United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Declares that the Congress: (1) maintains that the standard for the "Made in USA" label should continue to be that a product was all or virtually all made in the United States; and (2) urges the Federal Trade Commission to refrain from lowering the standard at the expense of consumers and jobs in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1997
Independent Commission on Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1997 - 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 July 1998 or 240 days after the appointment of its members (whichever occurs earlier), 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 (including technical and conforming provisions) 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 · 8 May 1997
Lewis and Clark Expedition Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one-dollar and half-dollar coins emblematic of the expedition of Lewis and Clark. Allocates surcharges from coin sales between the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council and the National Park Service for activities associated with the bicentennial commemoration of the expedition.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1997
Commends 25 specified States for their efforts with respect to prison time served by criminal offenders. Encourages all remaining States to adopt legislation to increase the time served by violent felons. Reemphasizes that individuals who commit violent crime should serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1997
Expansion of Portability and Health Insurance Coverage Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish rules governing health plans sponsored by certain associations, including requirements for: (1) certification; (2) sponsors and boards of trustees, and treatment of franchised networks and collectively bargained plans; (3) participation and coverage of employers and individuals and of previously uninsured employees; (4) plan documents, contribution rates, and benefit options; (5) maintenance of reserves, excess-stop loss insurance, and solvency indemnification for plans providing health benefits in addition to health insurance coverage; (6) application and related matters, and notice for voluntary termination; (7) corrective actions and mandatory termination; and (8) special rules for church plans. Revises requirements for the treatment of: (1) single employer arrangements; and (2) certain collectively bargained arrangements. Adds requirements relating to association health plans, with respect to: (1) enforcement; and (2) State responsibilities and cooperation between Federal and State authorities.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Designation of Wilderness Title II: Administrative Provisions America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 1997 - Title I: Designation of Wilderness - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin wilderness areas; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert wilderness areas; (3) the Grand Staircase Wilderness and the Kaiparowits Plateau Wilderness; (4) Escalante Canyon wilderness areas; (5) the Henry Mountains Wilderness; (6) the Dirty Devil River Wilderness; (7) Cedar Mesa wilderness areas; (8) Canyonlands wilderness areas; (9) San Rafael Swell wilderness areas; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin wilderness areas. Title II: Administrative Provisions - Reserves the Federal Government's rights to a quantity of water sufficient for each wilderness area designated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1997
Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit, with exceptions, the transfer of a handgun to, or the possession of a handgun by, an individual who has not attained age 21 (currently, age 18).
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1997
Amends rule XXXII (admission to the floor) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to allow clerks of committees and persons from Member's staffs who have a disability and who have access to the Hall of the House to bring supporting services (including service dogs, wheelchairs, and interpreters) into such area.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1997
Tobacco Subsidy Reduction Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to prohibit the Commodity Credit Corporation from providing Federal crop insurance or reinsurance for tobacco. Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture from providing noninsured crop disaster assistance for tobacco.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1997
Patient Access to Responsible Care Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require a health insurance issuer to: (1) assure that covered items and services are available and accessible to each enrollee; (2) assure the availability and accessibility of emergency services and urgent care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; (3) not require prior authorization for emergency services; and (4) cover emergency and urgent (and related ancillary) services. Requires an issuer offering network coverage to show that enrollees have access to specialized treatment. Regulates network incentive plans. Requires an issuer to: (1) permit each network enrollee to select a personal health professional from participating professionals; (2) cover nonparticipating providers, regulating premiums and cost sharing; (3) avoid undue enrollee burden from care coordination and cost control processes; (4) ensure direct specialist access; (5) provide for continuity of care for those with special needs or a chronic condition; and (6) provide for continued coverage in certain circumstances. Prohibits issuer discrimination on the basis of specified factors against individuals or providers. Prohibits any issuer-professional agreement from restricting the professional from engaging in medical communications with the professional's patient. Sets forth requirements regarding utilization review, an appeals process, and the process by which health professionals and providers become participants. Requires issuers to: (1) disclose certain information to enrollees and prospective enrollees; (2) comply with Federal and State confidentiality laws; (3) meet State solvency-related requirements; and (4) establish a quality improvement program. Requires issuers to comply with this Act regarding group and individual coverage. Declares that the requirements of this Act do not preempt any State law providing equivalent or stricter protections for individuals. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require a group health plan and an issuer offering coverage under such a plan to comply with the requirements of this Act. Declares that this Act does not preempt any State: (1) law providing equivalent or stricter protections for individuals; or (2) cause of action for personal injury or wrongful death damages that provides insurance or administrative services to or for an employee welfare benefit plan maintained to provide health benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that certain provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 relating to transportation of merchandise between U.S. points in other than domestically built or rebuilt and documented vessels and to incineration of hazardous waste at sea (those provisions popularly known as the Jones Act) and related statutes are critically important components of our Nation's economic and military security and should be fully and strongly supported.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to Existing Land Management Laws Title II: Protection for Northwest Ancient Forests, Roadless Areas, and Special Areas Act to Save America's Forests - Title I: Amendments to Existing Land Management Laws - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (National Forest System), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (public lands), the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (National Wildlife Refuge System), the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act (Indian lands), and Federal law relating to forest management on military lands to: (1) provide for native biodiversity conservation; and (2) restrict and prohibit certain logging practices. Title II: Protection for Northwest Ancient Forests, Roadless Areas, and Special Areas - Describes special areas as Federal forest land parcels possessing outstanding biological, scenic, recreational, or cultural values, exemplary on a regional or national level, which may not meet the definitions of Northwest Ancient Forests or roadless areas. Designates specified Special Areas which shall be subject to restrictions on road construction and logging in the following States: (1) Alabama; (2) Alaska; (3) Arizona; (4) Arkansas; (5) California; (6) Colorado; (7) Georgia; (8) Idaho; (9) Illinois; (10) Michigan; (11) Minnesota; (12) Missouri;(13) Montana; (14) New Mexico; (15) North Carolina; (16) Ohio; (17) Oklahoma; (18) Oregon; (19) South Carolina; (20) South Dakota; (21) Tennessee; (22) Texas; (23) Vermont; (24) Virginia; (25) Wisconsin; and (26) Wyoming. Provides for the appointment of a committee of scientists to recommend additional Special Areas. Restricts road construction and logging in Northwest Ancient Forests, Special Areas, and roadless areas on Federal lands.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Medicare Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services of registered dieticians and nutrition professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Veterans Medicare Reimbursement Demonstration Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly carry out a demonstration project, during the three-year period beginning on January 1, 1998, under which the HHS Secretary provides the VA with reimbursement from the Medicare program (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) for health-care services provided to targeted Medicare-eligible veterans in or through selected VA facilities. Provides for: (1) the waiver of certain Medicare requirements in order to carry out the project; and (2) selection of participating VA facilities (requires the VA Secretary to designate up to three geographic service areas from which such facilities are to be selected and to establish a selection plan). Requires at least one facility selected to be in the same catchment area as a military medical facility which was closed pursuant to a defense base closure law. Requires project participation to be voluntary. Directs the VA Secretary to establish requirements for participating veterans. Requires project reimbursement at a rate equal to 95 percent of amounts that would otherwise be payable under the Medicare program if the facility were not a Federal facility, were participating in the project, and imposed charges for such services. Requires reimbursement payments periodically from Medicare trust funds, with an annual Medicare payment limit of $50 million. Requires reductions in such payments when the amount of actual VA medical expenditures for targeted veterans is less than the amount of the maintenance of effort level (as defined under this Act) for such fiscal year. Directs the Secretaries to compare the expenditures made under the project to the expenditures that would have been made for such veterans if the project had not been conducted, and to take appropriate steps if the expenditures under the Medicare program increased as a result of the project. Requires annual audits by the Comptroller General. Requires: (1) an independent entity to undertake an ongoing project evaluation and report results to the Secretaries and appropriate congressional committees; and (2) a report from the Secretaries to the Congress on possible project extension and expansion. Directs the Secretaries to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the feasibility and advisability of establishing a new demonstration project to reimburse the VA Secretary for health care services furnished to targeted Medicare-eligible veterans enrolled in managed health care plans established by such Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Federal Internet Privacy Protection Act of 1997 - Prohibits any Federal agency from making available through the Internet any record with respect to an individual. Permits a civil action to be brought against an agency by an individual suffering harm as a result of any case in which an agency makes or has made available through the Internet a record with respect to the individual (including a case in which a record was made available through the Internet before enactment of this Act).
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income (under the qualified scholarship provisions) certain amounts provided by an employer to the child of an employee.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt multiemployer pension plans from provisions which limit pension benefits to a participant's average compensation for the participant's three highest consecutive years of compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1997
Student Health Insurance Portability Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply health insurance portability, access, and renewability requirements to coverage offered in connection with a college-sponsored health plan as they apply to a group health plan. Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to include coverage under a college-sponsored plan in the definition of "creditable coverage."
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1997
Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate a program for the conduct and support of research and training regarding Parkinson's disease. Directs the Director of the National Institutes of Health to provide for coordination of the program among all the national research institutes conducting Parkinson's research. Requires coordination to include the convening of a research planning conference at least once every two years. Provides for each such conference to prepare and submit to certain congressional committees a report concerning the conference. Requires Core Center Grants to encourage the development of innovative multidisciplinary research and provide training concerning Parkinson's, designating each grant recipient as a Morris K. Udall Center for Research on Parkinson's Disease. Establishes a grant program to support investigators with a proven record of excellence and innovation in Parkinson's research and who demonstrate potential for significant breakthroughs in the understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of Parkinson's. Limits the availability of grants for a period not to exceed five years. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1997
Gun Kingpin Penalty Act - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit a person who does not have a Federal firearms license from shipping or transporting, or conspiring to ship or transport, five or more firearms from a State into another State during any period of 12 consecutive months, with intent to transfer all of such firearms to another unlicensed person. Subjects persons who violate this Act to a fine and imprisonment for at least: (1) three years for a first violation; (2) five years for a second or subsequent violation; (3) 15 years if the violation involves more than 50 firearms; (4) ten years if an illegally transported firearm is subsequently used by the recipient, or by any person within three years, in an offense in which a person is killed or suffers serious bodily injury; and (5) 25 years if the violation involves more than 50 firearms and one of the firearms is subsequently used in such an offense. Prohibits the court from imposing a probationary sentence or suspending the sentence of a person convicted of a violation of this Act, or from making any term of imprisonment imposed for a violation run concurrently with any other term imposed on such person by a U.S. court. Makes specified firearms-related offenses predicate offenses under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to hire and employ 200 personnel to enforce the amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1997
Amends Federal civil service law to include as Federal law enforcement officers eligible under Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees' Retirement System provisions for early retirement (at age 50 after 20 years of Federal service) revenue officers in the Internal Revenue Service, customs inspectors and canine enforcement officers in the U.S. Customs Service, and inspectors in the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 1997 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or local governments. Requires States to grant public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees. Specifies related requirements for public safety employers. Requires the Director the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to issue regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in States that fail to comply with the requirements of this Act. Gives the FMCS the same authority as a State Labor Relations Board (or of the National Labor Relations Board where no such State Board exists) for public safety employers and employees covered by this Act. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such regulations through appropriate State courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
United States Efficient Currency Act of 1997 - Amends Federal currency law to prescribe the color and content of one-dollar coins. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) place certain authorized one-dollar coins into circulation before the government's current inventory of one-dollar coins bearing the likeness of Susan B. Anthony is depleted; and (2) increase capacity at U.S. Mint facilities to a level that permits replacement of one-dollar Federal reserve notes. Prohibits a Federal reserve bank from placing into circulation any one-dollar Federal Reserve note after specified deadlines. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to cease regular production of one-dollar Federal Reserve notes (except for such quantities ordered by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve to meet collectors' needs).
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Mandates the display of the POW-MIA flag on Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Veterans Days, National POW-MIA Recognition Day, and on the last business day before each of the preceding holidays, on the grounds or in the public lobbies of: (1) major military installations as designated by the Secretary of Defense; (2) Federal national cemeteries; (3) the national Korean War Veterans Memorial; (4) the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial; (5) the White House; (6) the official office of the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Director of the Selective Service System; and (7) U.S. Postal Service post offices. Repeals provisions from the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 relating to the display of the POW-MIA flag.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Captive Exotic Animal Protection Act of 1997- Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for knowingly transferring, transporting, or possessing a confined exotic animal for purposes of allowing the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or the collection of a trophy.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Firefighters Pay Fairness Act of 1997 - Amends Federal law to provide that, for Federal fire fighters, the annual rate of basic pay shall be calculated on the basis of 26 administrative biweekly work periods of up to 106 hours each. Prescribes a formula for computing the basic biweekly pay of Federal employees who are not fire fighters but perform fire fighting duties. Extends existing biweekly pay period and pay computation requirements to Federal fire fighters and employees in and under the judicial branch. Removes employees of the District of Columbia government from coverage by such requirements. Repeals the current exception from such requirements for employees on the Isthmus of Panama in the service of the Panama Canal Commission. Requires compensation at time-and-a-half per hour for any hours worked in excess of 106 during a biweekly pay period by fire fighters subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Prescribes basic rates of pay for fire fighters: (1) promoted to a supervisory position; and (2) selected and assigned for training. Adds certain pay retention rights for Federal fire fighters subject to a reduction or termination of a rate of pay established under this Act. Authorizes a Federal agency to pay cash awards of up to five percent of basic pay to fire fighters or other employees performing fire fighting duties who make substantial use of: (1) special skills, such as handling hazardous materials; or (2) a certification or license, such as certification as an emergency medical technician. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to report to the Congress with respect to transition and funding increase plans and regulatory or legislative modifications necessary to prevent diminution in retirement benefits under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Children Health Insurance Access Amendments of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for the guaranteed availability of individual health insurance coverage to uninsured children.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Credit Union Membership Access Act - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to limit Federal credit union membership to one or more groups each of which has a common bond within such group.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Pension Access and Coverage Subtitle A: Improved Access to Individual Retirement Savings Subtitle B: Improved Fairness in Retirement Plan Benefits Subtitle C: Improving Retirement Plan Coverage Subtitle D: Simplifying Plan Requirements Title II: Security Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: ERISA Enforcement Title III: Portability Title IV: Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection Subtitle A: Pension Reform Subtitle B: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs Subtitle C: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements Subtitle D: Spousal Consent Required for Distributions From Section 401(k) Plans Subtitle E: Women's Pension Toll-Free Phone Number Title V: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments Retirement Security Act of 1997 - Title I: Pension Access and Coverage - Subtitle A: Improved Access to Individual Retirement Savings - Chapter 1: Contributions To Individual Retirement Plans Through Payroll Deductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to require a private contractor with the Secretary of Labor to establish a system under which: (1) eligible employees, through employer payroll deductions, may make contributions to individual retirement plans; and (2) amounts in the individual retirement plans are invested according to certain requirements. (Sec. 103) Provides for: (1) contributions to individual retirement plans; (2) investment options; (3) accounting and information; (4) administrative costs; (5) fiduciary responsibilities, liability and penalties, bonding, and investigative authority; and (6) selection of contractor. (Sec. 108) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the Secretary of Labor to design and award the contract for such system; and (2) the contractor to begin operations. Chapter 2: Nonrefundable Tax Credit for Contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts - Amends IRC to allow a nonrefundable tax credit for a portion of contributions to individual retirement plans, calculated according to a specified scale. Chapter 3: Expanded Individual Retirement Accounts to Increase Coverage and Portability - Subchapter A: IRA Deduction - Raises the income limitations for the individual retirement account (IRA) tax deduction, with a corresponding adjustment to the formula for the phaseout of such limitations. (Sec. 122) Prescribes an inflation adjustment for the IRA deductible amount and income limitations. Subchapter B: Distributions and Investments - Allows the use of distributions from individual retirement plans, without additional tax, to: (1) purchase first homes; (2) pay higher education expenses; or (3) pay financially devastating medical expenses. (Sec. 132) Allows the use without penalty of distributions from certain plans during periods of unemployment. (Sec. 133) Requires that contributions to individual retirement plans (other than special individual retirement accounts) be held for at least five years in certain cases before they may be distributed without specified tax consequences. Chapter 4: Periodic Pension Benefits Statements - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) with respect to periodic pension benefits statements in cases of defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, and multiemployer plans. Subtitle B: Improved Fairness in Retirement Plan Benefits - Amends IRC to require a specified minimum employer contribution to simple retirement accounts. Provides for an employer option to suspend contributions with 30-days' notice. Amends ERISA with respect to fiduciary duties in the case of such accounts. (Sec. 152) Amends IRC to set forth various nondiscrimination rules for qualified cash or deferred arrangements and matching contributions. (Sec. 153) Increases from $75,000 to $80,000 per year specified compensation criteria for a highly compensated employee. Excludes specified categories of employees with respect to age, short length of service, and part-time service from the meaning of highly compensated employee. Subtitle C: Improving Retirement Plan Coverage - Allows a tax credit for up to a maximum $500 of the qualified start-up costs of eligible small employers in establishing a qualified pension plan or qualified employer payroll deduction system. (Sec. 162) Limits annual benefits under governmental and multiemployer plans to $90,000, eliminating the alternative 100 percent of high three-year average compensation limitation. Exempts from the $7,500 or one third of includible compensation limit for annual benefits certain excess benefit arrangements under deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Prohibits such arrangements from being taken into account in determining whether any other plan is an eligible deferred compensation plan. (Sec. 163) Declares that compensation deferred under a mirror plan shall not be taken into account in applying certain limits (with respect to deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations) to compensation deferred under any other deferred compensation plan. (Sec. 164) Sets forth special rules to treat contributions by self-employed individuals as matching contributions. (Sec. 165) Amends specified Federal law relating to Federal employees to allow immediate participation in the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal employees by eliminating certain waiting periods. (Sec. 166) Amends the IRC to revise the limits on contributions excluded from the calculation of non-deductible contributions for purposes of the tax on non-deductible contributions to a qualified employer plan. (Sec. 167) Excludes from gross income any workers' compensation received by former police officers or fire fighters for heart disease or hypertension. Subtitle D: Simplifying Plan Requirements - Amends IRC and ERISA to set a full funding limitation for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 172) Eliminates IRC partial termination rules for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 173) Revises IRC nondiscrimination and minimum participation rules with respect to governmental plans. (Sec. 174) Eliminates specified ERISA requirements for plan descriptions and for filing of summary plan descriptions and descriptions of material modifications to a plan. (Sec. 175) Replaces the 150 percent of current liability factor in the calculation of the full-funding limit with an incremental scale from 155 percent in 1998 to 170 percent in 2001, followed by zero in 2002 and succeeding years. (Sec. 176) Directs the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Labor to expand their efforts to examine existing guidance regarding notice, recordkeeping, and operational requirements for retirement plans, in order to permit the use of new technologies by plan sponsors and administrators in ways which maintain the protection of the rights of participants and beneficiaries. Title II: Security - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Amends ERISA to provide investment protection for specified plans that include qualified cash or deferred arrangements under IRC ("401(k) plans") by setting limitations on investment in employer securities and employer real property by cash or deferred arrangements. Provides a transition rule for plans holding excess securities or property. (Sec. 202) Applies an ERISA requirement for annual, detailed investment reports to certain IRC 401(k) plans. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in prescribing regulations for required information in such reports, to consider including specified types of information. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the extent to which pension plans invest in collectibles; and (2) whether such investments present a risk to the pension security of the participants and beneficiaries of such plans. (Sec. 204) Amends IRC to prohibit qualified employer plans from making loans through credit cards and other intermediaries. (Sec. 205) Increases the amounts of multiemployer plan benefits guaranteed under ERISA. (Sec. 206) Increases the maximum amount of the civil penalty which may be assessed administratively for certain prohibited transactions. (Sec. 207) Amends ERISA with respect to substantial owner benefits to revise the phase-in of guarantee and the allocation of assets. (Sec. 208) Directs the Secretary of Labor to report annually to the President and the Congress on plans from which residual assets were distributed to employers (reversion report). (Sec. 209) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should: (1) review existing correction mechanisms to determine whether modifications might facilitate additional utilization by sponsors, improve voluntary compliance, and hasten the correction of pension plans; (2) consider whether additional means of addressing nonegregious violations should be explored; and (3) make appropriate legislative recommendations. Subtitle B: ERISA Enforcement - Amends ERISA enforcement provisions to repeal a limited scope audit requirement for employee pension benefit plans. Requires an accountant, in offering an opinion in the case of an employee pension benefit plan, to rely, to the extent consistent with generally accepted auditing standards, on the work of any independent public accountant of any bank or similar institution or insurance carrier that holds assets or processes transactions of the employee pension benefit plan, provided that such bank, institution, or insurance carrier is regulated, supervised, and subject to periodic examination by a State or Federal agency. (Sec. 212) Sets forth additional ERISA requirements for qualified public accountants. (Sec. 213) Amends ERISA and the IRC to exempt from the prohibition against assignment or alienation of an accrued pension benefit offsets for certain civil and criminal judgments against fiduciaries. Changes from mandatory to discretionary the imposition and amount of civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibilities. Title III: Portability - Amends ERISA and the IRC to provide for faster vesting of employer matching contributions. (Sec. 302) Revises certain restrictions on distributions from IRC 401(k) plans. (Sec. 303) Amends ERISA and IRC with respect to an accrued benefit not to be decreased by plan amendment to revise the treatment of transfers between defined contribution plans. (Sec. 304) Amends ERISA rules requiring transfer of benefits of missing participants to direct the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to prescribe similar rules for multiemployer plans that terminate. Requires transfer of missing participants' plan benefits to the PBGC by certain plans not otherwise subject to ERISA enforcement provisions. Title IV: Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection - Subtitle A: Pension Reform - Makes certain new rules for pension integration under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 applicable to all existing accrued benefits. (Sec. 401) Amends IRC to: (1) disallow integration for simplified employee pensions; and (2) provide for eventual repeal of certain pension integration rules. (Sec. 402) Sets forth rules regarding the application of minimum coverage requirements with respect to separate lines of business. (Sec. 403) Amends IRC and ERISA with respect to division of pension benefits upon divorce, at the former spouse's election, to deem any State divorce decree to be a domestic relations order specifying that half of the marital share of the participant's accrued benefit is to be provided to such former spouse. (Sec. 404) Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (RRA) to entitle divorced spouses to railroad retirement annuities independent of the employee's actual entitlement. Subtitle B: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs - Amends RRA to extend Tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former spouses pursuant to divorce agreements. (Sec. 412) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to survivor annuities for widows, widowers, and former spouses of Federal employees who die before attaining the age for deferred annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). (Sec. 413) Amends Federal law relating to the armed forces to terminate a two-tier annuity computation and social security offset under the military survivor benefit plan. (Sec. 414) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to payment of lump-sum benefits to former spouses of Federal employees under CSRS and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Subtitle C: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements - Modifies ERISA and IRC requirements for joint and survivor annuities to provide for an alternative joint and two-thirds survivor annuity payable while both the participant and the spouse are alive. Subtitle D: Spousal Consent Required for Distributions From Section 401(k) Plans - Amends IRC to require spousal consent for distributions from section 401(k) plans. Subtitle E: Women's Pension Toll-Free Phone Number - Directs the Secretary of Labor to contract with an independent organization to create a women's pension toll-free phone number and contact. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments - Sets forth dates for adoption of plan amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Historic Homeownership Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to a certified historic home which has been substantially rehabilitated and which is owned by the taxpayer and used as his or her principal residence. Allows the credit for such expenditures to be taken by a purchaser of the rehabilitated home. Permits, in lieu of the credit, a historic rehabilitation mortgage credit certificate, which shall be transferred to a lender in exchange for a reduction in the rate of interest on the loan secured by the building.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1997 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army or Naval Transport Service, during World War II constituted active military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge under such Act to each merchant marine member whose qualified service warrants such a discharge. Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee for any benefit application of a member possessing such qualified service.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Research on Lupus Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus Lupus Research and Care Amendments of 1997 - Title I: Research on Lupus - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute with respect to lupus. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate such activities with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of Health; and (2) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, lupus, including research to determine the reasons underlying the elevated prevalence of the disease among African-American and other women. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus - Mandates grants for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with lupus and their families. Regulates fees imposed by grantees on service recipients. Authorizes technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: School Construction Assistance Program Title II: General Provisions Partnership to Rebuild America's Schools Act of 1997 - Title I: School Construction Assistance Program - Part 1: Program Authorized - Establishes a program to provide Federal funds to help States and local school districts finance the repair, renovation, modernization, and construction of their school facilities. (Sec. 104) Makes appropriations and specifies their allocation. Part 2: Grants to States - Provides for allocation of funds for formula grants to States by the Secretary of Education, on a proportional basis similar to that for Basic Grants for disadvantaged students under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) eligible State agencies; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) period for project initiation; (5) selection of localities and projects; (6) State applications; (7) amount of Federal subsidy; (8) separate funds or accounts; (9) prudent investment; and (10) State reports. Part 3: Direct Grants to Local Educational Agencies - Provides for direct grants both formula and competitive) to local educational agencies (LEAs) by the Secretary of Education. (Sec. 121) Makes eligible for grants the LEAs with the largest numbers of children aged five through 17 from families living below the poverty level. Makes LEAs for Hawaii and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ineligible for such grants. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) grantees; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) redistribution of funds; (5) local applications; (6) formula grants; (7) competitive grants; (8) amount of Federal subsidy; (9) separate funds or accounts; (10) prudent investment; and (11) local reports. Title II: General Provisions - Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) technical employees; (2) wage rates; (3) no liability of the Federal Government; and (4) consultation with Secretary of the Treasury by the Secretary of Education.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Amends the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor Act of 1984 to extend the Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission to the year 2004.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Child Safety Lock Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to define (firearm) "locking device." Makes it unlawful for a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun without a locking device or a specified related warning, with exceptions for law enforcement and governmental entities. Sets forth civil penalties (in addition to any administrative penalties) for related violations, including suspension or loss of license.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1997 - Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund - Establishes in the Treasury the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Specifies that any individual who has a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection shall receive $125,000 from amounts available in the Fund if the individual meets one of the following conditions: (1) has a blood-clotting disorder and was treated with blood-clotting agents between July 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987; (2) is the lawful spouse of such individual or the former lawful spouse and was the lawful spouse of the individual at any time after a date within such period on which the individual was treated; or (3) acquired the HIV infection through perinatal transmission from a parent who is such an individual. Requires that the following conditions be met with respect to such individual: (1) the individual submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services written medical documentation that the individual has an HIV infection; (2) a petition for payment be filed with the Secretary by or on behalf of such individual; and (3) that the Secretary determine that the claim meets the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 105) Specifies that any right under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable. Sets limits regarding the number of claims per victim. (Sec. 106) Prohibits the Secretary from making any payment with respect to any petition filed under this Act unless the petition is filed within three years after the enactment of this Act. Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs - Prohibits a settlement payment from being considered income or resources in determining a class member's eligibility for, or the amount of: (1) medical assistance under the Medicaid program; or (2) benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program. Defines the terms: (1) "class member"; and (2) "settlement payment."
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Railway Labor Act to apply its provisions regarding railway labor practices to U.S. air carrier flight operations (excluding ground operations performed by non-flight crew members) conducted in whole or in part outside of the United States and their flight crew members who perform their duties in whole or in part outside of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Safe and Sober Streets Act of 1997 - Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of the funds authorized for Federal aid highway programs for FY 2001, and ten percent of such amounts for subsequent fiscal years, from any State that has not enacted and is not enforcing a law that considers as intoxicated an individual who has an alcohol concentration level of 0.08 percent or greater while operating a motor vehicle in such State. Allows funds withheld from a State during FY 2001 to be available for up to three fiscal years after such date (to allow a State to meet such requirement within such period), but allows no grace period with respect to funds withheld during the subsequent fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the expensing (of up to $500,000) and amortization (of the remaining amount over a 60-month period) of qualified environmental remediation expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the post-1987 reduction in the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides, beginning in 1999, for cost-of-living adjustments in the State ceiling on such bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
NAFTA Accountability Act - Requires assessment of the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), renegotiation of certain NAFTA provisions, and withdrawal from NAFTA unless specified conditions are met and certified to. Sets forth conditions for continuing U.S. participation in NAFTA, which must be met before the end of 1998. Requires certifications by certain U.S. officials with respect to NAFTA, relating to: (1) overall trade balance between each NAFTA Party (United States, Canada, and Mexico) (by the Secretary of Commerce); (2) currency values (by the Secretary of the Treasury); (3) gains in U.S. jobs and living standards (by the Secretary of Labor); (4) health and environmental standards, with respect to food imports and to U.S.-Mexico border areas (by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Food and Drug Administration, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency); (5) flow of illegal drugs from Mexico and Canada (by the Attorney General); (6) NAFTA Party democracy and human freedoms (by the President); (7) U.S. agriculture (by the Secretary of Agriculture); and (8) compliance with U.S. transportation safety standards by Mexican commercial trucks or buses coming into the United States (by the Secretary of Transportation). Requires the President to renegotiate, in specified ways, the terms of NAFTA to: (1) correct trade deficits, currency distortions, loss of U.S. jobs, and agricultural tariff and quota provisions; and (2) ensure the safety of the public health and the environment, provide effective drug interdiction, and ensure compliance with certain U.S. transportation standards. Directs the President to consult regularly with the Congress regarding such renegotiations and certifications. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative to consult with appropriate congressional committees in developing technical and conforming amendments that may be required to carry out this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that until the conditions set by this Act are met: (1) the President should not engage in negotiations to expand NAFTA to include other countries; and (2) fast-track authority should not be renewed with respect to the approval of any such NAFTA expansion.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Ovarian Cancer Research and Information Amendments of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for research on ovarian cancer. Specifies material to be included in ovarian cancer information and education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1997
Aviation Safety Protection Act of 1997 - Amends Federal transportation law to establish a whistleblower protection program for airline employees providing air safety information. Prohibits air carriers, contractors, and subcontractors from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee as to pay, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee: (1) is about to provide or has provided to the Federal Government information relating to air safety; or (2) is about to file or has filed a proceeding, or testified, or otherwise participated in a proceeding relating to air safety. Sets forth a Department of Labor complaint procedure for persons who believe they have been discharged or discriminated against in violation of this Act. Provides for award of attorney's fees of up to $5,000 to a prevailing employer for any such complaint found frivolous or brought in bad faith. Specifies civil penalties for violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Morris K. Udall Wilderness Act of 1997 - Designates specified lands in Alaska as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Adoption Promotion Act of 1997 - Amends the Social Security Act with respect to State plans for foster care and adoption assistance to: (1) revise the requirements, as applied to cases of child abuse, for mandatory reasonable efforts under the plan to eliminate the need to remove a child from the child's home; and (2) make it possible for the child to return home, as a prerequisite to placing a child in foster care. (Sec. 3) Provides for earlier status reviews and permanency hearings, notice of reviews and hearings, and opportunity to be heard. (Sec. 5) Requires a State to initiate proceedings to terminate parental rights for children under age ten who have been in foster care under State responsibility for 18 months. (Sec. 6) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) report and make recommendations to specified congressional committees on the extent to which children in foster care are placed in the care of a relative (kinship care); and (2) establish an advisory panel to review such report. (Sec. 7) Authorizes use of the parent locator service in termination of parental rights proceedings. (Sec. 8) Instructs the Secretary to: (1) develop a set of outcome measures to assess the performance of States in operating child protection programs; and (2) report annually to the Congress on the performance of each State on each outcome measure. (Sec. 9) Increases from 10 to 15 the authorized number of State child protection demonstration projects. (Sec. 10) Prescribes technical assistance guidelines for the Secretary to help States and local communities to reach their targets for increased numbers of adoptions and alternative permanent placements for children in foster care. (Sec. 11) Directs the Secretary to make bonus grants to States for the number of foster child adoptions and special needs adoptions that exceed the base number of such adoptions for the fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Increases the salaries of the Chief Justice and associate Supreme Court justices of the United States and the judges of the United States courts of appeals, the United States district courts, and the United States Court of International Trade by 9.6 percent. Requires future adjustments in judicial salaries to equal the percentage by which General Schedule pay rates are adjusted (currently, the percentage change in the Employment Cost Index).
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