United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) all Arab nations should enter into direct negotiations with Israel to recognize Israel, end the economic boycott against Israel, and end the state of belligerency with Israel; and (2) the United States should use all available means to influence and encourage the Arab states which were allied with it in the Gulf War to achieve those objectives.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Long-Term Care Insurance for the Elderly Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-free distributions from an individual retirement account or an individual retirement annuity for the purchase of long-term care insurance coverage when: (1) the entire amount received is used to buy such insurance for the individual or individual's spouse within 90 days of its receipt; and (2) the individual or individual's spouse has reached age 59 and one-half by the date of the distribution. Describes the method, based on the taxpayer's adjusted gross income for the taxable year, for determining the applicable percentage of the distribution or payment amount to which tax-free treatment will be accorded. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to submit to the Congress, within one year after this Act's enactment, a proposal for the regulation of long-term care insurance policies, including minimum standards and an evaluation of the various catastrophic and long-term care policies currently available.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act - Title I: Ensuring Adequate Food Assistance - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to remove the excess shelter deduction cap for purposes of food stamp program (program) eligibility. (Sets forth transitional caps through FY 1995.) Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to adjust the basic benefit level upwards by specified increments at the beginning of each fiscal year until it reaches 105 percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan. Eliminates food stamp reductions for households reapplying for program reinstatement within 30 days. Excludes third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless from consideration as program income. Increases funding for the nutrition assistance program in Puerto Rico. Excludes general assistance vendor payments from consideration as program income. Title II: Promoting Self-Sufficiency - Excludes from consideration as program income: (1) the first $50 a month received as child support; and (2) child support payments to non-household members. Increases annually the fair market value limit of vehicles that program recipients may own. Excludes from financial resources the value of a vehicle a household depends upon to carry heating fuel or water for home use where it has no other access to fuel or water. Increases dependent care deductions and participant and State agency reimbursements in connection with employment and training activities. Title III: Simplifying the Provision of Food Assistance - Permits related adults living in the same household to apply for separate program benefits under specified conditions. Permits a participating family made up of, or including, an elderly or disabled member to own $3,000 in allowable financial resources. (Current law refers to a family member 60 years of age or older.) Makes program authorization of appropriations permanent. Title IV: Implementation and Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
High Risk Occupational Disease Notification and Prevention Act - Establishes a Risk Assessment Board (the Board), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to: (1) review pertinent medical and scientific reports on the incidence of disease associated with exposure to occupational health hazards; (2) identify and designate populations at risk that should receive notification; (3) develop a form and method of notification that will be used by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary); and (4) determine the appropriate type of medical monitoring or beneficial health counseling. Sets forth factors for Board consideration and priorities in designating populations at risk of disease for notification. Directs the Secretary to make every reasonable effort to ensure that each individual within a population at risk of disease is notified of the risk. Requires the Secretary, through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to conduct the required notification, with specified exceptions. Allows an employer to apply to NIOSH for an exemption from such employee notification because that employer's employees are not at risk of disease because of significant mitigating factors. Provides for telephone "hot lines" and other dissemination of information. Authorizes the Secretary to certify a private employer or a State or local government to conduct notification. Provides for judicial review of Board determinations. Requires the Secretary to establish and certify ten occupational and environmental health centers to: (1) provide education, training, and technical assistance to personal physicians and health and social service professionals who serve employees notified that they are at risk under this Act; and (2) provide diagnosis, treatment, and medical monitoring and family services for such employees. Directs the Secretary to make grants to conduct research, training, and education aimed at improving the means of identifying employees exposed to occupational health hazards and improving medical assistance to such employees. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and contracts for training and curriculum development in occupational medicine or health to schools of medicine and of nursing. Provides that such assistance shall be for projects: (1) at schools with occupational medicine or health programs, for faculty continuing education, curricula and training materials for undergraduate medical or nursing training, and clinical training for residents in graduate medical programs; and (2) at schools without such programs, for faculty training. Directs the Secretary, during FY 1991 through 1993, to make such grants and contracts to at least ten schools of medicine or nursing. Requires that the medical monitoring recommended by the Board be provided by the current employer: (1) at no additional cost to the employee (above any existing employee health care contribution), if any part of the exposure occurred in the course of employment by that employer; or (2) at a charge to the employee not exceeding the additional cost to the employer (above any existing employer health care contribution), or at no charge, if no part of such exposure occurred in the course of employment by that employer. Sets forth special rules for medical monitoring by small businesses and of seasonal agricultural workers. Prohibits discharging or discriminating against employees, or applicants for employment, on the basis that they are or have been members of a population at risk. Makes an exception to such prohibition if the position which the applicant seeks requires exposure to the occupational health hazard which is the subject of the notice. Allows an employer with 50 or fewer employees to transfer an employee who is or has been a member of a population at risk to another job if earnings, seniority, and other employment rights and benefits are as comparable as possible to the old job and if the terms of an applicable collective bargaining agreement are not violated. Grants the option of being transferred to a less hazardous or nonexposed job to any employee member of a population at risk who is determined by a physician to show evidence of developing the disease described in the notice or other symptoms or conditions increasing the likelihood or incidence of such disease. Requires that the employee maintain earnings, seniority, and other employment rights and benefits of the former job. Sets forth procedures for independent reconsideration of the initial medical determination. Sets forth special rules for medical removal. Makes such protection inapplicable to seasonal agricultural workers with less than six months continuous employment with an employer. Exempts from the requirement of medical removal protection any employer who has 50 or fewer employees and who has made or is making a reasonable good faith effort to eliminate the occupational health hazard that is the basis for the medical removal decision. Provides for confidentiality of employee records unless disclosure is authorized by and is necessary to carry out a provision of this Act, or is authorized by the employee. Permits employees aggrieved by violations of provisions involving medical monitoring, medical removal, discrimination, and confidentiality to apply, within six months after the violation occurs, to the Secretary of Labor for a review of the alleged violation. Sets forth provisions for investigations, actions, defenses, determinations, and appeals in such cases. Provides for reinstatement and other relief for employees injured by such violations. Sets forth civil penalties for such violations. Authorizes the Secretary (of HHS) to bring an action in U.S. district court to enjoin an employer from violating this Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor to report annually to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of the hazard communication standard. Directs the Secretary of HHS to report annually to the Congress on the implementation and enforcement of notification under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1991 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exemption for qualified small issue industrial bonds (bonds issued to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property) through 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility and Home Health Benefit Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate the requirement that extended care services be provided within a certain period following hospitalization in order to be covered under the Hospital Insurance Program; and (2) cover nursing care and home health aide services provided or needed on an intermittent basis.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Recycled Paper Procurement Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide that a requirement that federally-procured items over $10,000 be composed of the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable shall not apply (with respect to the $10,000 amount) to paper procured by the Congress. Requires, by FY 1993, at least 50 percent of the paper purchased by procuring agencies to be recycled paper. Provides that a decision not to procure recycled paper may be made only if such paper: (1) is not available within a reasonable period of time; (2) fails to meet specified performance standards; or (3) is available only at an unreasonable price.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Allows a technician employed in a position in which National Guard membership is required as a condition of employment who is separated from the National Guard, to continue to be employed as a technician under the following circumstances: (1) such technician has no less than 20 years of credible service for military retirement purposes; (2) such technician is involuntarily separated from the National Guard; and (3) the circumstances of the involuntary separation are other than for cause. Allows such technician to convert to competitive career status in the civil service.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Authorizes the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to establish a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., on Federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs. Makes the Fraternity solely responsible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of expenses of, the memorial. Prohibits the use of Federal funds for its establishment. Requires the Fraternity to deposit excess funds into the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Requires an appropriate POW/MIA flag to be displayed on Federal buildings until there is a satisfactory accounting of POW/MIAs in Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Urges the President, in planning and negotiating Iraq's post-war settlements with the United States and its allies, to insist that an appropriate portion of Iraq's oil wealth be used to: (1) indemnify the United States and its allies for the costs of the military conflict; (2) indemnify noncombatant nations and individuals for losses suffered as a result of the acts of war committed by Iraq or as a result of necessary actions taken by allied forces in defeating Iraqi aggression; and (3) provide an ongoing fund to pay for the cleanup of environmental degradation in the Arabian Gulf caused by the conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) Saddam Hussein and his subordinates should be held legally and financially accountable for the invasion of Kuwait, the brutal treatment of Kuwait, the Kuwaiti people, and allied and U.S. prisoners of war, launching unprovoked SCUD attacks against Israel and Israeli civilians, dumping oil into the ocean, and the destruction of oil fields; and (2) the United Nations should take steps to try such individuals for war crimes following and including the invasion of Kuwait.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Requires that, except in specified instances, Federal financial assistance be taken into account when determining losses or bad debts of savings and loans institutions (thus denying income tax deductions for losses or bad debts to the extent Federal assistance has compensated for them).
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Women's Health Equity Act of 1991 - Title I: Research - Subtitle A: Women's Health Research Act - Women's Health Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the Office of Research on Women's Health (Office) to ensure that women's health reseach is identified and addressed by NIH. Establishes in the Office the Coordinating Committee for Research on Women's Health and the Advisory Committee for Research on Women's Health. Mandates that the Director of the Office prepare and annually review a plan for establishing a program for clinical research on obstetrics and gynecology to be conducted by the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD). Requires the NICHHD Director to establish a program of contracts with individuals who agree to conduct obstetrics and gynecology research in return for the Federal Government paying, to a specified maximum, the educational loans of the individuals. Requires the NIH Director to establish a single data system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information regarding women's health research conducted or supported by NIH, including a registry of clinical trials of experimental treatments. Requires the NIH Director to establish and operate a program to provide information on research and prevention activities relating to women's health research. Provides for grants or contracts for the development and operation of Centers of Excellence in Women's Health Research using a single institution or a consortium for each Center. Provides, subject to appropriations, for three centers, with support covering five years. Allows extension of support if recommended by a technical and scientific peer review group. Authorizes appropriations for specified provisions of this subtitle. Subtitle B: Clinical Trials Fairness Act - Clinical Trials Fairness Act - Amends provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to the national research institutes and provisions relating to the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure, in conducting or supporting clinical research, that women and minority groups are included as research subjects, unless inappropriate. Requires that any project be designed and carried out so as to provide for a valid analysis of whether the research variables affect women or minorities differently than other subjects. Directs the Secretary to establish within the advisory council of each agency of an institute and ADAMHA a Clinical Research Equity Subcommittee to review all clinical research of that agency to determine whether the research is being conducted in accordance with requirements of this Act. Provides for suspension or revocation of the authority for any project the Secretary determines is not being conducted in accordance with those requirements. Defines "minority groups" to mean racial and ethnic minority groups. Requires that the technical and scientific peer review process in the institutes and ADAMHA include an evaluation of the inclusion of women and minority groups as research subjects. Subtitle C: Women's Health and Mental Health Research Act - Women's Health and Mental Health Research Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish in the Office of the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA) the Office of Research on Women's Health and Mental Health (Office) to ensure that women's health and mental health research is identified and addressed by ADAMHA. Establishes in the Office the Coordinating Committee for Research on Women's Health and the Advisory Committee for Research on Women's Health. Requires that the Administrator establish: (1) a single data system for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information regarding women's health and mental health research, including a registry of clinical trials of experimental treatments; and (2) a program to provide information on women's health and mental health research. Provides for grants or contracts for the development and operation of Centers of Excellence in Women's Health and Mental Health Research using a single institution or a consortium for each Center. Provides, subject to appropriations, for three centers, with support covering five years. Allows extension of support if recommended by a technical and scientific peer review group. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act - Women and Alcohol Research Equity Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for research on alcohol abuse and alcoholism, earmarking certain amounts for such research relating to women. Subtitle E: Breast Cancer Basic Research Act - Authorizes to be appropriated, in addition to sums already authorized, a certain amount to the National Cancer Institute for breast cancer research other than research which involves treatment or clinical trials. Subtitle F: Contraceptive and Infertility Research Centers Act - Contraception and Infertility Research Centers Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Institute of Child Health and Human Development to make grants and enter into contracts for centers for improving methods of contraception and centers for diagnosing and treating infertility. Requires the Director, subject to appropriations, to provide for three centers with respect to contraception and two centers with respect to infertility. Requires each center to: (1) conduct clinical and other applied research; (2) develop training protocols for and conduct training of physicians, scientists, nurses, and other health and allied health professionals; (3) develop model continuing education programs; and (4) disseminate information to such professionals. Allows a center to use the funds to provide: (1) stipends for health and allied health professionals enrolled in the training programs; and (2) fees to individuals serving as subjects in the clinical trials. Requires each center to use the facilities of a single institution, or be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions, meeting requirements as prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Serivces. Allows support for a center to be for a period of up to five years, with extensions of one or more periods of up to five years if the center's operations have been reviewed by a peer review group and the group has so recommended. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to establish a program of entering into agreements with health professionals, including graduate students, under which the professionals agree to conduct research with respect to contraception or infertility in consideration of the Government agreeing to repay, for each year of such service, not more than a specified amount of the principal and interest of their educational loans. Applies provisions of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program to this program, except as inconsistent. Authorizes appropriations. Requires amounts appropriated to remain available until the end of the second fiscal year after they are appropriated. Subtitle G: Sense of Congress Regarding Contraceptive Research - Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that it should: (1) establish a program of research for the development of methods of contraception and methods of diagnosing and treating infertility; (2) provide adequate long-term resources for the program; (3) ensure that Federal programs with respect to sexually transmitted diseases adequately respond to the role of such diseases in infertility; (4) ensure public education on contraception and infertility; (5) establish as Federal goals the development, by the year 2010, of improved barrier methods to protect against pregnancy and diseases, new methods of contraception for use by men, a vaccine-like drug for women that prevents pregnancy for a significant period of time without other specified effects, and new and improved techniques of diagnosing and treating infertility; (6) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reestablish the Ethical Advisory Board in order to facilitate research with respect to infertility; (7) review the policies and procedures of the Food and Drug Administration with respect to expediting approval of drugs and devices for use by the public, especially with respect to contraception and infertility; and (8) determine to what extent measures can be implemented by public or private entities to resolve liability issues involved with drugs and devices concerned with contraception and infertility. Subtitle H: Women and AIDS Research Initiative - Women and AIDS Research Initiative Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration, or both, to establish a program to conduct biomedical and behavioral research on cases of infection with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in women. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct the research directly or through grants. Specifies forms of research to be included. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants for community-based clinical trials on experimental treatments for such infection for women. Allows the Director of the NIH to authorize grantees to expend the grants to provide individuals with transportation, child care, and other incidental services necessary to enable the individuals to participate as subjects in the trials. Subtitle I: Ovarian Cancer Research Act - Ovarian Cancer Research Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the Director of the National Cancer Institute, to conduct or support basic research on certain aspects of ovarian cancer. Prohibits the Secretary from conducting or supporting clinical research on the same matters. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle J: Osteoporosis and Related Research Act - Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disorders Research, Education, and Health Services Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMSD), the Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) to expand and intensify research on osteoporosis and related bone disorders. Requires, with respect to osteoporosis and related bone disorders: (1) the NIAMSD Director to increase the number of Specialized Centers of Research; (2) the NIA Director to increase the number of program project grants devoted to creating centers of excellence; and (3) the NIDDKD Director to increase the number of grants in osteoporosis. Authorizes appropriations. Establishes in the Department of Health and Human Services the Interagency Council on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders and the Advisory Panel on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders. Authorizes appropriations for the Advisory Panel. Requires the NIAMSD Director to make grants or enter into contracts to establish a Resource Center on Osteoporosis and Related Disorders to: (1) disseminate information about research results, services, and educational materials to health professionals, patients, and the public; and (2) coordinate leadership training for the development of health professional resource networks. Requires grant and contract recipients to establish: (1) a central computerized information system to translate scientific and technical information into information readily understandable by the general public; and (2) a national toll-free telephone information line. Requires the grant or contract recipient to charge fees for providing information, but allows exceptions for individuals and organizations unable to pay. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Services - Subtitle A: Breast Cancer Informed Decision Act - Breast Cancer Treatment Informed Consent Act - Requires any State receiving funds under titles V (Maternal and Child Health Block Grant) or XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act or under the preventive health service provisions of the Public Health Service Act to require any physician or surgeon licensed to practice medicine in such State to inform any breast cancer patient of alternative methods of treatment for breast cancer before such treatment is begun. Requires that the patients be informed by means of: (1) a standardized written summary in layman's language and in a language understood by the patient of alternative methods of treatment; and (2) an explanation of the treatment options described in such written summary together with the risks associated with each procedure relative to each patient's particular medical circumstances. Subtitle B: Women's Health Care Coverage Expansion Act - Women's Health Care Coverage Expansion Act of 1991 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare and Medicaid coverage of obstetrical and gynecological services furnished by nurse practitioners. Subtitle C: Mickey Leland Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood Act - Mickey Leland Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenthood Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace the title on adolescent family life demonstration projects with a title on adolescent pregnancy prevention, care, and research grants. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide, supplement, or improve the quality of care services to pregnant adolescents and their male partners and adolescent parents and prevention services to nonpregnant adolescents. Requires grantees to charge fees for services only under a fee schedule, approved by the Secretary, based on the income of the person and taking into account the difficulty adolescents face in obtaining resources to pay for services. Prohibits discrimination because of an individual's inability to pay for services. Sets forth priorities in making grants, including giving priority to applicants that: (1) serve an area with a high incidence of adolescent pregnancy; and (2) serve an area with a high proportion of low-income families and low availability of care programs. Requires that the amount of a grant be set by the Secretary. Limits a grant, subject to waiver for one year, to 75 percent of the cost of a program. Specifies the information and assurances which must accompany a grant application. Directs the Secretary to coordinate Federal policies and programs providing services relating to the prevention of initial and recurrent adolescent pregnancies and providing care services, including by requiring grantees under these provisions to report concerning Federal, State, and local policies that interfere with delivery and coordination of programs of care for pregnant adolescents and adolescent parents. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education to support and disseminate the results of research relating to adolescent pregnancy. Limits grants or contracts to: (1) one year, subject to renewal for four additional one-year periods; and (2) subject to waiver, a specified dollar amount. Allows funds to be used for descriptive or explanatory surveys, evaluation studies, longitudinal studies, or limited programs for services for the purpose of increasing knowledge and understanding of specified matters. Directs the Secretary to establish a system for the review of grant and contract applications which is similar to the system of scientific peer review of the National Institutes of Health. Restricts grants to programs determined by the review panel to have scientific merit. Authorizes appropriations, earmarking at least two-thirds of appropriated funds for services, with no more than one-third to be used for grants for prevention services. Prohibits using such funds for the performance of an abortion. Subtitle D: Adolescent Health Demonstration Projects - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants in FY 1991 through 1995 for the establishment or support of adolescent health demonstration projects. Requires such projects to: (1) provide health care information and services, including related social services; (2) serve adolescents before their graduation from high school; (3) encourage family participation; and (4) establish community advisory committees. Directs the Secretary to give priority to project applicants who will serve areas with low-income or minority populations. States that no grant funds may be used to perform or pay for abortions. Subtitle E: COBRA Displaced Family Amendments - COBRA Displaced Family Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Public Health Service Act (the Acts) to declare that specified provisions relating to the required period of group health plan continuation coverage do not apply to the qualifying events of death, divorce, or legal separation involving a beneficiary who is 50 years old or older. Requires that coverage continue until the 23rd birthday, or 36 months after the qualifying event, whichever is later, for an individual who is a dependent child beneficiary at the time of such an event involving a covered employee 50 years old or older. Amends the Acts to modify: (1) the termination of extended average for disability and the general rule for other qualifying events, as they relate to the maximum required period of continuation coverage; and (2) dates by which certain notice must be given. Amends the Acts to require that notice of the option to enroll under a conversion plan be given during the 120-day period ending 60 days before the expiration of the continuation coverage. (Current law requires such notice be given during the 180-day period ending on the expiration date of the continuation coverage.) Subtitle F: Federal Employee Family Building Act - Federal Employee Family-Building Act of 1991 - Requires any contract for health benefits for Federal employees that provides obstetrical benefits to also provide benefits for family-building procedures. Provides that payment terms or conditions under such contracts shall be no more restrictive for family-building benefits than for obstetrical benefits. Defines "family-building procedure" as a medical procedure to overcome infertility (including procedures to achieve pregnancy and procedures to carry pregnancy to term) and procedures relating to child adoption. Requires such contracts to provide that: (1) benefits shall consist of reimbursement for reasonable and necessary medical expenses and counseling fees directly relating to the adoption of a child; and (2) benefits shall be available in connection with obstetrical care for the biological mother and medical care for the child if, or to the extent that, the pre-adoptive or adoptive parent or parents are legally responsible for the cost of such care. Directs the Office of Personnel Management to authorize the use of sick leave for purposes relating to family-building procedures. Title III: Prevention - Subtitle A: Medicaid Infant Mortality Amendments - Medicaid Infant Mortality Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to phase-in mandatory State coverage of pregnant women and infants whose family income is below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level. Deducts child and medical care costs from the income eligibility test. Authorizes States to provide Medicaid coverage of prenatal home visitation services for high-risk pregnant women and/or postpartum home visitation services for high-risk infants. Subtitle B: Breast Cancer Screening and Safety Act - Breast Cancer Screening Safety Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require certification in order for a facility to perform or interpret mammograms, inspect equipment, or conduct quality assurance oversight related to mammography. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue and renew certificates for up to two years. Requires, in order to be certified, that a facility be accredited. Allows the Secretary to approve a private nonprofit organization to be an accreditation body which meets certain requirements, including inspecting facilities. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish standards for facilities to assure the safety and accuracy of mammography; (2) specify organizations eligible to certify individuals to perform radiological procedures; (3) specify boards eligible to certify individuals to interpret screening mammograms; (4) establish standards regarding the qualifications for individuals to interpret screening mammograms; and (5) specify boards eligible to certify individuals to inspect screening mammography equipment and oversee quality assurance practices. Directs the Secretary to conduct annual announced and unannounced inspections of certified facilities. Provides for: (1) intermediate sanctions for certain violations; (2) suspension, revocation, and limitation of certificates; and (3) injunctions. Requires fees for certificate issuance and renewal, and for inspections, sufficient to cover costs. Requires annual publication of a list of facilities convicted of fraud and abuse, false billings, or kickbacks, facilities that have had certificates revoked, suspended, or limited, and facilities that have been the subject of a sanction or other similar matters. Allows the Secretary to exempt facilities in a State with more stringent requirements from compliance with this Act. Directs the Secretary to: (1) make grants for research on new methods of establishing a Mammography Registry; and (2) based on the research, establish the Registry. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require that screening mammographies paid for under Medicare be performed by a facility: (1) certified under this Act; and (2) in compliance with specified provisions of this Act. Subtitle C: Medicaid Coverage for Mammographies and Pap Smears - Medicaid Women's Basic Health Coverage Act of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicaid coverage of: (1) screening mammographies for women age 35 and older conducted in accordance with the frequency guidelines established by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 for such coverage under the Medicare Program (title XVIII of the Social Security Act); and (2) screening pap smears. Subtitle D: Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Act - Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage of bone mass measurements. Subtitle E: Women and AIDS Outreach and Prevention - Women and AIDS Outreach and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants regarding prevention of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases in women, including preventive health services, screening, providing treatment (for such diseases other than AIDS), referrals, and follow-up services. Requires that a grantee be an entity that provides health or voluntary family planning services: (1) to a significant number of low-income women; and (2) in an area with a significant number of AIDS cases in women and in newborn infants. Requires that grantees maintain the confidentiality of information on individuals, subject to complying with applicable law. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Infertility Prevention Act - Infertility Prevention Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with regard to any treatable sexually transmitted disease that can cause infertility in women if treatment is not received for the disease, to make grants for specified activities, including counseling, screening, treatment, referrals, outreach, public information and education, training for health care providers, and data collection. Directs the Secretary to establish criteria for ensuring the quality of screening for such diseases. Limits grants to three years, with annual approval by the Secretary. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for research on improving the delivery of services under this subtitle. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Global Education Opportunities Act of 1991 - Title I: Foreign Language Instruction - Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make demonstration grants to eligible consortia to: (1) operate critical languages and area studies programs; (2) develop and acquire educational equipment and materials; and (3) develop teacher training programs, texts, curriculum, and other activities to improve and expand foreign language instruction at elementary and secondary schools. (Defines critical language as one designated on the Secretary's list under the Education for Economic Security Act.) Requires each grant recipient to include a study abroad or cultural exchange program among the assisted activities. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make demonstration grants to State education agencies, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit education and professional associations to provide technology for distance learning, in cooperation with foreign language teachers and specialists, to serve small and rural school districts, small colleges, community colleges, and adult business education classes, through video tapes, cassettes, satellite linkages, cable programs, teleclasses, and computer-assisted instruction. Limits grant amounts. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for innovative and model programs for elementary and secondary teacher education which integrate foreign language and culture, democracy and civic education, geography, and international studies into practicing and preservice teacher training. Provides that such programs must meet the needs of elementary school teachers before they address those of secondary school teachers. Requires an institute of higher education, to receive such a grant on behalf of its school or department of education and in cooperation with its liberal arts department, to submit a proposal to the Secretary and the appropriate State educational agency. (Allows nonprofit institutions of demonstrated effectiveness to also receive such grants.) Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive grants to various educational entities or consortia to act as a resource center for: (1) coordinating development and dissemination of foreign language and culture instructional materials (including children's literature, teacher's kits, videotapes, and computer software); and (2) encouraging expanded use of technology in teaching foreign languages and culture in elementary schools (and when these needs are met, in secondary schools), especially at schools with proportionally fewer resources. Requires coordination of such materials and technologies development with that under the Star Schools Program Assistance Act. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to make matching grants, within specified limits, to: (1) States and major metropolitan areas to establish foreign language foundations; and (2) world trade council units to provide language training, translation services, and information about other cultures and markets for small- and medium-sized businesses seeking to enter export markets. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Higher Education Amendments - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise student assistance for those engaged in study abroad. Specifies that programs of study abroad approved for credit by an institution of higher education (approved programs of study abroad) are among those for which eligible students may receive student assistance under the programs of Pell grants, supplemental educational opportunity grants, grants to States for State student incentives, guaranteed student loans, and Perkins loans. Includes such approved programs of study abroad under cost of attendance provisions for HEA Student Assistance. Revises student eligibility for assistance to declare that nothing in HEA shall be construed to limit or otherwise prohibit access to approved programs of study abroad. Declares that: (1) otherwise eligible students engaged in an approved program of study abroad are also eligible for assistance under title IV (Student Assistance) of HEA; and (2) such a study abroad program need not be a required part of the student's degree program to qualify for such assistance. Requires eligible institutions to: (1) disseminate to prospective and enrolled students accurate information that enrollment in an approved program of study abroad may be considered enrollment in the home institution for purposes of applying for Federal student financial assistance; and (2) agree, for purposes of student assistance program participation, not to deny any form of Federal aid to any student who meets HEA eligibility requirements on the grounds that such student is taking part in an approved program of study abroad. Applies existing requirements for loan check endorsement and multiple disbursement of federally-insured and guaranteed student loans to students engaged in a approved program of study abroad. Allows students participating in approved programs of study abroad to receive, according to specified formulas, increased aid under the programs of Pell grants, supplemental educational opportunity grants, State student incentive grants, federally insured loans, and Perkins loans. Establishes a program of incentive grants for enrollment in special programs abroad. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make grants to institutions of higher education or certain other organizations to pay partial incentive stipends to individuals enrolled in certain programs of study abroad; and (2) award, through a national competition, incentive stipends to students who enroll in study abroad programs to learn languages and develop international skills not available in countries in which large numbers of U.S. students study. Requires such grants to be awarded on the basis of merit but with preference given to students who are underrepresented in study abroad, including those from minority groups and professional and preprofessional studies. Intends such stipends to meet extraordinary travel and other associated costs for a one-year maximum. Authorizes appropriations. Requires work study program participation agreements to permit: (1) an institution to devise suitable work opportunities for students studying abroad, including work for foreign colleges, universities, and nonprofit or service organizations; (2) establishment of internship programs involving work for foreign or multinational organizations relevant to the student's course of study; and (3) work-study compensation to eligible students for such work or internships. Declares that student financial aid administrators have discretionary authority to make certain necessary cost of attendance and asset adjustments and special arrangements for student notification, verification, disbursement, and refunds, for students participating in approved programs of study abroad. Allows requests for deferment of Stafford or Perkins student loan repayment by students engaged in graduate or postgraduate fellowship study abroad to be approved until the completion of the fellowship period. Revises HEA title VI (International Education Programs) requirements for undergraduate international studies and foreign language programs to add to the list of authorized grant activities development of: (1) undergraduate study abroad programs providing courses closely related to on-campus foreign language and international studies curricula; and (2) new study abroad opportunities for undergraduates in specific degree programs' curricula. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to higher education institutions, nonprofit organizations, and consortia for: (1) study abroad in the form of either programs in locations otherwise unavailable for such study or opportunities for students who would not otherwise engage in such study; and (2) enrichment of study abroad programs, including development of model predeparture and post-return activities, program selection material and advising services, and academic advising. Requires that centers for international business education assisted under HEA include in their programs opportunities for business students to study abroad in locations which are important to the current and future economic well-being of the United States. Provides that intensive summer language institutes receiving HEA grants may be either in the United States or in appropriate countries abroad. Includes among authorized providers of such training institutes designed to integrate intensive foreign language training with culture experiences abroad for undergraduate students in a wide range of disciplines. Covers the costs of travel to and from institutes in foreign countries in stipends for students and faculty attending such institutes.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act to require the Federal Open Market Committee to consult with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during a specified period preceding the President's submission of the budget. Directs the President to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board). Mandates that any change in the intermediate targets for monetary policy adopted by the Federal Open Market Committee shall be publicly disclosed on the date of its adoption. Prohibits the Comptroller General from auditing written communications among members of the Board including Federal Reserve System personnel with respect to transactions with a foreign central bank, foreign government, or nonprivate international financing organization. Mandates that the estimated receipts and proposed expenditures of the Board and all Federal Reserve Banks be transmitted by the President (without change) with the budget submitted to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Directs the heads of Federal departments or agencies which hold or receive records and information which have or could possibly have been correlated to U.S. personnel listed as prisoners of war or missing in action after 1940, including from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, to publicly disclose such records and information, except where such disclosure would compromise national security. Requires the Department of Defense to publicly disclose a complete list of such personnel including those killed in action (body not returned) with each service member's current classification as well as any changes in such classification occurring during or after such hostilities.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual the following qualified employer-provided transportation benefits: (1) the value of transportation in a commuter highway vehicle between the employee's residence and workplace; and (2) up to $60 per month of the value of any transit pass entitling the employee to transportation on mass transit facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
Trade Agreements Compliance Act of 1991 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize certain economically affected persons to request the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to review whether a foreign country is in material compliance with the terms of a bilateral trade agreement to which the United States is a party. Prescribes guidelines for such a review. Provides that nothing in this Act may be construed as requiring actions that are inconsistent with U.S. international obligations, including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
Anti-Apartheid Act Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Sanctions Against Investment in, and Exports to, South Africa and Other Measures (Except Import Restrictions) to End Apartheid - Part A: Amendments to the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and Other Laws - Amends the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 to prohibit any investments in South Africa by U.S. persons. Makes exceptions to such prohibition for: (1) investments in a business enterprise 90 percent owned and controlled by South Africans economically and politically disadvantaged by apartheid; and (2) investments made by certain individuals during any period and to the extent that such investments are considered South African emigrant non-resident assets and subject to transfer or disposition restrictions. Authorizes a person to apply for, and the President to grant for good cause, a waiver of such prohibition for up to 180 days. Requires U.S. controlled South African entities that are subject to the investment prohibition and that employ more than 24 South Africans economically and politically disadvantaged by apartheid to: (1) notify employees and employee organizations not less than 90 days prior to termination of the U.S. investment in such entity; and (2) enter into good faith negotiations with representative trade unions regarding the terms of such termination. Prohibits the exportation or reexportation to South Africa of any goods or technology subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Prohibits any such exportation or reexportation by any person subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Exempts from such prohibition publications, donations of food, clothing, and medical supplies, commercial sales of agricultural commodities and products, and goods and technology for use in the gathering or dissemination of information by news media organizations subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Makes such prohibitions inapplicable to: (1) any goods that are the direct product of technology of U.S. origin under a written agreement entered into on or before April 20, 1988, and that are exported within one year of the enactment of this Act; (2) economic assistance or human rights programs for disadvantaged South Africans, South African blacks or other nonwhite South Africans, or victims of apartheid in South Africa; and (3) contributions to charitable organizations engaged in social welfare, public health, religious, educational, or emergency relief activities in South Africa. Repeals specified provisions of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 that: (1) prohibit certain exports to, imports from, and investments in South Africa; (2) set forth U.S. policy toward the recruitment and training of black South Africans; and (3) prohibit U.S. intercession with any foreign government regarding export activities of certain U.S. nationals in South Africa who are not implementing the Code of Conduct. Revises the definition of "loans" for purposes of such Act to prohibit short-term trade financing, sales on open account, and rescheduling of existing loans. Adds other definitions for purposes of such Act. Prohibits any U.S. agency or entity involved in intelligence activities from engaging in any form of cooperation with the Government of South Africa (specifically including the authorities administering Namibia so long as Namibia is illegally occupied). Prohibits any U.S. agency or entity from engaging in any form of cooperation with the armed forces of South Africa. Prohibits funds made available by the Congress from being obligated or expended for any expense related to any prohibited cooperation. States that the President should not: (1) assign or detail any member of the U.S. armed forces to serve as a defense or military attache in South Africa; or (2) accredit any individual to serve as a defense or military attache at a South African diplomatic mission in the United States. Repeals provisions of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 concerning restrictions on intelligence agency cooperation with South Africa. Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from authorizing any person to engage, directly or indirectly, in the production of special nuclear materials in South Africa. Revises penalty provisions of the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986. Establishes within the Department of State a Coordinator of South Africa Sanctions who shall be responsible to the Secretary of State for matters pertaining to the implementation of sanctions against South Africa. Directs the Coordinator to place emphasis on activities related to strategically important trade in oil, coal, computers, specialized machinery and arms, and to financial credits. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Secretary of State in leading and coordinating the activities of other agencies in implementing and enforcing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and in monitoring other nations' economic relations with South Africa. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on actions to monitor and enforce such Act and on economic relations between South Africa and each of its trading partners. Establishes an Interagency Coordinating Committee on South Africa to coordinate and monitor the implementation of such Act. Revises provisions of such Act regarding the Code of Conduct and expanded participation in the South African economy. Requires Federal agencies to make efforts to assist businesses more than 90 percent (currently, 50 percent) owned by black or nonwhite South Africans. Amends the Export Import Bank Act of 1945 to require the Bank to insure or participate in the extension of credit to businesses more than 90 percent owned (currently, majority owned) and controlled by black or nonwhite South Africans. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to permit the use of a specified amount of funds authorized for economic development assistance for assistance to disadvantaged South Africans. Specifies that such assistance may include scholarships, the promotion of the participation of disadvantaged South Africans in trade unions and private enterprise, alternative education and community development programs, and training and other assistance (including legal aid) for South African journalists. Lists major trade union federations in South Africa as examples of recipients of U.S. assistance to the labor movement. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds for refugee education and assistance for South Africans. Prohibits any U.S. person from providing transport to South Africa of a commercial quantity of crude oil or refined petroleum products. Includes in such prohibition transport on a vessel of U.S. registry or on a vessel owned by a U.S. person. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from issuing any mineral lease to any national of the United States which is controlled by any foreign person who purchases, acquires, owns, or holds any investment in South Africa or who exports crude oil or refined petroleum products to South Africa. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibitions under specified conditions. Part B: Policy Statements; Reports; Studies; and Other Miscellaneous Provisions - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) direct the Attorney General to conduct an antitrust investigation of the South African controlled international diamond cartel; (2) direct the Secretary of Commerce and the Commissioner of Customs to study the feasibility of identifying at the port of entry the national origin of diamonds entering the United States; and (3) ensure effective and rigorous enforcement of a prohibition on the importation into the United States of uncut South African diamonds by taking specified measures. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should eliminate all honorary consuls of South Africa in the United States and forbid expansion of South Africa's embassy staff; and (2) approval of temporary U.S. visas should be granted on a case-by-case basis after considering South Africa's record of allowing its citizens, including apartheid opponents, to travel to the United States. Requires the President to study and report to the Congress on measures to reduce South Africa's foreign exchange earnings from gold. Directs the Secretary of State to report to the Congress on South Africa's involvement in international terrorism. Title II: Sanctions Against South African Imports Into the United States - Prohibits the importation into the United States of any article from South Africa, except: (1) strategic minerals which the President certifies to the Congress are essential for military or economic purposes and are not available from alternative reliable suppliers or through improved manufacturing processes, conservation, recycling, and economical substitution; and (2) publications. Specifies that such prohibition includes: (1) krugerrands or any gold coin minted in South Africa or offered for sale by the Government of South Africa; (2) uranium hexafluoride that has been manufactured from South African uranium or uranium oxide; and (3) fish or seafood which are products of South Africa. Exempts from such prohibition any imports from business enterprises in South Africa that are wholly-owned by persons economically or politically disadvantaged by apartheid. Requires the President to confer with other industrialized democracies in order to reach cooperative agreements to impose sanctions against South Africa to bring about the dismantling of apartheid. Requires the President to report to the Congress concerning such efforts. Requires (currently, encourages) the President to seek United Nations Security Council adoption of the same sanctions against South Africa as are imposed by the United States. Requires (currently, authorizes) the President to impose penalties against foreign persons taking significant commercial advantage of U.S. sanctions against South Africa or comparable sanctions of other industrialized democracies. Includes as such a penalty the restriction of such a person from contracting with U.S. Government entities. Allows the President to waive such penalties for foreign persons of an industrialized democracy that is a party to a cooperative agreement to impose sanctions against South Africa. Requires the President to revoke such waiver if the industrialized democracy is not adequately enforcing the measures provided for under the agreement. Requires that information concerning the extent to which import restrictions are being enforced by other industrialized democracies be included in the Secretary of State's annual report to the Congress. Sets forth provisions pertaining to committee referral in the House of Representatives of joint resolutions pertaining to import restrictions. Requires the President, through the Secretary of Commerce, to submit periodic reports to the Congress setting forth the average amounts of imports of coal or any strategic and critical material entering the United States from each member and observer country of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on the program to reduce U.S. dependence on strategic minerals from South Africa. Requires the President to confer with the governments of the African "frontline" states on measures to prevent the circumvention of the import restrictions on South African products imposed under the authority of this Act. Title III: General Provisions - Makes conforming amendments and sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
Nursing Home Access to Respiratory Therapy Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include respiratory therapy within covered extended care services.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1991
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design and strike a silver commemorative medal for members of the U.S. armed forces who serve in a combat zone in connection with the Persian Gulf conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Indoor Air Quality Act of 1991 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a national research, development, and demonstration program to ensure the quality of indoor air and to coordinate and accelerate efforts related to the causes, detection, and correction of contaminated air. Authorizes the Administrator to assist technology demonstration projects which reduce exposure to indoor air contaminants, provided certain conditions are met. Limits Federal funding for such projects to 75 percent of the total costs. Directs the Administrator to consider indoor human exposure to contaminants when developing air quality standards and emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Requires the Administrator to: (1) conduct a national assessment to survey the seriousness and extent of indoor air contamination in buildings owned by local educational agencies and child care facilities; and (2) establish an advisory group of interested parties to provide guidance and direction in developing such assessment. Directs the Administrator to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology to study and report to the Congress on chemical sensitivity disorders. Requires the Administrator to enter into an agreement with the NAS for the Institute of Medicine to study indoor allergens. Directs the Administrator to study and report to the Congress on the sources of lead exposure for children with blood lead levels greater than 10 micrograms per deciliter. Requires the Administrator and the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to conduct research on indoor air quality in nonresidential, nonindustrial buildings that comply with generally accepted principles of design, maintenance, and operation of ventilation, filtration, and other building systems. Directs the Administrator to publish bulletins providing an assessment of technologies and management practices for the control and measurement of indoor air contaminants. Requires the Director to develop a model indoor air quality training course to provide training in ventilation system operation and maintenance and in identifying and reducing indoor air contaminant exposures. Authorizes the Director to establish a fee for such training. Requires the Administrator to publish health advisories on indoor air contaminants that are known to occur at concentrations which may have adverse human health effects. Provides for the revision of advisories at least every five years. Requires a technology and management practice bulletin to be published concurrently with each advisory addressing a specific contaminant. Directs the Administrator to publish a strategy for a national response to indoor air quality problems. Requires the Administrator to conduct research on radon and radon progeny measurement methods and protocols. Directs the Administrator to issue guidance documents that: (1) provide information on the results of such research; and (2) describe model State radon measurement and mitigation. Requires the Administrator to establish a mandatory program that requires: (1) products offered for sale, or devices used in connection with public services, for radon measurement to meet minimum performance criteria; and (2) operators of devices, or persons employing techniques, used in connection with public services for radon measurement to meet minimum proficiency levels. Directs the Administrator to establish user fees for persons seeking certification under such program. Provides for the deposit of such fees into a Radon Service Account. Requires the national indoor air quality response strategy to evaluate: (1) the range and reliability of indoor air quality diagnostic and mitigation services; and (2) the range of knowledge and mastery of indoor air quality and energy efficiency techniques of ventilation system operators. Provides for the biennial update of such strategy. Requires the Director to: (1) develop a program to evaluate indoor air contamination in Federal buildings; and (2) develop and disseminate to all Federal agencies a model indoor air quality remediation program. Directs Federal agencies responsible for Federal buildings to submit to the Director a specific remediation program for each building, with priority given to buildings based on the health threat and numbers of persons exposed. Requires the Director to review at least five percent of such programs and assess their ability to improve indoor air quality. Directs such agencies to implement systematic programs for the assessment of indoor air quality and the correction of conditions resulting in inadequate air quality. Requires Federal agencies responsible for the design and construction of buildings for Federal occupancy to employ up-to-date design, commissioning, and operating practices for optimal indoor air quality and energy efficiency. Directs persons entering into new leases or lease renewal contracts for Federal buildings to require building owners to demonstrate and guarantee that the building is operating at design specifications for the existing ventilation system and that all portions of the building are accessible for indoor air quality monitoring and evaluation. Provides that buildings that operate at current ventilation rate standards shall be given priority for leasing when available at competitive cost. Requires Federal agencies to designate an Indoor Air Quality Coordinator for each Federal building. Directs Coordinators and their assistants to complete an indoor air training course. Authorizes grants to: (1) States for the development and implementation of indoor air quality management strategies; and (2) States and local air pollution control agencies for air quality response programs. Sets forth grant limitations and selection criteria. Directs the Administrator to establish the Office of Indoor Air Quality within the EPA Office of Air and Radiation. Establishes a Council on Indoor Air Quality to coordinate Federal indoor air quality activities and review and comment on the national indoor air response strategy. Requires the Indoor Air Panel of the EPA Science Advisory Board to be expanded to include technical advisors with expertise in technologies and management practices for the control and measurement of indoor air contaminants. Directs the Administrator to establish a national indoor air quality clearinghouse which shall operate a toll-free hotline on indoor air quality. Requires the Director to implement a Building Assessment Demonstration Program to support the development of methods, techniques, and protocols for assessing indoor air contamination in non-residential, non-industrial buildings and to provide contamination reduction assistance and guidance to building owners and occupants. Sets forth building assessment report requirements. Requires public or commercial buildings receiving permits for construction or renovation to maintain and operate a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system designed to provide a minimum of: (1) 20 cubic feet per minute of outdoor air per occupant to all occupied space in such building; and (2) 60 cubic feet per minute of outdoor air per smoking occupant to rooms where smoking is permitted. Prohibits exhaust air from a room where smoking is permitted from being returned to the general ventilation system. Sets forth recordkeeping requirements with respect to such systems. Directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to enforce compliance with such requirements. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of such requirements. Requires the Administrator to evaluate the need for additional standards related to the level of specific indoor air contaminants present in such buildings to supplement such requirements. Directs the Administrator to issue regulations which: (1) establish standard methods for the measurement and description of indoor air contaminant emissions; (2) identify products that pose significant human health threats through such emissions; and (3) require products that do pose such a threat to be labeled or accompanied by written material informing consumers and commercial purchasers of the indoor air contaminant emissions rate of such products. Makes it unlawful to sell or import into the United States any product which: (1) does not have such a label or written material; or (2) has a label or material containing false information. Requires the Administrator to educate consumers and commercial purchasers about the labeling of such products. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) determine whether standards on workplace indoor air quality are necessary to protect the health and safety of employees; and (2) issue a final standard, as necessary. Repeals the Radon Gas and Indoor Air Quality Research Act of 1986. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Establishes the grade of General of the Army, appointments to which shall be made by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Defines the rank and compensation of such grade. Authorizes the President to appoint Generals Colin L. Powell and H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., to that grade.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Individual Retirement Options Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the ten percent penalty tax on early distributions from qualified retirement plans: (1) first-time homebuyer distributions; (2) qualified higher education expenses; and (3) qualified catastrophic illness expenses. Allows an additional deduction for 50 percent of the contributions made to individual retirement plans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits Federal expenditures from exceeding revenues for any fiscal year and from exceeding 19 percent of the gross national product for the last calendar year ending before the beginning of such fiscal year. Provides for a suspension of such prohibitions for any fiscal year for which three-fifths of the House of the Congress provides, by rollcall vote, for a specific excess of outlays over estimated revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow penalty-free withdrawals from an individual retirement plan if distributed to an Operation Desert Storm reservist within 180 days after the termination of active duty.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income the value of any subsidy provided by an electric utility to a customer for the purchase or installation of energy conservation measures.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1991
Older Americans' Freedom to Work Act of 1991 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1991
Commends the Peace Corps on its 30th anniversary and those who have served as Peace Corps volunteers. Reaffirms U.S. commitment, through the Peace Corps, to help peoples in other countries to meet their needs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Ancient Forest Protection Act of 1991 - Establishes the National Ancient Forest Reserve System. Designates certain lands in California, Oregon, and Washington as components of such System. Declares that all Federal lands in such States which qualify as ancient forest or associated forest and are not designated as components of the System shall be managed as if they are. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations with respect to the removal of commercial timber from such lands. Declares it to be U.S. policy to develop and utilize scientific information to study and identify the biological and ecological requirements of ancient forest ecosystems. Directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to study and report to appropriate congressional committees on the biological and physical requirements for the survival of such ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Northern Ireland Fair Employment Practices Act - Prohibits an article from being imported into the United States from Northern Ireland unless documentation is presented at the time of entry indicating that the enterprise which manufactured or assembled such article complied at the time of manufacture with certain fair employment principles (such as freedom from religious discrimination). Bases such principles on the MacBride Principles, a nine point set of guidelines for fair employment in Northern Ireland. Requires any U.S. person who has a branch or office in Northern Ireland or who controls an enterprise in Northern Ireland in which more than 20 people are employed to insure implementation of such employment principles and compliance with this Act. Requires reports to the Secretary of Commerce on compliance with this Act. Sets forth the fair employment principles. Authorizes the President to waive the requirements of this Act in the interest of national security. Requires such waiver to become effective 90 days after the President submits a justification of such waiver to the Congress unless the Congress adopts a joint resolution disapproving the waiver. Provides for expedited consideration of such resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Social Security Notch Adjustment Act of 1991 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to establish a new formula for computing the primary insurance amount of individuals who attain age 65 in or after 1982 and would otherwise be subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Extends the application of such transitional benefit computation rules to those who become eligible for benefits before 1989. (Currently those who become eligible after 1983 are subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
African American History Landmark Theme Study Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to report to the Congress on a national historic landmark theme study on African American history. Requires the Secretary to: (1) identify possible new park units appropriate to the theme of African American history; and (2) prepare a list of the most appropriate sites, including a discussion of the feasibility of their inclusion in the National Park System. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Volunteer Protection Act of 1991 - Prescribes circumstances under which volunteers working for nonprofit organizations or government entities shall be immune from personal financial liability for acts on behalf of the organization or entity. Sets forth exceptions and conditions that a State may impose on the granting of such immunity. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase by one percent the fiscal year allotment which would otherwise be made to a State to carry out the Social Services Block Grant Program under title XX of the Social Security Act if such State has, within two years, certified to the Secretary that it has enacted a State law which provides such immunity. Provides for the continuation of such increase based on an annual recertification.
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