United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Battered Women's Testimony Act of 1991 - Directs the State Justice Institute, by grants to or contracts with a single eligible entity, to: (1) collect and analyze information regarding the admissibility and quality of expert testimony on the experiences of battered women offered as part of the defense in criminal cases under State law and regarding sources of, and methods to obtain, funds to pay costs incurred to provide such testimony, particularly in cases involving indigent women defendants; (2) develop training materials to assist battered women, operators of domestic violence shelters, battered women's advocates, and attorneys in using such testimony in appropriate cases and to assist individuals with expertise in the experiences of battered women in developing skills appropriate to providing such testimony; and (3) disseminate such information and training materials and provide related technical assistance to battered women, shelter operators, advocates, attorneys, and individuals providing testimony.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Illegal Dumping Prevention Act of 1991 - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to authorize the seizure and forfeiture of vessels illegally dumping wastes into ocean waters.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
United States One Dollar Coin Act of 1991 - Amends Federal currency law to prescribe the color and content of one-dollar coins. Mandates that the obverse side of the one dollar coin have a design recognizing America's veterans. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to cease regular production of one-dollar Federal Reserve notes by a specified date (except for such quantities as are required to meet collectors' needs). Mandates that the seigniorage of the new one-dollar coins be used to offset the reverse seigniorage resulting from the destruction of Susan B. Anthony dollar coins in Government storage.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Joint Manufacturing Opportunities Act of 1991 - Declares that the conduct of any individual in making or performing a contract to carry out a flexible manufacturing network shall not be deemed illegal per se under the antitrust laws, but rather shall be judged on its reasonableness considering all relevant factors affecting competition. Defines "flexible manufacturing network" (FMN) as any group of activities, including attempting to make, making, or performing a contract, carried out by two or more persons for the purpose of: (1) purchasing raw materials, services, or facilities to jointly manufacture and distribute a product; (2) collecting and sharing information on production costs and manufacturing capacity necessary to prepare a bid to sell a product jointly manufactured by such persons, or information applicable to the marketing of such product; or (3) sharing information on manufacturing and distribution capacity for the purpose of jointly manufacturing and distributing such product. Excludes activities not reasonably required to carry out a flexible manufacturing network. Limits recovery under the Clayton Act to actual damages (for private suits), the total damage sustained (in suits by States), interest calculated at a specified rate, and costs, including a reasonable attorney's fee, if such claim results from conduct that is within the scope of a notification that has been filed under this Act for an FMN and is filed after such notification becomes effective. Specifies that interest shall be awarded on the damages involved for the period between the date of injury and the date of judgment, unless the court finds that such award is unjust under the circumstances. Limits recovery under this Act if the challenged conduct of a person defending against a claim is not in violation of any decree or order entered or issued after the effective date of this Act. Provides for the award of costs and attorney's fees. Establishes procedures for the filing of a notice with the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission of a written agreement to carry out an FMN disclosing: (1) the identities of the parties; and (2) the nature and objectives of such FMN. Exempts specified information from disclosure. Provides for: (1) publication of such notice in the Federal Register; (2) withdrawal of notice; and (3) judicial review of any action by the Attorney General or the Commission with respect to notification filed under this Act. Restricts the admissibility of information disclosed or published under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to revise its application. Revises minimum wage and maximum hours provisions (as well as provisions for special industry committees for American Samoa) to apply such requirements specifically to employers of employees who in any workweek are engaged in industrial homework and who are either engaged in commerce or in the production of goods in commerce (in addition to any other employees so employed). Revises the scope of the application of requirements relating to: (1) wage rate orders for employers in American Samoa; (2) prohibition of sex discrimination in wage rates; and (3) handicapped workers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Domestic Violence Housing Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to: (1) increase FY 1991 and 1992 budget authority for section 8 certificate and voucher assistance; (2) require that such increases be used to assist families affected by domestic violence, including specified shared housing arrangements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Establishes the Modular Construction Commission to: (1) carry out through the National Evaluation Service of the Council of American Building Officials a modular regulatory construction program; (2) review and propose related regulations; (3) review and approve the program budget; and (4) review and resolve administrative complaints. States that the program shall consist of: (1) codes and standards; (2) approval of buildings, components, and systems; (3) monitoring of compliance assurance programs; (4) selection and monitoring of evaluation and inspection agencies; and (5) certification and labeling of modular construction.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the personal exemption for a dependent child who has not attained age 18 from $2,000 to $3,500. Provides for rounding inflation adjustments to tax tables to the nearest multiple of $10 (currently rounded to the next lowest multiple of $50).
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the luxury excise tax parts for accessories installed for use of passenger vehicles by disabled individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Makes permanent a provision of the Internal Revenue Code that allows the income tax deduction of 25 percent of the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) expert testimony concerning the nature and effect of domestic violence, including descriptions of the experiences of battered women, should be admissible when offered in a State court by a defendent in a criminal case to assist the trier of fact in understanding the behavior, beliefs, or perceptions of such defendent in a domestic relationship in which abuse has occurred; (2) a witness should be qualified to testify as an expert witness based upon her or his knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, and should be permitted to testify in the form of an opinion or otherwise; and (3) a domestic relationship about which such expert testimony should be admissible includes relationships between spouses, former spouses, cohabitants, former cohabitants, partners or former partners, and between persons who are in, or have been in, a dating courtship, or intimate relationship.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) all Arab nations should enter into direct negotiations with Israel to recognize Israel, end the economic boycott against Israel, and end the state of belligerency with Israel; and (2) the United States should use all available means to influence and encourage the Arab states which were allied with it in the Gulf War to achieve those objectives.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Privacy for Consumers and Workers Act - Requires employers who engage in electronic monitoring to provide each affected employee with prior written notice describing specified aspects of the electronic monitoring directly affecting the employee. Requires employers to notify prospective employees at personal interviews or meetings of existing forms of electronic monitoring which may directly affect them and, upon request, provide them with the written notice provided to employees. Requires employers to provide affected employees with some form of visual or aural notice that indicates that electronic monitoring is taking place, at periodic intervals unless the monitoring is continuous during each of the employee's shifts. Requires employers to provide affected customers with some form of visual or aural notice, at periodic intervals, indicating that telephone service observation is taking place. Requires employers to permit employees or their authorized agents to have access to all personal data obtained by electronic monitoring of their work. Prohibits employers from collecting personal data on an employee which is not relevant to the employee's work performance. Prohibits employers from disclosing personal data obtained by electronic monitoring to any person or business except to the individual employee to whom that data pertains or without the employee's prior written consent, unless disclosure would be: (1) to the employer's officers and employees who need it to perform their duties; (2) to a law enforcement agency for a criminal investigation or prosecution; or (3) pursuant to a proper court order. Prohibits employers from using personal data obtained by electronic monitoring as the exclusive basis for individual employee performance evaluation or disciplinary action, unless the employee is given an opportunity to review the data within a reasonable time after it is obtained. Prohibits employers from using personal data or collective data obtained by electronic monitoring as the sole basis for setting production quotas or work performance expectations. Prohibits employers from maintaining, collecting, using, or disseminating personal data obtained by electronic monitoring which describes how an employee exercises First Amendment rights, unless such use is: (1) expressly authorized by statute or by the employee; or (2) pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity. Sets forth the following enforcement provisions: (1) civil penalties; (2) injunctive actions by the Secretary of Labor; and (3) private civil actions. Prohibits waiver of rights and procedures provided by this Act, unless such waiver is part of a written settlement by the parties to a pending action or complaint. Directs the Secretary of Labor to issue rules and regulations to carry out this Act within six months. Makes this Act inapplicable to otherwise permissible electronic monitoring by law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exemption for qualified small issue industrial bonds (bonds issued to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property) through 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Denies entry to Federal lands to persons found guilty of spiking trees on such lands. Amends the Federal criminal code to increase fines and terms of imprisonment for tree spiking. Sets forth criminal penalties for placing hazardous or injurious devices on non-Federal lands to obstruct or harass timber harvesting. Specifies that provisions concerning tree spiking or other hazardous or injurious devices to obstruct timber harvesting do not affect the extraction of renewable materials from trees or any tree stand, platform, or man-made support intended for recreational or hunting purposes. Directs the Attorney General to pay rewards of up to $5,000 for information leading to a conviction with respect to a violation under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Clean and Fair Election Act of 1991 - Title I: House of Representatives Election Campaign Spending Limits and Benefits - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to set forth: (1) primary and general election filing requirements; (2) primary ($300,000) and runoff ($110,000) expenditure limits (adjusted annually for inflation); (3) threshold contribution requirements; (4) personal and general election ($550,000, with specified adjustments) expenditure limits; (5) the treatment for certain legal and accounting expenditures; (6) the benefits for eligible candidates (including certain broadcast media and mailing rates); (7) guidelines for the use of voter communication vouchers issued to eligible candidates to defray communications expenditures. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to maintain a House of Representatives Election Campaign Account as a separate account in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to be used in redeeming voter communication vouchers. Prescribes the procedures by which voter communication voucher requests by eligible candidates will be accommodated. Directs the Federal Election Commission to examine and audit after each general election the campaign accounts of ten percent (randomly selected) of all candidates for office in the House of Representatives to determine compliance with expenditure limitations and conditions of eligibility. Sets forth sanctions for noncompliance, including specified repayment amounts. Sets forth criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Prescribes participation by the Commission in judicial proceedings regarding violations of this Act. Requires the Commission to report to the House of Representatives after each general election on: (1) candidate expenditures; (2) aggregate amount of voter communication vouchers; (3) the status of repayments; and (4) the balances remaining in the two campaign funds under this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Reduces the limitations on contributions per election: (1) from $1,000 to $500 for individuals; and (2) from $5,000 to $1,000 for nonparty multicandidate political committees. Prohibits a candidate from accepting more than 20 percent of the general election spending limits in nonparty multicandidate political committee (PAC) contributions. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to set forth guidelines for: (1) the percentage of the lowest unit charge to be made by a broadcasting licensee to a candidate for (100 percent before a primary or runoff, 50 percent before a general) non-preemption of candidate use of a broadcasting station. Requires broadcast licensees to accept voter communications voucher from a candidate and provide broadcast time. Directs the Commission to take a random sampling to evaluate licensee compliance with the requirements of this Act. Amends Federal postal law to mandate reduced rates for certain House of Representatives candidates. Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prescribe intended expenditure reporting requirements for candidates for the the House of Representatives who: (1) have not been certified to receive certain benefits (lowered broadcast media or mailing rates, and voter communication vouchers); (2) make independent expenditures over $10,000 during any general, primary, or runoff election period; or (3) during the election cycle expend more than ten percent of the general election expenditure limit from personal funds. Requires the Commission to transmit such reports to the Secretary of the Senate within two working days of receipt. Title II: Expenditures and Contributions - Subtitle A: Independent Expenditures - Defines the scope of cooperative expenditures and declares that cooperative expenditures shall not be treated as independent expenditures. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to revise the equal broadcast time notification requirements for persons who reserve broadcast time through the payment of certain independent expenditures. Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prescribe disclosure requirements for certain broadcast communications paid for through independent expenditures. Subtitle B: Provisions Relating to Soft Money of Political Parties - Limits the amount of expenditures which a State party committee may make with respect to the general election campaign of a candidate for President affiliated with such party. Subjects FECA reporting requirements any amount received or expended by party committees with respect to any Federal election. States that the limitations on contributions under the Act applies to transfers between and among political committees. Sets forth limitations on fundraising activities of Federal candidates and officeholders. Requires party national committees and congressional campaign committees to report all receipts and disbursements during certain periods whether or not they are connected to a Federal election. Subtitle C: Contributions - Sets limitations on contributions which may be accepted from a PAC by either a party congressional campaign committee or a party national committee. Revises the guidelines for contributions made through intermediaries and conduits on behalf of a particular candidate. Declares that contributions made by dependents not of voting age shall be treated as having been made by the individual upon whom they are dependent. Authorizes the retention by a candidate of certain excess contributions for future campaign purposes. Title III: Amendments to Internal Revenue Code - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the checkoff amount for the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Permits a tax credit for up to $100 of contributions to certain qualifying House of Representatives candidates. Provides that candidates shall not be eligible for payments from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund if they have received or solicited funds which are not subject to the reporting requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. Title IV: Miscellaneous - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit an incumbent in or candidate for Federal office from establishing or controlling a political committee (other than the candidate's authorized committee, or a party committee). Proscribes fraudulent solicitation of political contributions. Authorizes appropriations for the "check-off" education program (a public education program regarding participation in the income tax check-off for presidential and congressional election campaigns).
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility and Home Health Benefit Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) eliminate the requirement that extended care services be provided within a certain period following hospitalization in order to be covered under the Hospital Insurance Program; and (2) cover nursing care and home health aide services provided or needed on an intermittent basis.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Recycled Paper Procurement Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to provide that a requirement that federally-procured items over $10,000 be composed of the highest percentage of recovered materials practicable shall not apply (with respect to the $10,000 amount) to paper procured by the Congress. Requires, by FY 1993, at least 50 percent of the paper purchased by procuring agencies to be recycled paper. Provides that a decision not to procure recycled paper may be made only if such paper: (1) is not available within a reasonable period of time; (2) fails to meet specified performance standards; or (3) is available only at an unreasonable price.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Authorizes the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity to establish a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., on Federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs. Makes the Fraternity solely responsible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of expenses of, the memorial. Prohibits the use of Federal funds for its establishment. Requires the Fraternity to deposit excess funds into the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Requires the Architect of the Capitol to establish and operate a source-separated recycling program for newsprint, paper, plastic, bottles, and aluminum applicable to all offices and facilities within office buildings under the jurisdiction of the U.S. House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) Saddam Hussein and his subordinates should be held legally and financially accountable for the invasion of Kuwait, the brutal treatment of Kuwait, the Kuwaiti people, and allied and U.S. prisoners of war, launching unprovoked SCUD attacks against Israel and Israeli civilians, dumping oil into the ocean, and the destruction of oil fields; and (2) the United Nations should take steps to try such individuals for war crimes following and including the invasion of Kuwait.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Credit Card Grace Period Act of 1991 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act, with regard to any credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan which provides that any credit extended may be repaid during a period beginning on the billing date without a finance charge, to prohibit considering any date before the postmark of the statement as the billing date.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Extends coverage under the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to certain foreign flagships and other vessels. Establishes the Commission on Compliance and Enforcement to study and report to the Congress on specified effects of this Act and problems with compliance and enforcement. Terminates the Commission 30 days after its report.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Requires that, except in specified instances, Federal financial assistance be taken into account when determining losses or bad debts of savings and loans institutions (thus denying income tax deductions for losses or bad debts to the extent Federal assistance has compensated for them).
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Amends provisions of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 relating to Federal Government employment to allow a court to grant the prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney's fee as part of costs. Makes the United States liable for costs the same as a private person. Requires that, when an individual has filed a timely complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, any civil action brought be commenced within a specified time.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act to require the Federal Open Market Committee to consult with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during a specified period preceding the President's submission of the budget. Directs the President to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board). Mandates that any change in the intermediate targets for monetary policy adopted by the Federal Open Market Committee shall be publicly disclosed on the date of its adoption. Prohibits the Comptroller General from auditing written communications among members of the Board including Federal Reserve System personnel with respect to transactions with a foreign central bank, foreign government, or nonprivate international financing organization. Mandates that the estimated receipts and proposed expenditures of the Board and all Federal Reserve Banks be transmitted by the President (without change) with the budget submitted to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Amends Federal armed forces provisions to repeal the social security offset applicable to certain annuities paid to surviving spouses under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) for retired members of the armed forces, to the extent that such offset is due to social security benefits which are based on the surviving spouse's own earnings or self-employment. Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to recompute the existing annuities of certain individuals currently under the SBP or who have become eligible for such annuity by the date of enactment of this Act, in order to determine if such recomputation is more favorable due to changes made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
International Voluntary Family Planning Assistance Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations for international population planning assistance. Earmarks a specified amount of such funds for the United Nations Population Fund if: (1) the Fund maintains such funds in a separate account, without commingling; (2) none of the funds are made available for China; and (3) any agreement to obligate such funds expressly states that the full amount granted by the agreement will be refunded to the United States if U.S. funds are used for family planning in China or abortions in any country. Requires a specified amount of population planning assistance to be used to increase family planning service delivery in countries with large population growth. Prohibits any funds appropriated under this Act from being used for abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1991
Condemns the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) for shooting down a U.S. helicopter and murdering the survivors. Considers the FMLN to be a terrorist organization. Urges that all FMLN representatives, delegates, and staff be expelled from the United States. Calls upon all private organizations in the United States currently financing the FMLN to stop such financing. Demands that the FMLN immediately deliver to the Government of El Salvador for trial the FMLN guerillas implicated in the murder of U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1991
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design and strike a silver commemorative medal for members of the U.S. armed forces who serve in a combat zone in connection with the Persian Gulf conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Deposit Insurance Information Act - Directs the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to: (1) prepare a written summary of the rules and procedures for determining the amount of insurance coverage which is available on the deposit of any depositor at any insured depository institution; and (2) make such summaries available to depository institutions to use as a model form; and (3) require each depository institution to disseminate such summary to depositors according to prescribed guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Establishes the grade of General of the Army, appointments to which shall be made by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Defines the rank and compensation of such grade. Authorizes the President to appoint Generals Colin L. Powell and H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., to that grade.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Individual Retirement Options Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the ten percent penalty tax on early distributions from qualified retirement plans: (1) first-time homebuyer distributions; (2) qualified higher education expenses; and (3) qualified catastrophic illness expenses. Allows an additional deduction for 50 percent of the contributions made to individual retirement plans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Housing for Older Persons Act of 1991 - Amends the Fair Housing Act with regard to the religious organization or private club exemption to: (1) amend the definition of housing for older persons; and (2) make a good faith attempt at compliance a defense against civil money damages.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to exclude the administrative expenses of the old-age, survivor, and disability insurance programs from Federal budget calculations. Exempts such expenses from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Makes technical and related corrections to the Social Security Act and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
![Official portrait of Rep. Bustamante, Albert G. [D-TX-23]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001172_200.jpg)