United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1992
Industrial Revitalization Act of 1992 - Title I: Domestic Loan Guarantee Fund for the Revitalization of American Industry - Creates an Economic Transition Assistance Board. Authorizes the Board to guarantee principal and interest on loans and, in certain circumstances, provide interest subsidies for the loans, giving priority to aerospace manufacturing loans. Sets forth assistance conditions, including that the applicant be: (1) affected by U.S. defense budget reductions or by assistance by foreign governments to foreign competitors; and (2) engaged in work critical to national security or economic security. Requires full collateralization. Prohibits, during the loan and without Board approval, certain borrower actions, including: (1) declaring an extraordinary dividend; (2) making payment on certain other indebtedness; or (3) shifting any significant part of its manufacturing activities outside the United States. Limits the aggregate amount of obligations of the Board and the maximum obligations to any single enterprise. Establishes in the Treasury an emergency loan guarantee fund to be administered by the Board to pay Board expenses and to fulfill the Board's obligations under this title. Authorizes the Board, if amounts in the fund are insufficient, to issue obligations to the Secretary of the Treasury. Requires any Federal Reserve bank which is requested to do so to act as fiscal agent for the Board. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Commercial Aircraft Agreement - Requires the U.S. Trade Representative to report on the operation of the Agreement Concerning the Application of the GATT Agreement in Civil Aircraft, including on: (1) subsidies to the aerospace industry by European Community nations; (2) any Agreement benefits to the U.S. aerospace industry; and (3) subsidies by the European Space Agency to Arianespace in commercial launch services. Title III: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Technology Development - Requires the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to: (1) modify procedures for the development, acquisition, and dissemination of technical aeronautics and space information; and (2) conduct technology projects with U.S. industry partners under agreements providing at least partially exclusive rights to participating companies. Title IV: Export-Import Bank Provisions - Requires the Export-Import Bank of the United States to report on: (1) the competitiveness of the bank's export finance services to the domestic commercial aerospace industry as compared to the services offered by foreign governments that finance the export of commercial aircraft; and (2) how the bank can more effectively assist U.S. commercial aircraft manufacturers to sell in the world market. Title V: Skills Conversion - Establishes the Skills Conversion Program to reeducate, retrain, and reorient scientific and technical personnel displaced or threatened with displacement by defense budget reductions to fill positions in existing or emerging industries. Authorizes grants for: (1) retraining services; and (2) assistance to employees during retraining. Mandates a fellowship, not to exceed a specified amount, for an employee while participating in the program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1992
Prohibits the proposed sale to Kuwait of an air defense system described in the certification submitted to the Congress pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act on March 31, 1992 (transmittal number 92-18, including PATRIOT and HAWK missiles).
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Designates October 24 through November 1, 1992, as National Red Ribbon Week for a Drug Free America. Recognize the hard work and dedication of those involved in combatting substance abuse.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1992
Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), in cooperation with the Secretary of State, to enter immediately into negotiations with Canada to provide protection for the entire Alsek River watershed to preserve its fisheries, wildlife, water quality, and recreational and wilderness values. Requires the Secretary (acting through the Director of the National Park Service) to ensure that the internationally significant natural resource values of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, including all interests of the United States protected by international treaty, are not degraded by proposed open-pit copper mine developments within Canada. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to study and report to the Congress on the potential impacts to the Park and Preserve caused by the proposed mine development in British Columbia. Directs the Secretary of State to seek the agreement of the Canadian Government that the International Joint Commission be referred, pursuant to a specified Treaty, to: (1) examine comprehensively the potential adverse environmental and social impacts of the proposed mining activity; and (2) issue no permits required to develop such project before completion of such study. Requires the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of State, to seek the cooperation of the Canadian Government to obtain World Heritage Site status and protection for the entire Alsek and Tatshenshini River watershed.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 1992
Global Climate Protection Act - Directs the President to promulgate final regulations that will achieve stabilization of carbon dioxide emissions by January 1, 2000. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate and report biennially to the Congress on the progress made pursuant to such regulations. Directs the President to promulgate additional regulations to achieve stabilization if the Administrator finds that the regulations will not achieve stabilization. Permits citizen suits against officers of the United States for failures to perform duties in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1992
Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992 - Title I: Tougher Law Enforcement Against Auto Theft - Subtitle A: Enhanced Penalties for Auto Theft - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for a fine, up to 20 years imprisonment, or both, for taking (or attempting to take) a motor vehicle from the person or presence of another by force, violence, or intimidation. Increases penalties for: (1) the importation and exportation of stolen motor vehicles, off-highway mobile equipment, vessels, or aircraft (stolen vehicles); and (2) the transportation, sale, or receipt of stolen vehicles. Makes altering or removing motor vehicle identification numbers, exporting or importing stolen vehicles, and dealing in counterfeit obligations or securities predicate offenses to a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Subtitle B: Targeted Law Enforcement - Requires the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to Anti-Car Theft Committees submitting applications in compliance with the requirements of this subtitle. Sets forth application requirements, including a statement from a chief executive of such committee that the applicant committee: (1) is either a State agency, an agency of a unit of local government, or a nonprofit entity organized pursuant to specific authorizing legislation by a State or such unit; (2) is or will be financed in part by a tax or fee on motor vehicles registered by or possessed within the State of not less than one dollar per vehicle; and (3) will devote its resources entirely to combating motor vehicle theft. Establishes formulas for the allocation of grant funds. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Automobile Title Fraud - Directs the Attorney General: (1) by March 1, 1993, to conduct a review of information systems pertaining to the titling of motor vehicles utilized by one or more States or by a third party which represents the interests of States, and promulgate such regulations as the Attorney General deems necessary to the establishment of an information system to serve as a clearinghouse for information pertaining to the titling of motor vehicles; and (2) within six months of the promulgation of regulations, and by no later than September 1, 1993, to establish such a system. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to: (1) system operation; (2) user fees; (3) minimum capabilities of the system (such as enabling the user to determine the validity and status of a document purporting to be a certificate of title); and (4) information availability. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes a State, by written notice to the operator, to elect to participate in the system. Grants the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation authority to deny access to the National Crime Information Center system to any State failing to participate in the information system pursuant to this Act. Sets forth: (1) title verification requirements (by participating States); (2) reporting requirements (by operators of junk or salvage yards and by insurance carriers); and (3) enforcement provisions (providing for the assessment and collection by the Attorney General of a civil penalty, which sum may be deducted from any sums owed by the United States to the person charged, subject to specified requirements). Title III: Illicit Trafficking in Stolen Auto Parts - Directs the Attorney General to promulgate a vehicle theft prevention standard which conforms to the requirements of this Act and which applies with respect to major automobile parts and replacement parts. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) deadlines for promulgation of a proposed and final standard, extensions, and the effective date of such standard; and (2) application of such standard (to major parts installed by the motor vehicle manufacturer in automobiles with a model year designation later than the calendar year in which such standard takes effect and major replacement parts manufactured after such standard takes effect). Requires that engines and transmissions installed by the motor vehicle manufacturer be permanently stamped with the vehicle identification number and that other major parts have labels affixed meeting certain specifications. Prohibits the standard, in the case of major replacement parts, from requiring identification of any part which is not designed as a replacement for a major part required to be identified under such standard and the inscribing or affixing of any identification other than a symbol identifying the manufacturer and a common symbol identifying the part as a major replacement part. Prohibits such standards from imposing costs, to comply with such standard, upon any manufacturer of: (1) motor vehicles in excess of $15 per vehicle; or (2) major replacement parts in excess of such reasonable lesser amount per major replacement part as the Attorney General specifies in such standard. Specifies that the cost of identifying engines and transmissions shall not be taken into account in calculating a manufacturer's costs under such provision. Directs the Secretary of Labor, at the beginning of each calendar year commencing on or after January 1, 1993, as data becomes available, to certify to the Attorney General and publish in the Federal Register the percentage difference between the average of the Consumer Price Index for the 12 months preceding the beginning of such calendar year and such average for the base period. Specifies that, effective for model years beginning in such calendar year, the amounts specified in the previous paragraph shall be adjusted by such percentage difference. Requires every manufacturer of a motor vehicle part which is subject to the standard and any manufacturer of major replacement parts subject to such standards: (1) to establish and maintain such records, make such reports, and provide such items and information as the Attorney General may reasonably require to enable the Attorney General to determine whether such manufacturer has acted or is acting in compliance with this Act and such standard; and (2) upon request of an officer or employee (officer) designated by the Attorney General, to permit such officer to inspect vehicles and major parts subject to the standard and appropriate documents relevant to determining whether such manufacturer has acted or is acting in compliance with this Act and such standard. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to inspections, certification of compliance with such standard, notification of errors to the Attorney General, and inapplicability of certification requirements (to motor vehicles or major replacement parts intended solely for export, which are so labeled or tagged on the vehicle or replacement part itself and on the outside of the container, if any, until exported, and which are exported). Directs the Attorney General to enter into an agreement for the operation of an information system containing the identification numbers of stolen motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts and to designate an individual or entity as the operator of such system. Requires such system to include, at a minimum, the following information pertaining to each motor vehicle reported to a law enforcement authority as stolen and not recovered: (1) the vehicle identification number; (2) the make and model year; (3) the date on which the vehicle was reported as stolen; (4) the location of the law enforcement authority that received the reports of the vehicle's theft; and (5) if the vehicle at the time of its theft contained parts bearing identification numbers different from the vehicle identification number of the stolen vehicle, such identification numbers. Sets forth additional provisions regarding availability of information, recordkeeping, and user fees. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits (with exceptions) any person from: (1) manufacturing for sale, selling, offering for sale, or introducing or delivering for introduction in interstate commerce or import into the United States any motor vehicle subject to the theft prevention standard under this Act or any major replacement part subject to such standard which is manufactured on or after the date the standard takes effect unless it is in conformity with such standard; (2) failing to comply with any rule prescribed by the Attorney General under this Act; (3) failing to keep specified records (or refusing access to or copying of records), make reports or provide items or information, or permit (or refusing to permit) entry or inspection as required by this Act; or (4) failing to furnish certification, or issuing a certification if such person knows that such certification is materially false or misleading, pursuant to this Act. Prohibits (with exceptions) any person from selling, transferring, or installing a major part marked with an identification number without: (1) first making a request of the operator of the system and determining that such major part has not been reported as stolen; and (2) providing the transferee with a written certificate bearing a description of such major part and the identification number affixed to such major part. Establishes civil and criminal penalties for violation of this Act, including injunctions (upon petition by the Attorney General) to restrain specified violations of, and criminal contempt for violation of an injunction or restraining order issued pursuant to, this Act. Sets forth provisions with respect to venue and subpoenas. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the confidentiality of information reported to, or otherwise obtained by, the Attorney General pursuant to this Act, with exceptions; (2) judicial review; and (3) coordination of State and local law with the Federal vehicle theft prevention standard. Directs the Attorney General to conduct three- and five-year studies regarding motor vehicle theft and make recommendations to the Congress. Title IV: Export of Stolen Vehicles - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the Commissioner of Customs to direct customs officers to conduct random inspections of motor vehicles and shipping containers that contain motor vehicles being exported for purposes of determining whether such vehicles were stolen. Directs the Commissioner to require all persons or entities exporting used self-propelled vehicles by air or ship to provide to the U.S. Customs Service, at least 72 hours before the export, the vehicle identification number of each such vehicle and proof of ownership of such vehicle. Makes such requirement applicable to vehicles exported for personal use. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a pilot study of the utility of a nondestructive examination system for inspection of containers that contain motor vehicles leaving the country for the purpose of determining whether such vehicles are stolen.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1992
Coral Reef Environmental Act - Establishes a joint program between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct environmental research, monitoring, and public education relating to coral reef ecosystems. Directs the EPA Administrator and the Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to jointly develop guidelines for assessing quality of coastal and marine waters in which coral reef ecosystems are found to ensure the sustainable use and conservation of such ecosystems. Requires the President to direct the Secretary of State to work with other nations and international organizations to: (1) implement an international research program to monitor the status of coral reef and related ecosystems; (2) implement a global strategy for the sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems and to encourage multilateral research efforts on sustainable management of such ecosystems; and (3) promote public education on the conservation of such ecosystems. Directs the President to convene conferences of the parties to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention) and the South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP) for purposes of identifying research and management needs in coral reef ecology and their sustainable use and the implementation of such programs in the Caribbean and South Pacific. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1992
Condemns the March 17, 1992, bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Declares that the U.S. Government should fully cooperate with the Governments of Argentina and Israel in identifying and bringing to justice all of the individuals responsible.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1992
Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that any legislation passed by the Congress to address American health care needs must include coverage for mental disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
Paper Recycling Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax of four percent on the sale by the manufacturer, producer, or importer of any designated paper product that does not meet applicable minimum recycled content standards. Provides a higher tax on products which fail to satisfy the applicable standard and one or more levels below such standard. Allows a business-related tax credit for the production of high recycled content paper. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to establish minimum recycled content standards for paper products for 1993 through 2004 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to a representative of the American Philosophical Society in commemoration of the 250th anniversaries of the founding of the Society and the birth of Thomas Jefferson. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such medal. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1992
Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to: (1) repeal the current licensing requirements for exports of dual use items to countries whose governments support international terrorism; and (2) prohibit such exports outright. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition if: (1) the export transaction is determined essential to U.S. national security interests; and (2) the President consults with specified congressional committees about the proposed transaction and submits the reason for such waiver to the Congress in writing. Requires denial of a license to export any chemical or biological weapons if the ultimate consignee is a country whose government has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on all visits to the United States by any official of any such government.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992
Jobs for the 1990's Act - Title I: General Purpose and Authority - Establishes a program to provide employment to unemployed individuals through payments for labor and related costs associated with: (1) repair or rehabilitation of community and educational facilities; (2) conservation, rehabilitation, and improvement of public lands; and (3) public safety, health, social service, and other activities necessary to the public welfare. Sets forth requirements for: (1) eligibility, in general; (2) priority for participation (including duration of unemployment); (3) special consideration for veterans; and (4) equal employment opportunities. Sets forth limitations on the use of funds including: (1) a 75 percent minimum reservation for wages and benefits; (2) a ten percent maximum limit on administration costs; (3) allowable use of remaining funds for acquiring supplies, tools, equipment, and other materials; (4) allowable use of other funds from other Federal or non-Federal sources; (5) Buy American requirements; (6) allowable use of title II funds for training and related support costs for a number of participants under certain conditions; and (7) a limit on the rate of salaries or wages for administrative or supervisory employees. Title II: Community Renewal Employment Programs - Part A: Community Improvement Projects - Provides for the Secretary of Labor to allot funds for employment of eligible participants in community improvement projects, including types of activities listed in title I of this Act. Allows for joint projects conducting such activities and others funded under other Federal law. Requires such projects to meet certain conditions, including completion within 18 months. Sets forth limitations on public lands projects. Makes eligible under this title any administrative entity of the service delivery area under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) that serves one or more specified eligible jurisdictions, including local governments or areas (or Native American or Alaskan Native entities) that have an unemployment rate over six and one-half percent. Provides procedures for qualification of administrative entities. Sets forth requirements for allotment of funds by the Secretary of Labor under this title. Sets forth requirements for receipt of allotments, including submission of certain statements, installment payments, reports on use of funds, and withholding procedures. Sets forth requirements for project design, including priorities and coordination. Part B: Community Development Activities for Youth Trainees - Allows the use of funds under this title for youth trainee activities, which involve: (1) program payment of wages and benefits from such funds for part-time employment of up to 32 hours per week either in public works, lands, or service activities described under part A or at a work site operated by a public agency or private nonprofit organization or a for-profit employer; and (2) youth enrollment for at least eight hours per week in high school, an equivalency certificate program, or a skill training or basic skill or employability development program. Allows joint projects with activities receiving funds under the JTPA (including the Job Corps), the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, or other State, local, public, or private education and training programs. Makes eligible to participate in such youth trainee activities any youth aged 16 through 19 who is currently unemployed. Gives priority to individuals who are economically disadvantaged. Requires that, among such individuals, eligible school dropouts are to be served on an equitable basis. Part C: State Job Programs - Requires that five percent of a State's allotment under this title be reserved for employment of eligible participants through: (1) State-administered programs and activities authorized under this title (for public works, lands, or services); (2) special assistance (in conjunction, as appropriate, with eligible administrative entities) for areas which have experienced sudden or severe economic dislocations, including large-scale losses of jobs due to facility closings or mass layoffs; (3) State-directed emergency aid programs to cope with natural disasters, including erosion, flood, drought, and storm damage assistance and control; and (4) special assistance to seasonal farmworkers and small farmers in rural, agricultural areas with substantial job losses due to farm mortgage foreclosures and other severe economic disruption (in conjunction, as appropriate, with eligible administrative entities or related programs under JTPA). Sets forth requirements for program and activity selection and design, and for statements and reports. Title III: Educational Facility Repair and Renovation Employment Activities - Part A: Elementary and Secondary School Facility Improvement Jobs - Provides for the Secretary of Education to allot funds for employment of eligible participants in public school facility repair, renovation, or rehabilitation projects to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) in eligible jurisdictions. Requires that such funds be used, to the maximum extent possible, for quick-start projects (on which on-site labor can begin within 30 days of receipt of funds). Sets forth authorized uses of such funds for public school facility renovation, including: (1) bringing facilities into compliance with specified laws; (2) rewiring for new technology; (3) conversion to adult training centers; (4) energy-efficiency; and (5) asbestos control. Provides for Indian tribal school facilities projects for which the Secretary of the Interior is to make specified funds under this Act available upon application. Sets forth requirements for allotments to local educational agencies (LEAs) in eligible jurisdictions. Sets forth requirements for receipt of allotment, including statements, installment payments, reports, and withholding procedures. Part B: Higher Education Facility Improvement Projects - Provides provisions for the Secretary of Education to allot funds for employment of eligible participants in academic facility repair, renovation, or rehabilitation projects at institutions of higher education located within eligible jurisdictions (with a waiver for any State in which there are no such institutions within eligible jurisdictions). Sets forth quick-start project requirements. Sets forth authorized uses of such funds for academic facility and library renovation. Requires such funds to be allotted to States and made available to eligible institutions through the higher education building agency in accordance with a State plan under the Higher Education Act of 1965 if the primary purpose of such assistance is: (1) energy-efficiency, with priority for use of coal, solar, and renewable resources; (2) compliance with specified laws; (3) renovation of research or postsecondary training facilities, including rewiring for new technology; or (4) asbestos control. Gives priority to projects at those eligible institutions of higher education: (1) with the greatest proportion of students receiving Pell Grants; and (2) which have not been able to obtain funds for the performance of the project through sale of bonds or other obligations. Sets forth requirements for allotment of such funds among the States. Sets forth requirements for receipt of allotment, including statements, installment payments, reports, and withholding procedures. Part C: Special Definitions - Sets forth definitions for purposes of this title. Title IV: General Provisions - Sets forth general requirements for this Act, including: (1) prohibitions against discrimination and against sectarian purposes; (2) use of funds for supplementary activities; (3) prohibition against funds for subsidized employment to a private entity to substitute for government programs; (4) services to residents only (except homeless individuals who cannot prove residence); (4) prohibition against hiring voluntarily terminated workers; (5) prohibition against political activities; (6) Selective Service compliance; and (7) program abuse regulations. Sets individual wage rates in employment subsidized under this Act at not less than the highest of the: (1) Federal minimum wage; (2) State or local minimum wage; or (3) the prevailing rates of pay for those employed in similar occupations by the same employer. Sets the maximum rate for the average weekly portion of wages which may be paid to participants from funds under this Act at not more than 75 percent of the national average weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private, non-farm payrolls. Allows supplementation of participants' wages from other sources. Requires that participants be allowed sufficient time off from work activities to participate effectively in the job search activities. Allows part-time, flexible-time, and work-sharing arrangements, if customarily offered by the employer and if participants receive customary benefits. Requires program maintenance of individual work records. Sets forth expenditure schedule requirements for funds under this Act. Sets forth labor standards. Sets forth requirements for working conditions, including: (1) applicable health, safety, and disability regulations; (2) comparable benefits and conditions; and (3) prohibition of retirement contributions. Requires protection for existing workers, including prohibitions against: (1) displacement of employed workers; (2) impairment of contracts for services and collective bargaining agreements; (3) filling of laid-off positions; and (4) promotional infringement. Requires submission of compliance reports to labor organizations representing government employees engaged in similar work as participants whose wages are subsidized under this Act. Requires such reports to include an analysis of job reduction under specified conditions. Sets forth complaint procedures. Requires recipients to provide assurances that none of the funds under this Act will be used to assist, promote, or deter union organizing. Requires that an opportunity to submit comments with respect to a proposal for funding under this Act be afforded to any labor organization representing a substantial number of employees engaged in similar work or training in the same area. Applies Davis-Bacon Act prevailing wage requirements to projects funded under this Act. Sets forth fiscal controls and sanctions. Provides for judicial review. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth requirements relating to use of data and to computations under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992
National Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the sale of beer, mineral water, soda water, wine coolers, or carbonated soft drinks in beverage containers by retailers and distributors unless such containers carry a refund value of ten cents. Requires distributors to collect from retailers the refund value for each beverage sold to such retailers. Directs retailers to collect from consumers the refund value for each beverage sold to such consumers. Requires retailers and distributors to pay the refund on returned containers of brands (in the same kind and size of container) sold by such retailers or distributors. Directs distributors to pay annually to a State unclaimed refund amounts (the amount by which the total refund value of all containers sold by such distributors exceeds the amount paid by distributors to persons in that State). Makes unclaimed refunds available to a State for carrying out pollution prevention and recycling programs. Prohibits distributors and retailers from: (1) selling beverages in metal beverage containers with detachable openings; and (2) disposing of containers subject to this Act or any metal, glass, or plastic from such containers (other than the top or seal) in landfills or solid waste disposal facilities. Makes this Act inapplicable to States that have adopted requirements identical to those under this Act or that have demonstrated achievement of a recycling or reuse rate for beverage containers of at least 70 percent. Makes States that fail to maintain such rate for a consecutive 12-month period subject to this Act's requirements. Prohibits States or political subdivisions that impose taxes on the sale of beverage containers from imposing any tax on the amount attributable to the refund value of such containers. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to provide for the adjustment for inflation of the ten-cent refund amount at ten-year intervals. Prescribes civil penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992
National Parks and Public Lands Wilderness Management Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to establish and maintain wilderness management programs within the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management (Park Service) (BLM) to protect and restore the pristine wilderness portions of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System) managed by such agencies. Requires the Directors of the Park Service and of BLM (Directors) each to appoint a Wilderness Division Chief for their respective agencies to supervise management of that agency's portions of the System. Requires the President's budget to the Congress for each fiscal year after the enactment of this Act to identify specifically, in a line item for each agency separate from other programs, funds to be expended by the Park Service and BLM on wilderness management. Declares that such appropriated funds shall be spent on wilderness management only. Requires the Directors to establish and maintain a national wilderness monitoring system, based on the best available science, to monitor the condition of the wilderness resource within each agency's portions of the System. Requires the Secretary, beginning in 1995 and every five years thereafter, to report to the President and specified congressional committees on the condition of the wilderness resource on Park Service and BLM lands, identifying steps the Secretary plans to take to reverse any degradation or deterioration. Requires the Directors to: (1) develop guidelines for a personnel evaluation system for each line officer with wilderness management responsibilities; and (2) establish a field wilderness ranger program for specified lands managed by the agencies. Requires the Director of BLM to take certain steps to improve the efficiency of the wilderness management program and give it needed emphasis. Requires the Park Service and BLM to complete Wilderness Management Plans for each wilderness area designated on or before the enactment of this Act. Directs such agencies, within two years after non-designated areas have been designated, to complete wilderness management plans for them. Requires the Secretary and other U.S. departments that manage wilderness to establish a national wilderness education program to educate the American people on wilderness laws and policies, values of wilderness, wilderness ecological processes, and ways to minimize visitor impacts on the wilderness resource. Directs BLM to: (1) conduct cadastral boundary surveys before offering timber on tracts adjacent to its public lands for sale to locate the legal boundaries of the wilderness areas; and (2) take necessary actions to ensure that timber harvesting is restricted on them. Requires the Secretary to: (1) protect cultural resource sites in wilderness areas; (2) encourage specified scientific research in them; and (3) establish wilderness research programs within the Park Service and BLM. Requires the President's budget to the Congress for each fiscal year after the enactment of this Act to identify specifically, in a line item for each agency separate from other programs, funds to be spent by them on wilderness research. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992
National Forest Wilderness Management Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish and maintain a wilderness management program within the Forest Service to protect and restore the pristine wilderness of the national forest portions of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System). Requires the Chief of the Forest Service (Chief) to appoint a Director of Wilderness to supervise the management of the national forest portions of such System. Requires the President's proposed budget to the Congress for each fiscal year after the enactment of this Act to identify specifically, in a line item separate from the Forest Service's recreation program, funds to be expended by the Forest Service on wilderness management. Declares that such appropriated funds shall be spent on wilderness management only. Directs the Chief to appoint a committee of at least five scientists to make recommendations to the Chief and Directors of the Federal agencies that manage wilderness in the Department of the Interior on establishing and maintaining a national wilderness monitoring system. Requires the committee to report on such recommendations to the Chief, such Directors, and specified congressional committees. Directs the Chief to establish a national wilderness monitoring system, based on the best available science, to monitor the condition of the wilderness resource within the national forest portions of the System. Requires the Secretary, beginning in 1995 and every five years thereafter, to report to the President and specified congressional committees on the condition of the wilderness resource on national forest lands, identifying steps the Secretary plans to take to reverse any degradation or deterioration. Directs the Chief to: (1) develop guidelines for a personnel evaluation system for each line officer with wilderness management responsibilities; and (2) take steps to improve the efficiency of the wilderness management program and to give it needed emphasis. Requires the Forest Service to amend the National Forest Management Plan for each national forest with wilderness designated on or before the enactment of this Act to make such Plan consistent with this Act. Directs the Forest Service, within two years after non-designated areas have been designated, to complete wilderness management plans for such areas. Directs the Secretary to establish the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Academy to provide interagency training for wilderness managers. Requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to establish a national wilderness education program to educate the American people on wilderness laws and policies, values of wilderness, wilderness ecological process, and ways to minimize visitor impacts on the wilderness resource. Directs the Forest Service to: (1) conduct cadastral boundary surveys before offering timber on tracts adjacent to national forest land for sale to locate the legal boundaries of any such wilderness areas; and (2) take necessary actions to ensure that timber harvesting is restricted on them. Requires the Secretary to: (1) protect cultural resource sites in wilderness areas; and (2) encourage specified scientific research in them. Establishes within the Forest Service the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute in or near Missoula, Montana. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to assess and report to the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior and specified congressional committees on the status of wilderness research nationwide. Requires the Secretary, through the Cooperative State Research Service, to establish a program to provide wilderness research grants to State supported colleges and universities, and to encourage States to submit wilderness research proposals for such grants. Amends the McIntire-Stennis Act to include the following within the scope of forestry research: protection, management, and maintenance of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Requires the Secretary to establish within wilderness areas at least one global baseline site for each region of the Forest Service to monitor the environmental health of the Earth. Requires the President's budget to the Congress for each fiscal year after the enactment of this Act to identify specifically, in a separate line item from other research programs, funds to be spent by the Forest Service on wilderness research. Defines "special management area" as any area of national forest land, other than wilderness areas, wild and scenic rivers, and national trails system areas that have been given a special designation by Act of the Congress (such as national recreation area, national scenic area, or national monument). Directs the Secretary, acting through the Forest Service, to take necessary actions to: (1) increase public awareness of such special management areas to make them highly visible; and (2) provide management that sets them apart from general national forest lands consistent with their designation. Requires the Chief: (1) to appoint an area manager for each special management area; and (2) to provide public information for them. Requires the Forest Service to amend the National Forest Management Plan for each national forest which includes a special management area designated on or before the enactment of this Act, to include a management plan for each forest. Directs the Forest Service, within two years after designation of each special management area after the enactment of this Act, to include a management plan for such forest in the National Forest Management Plan. Requires the President's budget to the Congress for each fiscal year after the enactment of this Act, to identify specifically, in a separate line item, funds to be spent by the Forest Service on special management areas. Directs the Chief, beginning in 1995 and every five years thereafter, to report to the Secretary and specified congressional committees on the status of all special management areas and plans for them. Includes all lands in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness within a single separate national forest (known as the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness National Forest) in order to: (1) protect the wilderness resource by giving it a quality wilderness management program; (2) encourage scientific research; and (3) serve as a model wilderness management program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992
National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Management Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to establish and maintain a wilderness management program within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to protect and restore the pristine wilderness portions of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System) managed by the Service. Requires the Director of the Service (Director) to appoint a Wilderness Division Chief to supervise management of its portions of the System. Requires the President's budget to the Congress for each fiscal year after the enactment of this Act to identify specifically, in a line item separate from other U.S. Fish and Wildlife programs, funds to be expended by the Service on wilderness management. Declares that such appropriated funds shall be spent on wilderness management only. Requires the Director to establish and maintain a national wilderness monitoring system, based on the best available science, to monitor the condition of the wilderness resource within the Service's portions of the System. Requires the Secretary, beginning in 1995 and every five years thereafter, to report to the President and specified congressional committees on the condition of the wilderness resource on the Service's lands, identifying steps the Secretary plans to take to reverse any degradation or deterioration. Requires the Director to: (1) develop guidelines for a personnel evaluation system for each line officer with wilderness management responsibilities; and (2) establish a field wilderness ranger program for each national wildlife refuge with wilderness. Requires the Service: (1) to complete Wilderness Management Plans for each wilderness area designated on or before the enactment of this Act; and (2) within two years after non-designated areas have been designated, to complete such plans for them. Requires the Secretary and other U.S. departments that manage wilderness to establish a national wilderness education program to educate the American people on wilderness laws and policies, values of wilderness, wilderness ecological processes, and ways to minimize visitor impacts on the wilderness resource. Requires the Secretary to: (1) protect cultural resource sites in wilderness areas; (2) encourage specified scientific research in them; and (3) establish wilderness research programs within the Service. Requires the President's budget to the Congress for each fiscal year after the enactment of this Act to identify specifically, in a line item separate from other research programs, funds to be spent by the Agency on wilderness research. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1992
Felon Gun Prohibition Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) deny convicted individuals the opportunity to seek administrative relief from prohibitions against possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving firearms or ammunition; (2) eliminate provisions permitting persons to appeal for judicial review of denials of relief; (3) eliminate the authority of the Federal courts to admit additional evidence in reviewing denials of such relief; and (4) require publication of additional information about administrative relief granted to any person.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Wetlands Reform Act of 1992 - Title I: Amendments to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to make any pollutant discharge or alteration of navigable waters unlawful. Revises certification requirements for persons seeking to conduct activities which may result in discharges or other alterations of navigable waters to provide State certifications that such activities will allow for the protection, achievement, and maintenance of designated uses included in water quality standards. Authorizes the issuance of permits for other alterations of navigable waters. Defines "other alterations" as activities which impair the flow, reach, or circulation of surface water, or which result in changes in the hydrologic regime, bottom contour, or configuration of the waters or in the type, distribution, or diversity of vegetation. Revises provisions concerning general permits for the discharge of dredged or fill material into, or other alteration of, navigable waters. Prohibits authorization for an activity within a State that has denied or revoked a water quality certification for such activity. Provides for biennial review of permits and revision or revocation to avoid or minimize adverse effects on navigable waters and for reports to the Congress. Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to establish a special Fast Track team in each district office to expedite the review and processing of minor permits. Prohibits the issuance of permits if there is a practical alternative to the proposed activity that would have less adverse impact on navigable waters. Requires all adverse impacts to wetlands and other U.S. waters to be fully mitigated to achieve full restoration of the functions and values lost. Applies exemptions from permit requirements for agricultural and certain other activities to other alterations of navigable water that occur as a result of such activities. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Secretary of the Army to promulgate final regulations determining the circumstances under which discharges of dredged or fill material or other alterations of navigable waters which were converted to production of commodity crops prior to December 23, 1985, shall be exempt from permit requirements. Authorizes citizen suits for violations of general permits or permit conditions. Title II: Other Provisions - Directs the Comptroller General to submit to the Congress an analysis of needs of the Corps of Engineers and EPA for additional personnel, administrative resources, and funding to improve implementation of the wetlands permit program. Requires funds to be used for: (1) the training and certification of wetlands delineators authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1990; and (2) the improvement of existing education and outreach programs of the Corps of Engineers or EPA regarding wetlands permitting. Requires the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service to use funds for wetlands mapping and for the delineation of wetlands in watersheds and ecosystems for which the need for delineation is particularly acute. Provides for the update of existing maps at least once every 15 years. Directs the Administrator to contract for an independent study of the scientific basis for wetlands identification and delineation to be conducted by the National Academy of Sciences. Requires such study to specifically address the scientific bases of certain Federal manuals for identifying and delineating wetlands and to recommend appropriate scientific methods and procedures for identification and delineation. Provides for the submission of study results to specified congressional committees. Prohibits revisions to or clarifications of the Federal Manual for Identifying and Delineating Jurisdictional Wetlands or regulations related to the definition, delineation, or identification of wetlands until the study has been completed. Title III: Wetlands Restoration Pilot Program - Directs the Secretary to initiate a pilot program of wetlands restoration.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Urges the Government of Syria to: (1) provide the strictest accounting of all Israelis who are prisoners of war or missing in action; (2) immediately release all living Israeli prisoners in its custody or the custody of its proxies in Lebanon; and (3) recover and return the bodies of all Israeli soldiers interred in Syria or in formerly Syrian-controlled areas of Lebanon.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
DES Education and Research Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a program for the conduct and support of research and training, the dissemination of health information, and other measures with respect to the diagnosis and treatment of conditions associated with exposure to the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES). Mandates: (1) programs to educate health professionals and the public; and (2) longitudinal studies. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency should accelerate the interim phaseout schedules and the final phaseout date of chlorofluorocarbons, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, and halons (and shall provide for complete phaseout as early as possible), accelerate the interim phaseout schedule and the final phaseout date of the hydrochlorofluorocarbons that have relatively long atmospheric lifetimes or high ozone depletion potentials, and prioritize efforts to issue regulations providing for the recapture and recycling of ozone-destroying substances used in appliances and motor vehicle air-conditioners and for the elimination of such substances used in nonessential consumer products; and (2) the President should urge the Contracting Parties to the Montreal Protocol to accelerate the interim phaseout schedules and the final phaseout date of the ozone-destroying chemicals currently covered by the Protocol, to include hydrochlorofluorocarbons within the terms of the Protocol and provide for the most rapid phaseout of those hydrochlorofluorocarbons with relatively long atmospheric lifetimes or high ozone depletion potentials, to amend the Protocol to include recapture and recycling provisions and prohibit the venting or release of ozone-destroying chemicals from refrigeration and air-conditioning units into the atmosphere by a set date, and to accelerate the compliance of developing countries with the terms of the Protocol.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1992
Temporary Employees Benefits Equity Act - Provides that a Federal employee who has completed at least four years of Federal employment in a six-year period on a temporary basis may not be excluded from participation in the Government's health benefits (provided that such employee has completed one year of current continuous employment, excluding any break in service of five days or less), life insurance, or retirement programs. Repeals provisions requiring temporary Federal employees to pay the full cost under the Government's health benefits program. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for determining whether a temporary employee satifies the service requirement necessary to be eligible for such benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1992
Amends Federal law to prohibit a Member of the House of Representatives from sending any franked mass mailing outside the Member's congressional district. Authorizes a Member of Congress to mail franked mail with a simplified form of address for delivery within his or her congressional district only. (Current law permits such mailings throughout the Member's State.) Prohibits the Committee on House Administration from approving any payment for, and a Member from making any expenditure from, any allowance of the House or any other official funds if any portion is for any cost related to a mass mailing by a Member of the House outside his or her congressional district.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) place the highest priority on the success of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), particularly through the personal participation of the President of the United States; (2) negotiate international agreements that effectively reduce the threat of climate change and biological diversity loss; (3) propose an initiative on financing Agenda 21 (the plan of action to be approved by UNCED when it meets) and other global cooperation efforts that takes into account the concerns of developing countries regarding additional costs of international environmental protection and the basic development goals of those countries and that increases accountability for the use of funds provided for environmental purposes; (4) seek to advance the development of a stronger international legal framework, and the creation of appropriate institutional mechanisms, for protecting the global environment; (5) promote public participation in environmental and development decisions at all levels; (6) pursue with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean a cooperative strategy to address environmental concerns in the Western Hemisphere; and (7) evaluate U.S. assistance programs in Latin America and the Caribbean to determine if they address U.S. national security interests in the region by apportioning sufficient funding to environmental concerns. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should support: (1) international and national programs aimed at encouraging a global transition to environmentally sustainable energy systems; (2) new programs and institutions to help developing countries become more energy efficient and otherwise increase their capacity for acquiring and using technology to make their economies more environmentally sustainable; (3) global goals of slowing deforestation of primary forests, increasing worldwide forest cover, and preserving a specified amount of mature forests; (4) improved national forests strategies that integrate all policy issues related to the loss of forests and eliminate economic incentives for deforestation; (5) the development of a new international agreement to eliminate land-based sources of marine pollution and cooperative efforts to address these sources of pollution at the regional level; (6) a process of international consultations aimed at identifying ways that poverty can be alleviated and natural resources better conserved through reduction of developing country debt burdens; and (7) the development of a timetable for industrialized nations and the United Nations to adopt a reformed system of national accounting that would reflect full environmental and social costs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) democratically-elected local government and civil administration in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Republic of Azerbaijan should be restored; (2) there should be free access to all prisoners by foreign government representatives and independent human rights organizations; (3) the United Nations (UN) Security Council should take up the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh to consider whether UN peacekeeping forces should be deployed to maintain order in the area; (4) foreign assistance extended to the former Soviet Union should be directed to the republics and, except for emergency and humanitarian assistance, conditioned on the establishment of democratically-elected governments and respect for human rights; (5) foreign assistance should be provided directly to Nagorno-Karabakh through impartial international organizations; (6) the human rights provisions of the September 23, 1991, communique negotiated at Zheleznovodsk under the auspices of the Presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan should be fulfilled without delay by the parties; and (7) the U.S. Government should support and encourage the objectives of this resolution by all appropriate means.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1992 - Title I: Recovery Plans - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary (either the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as program responsibilities are vested) to: (1) develop and implement recovery plans by December 31, 1996, for listed endangered and threatened species for which such plans have not been developed as of December 31, 1992; and (2) do the same for such non-listed species as of December 31, 1992, within two years after the species is listed. Title II: Penalties and Enforcement - Waives the 60-day notice requirement with respect to the filing of a civil suit by an individual in the case of an action against any person respecting an emergency posing a significant risk to the well-being of any listed species of fish or wildlife. Authorizes the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating to promulgate regulations to carry out the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the resolutions of its parties as well as to enforce this Act. Title III: Habitat Conservation Plans - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with any State, municipality, county, or local government to assist in the development of a plan for the conservation of any threatened or endangered species. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans, under specified conditions, to any such entities: (1) in the development of such plans; (2) to carry out biological and other studies in connection with it; and (3) related tasks. Establishes the Habitat Conservation Planning Fund for the deposit of all appropriated sums to assist in the development of conservation plans. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Anti-Boycott MFN Restriction Act of 1991 - Prohibits application of nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to the products of countries that participate in, or cooperate with, the international economic boycott of Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to require the United States Trade Representative to include in the National Trade Estimate information with respect to the Arab boycott of U.S. persons who do business with or invest in Israel, or who do business with a person who does business with or invests there.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle for America Act - Title I: State Recycling Requirements and Related Provisions - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations containing a standard methodology for States and municipalities to measure: (1) the composition of waste generated in their jurisdictions, by type and amount; and (2) the waste management capacity of landfills, recycling facilities, and incinerators. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations for States, municipalities, and regional solid waste management authorities to identify the life-cycle costs of waste management or recycling options. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations containing a standard methodology to measure the amount of material annually diverted from a municipal solid waste stream and to calculate the diversion rates for materials. Requires a diversion rate for a particular material to be calculated by comparing the amount of the material generated within a municipality or regional authority with the annual amount of that material diverted from an incinerator or landfill for recycling purposes. Directs such municipalities or regional authorities to conduct waste composition analyses at least once every five years to indicate: (1) the percentage of solid waste managed in the jurisdiction that consists of materials required to be analyzed; and (2) the percentage of such waste that consists of noncombustible materials. Includes within the list of materials to be analyzed: (1) paper; (2) glass; (3) metal; (4) plastics; (5) food and yard waste; (6) wood; (7) construction and demolition debris; (8) household hazardous waste and lead-acid and household batteries; (9) medical waste; (10) incinerator ash; and (11) miscellaneous combustibles and noncombustibles. Prohibits States, municipalities, or other local solid waste management authorities from issuing permits for the construction, expansion, or operation of a landfill, incinerator, or composting unit unless a waste composition analysis has been conducted in the jurisdiction where the facility is or will be located. Requires States or regional authorities to carry out programs to divert annually from incineration and landfilling those materials that otherwise would be destined for disposal by such methods. Sets forth required diversion percentages for glass, paper, metals, plastics, and yard and food waste. Provides that the delivery of plastics, metals, or glass for composting purposes shall not be considered diversion. Requires the Administrator to increase diversion rates by July 1, 2002, to assure decreasing reliance on incineration and landfilling. Authorizes States to petition for alternative diversion rates if economic conditions preclude an entity from achieving such rates, subject to specified requirements. Directs entities to which diversion requirements apply to certify to the State that the applicable percentage of materials has been diverted from the waste stream. Prohibits the issuance of permits by States, municipalities, or other regional authorities for the construction, expansion, or operation of a landfill or incinerator unless the entity from which the facility plans to accept waste: (1) is achieving the required diversion rates; and (2) demonstrates that the facility will not interfere with maintaining such rates. Declares that States must demonstrate achievement of diversion rates in order to receive approval for solid waste management plans. Prohibits the incineration of the following materials in municipal incineration units: (1) glass; (2) ferrous and nonferrous metals; (3) lead-acid and household batteries; (4) recyclable plastics; (5) yard waste; and (6) other materials that are noncombustible or recyclable, as appropriate. Requires owners or operators of such units to inspect wastes to ensure that such materials are removed before incineration and to certify to the State that they are in compliance with such prohibition. Excludes from the inspection requirement waste delivered after prohibited materials have been: (1) removed at a materials recovery facility; or (2) collected pursuant to a curbside collection or deposit program under which material is diverted from solid waste at a rate of at least 90 percent. Prohibits the disposal of lead-acid and household batteries in municipal landfills. Makes such prohibition inapplicable under certain circumstances. Provides for the incorporation of requirements under this title into State solid waste management plans. Title II: Other Recycling Provisions - Requires manufacturers or importers of covered items to ensure that such items contain a minimum percentage of post-consumer materials. Defines a "covered item" as a product, packaging or a container for a product, or materials made of aluminum, glass, steel, plastic, or paper. Authorizes manufacturers or importers to comply with such requirements by: (1) recycling a covered item for purposes of producing such item; or (2) purchasing recycling credits under a system established by the Administrator. Sets forth minimum content standards and deadlines for compliance for aluminum, glass, steel, plastics, and paper. Provides for exemptions to such requirements in cases where meeting such requirements would result in a potential hazard to human health or the environment. Prescribes penalties for violations of such requirements. Sets forth recordkeeping requirements for importers and manufacturers of covered items. Prohibits manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or importers from offering a consumer item for sale or promotional purposes if such item contains less than 90 percent product (by volume) or more than ten percent package and packing material (by volume). Exempts specified items from such requirement. Requires manufacturers or importers of products, packages, or packing material to furnish to the Administrator, a retailer, or a consumer, upon request, a certification of compliance with respect to such requirement. Prescribes penalties for violations of such requirement. Requires manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or importers of motorized vehicles (other than automobiles) or large appliances to: (1) accept any vehicle or appliance of the type sold by such persons from purchasers; or (2) assure the diversion of such items away from incinerators or landfills. Permits the disposal of household batteries only by delivery to retailers, wholesalers, or manufacturers of batteries of the same general type, regulated collection or recycling facilities, or governmental curbside collection programs. Sets forth disposal requirements for retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. Prohibits battery retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers from refusing to accept batteries of the same type as the batteries sold. Requires wholesalers to remove used batteries from the place of business of the retailer. Sets forth refund requirements with respect to such batteries. Requires notices to be posted in household battery retail establishments that: (1) state that is illegal to throw away such batteries and that Federal law requires acceptance of batteries for recycling and the return of batteries to authorized recyclers or collectors; and (2) encourage the recycling of used batteries. Prohibits the sale of household batteries unless such batteries bear a label that identifies the chemical in the battery and that states the refund value and requirements for recycling and acceptance. Requires the Administrator to promulgate labeling requirements for small, button-shaped batteries. Prohibits States or local governments from enforcing labeling requirements unless identical with this Act's requirements. Prohibits the sale of a rechargeable consumer product unless: (1) the battery can be easily removed by the consumer or is contained in a battery pack separate from the product and can be easily removed; and (2) the product and the battery are both labeled in a manner that is clearly visible, that indicates that the battery must be collected separately, and that identifies the electrode used in the battery. Revises provisions concerning Federal procurement of recycled goods. Applies procurement requirements to the purchase or acquisition of items during a fiscal year if, during any of the preceding five fiscal years, the price of such items exceeded $10,000 in the aggregate. Includes the Congress within the definition of "procuring agency." Requires procuring agencies to procure only items which are composed of the highest percentage of post-consumer materials (currently, recovered materials) practicable or, in the case of items for which minimum content standards have been set, which contain no less than the required minimum content. Revises conditions under which a procuring agency may determine not to procure such items. Directs the Administrator to: (1) revise existing standards for the procurement of paper containing post-consumer materials so that the standards are at least as stringent as the minimum content requirements of title II; (2) promulgate standards for the procurement and use of containers and packaging and other goods made from aluminum, ferrous, and plastic scrap and waste glass that are as stringent as such requirements; (3) promulgate standards for the procurement and use of waste glass in the construction of paved surfaces, rubber scrap in the construction of paved surfaces, roofing, and other nonroadway applications, and compost, fertilizers, and other soil amendments made from yard and food waste; and (4) promulgate standards for at least three additional categories of items and other items, as appropriate.
United States · United States Congress · 25 November 1991
Consumer Products Safe Testing Act - Declares the policy that Federal departments and agencies shall encourage the development and use of product testing procedures that accurately reflect the acute health effects on humans of certain products, including consumer products and products containing hazardous or toxic substances, but which do not rely upon animals. Directs each Federal department or agency head (head), within one year, to: (1) review and evaluate any regulation, guideline, or recommendation issued by such department or agency which requires, recommends, or encourages the use of the Draize or other animal acute toxicity test for the purpose of evaluation of the safety of a regulated product; (2) review and evaluate nonanimal alternatives with the potential for partial or full replacement of the products regulated; and (3) promulgate regulations, guidelines, or recommendations that specify that a nonanimal acute toxicity test or battery of tests (NATT) should be used instead of an animal acute toxicity test unless that head determines that the NATT is less likely to predict the acute health effects on humans of a product than the animal acute toxicity test. Requires the appropriate head, if a determination is made that no NATT is as likely to predict the human reaction to the regulated product as the Draize or other animal acute toxicity test, to publish in the Federal Register an explanation of all options considered and the justification for continuing the animal acute toxicity test, which shall be subject to public comment. Provides for periodic review of animal acute toxicity testing regulations. Makes this Act inapplicable to regulations, guidelines, or recommendations related to medical research.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Commends: (1) the people of Guam for their patriotism, bravery, loyalty to the United States, and many sacrifices during World War II, particularly during the invasion and occupation of the Guam territory; (2) the members of the Navy Insular Force and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps for the efforts and sacrifices they made in defense of the U.S.; (3) the Hawaiians for their sacrifices and contributions to the U.S. war effort during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; and (4) the Hawaii Territorial Guard members, Varsity Victory Volunteers, the civilian workers at the Pearl Harbor Naval Ship Yard and other Hawaiian military installations, 100th Infantry Battalion, Military Intelligence Service, and 442nd Regimental Combat Team for their sacrifices and contributions to the U.S. war effort during such attack.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Calls upon the President, as part of the Uruguay Round General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks, to initiate negotiations to make GATT compatible with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other U.S. health, safety, labor, and environmental laws, including laws to protect the environment outside of the United States. Declares that the Congress will not approve legislation to implement any trade agreement (including the Uruguay Round of the GATT and the U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement) that jeopardizes such laws, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Clean Air Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1991
Pacific Yew Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior (Secretaries) to pursue a policy to provide for: (1) the long-term conservation of the pacific yew on lands under their jurisdiction; and (2) a sustainable supply of it for medicinal purposes. Requires the Secretary concerned to ensure that timber sales awarded after the enactment of this Act and such sales completed prior to such enactment but still unharvested be conducted in a specified manner. Directs the Secretaries to establish a special task force in each of their respective Departments to ensure that the purposes of this Act are achieved through the: (1) implementation of the policy required by it; and (2) guidelines and plan developed by the Interagency Pacific Yew Committee (established later on in this Act). Requires the Secretaries to inventory pacific yew on lands under their jurisdiction. Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish an interdisciplinary Interagency Pacific Yew Committee to submit interim guidelines for the harvest, management, and conservation of the pacific yew until the Committee develops a proposed conservation and management plan for it. Requires the Secretaries to submit such plan to specified congressional committees. Sets forth requirements for the interim guidelines and the management and conservation plan. Establishes procedures for implementation of them. Directs the Secretaries to encourage and assist in research regarding the: (1) ecology of the Pacific Yew; (2) development of alternative methods of procuring taxol (a cancer-treating drug made from the pacific yew), including use of other yew parts in addition to bark, the sustainable harvest of yew needles, and the use of other yew species; and (3) propagation of Pacific Yew and other yew species in agricultural or commercial settings. Directs the Secretary concerned to ensure: (1) development, implementation, and enforcement of processes for the collection and sale of Pacific Yew resources to minimize the illegal harvest and sale of them; and (2) timely access to Pacific Yew resources so that collection of Pacific Yew parts can occur before the taxol properties of such parts are degraded. States that nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as modifying the provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Directs the Secretaries concerned to report with recommendations to specified congressional committees on ways to increase the harvest of Pacific Yew if sufficient amounts of it cannot be harvested in compliance with this Act and other Federal law to supply the necessary amounts of taxol required for medicinal purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1991
Second National Blue Ribbon Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government Act - Establishes the Second National Blue Ribbon Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government to: (1) conduct a private sector survey on management and cost control in the Federal Government; (2) review executive agency operations and existing General Accounting Office, Congressional Budget Office, Inspector General Reports, and other existing governmental and nongovernmental recommendations for reducing waste; and (3) submit to the President and the Congress a list of those recommendations with estimated savings that the Commission determines are most significant and recommendations for improving the budget process, management, and reducing waste and costs in the Government. Requires the Commission to identify, address, and to report to the President and the Congress on: (1) opportunities for increased efficiency and reduced costs in the Government that can be realized by executive action or legislation; (2) areas in the Government where managerial accountability can be enhanced and administrative control can be improved; (3) specific Federal programs that have accomplished their objectives and ought to be terminated; (4) specific Federal program services that could be provided at a lower cost by the private sector; (5) specific reforms of the budget process that would yield savings, increase accountability and efficiency, and enhance public confidence in the budget process; (6) specific areas in the Government where further study can be justified by potential savings; and (7) specific recommendations for legislative and administrative actions. Requires the Commission to be funded, staffed, and equipped, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, by the private sector without cost to the Government.
![Official portrait of Rep. Beilenson, Anthony C. [D-CA-24]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000318_200.jpg)