requirements for multiple employer welfare arrangements. (Sec. 1218) Provides for cooperation between Federal and State authorities in enforcing ERISA requirements for multiple employer welfare arrangements with the limited exemption. (Sec. 1221) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the commonality of interest or geographic location requirement for tax exempt trust status for multiple employer health plans and insured multiple employer health plans if they meet certain requirements under ERISA and this Act. (Sec. 1231) Amends ERISA to direct the Secretary of Labor to prescribe an alternative method providing for a single annual report with respect to all employers who are covered under the same insured multiple employer health plan. (Sec. 1241) Provides for compliance with applicable coverage requirements through multiemployer plans and other multiple employer health arrangements. Subtitle D: Health Deduction Fairness - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a permanent extension and increase in the health insurance tax deduction for self-employed individuals. Title II: Preventing Fraud and Abuse - Subtitle A: Establishment of All-Payer Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program - Directs the Attorney General to establish a program to: (1) coordinate Federal, State, and local law enforcement programs to control health care fraud and abuse; (2) conduct investigations, audits, and inspections relating to the delivery of payment for health care; and (3) facilitate enforcement of provisions of the Social Security and other Acts applicable to health care fraud and abuse. Authorizes additional appropriations as necessary. (Sec. 2003) Establishes the Anti-Fraud and Abuse Trust Fund. Subtitle B: Revisions to Current Sanctions for Fraud and Abuse - Excludes from participation in Medicare and State health care programs any individual or entity convicted of: (1) fraud in connection the delivery of a health care item or service; or (2) a felony related to a controlled substance. (Sec. 2103) Subjects to a civil monetary penalty any individual or entity offering inducements to individuals to receive any service or supply from a particular provider. (Sec. 2104) Permits the imposition of intermediate sanctions in addition to the current option of termination, for Medicare health maintenance organizations. Subtitle C: Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to establish a national health care fraud and abuse data collection program for the reporting of final adverse actions against health care providers, suppliers, or practitioners. Requires each government agency and health care plan to report to the Secretary any final adverse action taken against a health care provider, supplier, or practitioner. Subtitle D: Amendments to Criminal Law - Establishes a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment for knowingly: (1) defrauding any health care plan; or (2) fraudulently obtaining money or property in connection with the delivery of health care items, benefits, or services. Permits a payment of up to $10,000 to any person furnishing information relating to any such crime. Title III: Malpractice Reform - Subtitle A: Findings; Purpose; Definitions - Sets forth, for this title, findings, purposes, and definitions. Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims - Makes this subtitle applicable to any medical malpractice liability action brought in a Federal or State court and to any medical malpractice claim subject to an alternative dispute resolution system. (Sec. 3102) Prohibits bringing a medical malpractice liability action in either a State or Federal court unless there has been an initial resolution of the action under an alternative dispute resolution system. Directs the Attorney General to establish an alternative dispute resolution process for medical malpractice liability claims brought against the United States. (Sec. 3104) Sets limits on both noneconomic damages and punitive damages. (Sec. 3105) Provides for the periodic payment of future losses. (Sec. 3106) Limits attorney's fees. (Sec. 3108) Sets forth special provisions for certain obstetric services. Subtitle C: Requirements for State Alternative Dispute Resolution System (ADR) -Requires a State's alternative dispute resolution system, among other things to: (1) apply to all medical malpractice liability claims within the jurisdiction of the State's courts; (2) issue a written opinion resolving the dispute within six months of a defendant receiving notice; (3) qualify individuals who hear and resolve claims under the system; and (4) notify the appropriate State agency if there is a finding of malpractice, unless the provider contests the ADR decision. (Sec. 3202) Directs the Secretary to establish an Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Board in order to advise the Secretary regarding the establishment of State and Federal ADR systems. Provides for the certification of State ADR systems by the Board. Title IV: Paperwork Reduction and Administrative Simplification - Preempts State quill pen laws. (Sec. 4102) Provides for the confidentiality of electronic health care information. (Sec. 4003) Directs the Secretary to establish national goals for the health care industry concerning: (1) standardization for the electronic receipt and transmission of health plan information; (2) use of uniform health claims forms and identification numbers; (3) priority of insurers when benefits are payable under two or more health plans; and (4) availability of information among health plans when benefits are payable under two more plans. Requires the Secretary to promulgate requirements if the industry does not meet the goals. Provides for monetary penalties on any health plan that does not meet the Secretary's requirements. Title V: Expanding Access/Preventive Care - Subtitle A: Expanding Access Through Community Health Authorities - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary to operate a program under which States establish projects to demonstrate the effectiveness of various innovative health care delivery approaches through the operation of community health authorities. Requires a community health authority to be a nonprofit entity that: (1) serves a geographic area that includes those designated by the Public Health Service Act as medically underserved or as being in a health professions shortage area; (2) enrolls the Medicaid eligible; and (3) provides for the provision of at least preventive services, primary care services, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, and other services. (Sec. 5002) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to migrant and community health centers for the development of health service networks to serve high impact areas, medically underserved areas, or medically underserved populations. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1999. Subtitle B: Expansion of Public Health Programs on Preventive Health - Authorizes appropriations, under the Public Health Service Act, for the following: (1) immunizations against vaccine-preventable diseases; (2) prevention, control, and elimination of tuberculosis; (3) lead poisoning prevention; (4) preventive health measures with respect to breast and cervical cancers; (5) the Office of Minority Health Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; and (6) the Office of Minority Health; and (7) the preventive health and health services block grant. Title VI: Antitrust Provisions - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) provide for the development and publication of explicit guidelines on the application of antitrust laws to the activities of health plans; and (2) establish a review process under which the administrator or sponsor of a health plan may submit a request to the Attorney General to obtain a prompt opinion from the Department of Justice on the plan's conformity with Federal antitrust laws. (Sec. 6002) Authorizes the issuance of a certificate of public advantage by the Attorney General to each eligible health care collaborative activity if there is a finding that the benefits that are likely to result from carrying out the activity outweigh any reduction in competition that is likely to result and such reduction is reasonably necessary. Title VII: Prefunding Government Health Benefits for Certain Annuitants - Requires certain executive branch agencies to prefund government health benefits contributors for their annuitants.
![Official portrait of Rep. Barlow, Tom [D-KY-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000151_200.jpg)