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United States · Official source
2,662 records where Rep. Bustamante, Albert G. [D-TX-23] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 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 · 24 January 1991
Radiation Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to affirm State authority to regulate the disposal of certain low-level radioactive waste for which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require disposal in a licensed facility.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1991
Garnishment Equalization Act of 1991 - Provides for the treatment of Federal pay in the same manner as non-Federal pay with respect to garnishment.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1991
Designates June 10 through 16, 1991, as Pediatric AIDS Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1991
Line-Item Rescission Act of 1989 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to allow the President to transmit to both Houses of the Congress, for expedited consideration, one or more special messages proposing to rescind all or part of any item of budget authority provided in an appropriation bill. Requires that such special message be transmitted on the same calendar day the President approves the appropriation bill and be accompanied by a draft bill or joint resolution that would, if enacted, rescind the budget authority proposed to be rescinded. Sets forth House and Senate procedures for the expedited consideration of such a proposal. Requires the item of budget authority proposed to be rescinded to be made available for obligation unless both Houses adopt the bill rescinding such item within 60 days.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1991
Authorizes the appointment of chiropractors as commissioned officers in the Army, Navy, or Air Force Medical Service Corps. Provides special pay to chiropractic officers on active duty for not less than one year. Increases such special pay with service. Authorizes the payment of additional special pay for any 12-month period during which such an officer is not undergoing chiropractic internship training, with appropriate increases for years of service. Requires such an officer, to receive such additional special pay, to execute a written agreement to remain on duty for no less than one year. Authorizes the Secretary of the military department concerned to terminate the payment of such additional special pay at any time, with an appropriate refund required from the officer concerned for any period paid but unserved. Requires an officer who voluntarily terminates service for a period for which a special payment was made to refund the proper amount to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1991
Designates April 9, 1991 and 1992, as National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 1991
Designates May 1991, as Go Camping America Month.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1991
Establishes a Federal Interagency Task Force on the Education of Federally-Connected Dependents to review education programs in certain school districts receiving Impact Aid. Requires such review to include specified considerations about the funding, operation, and priorities of the Impact Aid program, with special determinations concerning military dependents and children residing on Indian lands. Directs the Task Force to report to specified Federal officials and to the Congress. Terminates the Task Force five years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1991
Amends Federal law relating to impact aid to increase the minimum local contribution rate for local educational agencies for which the boundaries of the school districts are coterminous with the boundaries of military installations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1991
Rape and Incest Victims' Choice Resolution - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Federal Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) funding should be available for the abortion of pregnancies resulting from rape or incest if such acts, considering the physical and mental state of the women involved, are reported promptly.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
National Energy Policy Act of 1991 - Title I: Provisions Related To Fuel Economy Standards - Amends the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to prescribe minimum average fuel economy standards for passenger and non-passenger automobiles manufactured in model years 1996 through 2000, and 2001 and beyond. Requires a 20 percent increase in average fuel economy over model year 1988 by 2000, and a 40 percent increase thereafter. Prescribes guidelines under which the Secretary of Transportation may consider petitions to modify such standards. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (the Administrator) to conduct an ongoing study of the accuracy of fuel economy testing of passenger automobiles as compared to actual performance under average driving conditions. Requires the Administrator to report study results annually to certain congressional committees. Requires the Secretary of Energy to annually distribute at least 100 fuel economy data booklets to each dealer, and as many as are additionally requested. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to report to the Congress the results of a National Academy of Sciences: (1) review of the current state of research and development in the fuel economy of light trucks and passenger automobiles; and (2) assessment of the remaining potential for improving their fuel efficiency and reducing their energy consumption. Doubles the civil penalties for repeated violations of average fuel economy standards. Title II: Other Provisions Related to Energy Conservation and Provisions Related to Energy Research and Development - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to provide that the rates allowed to be charged by a State-regulated electric utility shall be such that its investments in and expenditures for energy conservation, energy efficiency resources, and other demand side management measures are at least as profitable as its investments in and expenditures for the construction of new generation facilities. Requires the Secretary of Energy to report to the Congress and the President regarding a survey of State rules and policies under which State regulatory authorities: (1) require or permit gas and electric utilities to recover their investments in end-use energy efficiency improvements and their lost net revenues from the reduced energy sales caused by such improvements; and (2) assign a positive dollar value to environmental costs and benefits when evaluating gas and electric utilities' resource planning and acquisition processes. Requires such report to evaluate to what extent each State has adopted regulatory and incentive policies to ensure that end-use energy efficiency improvements will compete on equal terms with additional energy production for gas and electric utilities' future investments in energy supply. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996 for: (1) energy conservation; (2) solar and alternative energy; (3) enhanced oil recovery; and (4) fuel cells. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize appropriations for the alternative fuels bus program from for FY 1992 through 1996. Directs the Secretary of Energy to provide funding for the purchase of alternative-fueled vehicles by State and local government agencies as well as by private entities. Sets forth a percentage schedule for Federal purchase of alternative-fueled vehicles. Requires the President to report annually to the Congress on implementation of the alternative-fueled vehicle purchase program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996 for: (1) energy conservation programs for schools and hospitals; and (2) the weatherization assistance program. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a revolving loan fund for loans to Federal agencies to implement the Federal energy management program. Requires loan recipients to give priority to reducing the use of refined petroleum products. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996. Title III: Provisions Related to Increased Petroleum Production Capacity - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to direct the Secretary of Energy to: (1) take expedited measures so that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will have an increased petroleum storage capacity for one billion barrels of petroleum product by September 30, 1996 (including the acquisition and leasing of private capacity); and (2) continue acquisition, transportation, storage, and injection activities until the quantity of petroleum product in the Reserve is two billion barrels by the end of FY 2002. Directs the President to report to the Congress on Western Hemisphere cooperation in energy production and conservation. Title IV: Provisions Related to Duties and Taxes - Amends the Additional U.S. Notes to chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to direct the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy to determine offset amounts (the difference between $16 and any lower weighted average international price of a barrel of crude petroleum), according to prescribed guidelines. Authorizes the President to exempt petroleum goods from any Western Hemisphere country from offset amounts if the President considers that the exemption would foster cooperation among the other Western Hemisphere countries with respect to energy resources development and utilization. (This provides for an automatic increase in import duties on petroleum and petroleum products to make up for any drops in the weighted average international price of a barrel of crude petroleum below $16.) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe gasoline tax rates in lieu of certain fuel deficit reduction rates for any month in which certain gasoline tax rates are in effect. Sets forth rate guidelines. (This provides for a standby contingency gasoline conservation tax if the price of crude oil falls below a certain average real price of crude petroleum. Sets a ceiling on any such tax increase equal to one-half of the price fall.) Imposes a tax for the removal of crude oil from specified Federal and State Outer Continental Shelf, submerged lands, or other lands subject to competitive lease. Excepts the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from such tax. Declares that gross income shall not include certain energy and water conservation subsidies provided consumers by public utilities. Establishes the Energy Security Trust Fund to implement this Act. Establishes as a separate account in such Fund the "Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Account" to implement the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee the following qualified employer-provided transportation benefits: (1) the value of transportation in a commuter highway vehicle between the employee's residence and workplace; and (2) up to $60 per month of the value of any transit pass entitling the employee to transportation on mass transit facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the targeted jobs credit permanently. Increases the maximum age requirement for economically disadvantaged youth from 23 to 25.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, in seeking to reduce the Federal deficit, any proposal which would diminish, defer, or otherwise adversely affect periodic cost-of-living adjustments in Federal retirement benefits should be uniformly applied.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 1991
Repeals a provision of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 that imposed certain testing requirements on ability-to-benefit students for purposes of student aid under the Higher Education Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 1991
Christopher Columbus Coin and Fellowship Act - Title I: Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Coins - Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the quincentenary of the discovery of America. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Terminates the minting of such coins after June 30, 1993. Requires the Secretary to deposit surcharges from the sale of such coins in the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Fund for use by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. Declares that no law governing procurement or public contracts shall be applicable to the procurement of goods and services necessary for carrying out this Act, except that this provision shall not relieve any person from complying with any law relating to equal employment opportunity. Mandates that all amounts received from coin sales be deposited in the coinage profit fund. Title II: Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation - Christopher Columbus Fellowship Act - Establishes the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation to award fellowships to outstanding individuals to encourage new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind. Establishes the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Fund. Directs the Foundation to report to the President and to the Congress annually on its operations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 1991
Public Rangelands Fee Act of 1991 - Sets forth a formula, beginning with grazing year 1991, for determining fees for domestic livestock grazing on public rangelands.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 1991
Fair Treatment for Freedom National Bank Act - Declares that the continued operation of the Freedom National Bank of New York is essential to provide adequate depository services in its community. Directs the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to treat all deposits at the Bank as insured deposits for purposes of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to change from mandatory to discretionary the authority to deny unemployment benefits between academic terms to employees serving educational institutions in nonprofessional positions.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 1991
Designates December 7, 1991, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 1991
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax exclusion of amounts paid under employee educational assistance programs. (Under current law the exclusion expires for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1991.)
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 1991
Designates the week of October 13 through 19, 1991, as National Radon Action Week.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 1991
Authorizes and requests the President to designate the last Friday of April 1991 as National Arbor Day.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1991
Extends the time for performing certain tax-related acts postponed by reason of service in a combat zone to individuals in the Armed Forces serving in the Persian Gulf region as part of Operation Desert Shield.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1991
Allows payments under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services for certain health care expenses incurred by members and former members of the uniformed services (and their dependents) who are entitled to retired or retainer pay and who are otherwise ineligible for such payments by reason of their entitlement to benefits under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act because of a disability.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1991
Designates March 25, 1991, as Greek Independence Day: A National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Truth in Savings Act - Requires each advertisement, announcement, or solicitation by a depository institution which refers to a specific interest rate, yield, or rate of earnings on amounts deposited in a demand or interest-bearing account to state the following information clearly and conspicuously: (1) the annual percentage yield and the period such yield is in effect; (2) all minimum initial deposit, minimum balance, and time requirements for earning such yield; (3) the annual rates of simple interest; (4) fees or other conditions that could reduce the yield; (5) any interest penalty for early withdrawal; and (6) the effective percentage yield on the maturity date of any account maturing in less than one year. Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to exempt advertisements, announcements, or solicitations made by any broadcast or electronic medium or outdoor advertising displays not on the premises of a depository institution from the disclosure requirements relating to initial deposit requirements, rates of simple interest, or fees if such disclosure would be unnecessarily burdensome. Prohibits any depository institution from advertising an account as a free or no-cost account if: (1) there are minimum balance or limited transaction requirements to avoid fees; or (2) there is any service fee, transaction fee, or similar charge imposed for such account. Prohibits any institution from making any advertisement, announcement, or solicitation that is inaccurate or misleading or that misrepresents its deposit contracts. Requires each depository institution to maintain a schedule, written in clear and plain language, of fees, charges, interest rates, and terms and conditions such as minimum balance and time requirements applicable to each class of accounts offered. Requires that such schedule be disclosed to potential customers and requesting individuals and mailed to account holders. Requires that account holders receive 30 days' advance notice of any change to be made in any term or condition required to be disclosed in the schedule if the change might reduce the yield or adversely affect any account holder. Directs the Board to require modified disclosure requirements concerning the annual yield on variable rate accounts, multiple rate accounts, guaranteed-rate accounts that mature in less than one year, and accounts for which the interest rate is not guaranteed. Directs the Board to provide for public notice and comment on, and to publish, model forms and clauses for common disclosures required by this Act. Provides for the enforcement of this Act and the civil liability of a depository institution that fails to comply with requirements of this Act. Sets forth limitations on such liability and factors to be considered by the court in determining class action awards. Provides that an institution may not be held liable for a violation if the institution demonstrates that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error. Establishes U.S. district court jurisdiction and a one-year statute of limitations for actions brought under this Act. Directs the National Credit Union Administration to provide for the similar regulation of credit unions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Veterans Compensation Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Compensation Rate Increases - Increases the rates of: (1) veterans' disability compensation; (2) additional compensation for veterans' dependents; (3) the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans; (4) dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children; and (5) supplemental dependency and indemnity compensation for disabled adult children. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death. Title II: Future Cost-Of-Living Adjustments - Requires the Secretary to increase such rates at the same time and by the same percentage as any increase in social security benefit amounts paid under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends Federal law to prohibit any State from imposing an income tax on the pension income of any individual who is not a resident or domiciliary of that State.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Act for Micro-Enterprise - Amends the Social Security Act to exclude from income for purposes of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs business assets received primarily for micro-enterprise business purposes. Extends public assistance benefits (including AFDC, SSI, Medicaid, and Medicare) for persons with income from or resources in a micro-enterprise (any commercial enterprise with five or fewer employees, one or more of whom own the enterprise). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make eligible for unemployment compensation an individual who starts a micro-enterprise. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to make financial assistance available under the Community Development Block Grant and Urban Development Action Grant programs to lending institutions and public and private organizations to provide loans, counseling, and training for micro-enterprises. Amends the Small Business Act to urge that when implementing business loan programs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration consider the needs of micro-enterprises, and the institutions which offer them credit or services. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to treat savings association loans to micro-enterprises as qualified thrift investments. Mandates that each Federal banking agency establish a Micro-Enteprise Technical and Operations Office (Me-Too) to promote micro-enterprises through technical assistance, outreach, and training.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Congressional Recycling Act of 1991 - Requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate to purchase recycled paper and paper products for use to the greatest extent practicable in the operations of the House and the Senate. Directs the Public Printer to assure that the Government Printing Office uses recycled paper in providing services to the House. Directs the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate to determine the price or range of prices to be considered unreasonable for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Tourism Policy and Export Promotion Act of 1991 - Declares it to be the national goal to increase U.S. export earnings from U.S. tourism and transportation services and to maintain a travel and tourism export surplus in order to help eliminate the overall U.S. trade deficit. Requires the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to publish on a monthly basis a statistical report on U.S. international travel receipts and payments. Requires the Secretary to: (1) identify foreign trade barriers to U.S. travel and tourism; (2) estimate the trade-distorting impact of such barriers on U.S. commerce; and (3) estimate the value of U.S. travel and tourism exports that would have been exported to a foreign country if such barriers did not exist. Requires the Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees a report on such barriers. Directs the Secretary to take appropriate action to ensure that foreign tourists are not unnecessarily delayed when entering the United States. Amends the International Trade Act of 1961 to require each annual tourism trade development plan to focus on those countries in which tourism trade development has the greatest potential for increasing travel and tourism export revenues. Declares that the Congress finds that increased efforts directed at the promotion of rural tourism will contribute to the economic development of rural America. Establishes the Rural Tourism Development Foundation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on: (1) economic effects of the identification and promotion of scenic byways as tourist attractions; and (2) techniques for incorporating scenic byways into tourism development programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Title X Pregnancy Counseling Act of 1990 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from making a grant for the provision of family planning methods or services unless the applicant agrees to provide complete information and counseling regarding pregnancy, and for a pregnant woman who requests information on options for an unintended pregnancy, to provide: (1) nondirective counseling on prenatal care and delivery, infant care, foster care and adoption, and termination of pregnancy; and (2) referrals for the services that are appropriate to the decision of the woman.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Recyclable Materials Technology and Markets Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) conduct a study of markets for postconsumer materials (defined as materials that have served their intended end-use by an entity other than an industrial establishment); and (2) establish an Office of Recycling Research and Information in the Department of Commerce. Requires the Director of Recycling Research and Information to: (1) make grants for studies and scientific research relating to recycling of postconsumer materials; and (2) conduct a public outreach program to provide information to secondary school students, State and local governments, and the general public. Requires each manufacturer of a recyclable product to recycle, or provide for the recycling of, increasing minimum percentages of the products manufactured during specified years. Directs the Secretary to designate a product as recyclable if it may feasibly be recycled, as determined by the Secretary. Prohibits manufacturing a product for which the prescribed recycling rate was not met for the preceding year. Provides for civil fines for violating the prohibition. Prohibits manufacturing a nonrecyclable product if a recyclable substitute is readily available. Directs the Secretary to designate a product as nonrecyclable if it is not technically or economically feasible to be recycled. Authorizes the Secretary to require nonrecyclable products to be so labeled. Provides for civil fines for violating the prohibition. Provides for recycling seals of approval for recyclable products and for products containing a certain percentage of recycled postconsumer materials.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Refuge Wildlife Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act to require that any wildlife management or other activity which affects wildlife in any area of the System be conducted in the most humane manner possible. Permits the Secretary of the Interior to authorize any killing of a member of a wildlife species within any area of the System, based upon evidence that such killing is necessary for the health and habitat of wildlife species within the area, to protect public health and safety, and that non-lethal management alternatives are not available. Requires the Secretary to provide the scientific information upon which the authorization is based as well as details such as the numbers to be killed. Authorizes public hearings on such decisions unless an emergency exists. Authorizes the Secretary to contract out such killing. Authorizes the Secretary to donate the carcass to a charitable organization for a charitable purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Dolphin Protection and Fair Fishing Act of 1991 - Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit, with regard to fishing for yellowfin tuna, promulgation of regulations or issuance of permits allowing the intentional setting of purse seine nets on marine mammals. Revokes previously issued permits. Mandates observers on tuna fishing vessels in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean to ensure that the taking of any marine mammal is reported to the Secretary of the department in which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrtion is operating. Modifies requirements regarding: (1) the level of incidental taking of marine mammals by countries exporting to the United States and by U.S. vessels; and (2) the total take of dolphins in specified years. Authorizes appropriations for research and development of alternative tuna fishing methods and technologies that do not involve intentional encirclement of dolphins or other intentional takings of marine mammals.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Permits certain veterans with service-connected disabilities who are retired members of the uniformed services to receive compensation concurrently with retired pay, without deduction from either.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Desert Shield Burden-Sharing Act of 1991 - Directs the President to determine whether each foreign country that receives trade benefits from the United States is making a commensurate contribution to the multinational military mobilization carried out in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Requires the President to impose an additional duty to dutiable products and a duty to duty-free products of countries that are found not to be contributing to the mobilization. Provides for the termination of such duties. Establishes the Desert Shield Reimbursement Fund to receive duties collected under this Act. Makes the Fund available solely to reimburse appropriations made to support U.S. participation in the mobilization.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Tenant Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to provide that a conservator or receiver of any insured depository institution shall not disaffirm or repudiate residential contracts or leases that are required by State or local law.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the low-income housing credit permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of a first-time homebuyer the amount of any individual retirement plan distributions used within 30 days to purchase, construct, or reconstruct a principal residence. Reduces a residence's basis by the amount of such distribution for purposes of determining gain or loss upon disposition.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Veterans' Compensation Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Compensation Rate Increases - Increases the rates of: (1) veterans' disability compensation; (2) additional compensation for veterans' dependents; (3) the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans; (4) dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children; and (5) supplemental dependency and indemnity compensation for disabled adult children. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death. Title II: Miscellaneous Program Amendments - Authorizes the Secretary to accept gifts, devises, and bequests which enhance the Secretary's ability to provide services and benefits. Allows the payment of parents dependency and indemnity compensation less frequently than monthly if the amount of the annual benefit is less than four percent of the maximum annual rate payable. Prohibits a readjustment in the rating schedule from causing a veteran's compensation amount to be reduced unless an improvement in the veteran's disability is shown to have occurred. Makes the presumptive period (the period after service in a radiation-risk activity during which a disease must become manifest in order to be considered service-connected and, therefore, compensable as disability compensation) for leukemia 40 years (currently, 30). Creates a 40-year presumptive period for members of the reserves who were exposed to atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device during active duty or inactive duty for training and who contract specified diseases or illnesses within such period. States as an exception the disease of leukemia, which is given a 30-year manifestation period in such reserve members. Increases the amount of Veterans' Mortgage Life Insurance available to a veteran owning a home to the lesser of $90,000 or the amount of the loan outstanding on the home. (Currently, the amount is the lesser of $40,000 or such amount.) Increases from one to two years the required time after discharge or release permitted to qualify for National Service Life Insurance (for service-disabled veterans). Title III: Agent Orange - Veterans Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1991 - Provides that the disease of chloracne in Vietnam veterans shall be considered to have been service-connected if such disease became manifest to a ten percent or more degree of disability within one year after the last date on which the veteran performed such service in Vietnam. Presumes the following diseases to be service-connected for veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service: (1) non-Hodgkins lymphoma; (2) soft-tissue sarcoma; and (3) melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. Provides a presumption of service-connection in the case of a Vietnam veteran suffering from a disease associated with effects of exposure to certain dioxins or other herbicide agents during such service in Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations listing a positive association between any disease and the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent in Vietnam. Requires the Secretary to update such list continually. Requires the Secretary, in prescribing and revising such list, to obtain by contract the determinations and estimates of a contract scientific organization. Requires such organization to: (1) determine which diseases have any degree of association with the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent; and (2) estimate the extent of association between each such disease and each such biological effect. Requires the organization to determine such association specifically with respect to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, each soft-tissue sarcoma, lung cancer, and each other cancer. Outlines contract provisions required in such agreements between the Secretary and the scientific organization, including surveys, evaluations, and periodic determinations. Requires such scientific organization to provide reports to the Secretary and the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees regarding its determinations and evaluations. Requires such organization to determine, in the case of a positive association, whether there is a reasonable basis for concluding that a Vietnam veteran with the highest level of exposure to that herbicide agent in Vietnam was exposed to such agent under the circumstances necessary for such biological effects. Requires a report from the organization to the Secretary and the veterans' committees when there is no such reasonable basis found. Requires the Secretary to make certain determinations and follow-up reports after receiving such reports from the contract scientific organization, including the issuance of a report to the veterans' committees and the promulgation of positive association regulations if necessary. Requires benefits to be continued even though a disease is removed from the regulations listing diseases having positive associations. Terminates such provisions ten years after the first day of the fiscal year in which a scientific organization transmits its first report to the Secretary. Provides special effective dates. Directs the Secretary to compile and analyze all clinical data that: (1) is obtained by the Department in connection with examinations and treatment of veterans for disabilities related to exposure to certain herbicides or to service in Vietnam; and (2) is likely to be scientifically useful in determining the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and their exposure to such herbicides and other toxic substances. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the veterans' committees concerning such analysis and its results. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Director of the National Institutes of Health Research and Grants Division (NIH) before compiling and analyzing such information. Requires the Director of NIH to review each annual report submitted by the Secretary and transmit to the Secretary an evaluation of the contents of each report. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a system for the collection and storage of voluntarily contributed samples of blood and tissue of veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Outlines provisions concerning the security and authorized uses of such specimens, as well as limitations on the acceptance of such samples. Requires the Secretary to consult with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to the extent that an agreement has been reached with the NAS serving as the contract scientific organization for the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Director of the Medical Follow-up Agency in the event of no agreement with NAS. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide for the conduct of studies of the feasibility of conducting additional scientific research on health hazards resulting from: (1) exposure to dioxin; (2) exposure to other toxic agents in herbicides used in support of U.S. and allied military operations in Vietnam during the Vietnam era; and (3) active military, naval, or air service there. Requires the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the results of such studies. Requires the Secretary to consult with the NAS before undertaking such studies and requires the NAS to review such studies and report recommendations to the Secretary and the veterans' committees to the extent provided under any agreement between the Secretary and NAS. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to require the Secretary to annually furnish updated information to veterans listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Agent Orange Registry on health risks resulting from exposure to dioxin or other toxic agents in herbicide as a result of service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the veterans' committees on the research being conducted to develop treatments for psychological absorption of dioxin and other toxic agents used in herbicides by the United States in Vietnam, including research relating to exposure to dioxin and other toxic agents outside Vietnam. Extends through December 31, 2000, the eligibility for hospital and nursing home care for veterans exposed to toxic substances in Vietnam. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to authorize direct consultation between the Ranch Hand Advisory Committee and Department of the Air Force scientists conducting the Ranch Hand Study (a study of the long-term health effects of exposure to phenoxy herbicides and contaminants). Requires the preparation and submission of annual reports and a final report in connection with such study.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1991 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army 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. Defines "qualified service." Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee of a specified amount for any benefit application for such qualified service. Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to add references to components or ingredients of equipment, materials, or commodities in certain cargo preference provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1991 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President legislative line item veto rescission authority. Authorizes the President to rescind all or part of any budget authority if the President determines that such rescission: (1) would help balance the Federal budget, reduce the Federal budget deficit, or reduce the public debt; (2) will not impair any essential Government functions; and (3) will not harm the national interest. Requires the President to notify the Congress of such a rescission by: (1) special message not later than 20 calendar days after enactment of appropriations legislation; or (2) special message accompanying the budget when such rescissions have not been proposed previously for that fiscal year. Makes such a rescission effective unless the Congress, during a review period of 20 calendar days, enacts a rescission disapproval bill. Describes: (1) information to be included in the President's message; and (2) procedures to govern consideration of rescission disapproval legislation in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Freedom of Choice Act of 1991 - Provides that a State may not restrict the right of a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy: (1) before fetal viability; or (2) at any time, if such termination is necessary to protect the life or health of the woman. Allows a State to impose requirements medically necessary to protect the life or health of such women.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Civil Rights Act of 1991 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide for the burdens of proof which must be met by the various parties when an allegation of an unlawful employment practice is based on disparate impact. ( Wards Cove Packing Co. Inc. v. Atonio, 1989, held that, in cases brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove an employer had no business necessity for a practice with discriminatory effects.) Allows a rule barring employment based on illegal discriminatory intent. Declares that, when an employment practice is alleged to have mixed motives, an unlawful employment practice is established when it is shown that a discriminatory basis was a contributing factor, even though other factors also contributed. Bars certain types of relief and limits damages to the injury that is attributable to the unlawful practice. Provides for the finality of litigated or consent judgments or orders resolving an employment discrimination claim, barring actions (challenging an employment practice that implements and is within the scope of a judgment or order) by persons who had certain types of notice and opportunity. Modifies the time limitations within which certain actions must be taken in alleged employment discrimination cases. (In Lorance v. AT&T Technologies, the Supreme Court held that seniority plans cannot be challenged as discriminatory unless complaints are filed soon after the plans are adopted.) Declares the application of a seniority system, if the system was included in a collective bargaining agreement with discriminatory intent, an unlawful employment practice. Allows punitive damages, certain types of compensatory damages, and jury trials only in connection with certain claims of intentional discrimination under the Act or under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Allows any party, if compensatory or punitive damages are sought, to demand a jury trial. Includes expert fees and other litigation expenses in attorney's fees which may be awarded in certain circumstances. Prohibits consent orders or judgments settling a claim, or stipulations of dismissal, unless the parties or their counsel attest that a waiver of all or substantially all attorney's fees was not compelled as a condition of the settlement.( Independent Federation of Flight Attendants v. Zipes held that attorneys' fees can be recovered under Title VII against losing intervenors only if the intervenor's action is frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.) Allows the court, in its discretion to promote fairness, in a proceeding in which a judgment or order granting relief under employment discrimination provisions is challenged, to allow the prevailing party in the original action to recover attorney's fees and costs incurred in defending the judgment or order. Extends the time limit for filing against the Government a civil action involving employment discrimination. Requires, except for prejudgment interest on compensatory damages, the same interest payment by the Government as in cases involving non-public parties. Requires all Federal civil rights laws to be interpreted broadly to provide equal opportunity and provide effective remedies. Prohibits, except as expressly provided, interpreting any Federal civil rights law to repeal or amend by implication any other such law. Prohibits using this Act as a basis for limiting civil rights laws not expressly amended by this Act. Amends Federal law to declare that: (1) for purposes of provisions relating to equal rights under the law, the right to make and enforce contracts includes the making, performance, modification, and termination of contracts, and the enjoyment of all benefits, privileges, terms, and conditions of the contract; and (2) the rights protected by the amended provisions are protected against impairment by non-governmental discrimination as well as against impairment under color of State law. (In 1989, the Supreme Court ruled, in Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, that an 1866 law forbidding discrimination in contracts applies only to hiring agreements, not on-the-job bias.) Prohibits construing the amendments made by this Act to: (1) require or encourage an employer to adopt hiring or promotion quotas; or (2) affect court-ordered remedies, affirmative action, or conciliation agreements that are otherwise in accordance with the law. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to apply equal employment opportunities provisions to the Congress, with enforcement as determined by each House of the Congress. Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to modify requirements, including time limitations, regarding filing of a civil action. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to notify the person aggrieved if an age discrimination charge is dismissed by the Commission. Allows a civil suit to be brought within a specified time limit after the dismissal. Encourages the use of alternative means of dispute resolution to resolve disputes arising under the Acts amended by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act - Prohibits a State from sponsoring, operating, advertising, authorizing, licensing, or promoting any lottery, sweepstake, or other betting, gambling, or wagering scheme based, directly or indirectly, on any game or games engaged in or conducted or scheduled by any professional or amateur sports organization, or on any performance or performance in such games.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to make it an unfair labor practice for an employer to offer or grant: (1) permanent replacement employee status during a labor dispute; or (2) any employment preference to an individual who worked or indicated a willingness to work during a labor dispute over an employee who exercised specified rights during such dispute and who is working for, or has unconditionally offered to return to work for, the employer.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Veterans' Burial Benefits Act of 1991 - Amends Federal law to extend burial benefits to specified veterans with service-connected disabilities (formerly provided until October 1, 1981). Increases from $150 to $300 the veterans' burial plot allowance for eligible veterans who die in Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.