United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1991 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to such retirement pay is based solely on: (1) age; (2) length of service; or (3) both. Reduces the amount of retirement pay, in the case of individuals receiving both types of pay, by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, once the Federal budget deficit has been reduced, the Congress should reexamine and eliminate any offset of retired pay by a veteran's disability compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Partnerships for Wildlife Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Wildlife Conservation and Appreciation Fund to provide financial assistance to designated State agencies in carrying out fish and wildlife conservation and appreciation projects which meet certain eligibility standards. Places limits on such Federal assistance. Prohibits designated State agencies from being eligible to receive matching funds from the Fund if such agency diverts revenue from activities it regulates for any purpose other than the management and conservation of fish and wildlife. Prohibits Fund amounts from being provided to assist a State in carrying out such a project unless the amount appropriated to the Fund has been matched wholly by a contribution made to the Fund by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation or other private entities or persons. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to certain spinal manipulations and physical examinations and X-rays furnished to an individual to determine if spinal manipulations are appropriate therapy, conducted by State-licensed chiropractors who are legally authorized by the State to provide such services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Marine Mammal Public Display Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit issuance of a permit for the taking of any marine mammal in the waters of a State for public display if: (1) issuance of the permit would be inconsistent with State law; and (2) the Governor of such State submits to the Secretary of the department in which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is operating and the Secretary of the Interior notice of disapproval of the issuance of such permit.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Establishes a Joint Committee on the Organization of the Congress to: (1) make a full and complete study of the organization and operation of the Congress; and (2) recommend improvements in such organization and operation with a view toward strengthening its effectiveness, simplifying its operations, improving its relationships with other branches of the Government, and improving the orderly consideration of legislation. Requires a report to the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than the adjournment sine die of the 102d Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1991
Hispanic Access to Higher Education Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish an integrated early outreach program. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants and contracts to specified types of entities for providing various educational services to develop the academic skills and self-confidence of program participants necessary for success in higher education. Requires that: (1) at least two-thirds of program participants be low-income, racial or ethnic minorities underrepresented in higher education who are first-generation college students; and (2) the remaining one-third of such participants be either low-income individuals or first-generation college students. Requires participants to have completed three years of elementary education, and be between eight and 19 years of age (unless such limitations would defeat program purposes). Requires annual program reports to include data on student academic progress, appropriate income measures, gender, English proficiency, and the racial and ethnic background of program participants and service providers. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct a biennial survey, through the National Center for Educational Statistics, of factors associated with participation of low-income and minority students in various types of postsecondary education. Sets forth requirements for development of such survey and types of data to be included. Establishes a demonstration program of Stafford student loan forgiveness for any borrower employed as a full-time teacher: (1) in a school which qualifies under HEA for loan cancellation for Perkins student loan recipients who teach at such schools; and (2) of mathematics, science, foreign languages, special education, bilingual education, or any other field where the State educational agency determines there is a shortage of qualified teachers. Directs the Secretary to assume the obligation to repay the following percentages of Stafford loans incurred during the borrower's last two undergraduate years: (1) 15 percent for the first or second academic year in which the borrower is a full-time teacher; (2) 20 percent for the third or fourth such years of teaching; and (3) 30 percent for the fifth year. Sets forth a special rule authorizing such repayments with respect to Stafford loans for a maximum of two years in returning to an institution of higher education after graduation to obtain a teaching certificate. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to conduct Teacher Corps activities. Bases the amount of such grants on relative school-age population. Directs the Secretary to use funds for such program to: (1) disseminate information nationally about the availability of Teacher Corps scholarships to individuals leaving the armed services; and (2) conduct activities, with SEA cooperation, which foster communications and meetings, including training, of Teacher Corps members. Authorizes each SEA receiving such a grant to use such funds for: (1) grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for induction and mentor programs; (2) in-service and mentoring program for Teacher Corps members at State and local levels; (3) technical assistance to LEAs for Teacher Corps and induction programs; (4) evaluation of Teacher Corps membership applications and awarding Teacher Corps scholarships; (5) Teacher Corps awards to individuals in training to become a school psychologist, school social worker, or a school counselor; (6) ensuring that members understand repayment obligations resulting from noncompliance with scholarship conditions; (7) assistance for employment placement of Teacher Corps members; and (8) collection of scholarship repayments. Requires SEAs to give priority in awarding grants to LEAs with the greatest proportion of disadvantaged students, including racial and ethnic minorities. Allows each SEA to choose to administer such program through a preexisting experienced panel. Authorizes LEAs receiving grants to use such funds for: (1) induction programs for new Teacher Corps members and other new teachers; and (2) ensuring that Teacher Corps members participate in an induction program for at least one year, including working with a mentor teacher designated by the LEA. Allows such induction programs to be developed in cooperation with institutions of higher education. Requires the SEA, in cooperation with the State higher education agency, to select Teacher Corps members. Requires the SEA-established criteria to include specified factors. Requires special consideration for individuals who intend to teach limited English-proficient students, preschool age children, or students with disabilities (or to provide related services to students with disabilities). Requires priority consideration for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities and individuals with disabilities, who are underrepresented in the teaching profession or the curricular areas in which they are preparing to teach. Sets forth application requirements for Teacher Corps membership, SEAs, and LEAs. Provides for Teacher Corps scholarships. Limits individual eligibility to a maximum of three years of specified types of programs of study. Limits individual scholarship amount and duration. Requires that such scholarships be considered in determining eligibility for HEA student assistance. Requires that total assistance not exceed need. Provides for continued eligibility. Sets forth scholarship conditions, including agreement to work as a teacher, upon completion of education, for five years in a school which qualifies for Perkins student loan cancellation under HEA, or to repay all or part of the scholarship, plus interest, if scholarship conditions are not complied with. Requires SEAs receiving Teacher Corps assistance to: (1) publicize availability of and application procedures for Teacher Corps scholarships, particularly among specified types of students and individuals; and (2) recruit minority students to participate in the Teacher Corps program. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits any such funds from being appropriated unless the amount appropriated to carry out the Paul Douglas Congressional Teacher Scholarships program under HEA equals or exceeds a specified amount. Amends HEA to establish the Teacher Opportunity Corps (TOC) program, to encourage institutions of higher education to offer educational programs and financial assistance to enable paraprofessionals working in shortage area schools serving disadvantaged students to become certified teachers. Directs the Secretary to allocate TOC program grant funds to States according to the same formula under which States receive funding for education of disadvantaged children. Requires TOC grant program agreements to include provisions for administration and recordkeeping by the State education or higher education agency. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to support TOC programs at institutions of higher education. Sets forth State grant application requirements and general criteria for State grants, including: (1) involvement of institutions of higher education and shortage area schools or school districts; (2) full creditability to a baccalaureate program leading to teacher certification; (3) a program evaluation system; and (4) appropriate credit for paraprofessional classroom experience as practice or student teaching. Requires any paraprofessional who receives student financial assistance under the TOC program to agree to act as a paraprofessional in a shortage area school for at least one year for each year of such assistance, within ten years after completing the postsecondary education. Requires repayment of all or part of such assistance, plus interest and reasonable collection costs, if the recipient fails to comply with this service requirement, except in specified circumstances. Requires that such student financial assistance supplement, but not supplant, other Federal or State assistance for which the student would otherwise qualify. Requires TOC program grants to be for a term of at least five years, subject to availability of appropriations. Allows States to use TOC program funds for: (1) student financial assistance to paraprofessionals to pay part or all of the costs of attendance (including child care) in postsecondary education programs required for teacher certification; (2) supportive services for such paraprofessionals during participation in such programs; and (3) payment of wage costs of substitute paraprofessionals to afford employed paraprofessionals release-time to attend postsecondary classes required for teacher certification. Authorizes appropriations. Revises HEA with respect to Special Programs for Student from Disadvantaged Backgrounds to require the Secretary to consider the geographic location of first-time applicants for such funding to ensure that projects are evenly distributed geographically and are able to service the needs of large concentrations of disadvantaged students. Includes community-based organizations among the entities which may receive grants and contracts for such programs. Authorizes the Secretary to compile data on the students served by the projects assisted. Requires such data to include specified minimum components. Revises HEA special programs for students whose families are engaged in migrant and seasonal farmwork. Expands eligibility for the high school equivalency program and the college assistance migrant program to include certain persons who have participated in specified programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 or the Job Training Partnership Act. Extends the grant period from three to five years. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the high school equivalency program and the college assistance migrant program. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a National Mini-Corps Program to: (1) provide certain migrant college students with training to help them serve as student or teacher role models, links to the community, and tutors and teachers of migrant children; (2) designate college coordinators at participating institutions to train, supervise, and assign migrant students in cooperation with the operating State agency in which migrant children with special needs have been identified; (3) provide academic assistance, home visits, parental involvement, parent-student advisement services, and family advocacy; (4) provide that the instructional services for migrant children are to be coordinated with the overall educational goals of the operating State agency; and (5) provide that migrant students participating in such programs work from ten to 15 hours per week and receive stipends for such services. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Medicare Physician Payment Reform Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the transition rules for phasing in the resource-based relative value scale (RB RVS) method of payment for physician services to prohibit adjustments for asymmetry in the transition and for behavioral responses. Declares spending under this Act to be an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and exempt from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an amortization deduction with respect to certain intangible property that is acquired and held by a taxpayer in connection with the conduct of a trade or business or an activity engaged in for the production of income. Provides for determining such deduction by amortizing the adjusted basis (for purposes of determining gain) of such intangible ratably over the 14-year period beginning with the month in which the intangible was acquired. Disallows any other depreciation or amortization deduction with respect to such intangible. Provides that amortization intangibles do not include intangibles that are created by the taxpayer or that arise solely by reason of entering into a renewal of a contract to which the taxpayer is a party. Describes an amortizable intangible as : (1) goodwill; (2) going concern value; (3) certain specified types of intangible property that generally relate to workforce, information base, know-how, customers, suppliers, or other similar items; (4) any license, permit, or other right granted by a governmental unit, agency, or instrumentality; (5) any covenant not to compete (or other arrangement to the extent that the arrangement has substantially the same effect as a convenant not to compete) entered into in connection with the direct or indirect acquisition of an interest in a trade or business or substantial portion thereof; and (6) any franchise, trademark, or trade name. Excludes from treatment as an amortizable intangible: (1) any property of a kind that is regularly traded on an established market; (2) a patent or copyright that is not acquired in a transaction (or a series of related transactions) involving the acquisition of a trade or business or a substantial portion thereof; (3) a franchise to engage in any professional sport, and any item acquired in connection with such franchise; (4) any license, permit, or other right of an indefinite duration that is granted by a governmental unit, agency, or instrumentality; and (5) certain contract rights, to the extent provided in regulations, if such rights have a fixed duration and are not renewable and are not acquired in a transaction involving the acquisition of assets constituting a trade or business or substantial portion thereof. Sets forth special rules governing the application of the amortization deduction. Continues the present-law treatment of certain contingent amounts that are paid or incurred on account of the transfer of a franchise, trademark, or trade name. Provides for the treatment of assumption reinsurance transactions of insurance companies.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Collegiate Athletics Reform Act - Title I: Antitrust Exemption - Creates a temporary exemption from the antitrust laws for conduct engaged in during a five-year period, beginning one year after this Act's enactment and subject to specified conditions, by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for the purpose of allowing the NCAA to negotiate and carry out contracts involving the use or sale of the name or logo of a commercial sponsor in association with a post-season amateur athletic event (event) engaged in by a member institution, the sale of the right to telecast an event engaged in by such an institution, or both. States that the requirements of this title are met if the NCAA: (1) is governed in accordance with this title by a board known as the Board of Presidents; (2) has in effect and carries out a net contract revenue distribution plan that is developed by the Board and certified by the Secretary of Education to require compliance with specified criteria (which encourage each member institution to decrease the number of its revenue-producing sports teams and its facilities used specifically for such teams, to decrease the amount it expends for administration of its athletic department, and to increase the level of academic performance of student athletes who participate on such teams, and which develop a method of allocating net contract revenue to each member institution in direct proportion to the extent of its compliance with provisions of the Education Amendments of 1972); (3) has in effect and enforces rules which provide for due process before the NCAA suspends or reprimands a coach or student athlete, suspends or prohibits a member institution from participating in an event, or suspends the telecommunications privileges of a member institution; and (4) has in effect and enforces a student athlete scholarship plan (which encourages each member institution to allow each individual who receives an athletic scholarship to retain such scholarship if the individual maintains acceptable academic performance, makes a good-faith effort to participate in the athletic program, complies with all regulations and policies of the member institution attended, and is not convicted of a felony or drug- or alcohol-related offense). Requires: (1) the Secretary of Commerce to submit a report to the Congress on the impact of the net contract revenue distribution plan on the diversity of events on broadcast television (TV) and pay TV services, the financial integrity of institutions of higher education, the TV networks and their affiliates, and the higher education system; (2) the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report on the impact on member institutions of NCAA suspensions on the telecommunications privileges of such institutions and the loss of funds to member institutions caused by such suspensions; (3) the FCC to report, specifying the number of NCAA athletic events available on free, broadcast TV, cable TV, and "pay-per-view" (ppv) TV systems, and evaluating the shift in the televising of events from broadcast to cable and ppv TV systems; and (4) the FCC to promulgate regulations within one year which prohibit any TV network or affiliate from broadcasting an event involving a sports team representing a disqualified college at the same time and in the same viewing areas as a broadcast of an event involving a member institution. Title II: Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require that, in determining the unrelated business taxable income of an existing national athletic organization of colleges and universities and each such member institution of such an organization, there shall be: (1) included all gross income accrued after the disqualification date (i.e., the earliest date during the five-year period on which any title I requirements are not met) with respect to specified activities (the sale of tickets for, the use or sale of merchandise related to, and the use or sale of the name or logo of a commercial sponsor in association with, and the sale of the right to telecast, an event); and (2) allowed all deductions directly connected with such income. Specifies that, in determining the unrelated business taxable income of a disqualified college, there shall be: (1) included all gross income with respect to such activities occurring after the disqualification date; and (2) allowed all deductions directly connected with such income. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe such regulations as necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this title. Specifies that, in the case of a student athlete at a member institution, gross income does not include the amounts received by such individual (whether in kind or as reimbursement for expenses incurred) for room and board, tuition, personal counseling, tutorial services, medical expenses, and specified sums for athletes qualifying on the basis of need under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). Title III: Education Program Requirements - Amends the HEA to require the disclosure to students of the total revenues (and expenditures), and revenues (and expenditures) by sport, of (and for) the institution's athletic departments and activities, the total revenues and expenditures of the institution for the same period, and any funds transferred by an institution from its athletic departments to its general fund, or from its general fund to its athletic departments. Requires the Secretary of Education to collect and compile forms required to be disclosed under such Act, make such forms readily available for public inspection and copying, and publicly announce (annually) the availability of such forms.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Condemns Syria's denial of Syrian Jews' right to travel freely and calls upon the Syrian Government to: (1) immediately grant Syrian Jews the right to travel freely without imposing a fee; and (2) release all Jewish prisoners who were charged or suspected of traveling illegally. Urges the President to encourage U.S. allies and trading partners to make similar pleas to the Syrian Government. Calls upon the United Nations to send an official delegation to Syria to investigate the present condition of Syrian Jews.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the people of the United States should recognize: (1) the tenth anniversary of "An Artistic Discovery" (the Congressional High School Art Competition); and (2) its success in encouraging the creative endeavors of our Nation's young artists and forging strong working relationships among the Congress, businesses, and the arts community towards the ultimate goal of providing opportunities for high school students to express their artistic talents.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
Technical Education and Training Act of 1991 - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to carry out an advanced technical education and training program under which accredited associate-degree-granting colleges, using matching non-Federal funds, provide training in technical competencies in strategic fields, with emphasis on collaborative programs with local employers and on attracting nontraditional students seeking to upgrade skills, recent high school graduates, and high school dropouts. Sets forth program elements, including: (1) model instructional programs in state-of-the-art competencies in advanced-technology occupations; (2) faculty development in laser technology, robotics, fiber optics, electronics, and other advanced technologies; and (3) private sector participation and provision of work experience opportunities. Requires the Director to: (1) award competitive grants to associate-degree-granting colleges; and (2) establish an inventory of advanced technical education and training programs. Requires the appointment of a National Advisory Council on Advanced Technical Education and Training to ensure the program is consistent with the needs of industries and provide other advice and evaluations. Requires an annual report from the Council to the NSF and the Congress. Requires the program to give emphasis to training to accommodate working people, parents, and the handicapped. Requires the designation of ten centers of excellence among associate-degree-granting colleges to serve as national and regional clearinghouses for educational institutions striving to upgrade their technical education programs and mathematics and science courses. Requires the Director to make: (1) no fewer than 20 grants annually to associate-degree-granting colleges to develop partnerships in mathematics and science education with secondary schools in the community; and (2) grants for partnerships with four-year academic institutions to enable students to achieve bachelor degrees in mathematics, science, engineering, or technology.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
California Desert Protection Act of 1991 - Title I: Wilderness Additions - Designates as additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System 77 wilderness areas within the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA), the Yuma District, and the Bakerfield District of the Bureau of Land Management. Permits grazing in such areas. Prohibits the approval of any plan of operation prior to determining the validity of unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites affected by plans in such areas. States that non-designated areas within the CDCA have been adequately studied for inclusion in the System and releases them from otherwise applicable restrictions. Designates certain lands within the CDCA as the White Mountains Wilderness Study Area. Title II: Death Valley National Park - Establishes the Death Valley National Historic Park which subsumes the Death Valley National Monument. Withdraws the additional lands from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites within such additional lands and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Preserves grazing privileges on such lands for persons holding permits as of July 1, 1991. Terminates all grazing on July 1, 2016. Title III: Joshua Tree National Park - Establishes the Joshua Tree National Park which subsumes the Joshua Tree National Monument. Withdraws the additional lands from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites within such additional lands and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Continues the validity of certain rights-of-way of the Metropolitan Water District. Title IV: Mojave National Park - Establishes the Mojave National Monument which subsumes the East Mojave National Scenic Area. Withdraws Federal lands within the Monument from further exploitation under the mining laws. Requires the Secretary to determine the validity of any unpatented mining claims, mill sites, and tunnel sites within the Monument and whether the United States should acquire any mineral rights in such lands. Authorizes the Secretary to regulate mining in such Monument. Preserves grazing privileges on such lands for persons holding permits as of July 1, 1991. Terminates all grazing on July 1, 2016. Continues the validity of existing rights-of-way for specified activities. Directs the Secretary to submit a management plan for the Monument to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Designates the Granite Mountains Natural Reserve within the Monument. Authorizes the Secretary to construct a visitors' center and acquire lands. Title V: National Park Wilderness - Designates as wilderness the Death Valley National Park Wilderness, the Joshua Tree National Park Wilderness Additions, and the Mojave National Monument Wilderness. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Directs the Secretary to transfer Red Rock Canyon State Park Additions in the CDCA to California. Establishes the Desert Lily Sanctuary within the CDCA. Prohibits the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture from: (1) disposing of lands within the boundaries of any wilderness, park, or monument designated by this Act; (2) granting rights-of-way in lands within designated wilderness; and (3) making lands within such boundaries available for use by the Metropolitan Water District. Requires the Secretary to transfer certain Federal lands selected by the California State Lands Commission upon transfer to the United States of State school lands of equivalent value that are included in areas designated as wilderness and national parks under titles I through IV of this Act. Sets forth procedures for establishing fair market value. Creates the California Desert State Lands Credit Account in the event that the value of selected Federal lands is less than that of transferred State lands. Authorizes the Secretary to exchange Federal mineral interests in lands in California for private mineral interests in wilderness areas and national parks designated by this Act. Directs the Secretary to insure nonexclusive access to the wilderness areas, parks, and monument designated by this Act for traditional Indian cultural and religious purposes. Reserves Federal water rights for wilderness areas designated by this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Definitions - Sets forth specified definitions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1991
Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from making any payment for covered drugs and biologicals unless the price charged by the manufacturer is determined in accordance with an agreement between the Secretary and the manufacturer pursuant to the Social Security Act, under which the price charged cannot exceed the price charged as of September 1, 1990, increased by the sum of the covered drug updates. States that such pricing agreement shall apply to any drug or biological product procured by the Department of Veterans Affairs that is: (1) purchased under a depot contracting system; or (2) listed under the Federal Supply Schedule of the General Services Administration on or after January 1, 1990. Amends the Social Security Act to exclude the prices for prescription drugs procured by the Federal Government from the calculation of best price procurement for purposes of application of Medicaid rebate agreements. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of, and report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Commitees on, the costs and availability of drugs and biological products for programs of the Department as they relate to exemptions and limitations under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Community Right-To-Know More Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise congressional findings, objectives, and national policy provisions. Title I: Expansion of Toxics Release Inventory - Requires owners or operators of facilities subject to toxic chemical release requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 that meet threshold requirements under this Act to include supplemental information comparable to that required in toxic chemical release forms for transfers or releases of chemicals that are: (1) priority pollutants relating to steam electric power point source pollutants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; (2) specified hazardous wastes listed under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (3) specified chemicals listed under the Clean Air Act; (4) pesticides with respect to which the registration has been denied, cancelled, or is under suspension or pesticides undergoing administrative review or that are classified for restricted use; (5) chemicals listed under the Safe Drinking Water Act for which maximum contaminant levels have been proposed; (6) chemicals identified as carcinogens by the Carcinogen Assessment Group of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the International Agency for Research on Cancer, or the National Toxicology Program; (7) extremely hazardous substances listed pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986; (8) chemicals listed in 90 California Regulatory Notice Register 990 as reproductive toxins; or (9) listed under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 that are not used at a level that meets threshold requirements for reporting but are released to the environment or transferred to an offsite waste management facility in amounts meeting the threshold under this Act. Provides that a facility meets the threshold requirements with respect to a chemical listed under this Act if the facility: (1) uses the chemical at a level that meets the threshold requirement for reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986; or (2) releases to the environment or transfers to an offsite waste management facility a chemical in an amount greater than or equal to 100 pounds annually in the case of metals or metal compounds or 2,000 pounds annually for any other chemical. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to establish lower thresholds for any chemical, user segment, or facility. Permits authorized States to establish lower thresholds for facilities in their jurisdictions. Authorizes the Administrator to delete a carcinogen or reproductive toxin from the list under this Act if it is not otherwise listed under this Act or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Applies toxic chemical release reporting requirements to facilities employing at least ten full-time employees that are not currently subject to such requirements, but meet threshold reporting requirements under this Act or the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Title II: Toxics Use Reduction - Requires owners or operators of covered facilities to submit: (1) annual toxics use reduction reports for each covered chemical for which such facilities are required to file toxic chemical release forms or supplemental information pursuant to title I; and (2) annual plans for reducing the use of covered chemicals. Sets forth report and plan requirements and submission deadlines. Authorizes the Administrator to modify such plans. Requires the Administrator to establish an advisory board to determine a professional code of practice for toxics use reduction materials accounting and planning. Directs owners or operators of facilities in violation of standards, permit conditions, or regulations pertaining to the management or release of covered chemicals, upon the request of 50 citizens or employees, to establish a workplace toxic use reduction committee to provide ongoing dialogue and appraisal of the progress toward pollution prevention. Requires the committee to meet at least quarterly to review a facility's progress on toxics use reduction. Directs the Administrator to implement a strategy to promote toxics use reduction. Requires the Administrator, Federal agencies, and States or political subdivisions, in issuing or approving regulatory action under specified environmental, consumer protection, occupational health and safety, and energy Acts, to make toxics use reduction an integral part of the planning, decisionmaking, and rulemaking process. Authorizes the Administrator to require owners or operators of facilities to provide records and information and grants the Administrator access to records, products, or raw materials. Requires the Administrator to establish a technical assistance and research program to promote and study toxics use reduction. Directs the Administrator to analyze information on production units reported by facilities for purposes of classifying such units into groups that use similar production processes and covered chemicals. Authorizes the Administrator to classify such units into groups on the basis of industrial categories according to Standard Industrial Classification codes. Requires the Administrator to: (1) classify ten groups, to be referred to as user segments; (2) evaluate the reduction in the use and generation of covered chemicals by each production unit in each user segment; and (3) prepare and make available to the public an annual percentile ranking of each unit according to use and generation as byproduct. Authorizes the Administrator to promulgate regulations to establish minimum toxics use reduction performance requirements for production units in user segments. Sets forth regulation requirements. Applies provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 concerning trade secrets, the provision of information to health professionals, and public availability of information to toxics information under this Act. Waives Federal facility compliance with toxics use reduction and reporting requirements upon the request of the Secretary of Defense and the President's determination that such waiver is in the interest of national security. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the appropriate congressional committees on methods of encouraging the reporting of toxics information through the use of computer telecommunication and other means. Requires the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment to study and report to the Administrator and the Congress on the provision to the public of toxic release inventory information and related information required to be submitted to the Administrator. Prescribes civil and administrative penalties for violations of toxics use reduction and reporting requirements. Sets forth provisions concering civil actions with respect to such violations. Requires the Administrator to establish a grant program to assist States and local governments in establishing innovative toxics use reduction programs. Directs States to make 75 percent of a grant available to local governments for carrying out toxics use reduction. Bases the awarding of grants on the extent to which chemical substances are manufactured, processed, used, and disposed of in a State, the extent of exposure to such substances in a State, and the population density of a State. Authorizes appropriations for such grants and for toxics use reduction under this Act. Requires the Administrator to: (1) implement a procurement policy that reduces, avoids, or eliminates the acquisition of agency procurement items made with or containing covered chemicals and hazardous secondary materials; and (2) make recommendations to the Congress for a national toxics use reduction procurement policy covering all procuring agencies, Federal facilities, and government contractors. Amends the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 to increase the amounts authorized to be appropriated for functions under such Act and to increase and extend the authorization of appropriations for technical assistance grants to States. Title III: Waste Stream Reporting - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise recordkeeping and reporting requirements for hazardous waste generators. Directs hazardous waste generators to report annually to the Administrator and authorized State agencies on the quantity of hazardous waste generated from each catastrophic event, remedial action, or one-time event not associated with production processes. Sets forth reporting requirements for generators of solid waste in amounts in excess of 11,000 pounds a month and for facilities managing solid and certain special wastes generated by fossil fuels combustion, mining, and activities involving cement kilns. Reqiures the Administrator to: (1) maintain publicly accessible databases for hazardous, solid, and special waste stream data reported under this Act; (2) make the data accessible on a cost reimbursable basis; and (3) report to the Congress on links between EPA databases and changes that would facilitate links between all major EPA operations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1991
Water Desalination Act of 1991 - Declares it to be U.S. policy to provide for: (1) the development of a means of producing, from saline or biologically impaired waters, water of a quality suitable for agricultural, industrial, municipal and other uses; and (2) related research on a scale sufficient to determine the feasibility of large scale development. Defines "saline water" to mean sea water, brackish water, and other mineralized or chemically impaired water. Directs the Secretary to establish a desalination program comprised of the phases outlined below. Directs the Secretary to conduct studies to determine the most efficient means by which usable water can be produced from saline water as Phase I. Directs the Secretary to endeavor to obtain results in Phase I sufficient to support recommendations to the Congress. Directs the Secretary to conduct a demonstration program to demonstrate the feasibility of desalting processes as Phase II. Requires the information from the studies under this Act, with exceptions for national defense and patent rights, to be available to the public. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) accept technical and administrative assistance from public or private agencies in connection with work relating to the desalting of water; and (2) enter into contracts or agreements to provide for cost sharing. Authorizes the Secretary to take other actions in carrying out this Act, including making grants and contracts. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1991
Earthquake Hazard Reduction Amendments Act - Amends the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 to mandate identification of earthquake-prone States. Establishes the Earthquake Loss Mitigation Advisory Committee. Requires development of comprehensive earthquake loss-reduction criteria for State and local land use and management ordinances, building codes, and other measures. Requires that a percentage of the annual earthquake insurance premiums collected under the Primary Insurance program enacted by this Act be deposited in the Self-Sustaining Mitigation Fund to support specified hazard reduction activities. Requires the Director to support public education programs. Provides for assistance, to the extent provided for in appropriations Acts, to States which are in compliance with the loss-reduction criteria of this Act to support development and implementation of mitigation plans. Prohibits making, increasing, extending, or renewing any federally-related mortgage loan secured by: (1) residential property in an earthquake-prone State unless the property is covered by earthquake insurance coverage under this Act or equivalent private insurance; or (2) improved real estate or a mobile home located in an earthquake-prone State if the State is not in compliance with the loss-reduction criteria of this Act and the property does not meet minimum mitigation criteria. Establishes the Primary Insurance Program against loss from any earthquake. Requires the Director to arrange for participation, on other than a risk-sharing basis, by private insurers, insurance agents and brokers, insurance adjustment organizations, and others. Mandates development of a plan of operation for the Insurance Fund and the Reinsurance Fund. Limits Program coverage to residential property in earthquake-prone States. Establishes an independent advisory committee in the executive branch to be known as the Earthquake Insurance and Reinsurance Advisory Committee. Establishes in the Treasury the Residential Property Insurance Fund to carry out the Primary Insurance Program. Credits to the Insurance Fund premiums received by the Program. Requires, if gross reimbursements to private insurers exceeds amounts in the Insurance Fund, loans from the industry for ten percent of the additional losses, with the remaining amounts borrowed from the Treasury and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Requires the Director to make reinsurance and excess reinsurance available to private insurers participating in the Program and their reinsurers. Provides for the excess reinsurance liability of the insurance industry and the Federal Government. Specifies the lines of insurance for which reinsurance coverage must be provided. Establishes in the Treasury the Reinsurance Fund to carry out the excess loss reinsurance program. Credits to the Fund any reinsurance premiums received under the excess loss reinsurance program and amounts borrowed from the Treasury under this Act. Requires the Director, to the extent that the Reinsurance Fund is insufficient to pay claims and expenses, to issue to the Secretary of the Treasury obligations to cover the insufficiency.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
World Cup USA 1994 Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the 1994 World Cup and the unique appeal of soccer. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires that all sales include a surcharge of $35 per coin for the five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for the one-dollar coins, and $1 per coin for the half-dollar coins. Requires that all surcharges be paid to the Organizing Committee to organize and stage the 1994 World Cup. Requires that ten percent of such funds shall be made available through the U.S. Soccer Federation Foundation, Inc., for distribution to institutions for scholastic scholarships to qualified students.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress and the President, prior to each fiscal year, to agree on an estimate of total receipts (except those derived from borrowing) for that fiscal year by enactment of a law devoted solely to that subject. Prohibits outlays for that year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding this amount unless the Congress, by a three-fifths roll call vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each House to increase the public debt. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress. Requires the approval of a majority of the total membership of each House by roll call vote before any bill to increase revenue may become law. Waives these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect. Makes this article effective beginning with FY 1995 or with the second fiscal year after its ratification, whichever is later.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1991
National Geologic Mapping Act of 1991 - Establishes in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. Sets forth program objectives. Requires that the program include Federal, support, State, and education geologic mapping components. Sets forth objectives for each component, including the support component contributing to national paleontologic, geochronologic, geophysical-map, and geochemical-map data bases. Establishes an advisory committee. Mandates preparation of an implementation plan for the program covering specified matters. Establishes a national geologic-map data base to be a national archive that includes all maps and data bases developed under this Act. Declares that geologic maps contributed to the national archives should be standardized so that information can be assimilated, exchanged, and compared efficiently and accurately. Authorizes appropriations for each component. Designates the Geological Survey established by specified Federal law as the United States Geological Survey.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1991
Shipbuilding and Repair Industry Free Trade Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to annually determine and publish the net shipbuilding and repair subsidy provided, directly and indirectly, to each major shipbuilding and repair company in foreign countries meeting certain requirements. Requires the information submitted to the Secretary in connection with the determinations to be treated as proprietary if it meets certain requirements of the Tariff Act of 1930. Requires each company to repay to its government the total value of the aggregate subsidy provided, plus interest. Directs the Secretary to: (1) require certification from both the company and the foreign government that the payments have occurred; and (2) if requested, verify the repayment. Directs the Secretary, if a company has not complied, to direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to collect an annual assessment on each vessel constructed or repaired by the company. Sets the amount of the assessment at the amount of the net subsidy, adjusted by partial repayments and increased by any previous unpaid assessment. Prohibits a vessel from entering a U.S. port until the assessment is paid in full. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to provide for the judicial review of subsidy assessment determinations by the U.S. Court of International Trade.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1991
James Madison-Bill of Rights Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (the Secretary) to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins emblematic of the Bill of Rights, and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of James Madison. Sets forth guidelines for their sale and issuance, and for financial assurances. Mandates that the surcharges received by the Secretary shall be transmitted to the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Trust Fund. Authorizes audits by the Comptroller General. Provides a general waiver of procurement regulations when implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1991
Paperwork Reduction in Health Care Act of 1991 - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to: (1) identify, inventory, and assess the Federal paperwork burden associated with health care services; and (2) establish a goal for reducing such burden in each of FY 1992 through 1997 by at least five percent of the preceding fiscal year's paperwork burden.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991
Middle Income Student Assistance Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for student eligibility for Stafford loans without regard to an expected family contribution in the determination of need. Provides that any Stafford loan may be counted as part of the expected family contribution in the determination of need for certain other types of student assistance. Revises Pell Grant provisions relating to borrowing authority for adjustments for insufficient appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to expend, from the next succeeding fiscal year's appropriation for Pell Grants, necessary sums to meet any insufficiencies to satisfy full Pell Grant entitlements for the preceding fiscal year. Excludes, for Pell Grant and other student assistance program need analysis, the net value of the family's principal place of residence or a farm on which the family resides. Directs the Secretary to recommend to the Congress any changes necessary to achieve an equitable assessment of income and assets after the exclusion of such assets.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) U.S. businesses engaged in the rebuilding of Kuwait should, to the maximum extent possible, use U.S. subcontractors and U.S. goods and services; and (2) the Department of Commerce should monitor and encourage the implementation of this policy.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1991
Designates August 1, 1991, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with any signatory nation which may be in violation; (3) convey to all signatories of such Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is vital to progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; and (4) develop new proposals to advance the human rights objectives of the Helsinki process, including the self-determination of peoples.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991
Amends Federal highway provisions to allow longer combination vehicles (LCVs) to continue to operate only if the Secretary of Transportation determines that such vehicles were authorized by State statute or regulation conforming to Federal law and were in actual, continuing lawful operation on June 1, 1991. Specifies that: (1) all such operations shall continue to be subject to, at the minimum, all State statutes, regulations, limitations, and conditions, including routing-specific and configuration-specific designations and all other restrictions (statutes and restrictions), in force on June 1, 1991; and (2) nothing in this Act shall prevent any State from further restricting or prohibiting the operation of LCVs whose continued operation is authorized under such provisions, with exceptions. Directs the Secretary, within 60 days, to publish in the Federal Register a complete list of such State statutes and restrictions, which shall become final 60 days after publication. Bars LCVs from operating except as provided in such list. Sets forth analogous restrictions with respect to cargo carrying unit limitations under Federal transportation provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the American public should observe the 100th anniversary of filmmaking; and (2) the American Film Institute has a leadership role in preserving the art of film.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1991
Benjamin Franklin Memorial Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Title I: Minting of Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin - Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue: (1) five dollar gold coins emblematic of Benjamin Franklin's contributions to the advancement of science; (2) one dollar silver coins emblematic of Benjamin Franklin's contributions to the American Fire Service. Sets forth sale and issuance guidelines, including a general waiver of procurement regulations and surcharge distributions. Title II: Fire Service Bill of Rights - Fire Service Bill of Rights Act - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to set forth a fire service bill of rights, including the right of responding fire services to: (1) know the kind of danger presented by hazardous materials they face in emergency responses; and (2) be fully informed of infectious diseases their members face during the course of life safety activities. Declares that the bill of rights does not create any private right of action.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1991
Independent Older Blind Individuals Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to revise the program for independent living services for older blind individuals. Provides, under such program, for formula grants to States regarding services for older blind individuals. Requires ten percent non-Federal contributions for program costs. Revises provisions relating to such services. Extends through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations for such program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1991
ESOP Promotion and Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow S corporations (certain small business corporations) to participate in employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Extends the ESOP exception to the ten percent early withdrawal penalty tax to certain ESOP distributions to employees made at any time. Permits ESOP participants whose compensation does not exceed a certain amount to contribute up to 50 percent of it to the plan. Allows ESOP closely-held corporate sponsors to pay estate tax if an estate transferred the stock of the corporation to an ESOP. Provides that ESOPs and cash or deferred arrangement plans may be combined for the benefit of employees. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to allow employees additional time to bid for ownership of their employer if foreign interests are trying to buy such employer.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1991
Victims Justice Act of 1991 - Repeals: (1) the current $150,000,000 cap on the Crime Victims Fund under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984; and (2) sunset provisions under such Act. Modifies the formula for the distribution of sums deposited into the Fund to provide that: (1) seven percent of the total funds deposited in a fiscal year shall be available for child abuse prevention and treatment grants; (2) four percent shall be available for training and technical services to victim assistance programs and for financial support of services to crime victims by victim assistance programs; and (3) 89 percent shall be available for crime victim compensation and victim assistance programs. (Current law provides a complex formula for the distribution of funds depending on the amount deposited in the Fund.) Authorizes the Director of the Office for Victims of Crime to retain any amount in excess of 110 percent of the total deposited in the previous fiscal year as a reserve for those years in which there is a shortfall in the Fund, provided that the reserve not exceed $20,000,000. Provides that the first $6,200,000 above $150,000,000 deposited in the Fund through FY 1995, and the first $3,000,000 for each fiscal year thereafter, shall be available to the judicial branch for administrative costs. Increases the Federal share of victim compensation programs from 40 to 45 percent of the amounts awarded by each program during the preceding fiscal year. Allows up to five percent of a victim compensation program grant to be used for administrative costs. Specifies that if the compensation paid by an eligible crime victim compensation program would cover costs that a Federal program, or a federally financed State or local program, would otherwise pay: (1) such victim compensation program shall not pay such compensation; and (2) the other program shall make its payments without regard to the existence of the crime victim compensation program. Authorizes the Director to use unspent compensation funds for assistance programs in either the year such funds are not spent or in the following year. Requires crime victim assistance chief executives to give particular attention to children who are victims of violent street crime. Authorizes the use of grants under this Act for demonstration projects. Allows up to five percent of a victim assistance program grant to be used for administrative costs. Makes biannual reports under such Act due on May 31 (currently, such reports are due December 31). Requires grantees to certify that no grant funds will be used to supplant State and local funds, but rather will supplement those otherwise available funds.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1991
Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require each eligible institution participating in any program under HEA title IV (Student Assistance) to include a statement of policy regarding the rights of victims of sexual assault, that complies with specified requirements, in its disclosure of campus security policy and campus crime statistics. Requires each institution of higher education to establish and implement a written policy establishing a campus sexual assault victims' bill of rights which provides that specified rights shall be accorded to such victims by all campus officers, administrators, and employees of such institution.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1991
Designates the week beginning July 21, 1991, as Korean War Veterans Remembrance Week. Requires the President to urge that the American flag be flown at half staff on July 27, 1991, in honor of those Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that Germany and Austria should take steps to halt the distribution of specified neo-Nazi video games and prosecute anyone found in possession of such games to the full extent of the law.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1991
Domestic Violence Prevention Act of 1991 - Title I: Amendment of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to add increasing public awareness as a purpose of State demonstration grants. Authorizes grants for public information campaigns regarding domestic violence. Requires a State grant recipient to establish a Commission on Domestic Violence. Limits law enforcement training grants to private nonprofit organizations that have certain experience. Mandates grants or contracts for the establishment of one national and five regional resource centers to provide training and other assistance concerning domestic violence. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Act. Requires grants to States to assist in becoming model demonstration States and in improving State leadership regarding certain domestic violence matters. Sets forth requirements for being designated as a model State. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Law Enforcement, Prosecution Grants, and Interstate Enforcement - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize competitive grants to States for use by States and local governments to assist in developing effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat domestic violence and to reduce the rate of domestic violence. Authorizes appropriations. Amends Federal law to establish criminal penalties for interstate travel to commit spousal abuse or to violate protection orders. Allows temporary protection orders pending final adjudication of charges under these provisions. Mandates victim restitution. Requires a protection order by a court of one State to be accorded full faith and credit by the court of another State. Amends the FVPSA to prohibit a State or locality from being awarded a grant under the Act if, as a matter of law, policy, or practice, it discriminated against victims of family violence. Requires certification that this condition has been met. Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to require a similar certification. Amends the FVPSA to authorize grants to State and local government entities to encourage them, and Indian tribes, to take specified actions in order to treat spousal violence as a serious violation of criminal law. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transfer a specified sum each fiscal year to the Attorney General for such grants.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bilbray, James H. [D-NV-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000462_200.jpg)