United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1998
Library of Congress Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the Library of Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to mint and issue $10 bimetallic coins of gold and platinum in lieu of the gold coins. Requires payment of coin sale surcharges to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board to support Library activities.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1998
Liberty Dollar Bill Act - Amends Federal law to mandate that the design of the reverse side of $1 Federal reserve notes incorporate: (1) the preamble to the Constitution; (2) a list describing the Articles of the Constitution; and (3) a list describing the Articles of Amendment. Prescribes the design format. States that such requirements do not limit the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) include other inscriptions or material on the reverse side of $1 dollar bills; or (2) adopt other design features to deter counterfeiting of currency.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Child Online Protection Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require anyone who, in interstate or foreign commerce, is engaged in the business of selling or transferring, by means of the World Wide Web, material that is harmful to minors to restrict access to such materials by persons under 17 years of age. Provides civil and criminal penalties for violations of such requirement, as well as an affirmative defense. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to post on its Internet website a definition of material that is harmful to minors.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1998
Charles Butler McVay and U.S.S. INDIANAPOLIS Relief Act - Exonerates the late rear admiral Charles Butler McVay III, United States Navy (retired), from responsibility for the sinking of the U.S.S. INDIANAPOLIS on July 30, 1945, while under his command. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the subsequent court-martial conviction of McVay was a grave injustice. Urges the President to grant McVay a posthumous pardon. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should award a Presidential Unit Citation to the final crew of the INDIANAPOLIS in recognition of their courage and fortitude displayed in the face of tremendous adversity after their ship was torpedoed and sunk by the Japanese navy.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1998
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out major medical facility projects in specified amounts at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers or outpatient clinics at the following locations: (1) Long Beach, California; (2) San Juan, Puerto Rico; (3) Washington, D.C.; (4) Palo Alto, California; (5) Cleveland, Ohio; (6) Tucson, Arizona; (7) Dallas, Texas; and (8) Auburn and Merced, California. Authorizes the Secretary to construct a parking structure at the Department Medical Center in Denver, Colorado. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into leases for satellite outpatient clinics in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Daytona Beach, Florida, and Oakland Park, Florida. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for FY 1999 for the Construction, Major Projects, account, and for the Medical Care account, with limitations. Increases from $3 million to $4 million the threshold for a Department parking facility project to be considered a major medical facility project.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 1998
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), after July 1, 1998, from making any reallocations of amateur radio service (ARS) frequency bands, diminishing the secondary allocations of such bands to ARS, or making additional allocations within such bands that would substantially reduce their utility to ARS, unless at the same time the FCC provides equivalent replacement spectrum to ARS.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1998
Biomedical Research Assistance Voluntary Option Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer to designate any income tax overpayment to be used for biomedical research conducted through the National Institutes of Health.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1998
Urges the President to: (1) launch an initiative to resolve the situation in Cyprus based on parameters and principles set forth in specified resolutions of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the United Nations Security Council; and (2) continue bimonthly reports to the Congress on the active engagement of the United States in efforts to find a solution to such situation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1998
Declares that the Congress: (1) encourages State and Federal agencies to use federally sponsored research to develop education programs to raise the awareness of health professionals and the public about the dangers of sleep deprivation; (2) calls for additional Federal research that would lead to proper diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders; (3) urges Federal agencies to help facilitate the education of primary care practitioners in the proper diagnosis and treatment of such disorders; and (4) supports educational programs for researchers, accident investigators, and law enforcement officials to identify transportation and workplace accidents caused by or related to fatigue or sleep deprivation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1998
Surviving Spouse Fairness Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a $500,000 exclusion of gain on certain sales of a principal residence by a surviving spouse.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1998
Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to revise the definition of remuneration to: (1) repeal the current exclusion from its meaning of certain differentials in coinsurance and deductible amounts as part of a basic plan design as long as they are disclosed in writing to all beneficiaries, third party payers, and providers to whom claims are presented; and (2) replace it with the exclusion of any permissible payment practice. Revises the advisory opinion authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to prohibited remuneration to reflect this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1998
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Gerald and Betty Ford in recognition of their dedicated public service and outstanding humanitarian contributions to the people of the United States. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicate medals in bronze. Declares such medals to be national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1998
Independent Commission on Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1998 - Establishes the Independent Commission on Campaign Finance Reform to study the laws relating to the financing of political activity and to report and recommend legislation to reform those laws. (Sec. 6) Requires the Commission, not later than the expiration of the 180-day period that begins on the date on which the second session of the 105th Congress adjourns, to submit to the President, the Speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives, and the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, a report of the activities of the Commission. Requires the report to include any recommendations for changes in the laws (including regulations) governing the financing of political activity, including any changes in House and Senate rules, to which nine or more Commission members may agree, together with drafts of: (1) any legislation recommended by the Commission to implement such recommendations; and (2) any proposed amendment to the Constitution recommended by the Commission as necessary to implement such recommendations, except that if the Commission includes such a proposed amendment in its report, it shall also include recommendations and drafts for legislation that may be implemented prior to the adoption of such proposed amendment. Requires the Commission, in making recommendations and preparing drafts of legislation, to consider the following to be its primary goals: (1) encouraging fair and open Federal elections that provide voters with meaningful information about candidates and issues; (2) eliminating the disproportionate influence of special interest financing of Federal elections; and (3) creating a more equitable electoral system for challengers and incumbents. (Sec. 7) Provides for expedited congressional consideration of any legislation introduced the substance of which implements a recommendation of the Commission submitted, including a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution. (Sec. 9) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1998
Military Retirees Fairness Act of 1998 - States that the prohibition on the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation shall not apply in the case of a person who has a service-connected disability if: (1) the person has completed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (2) the disability was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty; and (3) the person has attained the age of 65. Allows such a person, in addition to receiving the full amount of military retired pay, to receive: (1) 50 percent of the authorized veterans' disability compensation due, if such person is at least 65 but not yet 70; and (2) 100 percent, if such person is 70 or older. Requires military retired pay paid concurrently with disability compensation to be paid out of funds appropriated to the Department of Defense for that fiscal year. Makes the concurrent payment provisions effective for months beginning on and after October 1998, with a prohibition against the payment of retroactive benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Ethical Standards for Federal Prosecutors Title II: Punishable Conduct Citizens Protection Act of 1998 - Title I: Ethical Standards for Federal Prosecutors - Subjects a Government attorney to State laws and rules, and local Federal court rules, governing attorneys in each State where such attorney engages in duties to the same extent and in the same manner as other attorneys in that State. Directs the Attorney General to make and amend rules of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assure compliance with this title. Title II: Punishable Conduct - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish by rule that it shall be punishable conduct for any DOJ employee to seek an indictment in the absence of probable cause, to fail promptly to release information that would exonerate a person under indictment, to intentionally or knowingly misstate or alter evidence, to attempt to influence or color a witness's testimony, to act to frustrate or impede a defendant's right to discovery, to offer or provide sexual activities to any government witness or potential witness, to leak or otherwise improperly disseminate information to any person during an investigation, or to engage in conduct that discredits DOJ; and (2) establish penalties for engaging in such conduct, including probation, demotion, dismissal, referral of ethical charges to the bar, loss of pension or other retirement benefits, suspension from employment, and referral of the allegations (if appropriate) to a grand jury for possible criminal prosecution. (Sec. 202) Sets forth procedures regarding written complaints of such conduct by a DOJ employee, investigation of such complaints by the Attorney General, and imposition of appropriate penalties. (Sec. 203) Establishes an independent Misconduct Review Board to review all determinations by the Attorney General with respect to such complaints and to investigate allegations made in statements that may be submitted to it with respect to complaints for which the Attorney General has made no determination or imposed no penalty. Authorizes the Board to impose penalties established above.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1998
Urges the President to renegotiate the Extradition Treaty Between the United States and Mexico so that the possibility of capital punishment will not interfere with the timely extradition of criminal suspects from Mexico to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1998
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Gainesville, Florida, as the Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1998
Constitutional Amendment - Requires that a bill to increase the internal revenue shall laws shall require for final adoption in each House the concurrence of two-thirds of the whole of the number of that House, unless the bill does not increase the internal revenue by more than a de minimis amount. Permits the waiver of such requirement, for up to two years, if there is a declaration of war or if the United States is engaged in a military conflict which causes an imminent and serious threat to national security and is so declared by a joint resolution which becomes law.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1998
Calls for the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the U.S. Submarine Force on its 100th anniversary.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1998
Allows the remains of the following persons to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery: (1) any member of the armed forces who dies while on active duty; (2) any retired member; (3) any former member who was separated for physical disability before October 1, 1949, who served on active duty, and who would have been eligible for disability retirement if such provisions had been in effect on such date; (4) any former member whose last active military service was terminated honorably and who has been awarded one of a number of specified military decorations; (5) any former prisoner of war who served honorably while such a prisoner, whose last active military service terminated honorably, and who died on or after November 30, 1993; (6) the President or any former President; (7) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, and, in the discretion of the Cemetery's Superintendent, unmarried adult child of an interred member (but only if buried in the same gravesite); (8) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (again, discretionary) of a member buried as part of a group burial (but cannot be buried in the group gravesite); (9) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult child of any person already buried in the Cemetery; (10) the widow or widower of a member who was lost or buried at sea or officially determined to be permanently absent in a missing or missing in action status; and (11) the parents of a minor child or unmarried adult child whose remains, based on the parent's eligibility, are already buried in the Cemetery. Makes such burial eligibility the exclusive eligibility for Cemetery burial. Prohibits the Secretary of the Army or any other responsible official from considering a request for Cemetery burial made before the death of the individual. Allows gravesite markers to be provided by the Secretary or at private expense, as long as certain marker and marker maintenance conditions are met. Directs the Secretary to maintain for the public a register of each individual buried in the Cemetery which shall include, for each individual buried there on or after January 1, 1998, a brief description of his or her eligibility for such burial. Requires the Secretary to publish an updated pamphlet describing Cemetery burial eligibility. Authorizes the cremated remains of the following persons to be placed in the Cemetery columbarium: (1) a person eligible for burial under this Act; (2) a veteran whose last period of active duty ended honorably; and (3) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult child (discretionary) of such a veteran. Prohibits a memorial or marker: (1) from being placed in the Cemetery unless it commemorates the service of the individual or group whose memory is to be honored by such memorial or marker; or (2) that refers to a particular military event from being placed in the Cemetery until 25 years after such event.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1998
Alternative Water Source Development Act of 1998 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program for making grants for the development and construction of alternative water source projects to State, interstate, and intrastate water resource development agencies and local government agencies that have authority to develop water resources for potable, commercial, industrial, or agricultural uses. Permits grants only for agencies in States experiencing critical water supply needs. Requires the Administrator to carry out such program to: (1) demonstrate methods of developing alternative water source technologies; and (2) protect groundwater from overpumping and to preserve minimum flows and levels of surface water bodies. Permits grants only to agencies that have: (1) engaged in a planning effort to assess the availability of water resources and the need to develop alternative sources and have produced a comprehensive water resource plan to meet expected water resource needs for a 20-year period; (2) demonstrated that currently available water resources will not be sufficient to provide for expected potable, commercial, industrial, and agricultural needs over the next 20 years; and (3) agreed to provide 50 percent of the cost of the project to be funded with the grant. Makes agencies of States eligible for assistance or receiving funds under the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 ineligible for grants under this Act. Requires the Administrator to report to the Congress on the program, together with an analysis of whether program purposes have been realized and recommendations for administrative and legislative actions. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) Taiwan should be represented in the World Health Organization; and (2) it should be U.S. policy to support Taiwan's representation in the Organization.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1998
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela in recognition of his life-long dedication to the abolition of apartheid and the promotion of reconciliation among the people of the Republic of South Africa. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike a gold medal and sell duplicates in bronze at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals. Declares such medals to be national medals. Authorizes a maximum charge against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund to pay for the costs of the medals. Mandates that proceeds from sales of duplicate bronze medals be deposited in such Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1998
Terminates, effective on October 1, 2003, a military retiree's required contributions to the military Survivor Benefit Plan after such retiree has made such contributions for 30 years and has attained age 70.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1998
Requests that the U.S. Postal Service issue a commemorative postage stamp in 1999 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1997
Calls for the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a series of postage stamps in recognition of recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1997
Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to use available customs user fees to provide salaries for up to 50 full-time equivalent inspectional positions through FY 1998 in connection with the arrival in Florida of passengers aboard commercial vessels, regardless of whether such passengers are required to pay such fees.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1997
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to declare that any Medicaid-related funds recovered or paid to a State as part of a settlement or judgment reached in litigation the State initiated or pursued against one or more tobacco companies shall not be treated as an overpayment.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1997
Expresses appreciation for the dedicated service of Navy gun crews on merchant ships as part of the Naval Armed Guard Service during World War I and World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1997
Requires the pay and benefits for members and civilian employees of the Capitol Police to be determined in accordance with a pay scale and benefit package established by the Capitol Police Board and equivalent to the package applicable to members of the Secret Service Uniformed Division. Makes such package effective only upon approval of the Committee on House Oversight and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1997
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to: (1) make grants to States or units of local government to purchase armor vests for use by law enforcement officers; and (2) give preferential consideration to applications from jurisdictions that have the greatest need, a mandatory wear policy, and a violent crime rate at or above the national average. Sets forth provisions regarding matching funds and allocation of funds, State and local applications, and grant application renewal. Prohibits any State or unit of local government that receives financial assistance made available by this Act from purchasing equipment or products manufactured using prison inmate labor. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that entities receiving assistance under this Act should, in expending such assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and products.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1997
Iran Missile Protection Act of 1997 - Authorizes supplemental appropriations for FY 1998 for the Department of Defense for cooperative activities with Russia for determining: (1) the extent of Russian cooperation and assistance in the development by Iran of a ballistic missile capability; and (2) the technical nature of the Iranian missile threat. Requires a certification by the President to the Congress with respect to the information to be released by Russia before such funds may be appropriated. Prohibits the obligation of $3 million in FY 1998 cooperative ballistic missile defense projects with Russia until the President certifies to the Congress that the Russian Government is providing full cooperation with respect to the release of such information. Authorizes appropriations for the Navy theater-wide missile defense system to be used to accelerate the development of such system through additional testing and risk reduction. Authorizes additional appropriations for defense-wide research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) of specified missile defense sytems, radars, networks, and related activities. Authorizes appropriations for defense-wide RDT&E for support of the Israeli Arrow tactical ballistic missile defense system to be used to protect a U.S. ally in imminent peril. Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on the Iranian ballistic missile threat in the Middle East and Persian Gulf regions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1997
Superfund Recycling Equity Act of 1997- Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to absolve persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material from liability for environmental response actions. Deems transactions involving scrap paper, plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product to be made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental regulations or standards regarding such batteries. Makes the exemptions from liability under this Act inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. Makes such exemptions inapplicable if the recyclable material contained polychlorinated biphenyls in excess of 50 parts per million or any new Federal standard or if such material is an item of scrap paper containing, at the time of recycling, a concentration of a hazardous substance determined to present a significant human health or environmental risk.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1997
Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act of 1997 - Directs the President to report periodically to specified congressional committees on foreign persons (except those previously identified or sanctioned or subject to waiver) who, on or after August 8, 1995, have transferred, or attempted to transfer, controlled goods or technology, or provided, or attempted to provide, technical assistance or facilities that contributed, or would have contributed, to Iran's efforts to acquire, develop, or produce ballistic missiles. Requires imposition on such persons of minimum two-year sanctions prohibiting: (1) sales to such persons of items on the United States Munitions List (and terminating sales of any controlled U.S. arms); (2) the export to such persons of dual use goods and technology; and (3) the provision of U.S. financial assistance. Authorizes the President to waive such sanctions, with written justification to Congress, on the basis of U.S. national security or additional information demonstrating that the sanctioned person did not commit the acts alleged.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1997
Paycheck Protection Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to make it unlawful, except with the separate, prior, written, voluntary authorization of each individual, for: (1) national banks or corporations to collect from or assess its stockholders or employees any dues, initiation fee, or other payment as a condition of employment if any part of such dues, fee, or payment will be used for political activities in which the national bank or corporation is engaged; and (2) labor organizations to collect from or assess its members or nonmembers any dues, fee, or other payment if any part of such dues, fee, or payment will be used for political activities in which the labor organization is engaged. States that an authorization shall remain in effect until revoked and may be revoked at any time. Requires each entity collecting from or assessing amounts from an individual with an authorization in effect to provide the individual with a statement that the individual may at any time revoke the authorization.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1997
Marriage Penalty Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow as a deduction, on a joint return, an amount equal to the lesser of: (1) $30,000; or (2) the qualified earned income of the spouse with the lower qualified earned income.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1997
Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Act of 1997 - Establishes the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Commission to determine the validity of land claims arising out of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848. Authorizes three or more eligible Mexican descendants in the State of New Mexico who are also descendants of the same community land grant to petition the Commission for such a determination on behalf of themselves and all other descendants. Directs the Commission to establish a Community Land Grant Study Center at the Onate Center in Alcalde, New Mexico, to be responsible for directing the research, study, and investigations necessary to assist the Commission in performing its duties. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Consumer Bankruptcy Issues Title II: Improved Bankruptcy Administration Responsible Borrower Protection Bankruptcy Act - Title I: Consumer Bankruptcy Issues - Amends Federal bankruptcy law to prescribe guidelines for a needs-based bankruptcy system which precludes individuals from filing for complete relief in bankruptcy (under chapter 7 (Liquidation)) if certain current monthly income is available to pay creditors. (Sec. 101) Sets forth formulae for income levels determinative of debtor eligibility for bankruptcy relief. Treats as having income available to pay creditors (and thus eligible for chapter 13 Adjustment of Debts of an Individual with Regular Income) any individual (or in a joint case, an individual and spouse combined) with: (1) a current monthly total income of 75 percent of the national median household income for one earner (or 75 percent of the national median family income for a family of equal size); (2) projected monthly net income greater than $50; and (3) projected monthly net income sufficient to repay 20 percent or more of unsecured non-priority claims during a five-year repayment plan. (Sec. 102) Provides for adjustment to a chapter 13 debtor's monthly net income for extraordinary circumstances such as loss of income or unusual expenses. (Sec. 103) Modifies notice requirements to apprise a consumer debtor of alternatives to bankruptcy, including independent non-profit debt counseling services. (Sec. 104) Declares embezzlement or fraudulently-incurred debts of individuals nondischargeable in bankruptcy. (Sec. 105) Instructs the bankruptcy court to confirm the bankruptcy plan of an individual if it provides that the holder of a secured allowed claim retains the lien securing such claim until discharge of all debts. (Sec. 106) Grants a claim arising from a nondischargeable debt incurred to pay a Federal tax (or any other nondischargeable debt) the same priority as the claim for the underlying obligation which was paid for by such nondischargeable debt. (Sec. 107) Establishes a presumption that consumer debts owed to a single creditor and incurred within 90 days prior to an order for relief in bankruptcy are nondischargeable in bankruptcy. (Sec. 108) Revamps prescriptions governing the effects of conversion from chapter 13 to another chapter. Declares that: (1) valuations of property and of allowed secured claims in a chapter 13 case shall not apply in a chapter 7 case; and (2) with respect to cases converted from chapter 13, the claim of any creditor holding security as of the date of the petition shall continue to be secured by that security unless the full amount of that claim determined under applicable non-bankruptcy law has been paid in full as of the date of conversion. (Sec. 109) Terminates the automatic stay 30 days after filing of a petition if a petition was pending and dismissed under chapter 7 the previous year, unless the subsequent filing is in good faith. Delineates conditions under which a history of previous petitions in bankruptcy give rise to a rebuttable presumption that the case is not filed in good faith. (Sec. 110) Requires that the value of personal property collateral be at least equal to the outstanding balance of the purchase price, including interest and charges, where the property was acquired by the debtor within 180 days of filing the petition in bankruptcy. (Sec. 111) Declares that, in the case of chapter 7 and chapter 13 debtors, the personal property securing the individual debtor's personal property shall be the replacement value as of the date the petition is filed without deduction for costs of sale or marketing. (Sec. 112) Modifies debtor's duties to mandate specified affirmative actions to be taken by a chapter 7 debtor, including reaffirmation of the debt or redemption of the property within 60 days, in order to retain possession of personal property. (Sec. 113) Establishes the Bankruptcy Exemption Study Commission to study and report to the Congress on issues and problems in the bankruptcy system, including whether exemptions should be uniform nationally, and the appropriate size of exemptions in individual cases. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 114) Mandates that a chapter 13 debtor file a bankruptcy plan within a specified deadline. (Sec. 115) Changes from discretionary to mandatory the court's authority to dismiss an individual debtor case if relief would be a substantial abuse of chapter 7. Requires the court to find that substantial abuse exists if: (1) the debtor is ineligible for chapter 7 relief under the needs-based test; or (2) the totality of the circumstances of the debtor's financial situation demonstrate substantial abuse. (Sec. 116) Provides for a chapter 7 debtor's assumption of executory contracts and unexpired leases. Declares that in a chapter 11 case in which the debtor is an individual, and in a chapter 13 case, if the lease is not assumed in the plan, it is rejected (and no longer subject to an automatic stay) as of the plan's confirmation date. (Sec. 117) Mandates a maximum five-year payment period under a chapter 13 plan for any individual debtor (or in a joint case, an individual and spouse combined) with a current monthly total income of 75 percent of the national median household income for one earner (or 75 percent of the national median family income for a family of equal size). Permits the court to approve a longer period, not to exceed seven years. (Sec. 118) Revises prescriptions governing a stay of action against a codebtor to provide that: (1) the co-debtor stay would continue to be available when the debtor who borrowed the money sought Chapter 13 relief; but (2) if a guarantor or other co-debtor who did not receive the consideration for the creditor's claim filed for relief, the debtor who borrowed the money would not be protected by a stay unless he or she also filed a bankruptcy petition. Declares that the stay shall terminate as to the debtor's interest in personal property if the debtor surrendered or abandoned that property. (Sec. 120) Includes within the definition of a debtor's "principal residence" an individual condominium or cooperative unit, or mobile, or manufactured home or trailer. Provides that the inclusion of incidental property in a mortgage on the debtor's principal residence will not disqualify that mortgage from protection under chapter 13. Provides that if the debtor resides in a house the debtor owns during the 180 days before filing, such protection applies. States that the automatic stay will not be violated if a prepetition foreclosure proceeding is postponed during the pendency of a Chapter 13 proceeding, so long as any prepetition default remains uncured by actual payment in full according to the plan. (Sec. 121) Extends the mandatory period between discharges in bankruptcy from six to ten years for chapter 7 debtors. Sets five years as the mandatory period between discharges for chapter 13 debt repayment plans. Title II: Improved Bankruptcy Administration - Modifies the organization of bankruptcy courts to mandate the compilation of bankruptcy statistics for individual debtors with primarily consumer debts seeking relief under chapters 7, 11 (Reorganization), and 13. Directs the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (Administrative Office) to make such statistics public and to report them annually to the Congress. (Sec. 202) Requires each U.S. trustee to report to the Attorney General on audit results of bankruptcy petitions and schedules performed by independent certified or licensed public accountants. Requires the Attorney General to establish random audits of individual bankruptcy cases under chapter 11. (Sec. 203) Directs the Administrative Office to establish and maintain a nationwide debtors' docket accessible to searches by any users. (Sec. 204) Revises guidelines governing meetings of creditors and equity security holders to provide that if the debtor is an individual in a voluntary case under chapters 7, 11, or 13, the first meeting of creditors shall not convene earlier than 60 days after the date of the order for relief in bankruptcy, unless the court determines that unusual circumstances justify an earlier meeting. Authorizes a creditor holding a consumer debt to participate in a meeting of creditors in a chapter 7 or 13 case, either alone or in conjunction with an attorney. Prescribes notice procedures for chapter 7 and chapter 13 creditors. (Sec. 207) Revises automatic stay guidelines to provide that in the case of an individual filing under chapters 7, 11, or 13, the automatic stay shall terminate 60 days after a request for its release by a party in interest, unless the court orders or the parties agree to a longer time. Terminates such stay if the debtor fails to complete an intended surrender of consumer debt collateral. (Sec. 210) Expands debtor's duties to require filing with the bankruptcy court: (1) Federal tax returns; (2) evidence of payments received; (3) monthly net income projections; and (4) anticipated debt or expenditure increases. Permits a chapter 7 or chapter 13 creditor to request the debtor's petition, schedules and statement of affairs, including the debt adjustment plan filed by the debtor. Mandates debtor compliance within ten days of such request. Mandates that, at the time of filing with the taxing authority, a chapter 7 or 13 debtor file with the bankruptcy court specified tax documentation pertaining to the period from the commencement of the case until case termination. Requires a chapter 13 debtor to file with the court a statement of income and expenditures in the preceding tax year, and monthly net income, showing how calculated. (Sec. 211) Provides for automatic dismissal if a chapter 7 debtor fails to furnish all mandatory information, or fails to timely file the requisite schedules. Requires the court to order dismissal within five days of a request by a party in interest for the debtor's failure to timely submit requisite documentation. (Sec. 212) Delineates a cash payment plan for chapter 13 debtors for payments to any lessor of personal property and to any creditor holding a claim secured by personal property to the extent such claim is attributable to the debtor's purchase of such property. (Sec. 213) Prohibits a Chapter 13 confirmation hearing from being held less than 20 days after the first meeting of creditors if there is an objection.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1997
Continued Dumping or Subsidy Offset Act of 1997 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to declare that, whenever continued dumping or subsidization is found to exist by the administering authority or by operation of law, any duties assessed shall be distributed as continued dumping or subsidy offsets to the affected domestic producers for qualifying expenditures on an annual basis. Limits qualifying expenditures to expenditures incurred since the issuance of the antidumping duty finding or order or countervailing duty order in any or all of the categories of plant, equipment, research and development, personnel training, acquisition of technology, employer-paid employee health care and pension benefits, and environmental equipment, training and-or technology. Directs the Commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service to prescribe offset disbursement procedures. Sets forth general procedures for notification of eligible parties. Requires the Commissioner to establish a special account in the Treasury to receive all antidumping or countervailing duties, including interest, for distribution according to this Act, within 14 days after an antidumping or countervailing duty order takes effect.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1997
Marriage Tax Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a husband and wife to file a combined income tax return on which each spouse is taxed separately at the unmarried return rate.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improving the Regulation and Labeling of Food Title II: Effective Date Food and Nutrition Information Reform Act - Title I: Improving the Regulation and Labeling of Food - Amends Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act provisions relating to food nutrition levels and health-related claims to allow certain regulations to be effective on publication at the discretion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Sec. 102) Modifies requirements regarding petitions to issue a regulation on health-related claims. (Sec. 103) Allows a health or nutrient content claim not authorized by the Secretary if: (1) a U.S. governmental scientific body with public health protection or research responsibility directly relating to human nutrition has published an authoritative statement, currently in effect, about the relationship to which the health claim refers or setting forth a basis for the nutrient claim; (2) a person has notified the Secretary; (3) the claim and food are in compliance with certain requirements; and (4) the claim is stated in a way that it is an accurate representation of the authoritative statement and in a way that it enables the public to understand the information and its significance. (Sec. 105) Requires, if a nutrient claim is made and the food contains a nutrient at a level that increases to persons in the general population the risk of a disease or health-related condition that is diet-related, that the label contain, close to the claim, a statement referring to the nutrition information elsewhere on the label. (Sec. 107) Revises oleomargarine sale and labeling requirements. Repeals provisions relating to: (1) a congressional declaration of policy regarding oleomargarine sales; and (2) noncontravention of State oleomargarine laws. Title II: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1997
Joins the Hellenic and the Armenian American communities in honoring the memory of the victims of Smyrna in 1922 and the millions of Orthodox Christians who perished in the genocidal campaign in Asia Minor from 1894 to 1923. Calls for: (1) the United States to encourage the Republic of Turkey to take all appropriate steps to acknowledge these crimes against humanity and commemorate the victims at Smyrna; and (2) the restoration and preservation of an accurate history of such events so that such atrocities may never be repeated.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1997
Freedom From Religious Persecution Act of 1997 - Establishes in the Executive Office of the President the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring, whose Director, appointed by the President, with Senate consent, shall: (1) consider the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom presented in certain annual reports on human rights by the Department of State and by independent human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations; (2) make policy recommendations to the President regarding U.S. policies toward governments engaged in religious persecution; and (3) maintain lists of religious persecution facilitating goods and services, and the responsible entities within countries engaged in religious persecution. (Sec. 3) Distinguishes between category 1 religious persecution (conducted by government officials or agents) and category 2 religious persecution (conducted by non-government entities or persons, but which the government fails to undertake serious and sustained efforts to eliminate). (Sec. 5) Requires the Director to report to specified congressional committees on countries and entities engaged in religious persecution, identifying the category of persecution and listing persecution facilitating products, good, and services. (Sec. 7) Prohibits: (1) Federal agencies and U.S. persons from exporting goods, including religious persecution facilitating goods and services, to countries and responsible entities engaged in religious persecution; and (2) U.S. and multilateral assistance to such countries. Declares that no consular officer shall issue a visa to, and the Attorney General shall exclude from the United States, any alien responsible for carrying out acts of religious persecution. (Sec. 8) Provides for the waiver of such sanctions. (Sec. 9) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996), with respect to eligibility for asylum in the United States, to include under the term "credible fear of persecution" aliens who can claim membership in a community found to be subject to religious persecution. Directs the Attorney General to establish a program to provide training on religious persecution to immigration officers who inspect aliens for admission into the United States. Sets forth procedures for the denial of admission based on religious persecution claims. (Sec. 10) Sets forth requirements with respect to certain State Department human rights reports. Directs the Secretary of State to provide training on the right to religious freedom to chiefs of missions as well as certain Department officials. (Sec. 11) Provides for the termination of sanctions. (Sec. 12) Extends certain existing trade and economic sanctions against Sudan for supporting acts of international terrorism until the Director determines that Sudan has substantially eliminated religious persecution, or no longer supports acts of international terrorism, whichever occurs later. Imposes additional trade, economic, and cultural sanctions against Sudan. Sets forth penalties for violations of certain sanctions. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President, or, at his discretion, the Secretary of State should convene an international conference of the other industrialized democracies to reach an international agreement to bring about an end to religious persecution in Sudan. Prescribes congressional procedures for implementing such an agreement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should instruct the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations (UN) to propose that the UN Security Council impose measures against Sudan. Makes it U.S. policy to impose additional measures against Sudan if its policy of religious persecution has not ended on or before December 25, 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, as of December 1, 1997, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled adult children, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Requires each such increase to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date. Requires the Secretary to publish such increases in the Federal Register at the same time that the social security increases are required to be published.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1997
Authorizes use of the rotunda of the Capitol on October 21, 1997, for a ceremony to allow Members of Congress to greet and receive His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, the 270th Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1997
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to modify the formula for determining the amount of reduced monthly OASDI benefits payable to a spouse, surviving spouse, or parent receiving monthly payments from a Federal or State pension plan.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Authorizes the President to present a gold medal to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to religious understanding and peace. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike duplicate medals in bronze. Authorizes appropriations from the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund, where sales proceeds shall be deposited.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bilirakis, Michael [R-FL-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000463_200.jpg)