United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1991
States that U.S. policy to foster banking and thrift institution stability shall be consistent with the preservation of credit in order to create employment and promote economic recovery. Directs the Department of the Treasury and other Federal instrumentalities to review and change as appropriate related policies and procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1991
1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games Commemorative Coin Act - Provides for the minting and sale of commemorative gold and silver coins to support the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games and the programs of the United States Olympic Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1991
Authorizes the Air Force Association to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor the men and women who have served in the U.S. Air Force.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the United States Trade Representative should take action under the Trade Act of 1974 to compensate for any trade losses caused by the European Community's (EC) failure to adopt by October 31, 1991, a new oilseeds regime that conforms with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) panel oilseed ruling; and (2) such actions should remain in effect until the EC's oilseed regime conforms with its GATT obligations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Intermodal Safe Container Transportation Act of 1991 - Requires any person initially tendering, to a carrier of property, any container or trailer in interstate or foreign commerce having a gross weight of more than 10,000 pounds to give the carrier verification of the total cargo weight and a description of the cargo. Makes such requirement applicable only to intermodal transportation. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to adopt rules to enforce this Act and provides for State enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) condemn the use of force in Yugoslavia; (2) recognize the independence of the Republics of Croatia and Slovenia; and (3) work for the cessation of hostilities leading to a negotiated settlement and peace in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1991
Foreign Aid Reporting Reform Act of 1991 - Directs the President, in conjunction with the submission of annual requests for enactment of authorizations and appropriations for foreign assistance programs, to submit to the Congress a single report containing: (1) an integrated justification for all foreign assistance programs proposed for the coming fiscal year; and (2) an assessment of when the objectives of those programs will be achieved so that the assistance can be terminated. Requires the President to include in such report general information regarding the foreign assistance program, as well as information concerning specific assistance recipients and centrally-funded programs. Directs congressional committees reporting legislation authorizing the enactment of or providing new budget authority for foreign assistance programs to include in reports accompanying such legislation an explanation for any change proposed in: (1) the total amount of new budget authority authorized or provided for any program as compared to the amount proposed by the President; or (2) the amount of assistance for any specific recipient or for any centrally-funded program as compared to the amount proposed by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1991
Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from changing current regulations respecting the use of voluntary contributions, provider-paid taxes, and intergovernmental transfers toward a State's share of expenditures under Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act). Voids any previously issued regulations that make changes regarding the use of such contributions, taxes, and transfers. Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide for the adjustment of any payments to States to restore any payments reduced as a result of such a regulation; and (2) notify State chief executive officers of such prohibition and adjustment. Designates direct spending under this Act as an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Exempts such spending from being counted toward sequestration under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1991
Fair Trade in Financial Services Act of 1991 - Amends the International Banking Act of 1978, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) submit biennial status reports to the Congress regarding foreign treatment of certain U.S. business interests; and (2) initiate negotiations with foreign countries to ensure that they offer U.S. banking and bank holding companies, securities brokers and dealers, and investment advisers the same competitive opportunities as are available to their foreign counterparts. Authorizes the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register a determination that a foreign country does not accord national treatment to such U.S. business interests. Authorizes a Federal banking agency, or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after notice of such determination, to include such determination as a basis for denial of certain foreign trade applications (to conduct banking, securities, or investment advice activities in the United States) from such foreign country in reports required under the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. Directs the Secretary to review such determinations annually and rescind determinations, if appropriate. Amends the International Banking Act of 1978 to preclude banking interests of such countries from commencing or conducting business in this country as of the date of the Secretary's determination unless prior approval has been obtained from a Federal banking agency (including, under certain circumstances, a State banking agency). Outlines the factors to be considered by the Secretary and the banking and securities regulatory agencies in their exercise of discretion with respect to existing foreign operations in the United States. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to provide that, subsequent to the Secretary's determination in the Federal Register that a foreign country does not accord national treatment to U.S. securities or investment adviser interests, a person from such foreign country may not acquire control of a registered broker, dealer, or investment adviser unless the SEC has been duly notified and has not prohibited such acquisition. Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, together with other appropriate agencies and representatives, to conduct an investigation to determine: (1) the extent of interdependence of U.S. financial services sectors and foreign countries whose financial services institutions provide financial services in the United States, or whose persons have substantial ownership interests in U.S. financial institutions; and (2) the economic, strategic, and other consequences of that interdependence for the United States. Directs the Secretary to report the results of this investigation within two years to the President, the Congress, and other specified commissions, departments, and agencies as deemed appropriate by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1991
Declares it is U.S. policy that the European Community's Third Country Meat Directive is an unfair nontariff trade barrier and that it is in the public interest to remove barriers to exports of U.S. meat products. Directs the President to prohibit the importation of all European Community meat products.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1991
Satellite Viewers' Rights Act of 1991 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to repeal provisions requiring the Federal Communications Commission to initiate an inquiry concerning the need for a universal encryption standard that permits decryption of satellite cable programming intended for private viewing. Requires that any person who encrypts satellite delivered programming make such programming available for private viewing by home satellite antenna users and, when making such programming available through any other person for distribution through any medium, establish: (1) reasonable and non-discriminatory financial, character, technical, and service criteria and requirements under which non-cable distributors qualify to distribute such programming for private viewing by home satellite antenna users; and (2) price, terms, and conditions for the wholesale distribution of such programming which do not discriminate between the distribution of such programming to distributors for cable subscribers and distributors to home satellite antenna users, nor among different distributors to home satellite antenna users, with exceptions. Specifies that, where a person who encrypts satellite delivered programming: (1) has established a separate subsidiary for distribution to satellite antenna users, such person shall not be required to establish or license any entity on the same terms and conditions as such subsidiary (but permits an aggrieved party, for purposes of any claim of discrimination under this provision, to compare the prices, terms, and conditions established by the person who encrypts as evidence of discrimination); and (2) authorizes or licenses a distributor for a secondary satellite retransmission of such programming, such person shall establish criteria (consistent with requirements under this Act) to qualify to distribute such programming through such retransmission and establish nondiscriminatory price, terms, and conditions for such distribution. Specifies that nothing in this Act shall require any person who encrypts satellite delivered programming to: (1) authorize or license any distributor for a secondary satellite retransmission; and (2) make such programming available in any geographic area beyond which such programming has been authorized or licensed for distribution. Authorizes: (1) persons aggrieved by violations of this Act to bring a civil action; and (2) the court to grant specified relief.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1991
Fair Competition in Broadcasting Act of 1991 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit, one year after the enactment of the Local Broadcast Service Protection Act of 1991, any cable system (system) or other multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) from retransmitting the signal of a commercial broadcasting station, or any part thereof, without the express authority of the originating station, with exceptions. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to the retransmission of the signal of a broadcasting station to a home satellite antenna by a cable operator (operator) or other MVPD of the signal of a superstation if the originating station was a superstation on May 1, 1991, and the system or other MVPD does not obtain the signal directly from the originating station. Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish regulations to govern the exercise by television (TV) stations of the right to grant retransmission authority and the right to signal carriage under such Act. Specifies that: (1) such regulations shall require that TV stations make an election between such rights; (2) if an originating TV station elects to exercise its right to grant retransmission authority, such Act shall not require the carriage of the signal of such station by such system; (3) such election shall not interfere with or supersede the rights of any station electing to assert the right of signal carriage; and (4) such provisions shall not be construed as affecting program licensing agreements between broadcasters and program suppliers. Requires each system operator with: (1) 12 or fewer usable activated channels to carry the signals of at least three local commercial TV stations, with exceptions where there are 300 or fewer subscribers; and (2) more than 12 such channels to carry the signals of local commercial TV stations up to one third of the aggregate number of usable activated channels of such system. Grants the operator discretion in selecting which signals to carry on its system whenever the number of local commercial TV stations exceeds the maximum number of signals a system is required to carry under such provision, with exceptions. Requires an operator to carry: (1) in its entirety, on the system of that operator, the primary video and accompanying audio transmission of each of the local commercial TV stations carried on the system and, to the extent technically feasible, program-related material carried in the vertical blanking interval or on subcarriers; and (2) the entirety of the program schedule of any TV station carried on the system unless carriage of specific programming is prohibited, and other programming authorized to be substituted, under Federal regulations. Requires that: (1) the signals of local commercial TV stations that an operator carriers be carried without material degradation; (2) the FCC adopt carriage standards to ensure that, to the extent technically feasible, the quality of signal processing and carriage provided by a system for the carriage of local commercial TV stations will be no less than that provided for carriage of any other type of signal; and (3) the FCC, at such time as it prescribes modifications of the standards for TV broadcast signals, initiate a proceeding to establish any changes in the signal carriage requirements of cable TV systems necessary to ensure cable carriage of such broadcast signals of local commercial TV stations which have been changed to conform with such modified standards. Specifies that an operator shall not be required to carry the signal of any local commercial TV station that substantially duplicates the signal of another local commercial TV station which is carried on its system, or to carry the signals of more than one local commercial TV station affiliated with a particular broadcast network. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) channel positioning; (2) signal availability; (3) identification of signals carried; and (4) notification of a local commercial TV station prior to deleting carriage or repositioning the station. Bars an operator from accepting or requesting compensation for carriage of local commercial TV stations or for channel positioning rights, with exceptions. Establishes procedures for complaints by broadcast stations against operators. Directs the FCC to: (1) afford the operator an opportunity to respond to the allegations; and (2) make a determination and take appropriate action with respect to the complaint. States that no operator shall be required to provide or make available, or provide information to subscribers about, any input selector switch or comparable device. Directs the FCC to issue regulations implementing the requirements established by this Act. Specifies that nothing in this Act shall require (or prohibit) an operator to (or from) carrying on any tier the signal of any commercial TV station or video programming service that is predominantly utilized for the transmission of sales presentations or program length commercials. Requires an operator with: (1) 12 or fewer usable activated channels to carry the signal of at least one qualified local noncommercial educational TV station; and (2) 13 to 36 such channels to carry the signal of at least one such station (but does not require carriage of the signals of more than three such stations). Sets forth additional requirements where a system operates beyond the presence of any qualified local noncommercial educational TV station. Requires all operators to continue to provide carriage to all qualified local noncommercial educational TV stations whose signals were carried on their systems as of March 29, 1990, subject to waiver under specified circumstances. Specifies that: (1) an operator required to add the signals of qualified local noncommercial educational TV stations to a system may do so by placing such additional stations on public, educational, or governmental channels not in use for their designated purposes; (2) an operator of a system with a capacity of more than 36 usable activated channels which is required to carry the signals of three qualified local noncommercial educational TV stations shall not be required to carry the signals of additional such stations the programming of which substantially duplicates the programming broadcast by another qualified local noncommercial educational TV station requesting carriage; and (3) a qualified local noncommercial educational TV station whose signal is carried by an operator shall not assert any network nonduplication rights it may have under specified Federal regulations to require the deletion of programs aired on other qualified local noncommercial educational TV stations whose signals are carried by such operator. Requires an operator to: (1) retransmit in its entirety the primary video and accompanying audio transmission of each qualified local noncommercial educational TV station whose signal is carried on the system and, to the extent technically feasible, program-related material carried in the vertical blanking interval, or on subcarriers, that may be necessary for receipt of programming by handicapped persons or for educational or language purposes; and (2) provide each qualified local noncommercial educational TV station whose signal is carried with bank-width and technical capacity equivalent to that provided to commercial TV broadcast stations carried on the system, and carry the signal of each qualified local noncommercial educational TV station without material degradation. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to: (1) notification of changes in carriage; (2) signal quality; (3) channel positioning; (4) availability of signals; (5) payment for carriage (which is generally prohibited); (6) complaint procedures and remedies; and (7) signal identification.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1991
Medicare EKG Payment Restoration Act of 1991 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) reestablish separate payment for the interpretation of electrocardiograms (EKGs) that are ordered or performed during an office visit or consultation with a physician; and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish separate fee schedule amounts for EKG interpretations and to adjust the relative values established for office visits to or consultations with a physician to reflect the establishment of such separate fee schedule amounts. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish practice guidelines for the use of EKGs for dissemination along with other educational information relating to the use of EKGs to physicians; (2) develop a profile of the use of EKGs by physicians; and (3) conduct a study and report to the Congress on the utilization and costs of EKGs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1991
Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to detail members of the armed forces to a State or local correctional agency for temporary duty as advisors and instructors at a correctional facility operated as a military-style boot camp if the Secretary determines that such personnel could contribute to the rehabilitative purposes of such facility. Credits such military personnel for all service performed during such detail. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 and other Federal provisions relating to actions taken in conjunction with defense base closures and realignments to authorize the Secretary to transfer to the State or local government in which the military installation is located such appropriate property or facilities for conversion and use in conjunction with military-style boot camp operations at a correctional facility.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1991
Designates 1992 as the Year of the Gulf of Mexico. Directs all Federal and State agencies which have responsibility for matters affecting the Gulf to work to increase public awareness regarding the immeasurable value of this resource and current conditions which threaten its aesthetic and economic value.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1991
1992 White House Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue one dollar silver coins emblematic of the White House. Mandates that the total surcharges received from the sale of such coins shall be promptly paid to the White House Endowment Fund to assist its efforts to raise an endowment as a permanent source of support for the White House Collection of fine art and historic furnishings, and for the maintenance of the historic public rooms of the White House.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1991
Area Health Education Centers Reauthorization Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to specify a term of six years for agreements establishing area health education centers (AHECs). Modifies the purposes of AHECs, including serving high-impact areas and States as well as border areas close to Mexico. Mandates, if available in the area, participation of a school of public health. Authorizes agreements for the planning, development, and operation of State-supported AHECs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to publish and update clearly defined arrival and departure routes leading to and from airports located within and in close proximity to terminal control areas and airport radar service areas for the optional use of pilots operating under visual flight rules.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the annual cap on the amount of payment for outpatient physical therapy and occupational therapy services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance).
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Food Quality Protection Act of 1991 - Title I: Cancellation and Suspension - Amends provisions of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) relating to cancellation and changes in classification or other terms or conditions of registration with respect to the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Requires that a rulemaking under such provisions be based on a validated test or other significant evidence raising prudent concerns of unreasonable adverse effects to man or to the environment. Sets forth procedural requirements for such a rulemaking. Provides for amendment of a rule and for judicial review. Allows the Administrator, in the case of a suspension, to waive certain requirements. Allows the Administrator to elect to proceed with a special review proceeding or a public interim administrative review proceeding, if published before a specified date, under the law in effect before enactment of this Act. Requires the Administrator to reassess each tolerance and exemption from the requirement for a tolerance at certain times in connection with reregistration of pesticides. Establishes the Science Review Board to assist the Scientific Advisory Panel in reviews conducted by the Panel. Revises procedures applicable after denial of an application for registration. Allows the Administrator to deny an application for registration because it does not comply with the requirements of a rule issued under provisions of this Act. Repeals provisions regulating the authority of the Administrator to initiate a public interim administrative review process. Declares a decision made after a hearing in certain circumstances during phase three of reregistration to be final. Amends provisions regulating: (1) review by district courts of suspension of registrations; and (2) public hearings. Title II: Data Collection - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect pesticide use data of Statewide or regional significance for all the major crops and crops of dietary significance. Mandates research, development, and dissemination of integrated pest management techniques and other pest control methods that enable producers to reduce or eliminate application of pesticides which pose a greater than negligible dietary risk to humans. Title III: Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to define, subject to exception, "pesticide chemical" as it is defined in the FIFRA. Adds to the list of prohibited acts under the FDCA violation of provisions relating to confidentiality of data, as amended by this Act. Deems a food adulterated if it bears or contains: (1) a pesticide chemical residue that is unsafe; or (2) a new animal drug, or conversion product thereof, that is unsafe. Sets forth requirements relating to tolerances and exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance for pesticide chemical residues in food, including residues of degradation products. Prohibits establishment of a tolerance higher than a level the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency determines is adequate to protect the public health. Sets forth the factors the Administrator must consider. Allows a greater than negligible dietary risk if: (1) use protects from greater adverse health effects to humans or the environment; (2) use avoids greater risks from another pesticide; or (3) the unavailability of the pesticide would reduce the availability of an adequate, wholesome, and economical domestic supply of the food, and the adverse effects from the reduction would outweigh the risk posed by the residue. Allows the Administrator to issue an exemption from the requirement for a tolerance only if the Administrator determines that a tolerance is not needed to protect the public health, in view of the levels of dietary exposure that could reasonably be expected to occur. Sets forth the factors the Administrator must consider. Sets forth procedures and requirements in connection with: (1) petitions for tolerances or exemptions; (2) certain actions authorized on the Administrator's own initiative; (3) the required submission of additional data to support the continuation of a tolerance or exemption; and (4) confidentiality of data submitted to the Administrator. Provides for continuation of previously issued regulations. Sets forth transitional provisions. Prohibits a final rule that revokes, modifies, or suspends a tolerance or exemption until the Administrator has taken any necessary action under the FIFRA with respect to the registration of the pesticide involved. Requires the Administrator, if the Administrator takes certain actions with respect to the registration of a pesticide, to revoke any tolerance or exemption that allows the presence of the chemical or chemical residue. Requires the suspension of any tolerance or exemption upon the suspension of the use of an associated registered pesticide. Provides for: (1) tolerances for unavoidable residues in the case of a residue of a canceled or suspended pesticide chemical that will unavoidably persist in the environment and thereby be present in or on a food; and (2) residues resulting from an application which was lawful at the time of the application. Directs the Administrator to require the payment of fees sufficient for the Administrator's functions under these provisions. Prohibits, subject to exception, a State from establishing or enforcing any limit on a qualifying pesticide chemical residue in or on any food which is not identical to Federal requirements. Prohibits a State from enforcing a residue limit which was lawful at the time of application. Authorizes appropriations for increased monitoring by the Secretary of Health and Human Services of pesticide residues in imported and domestic food.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Audio Home Recording Act of 1991 - Amends Federal copyright law to: (1) set forth definitions relating to digital audio recording devices and media; and (2) prohibit certain copyright infringement actions based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital or analog audio recording device or medium, or the use of such device or medium for making phonorecords, except when done for commercial advantage. Sets forth a mandatory recordation and filing procedure for the importation, manufacture, or distribution in the United States of digital audio recording devices or media. Requires importers and manufacturers to file quarterly and annual statements of account with the Register of Copyrights (the Register). Mandates Register verification of such statements. Sets forth verification guidelines. States that verification audit costs shall be borne by interested copyright parties. Sets forth confidentiality guidelines with respect to such mandatory statements of accounts. Prescribes royalty payment guidelines for digital audio recording devices and media imported, manufactured, or distributed in the United States. Requires that royalty payments be deposited into the Treasury. Identifies interested copyright parties entitled to royalty payments. Prescribes royalty payment allocation and distribution procedures. Permits alternative royalty collection and distribution arrangements to be negotiated among interested copyright and manufacturing parties. Maintains the Copyright Tribunal jurisdiction over such negotiated arrangements insofar as nonparticipant interests are affected. Prohibits: (1) the importation, manufacture, and distribution of any digital audio recording device or audio interface device that does not conform to certain standards and specifications to implement the Serial Copy Management System; and (2) the circumvention of such System. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to publish in the Federal Register a certain Technical Reference Document which sets forth the standards and specifications pertinent to the Serial Copy Management System. Authorizes the Secretary to implement such System according to the prescribed guidelines. Sets forth civil remedies for violations of this Act, including impoundment, remedial modification and destruction of non-complying devices, and binding arbitration.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Declares that the Congress: (1) regards the U.S. Trade Representative's policy on relaxation of quotas on Eastern European cheese as not in the interests of the United States and the American dairy industry; and (2) calls for the withdrawal of such policy. Declares that U.S. trade policy should be directed toward reducing the trade imbalance of cheese by promoting policies that increase the export of American dairy products.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Veterans Dignity in Health Care Act of 1991 - Grants veterans who are patients or residents in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, nursing homes, and domiciliaries the right to purchase and use tobacco products. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that: (1) each VA facility that maintains a commissary or canteen makes tobacco products available through, and provides patients or residents access to, the commissary or canteen; and (2) each VA facility maintains and provides patients or residents access to an indoor patient smoking area.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the exclusion from gross income for combat pay of commissioned officers (from $500 to $2,000 monthly). Requires the transfer from the Defense Cooperation Account to the general fund of the Treasury such amounts as determined necessary to offset the revenue loss caused by this amendment during the period of the Persian Gulf conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1991 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to such retirement pay is based solely on: (1) age; (2) length of service; or (3) both. Reduces the amount of retirement pay, in the case of individuals receiving both types of pay, by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, once the Federal budget deficit has been reduced, the Congress should reexamine and eliminate any offset of retired pay by a veteran's disability compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Permits eligible veterans who served on active duty for specified periods between 1955 and 1978 to use their entitlement to educational assistance during the five-year period beginning on this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1991
Prohibits the sale of defense articles or services or design and construction services to the Government of Saudi Arabia under the Arms Export Control Act unless the President certifies to the Congress that such Government is willing to negotiate a commercial treaty that governs enforcement of contracts and contract disputes that involve U.S. citizens and the Saudi Government or members of the Saudi royal family.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Medicare Physician Payment Reform Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the transition rules for phasing in the resource-based relative value scale (RB RVS) method of payment for physician services to prohibit adjustments for asymmetry in the transition and for behavioral responses. Declares spending under this Act to be an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and exempt from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Tire Recycling and Recovery Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require States to submit scrap tire management plans to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Sets forth plan approval procedures. Requires the Administrator to: (1) convene a forum of Federal, State, and local authorities and experts in the field of scrap tire management to discuss the requirements of this Act; (2) distribute guidelines and a model plan to States; (3) review approved plans and audit plans periodically; and (4) promulgate plans for States that fail to do so. Sets forth plan requirements and declares that plans must: (1) address the reduction and elimination of existing scrap tire piles that contain more than 3,000 scrap tires; (2) address current and future disposal, recycling, recovery, and reuse of scrap tires; and (3) provide for the issuance of permits to owners or operators of scrap tire collection sites and others who handle scrap tires. Authorizes the Administrator to provide financial assistance to States for purposes of conducting surveys of scrap tire piles and for developing and implementing tire plans. Grants a preference for assistance to applicants who have shown progress in eliminating such piles. Sets forth assistance application procedures. Permits States to apply for assistance in conjunction with neighboring States. Prohibits: (1) the disposal of scrap tires in a landfill, monocell, or monofill; (2) the operation of collection sites, except in compliance with specified regulations; (3) the storage of more than 3,000 scrap tires for more than 60 days at collection sites, unless necessary for further reuse, recovery, or recycling; (4) the commingling of new scrap tires with existing scrap tire piles; (5) the transfer of control over scrap tires for transportation to a collection site to a transporter without a permit; and (6) the operation and maintenance of a pile or collection site, or the delivery or receipt of scrap tires for storage or disposal at a collection site, except in compliance with a permit. Exempts specified persons from such prohibitions if no threat of an adverse effect on human health or the environment will result from the exemption. Authorizes the Administrator to impose alternative requirements as a condition for an exemption. Authorizes civil penalties or civil actions for violations of this Act. Prescribes criminal penalties for knowing violations. Directs the Administrator to prepare guidelines for the Federal procurement of items that make use of rubber from scrap or used tires. Requires the Administrator, together with the heads of appropriate Federal agencies, to: (1) determine the extent of scrap tire piles on Federal property; and (2) implement a plan for, and report to the Congress on, the abatement of such piles. Repeals a provision concerning grants for discarded tire disposal.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Establishes the Scrap Tire Trust Fund in the Treasury. Provides that the Fund shall consist of a Scrap Tire Reduction Account and a Scrap Tire Recycling Account. Appropriates amounts equivalent to fees collected under this Act to the Accounts. Makes amounts in the Accounts available for: (1) financial assistance to States for conducting surveys of scrap tire piles, developing State tire management plans, reducing and eliminating scrap tire piles, and carrying out parts of such plans relating to tire disposal; and (2) administration of such assistance. Imposes fees on new tires sold by manufacturers or importers from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 2004. Provides for the deposit of such fees into the General Fund of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1991
Rewards for Results Act of 1991 - Title I: Ready to Start School - Entitles all eligible States to receive payments from the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a reward for meeting certain criteria in achieving the national educational goal of readiness to start school. Provides for such payments for any of the first six fiscal years beginning after enactment of this Act. Provides for two types of such payments: (1) those relating to eligible children one year old; and (2) those relating to eligible children who register for first grade. Requires States, in order to be eligible, to submit applications containing: (1) certifications of numbers of eligible children, by particular family income category, and their receipt of health care prior to age one or first grade registration, as applicable (and receipt of parental care or early childhood education prior to first grade); and (2) assurances that such payments will be used in addition to other Federal and State funds for, respectively, health care for eligible children less than one year old, and early childhood education and health care to eligible children less than seven years old. Sets forth formulas for determining the amounts of such payments, according to numbers of children certified in specified categories of family income. Title II: Excellence in Student Performance - Entitles eligible States, upon application, to receive payments from the Secretary of Education as a reward for meeting certain criteria in achieving the national educational goal of excellence in student performance. Provides for such payments for any of the first six fiscal years beginning after enactment of this Act. Requires a State, in order to be eligible to receive such payments, to establish a baseline figure for each local educational agency (LEA) each year that represents the most recent available figures for the number of graduating high school seniors whose average scores in mathematics and science on an international test equal or surpass the highest average scores of another nation. Requires an LEA, to qualify to receive payments under this title, to demonstrate an increase in the baseline figure above the previous year's figure. Requires students, to receive scholarship funds under this title, to have an average mathematics and science score on the international test that equals or surpasses the highest average score of another nation. Requires the National Education Goals Panel, established by the President, to select the international test. Directs the Secretary to annually adjust the test results to allow the variation in types of students tested in other nations. Requires State applications to provide specified information, an affidavit regarding accuracy of test results, and assure use of funds to supplement not supplant all other funds. Bases payments to States on a formula involving per student reward amount and the number of eligible students with test scores meeting the criteria. Sets forth formulas for determining per student reward amount, with exceptions for payments to States with LEAs with very high or very low percentages of students meeting the criteria. Requires State educational agencies to submit plans for distribution of such payments, with at least 80 percent of funds received under this title to be distributed to LEAs. Requires LEAs to distribute such funds equitably to all secondary schools within their jurisdiction. Requires qualifying students who desire such scholarship funds to submit applications to the Secretary of Education with their certified test results, within three years after notification of test results. Sets scholarship amounts as follows: (1) $5,000 for a qualified eligible student; and (2) $2,500 who are not eligible to be counted under specified provisions for education of disadvantaged children under chapter 1 title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Directs the Secretary of Education to pay such funds to the institution of higher education of the qualifying student's choice where they are enrolled for a recognized course of study. Directs the National Education Goals Panel to report to the Congress, within two years after enactment of this Act, on the feasibility of testing in other academic subjects and grade levels. Title III: Increase in Rate of Corporate Income Tax - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the rate of tax on corporations applicable to taxable years 1992 through 1997. Title IV: General Provisions- - Directs the appropriate Secretary (of HHS for title I, of Education for title II) to: (1) conduct random annual audits of at least ten percent of States receiving payments under this Act; and (2) impose specified sanctions for noncompliance. Provides for contingent advance payments for the second year.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1991
Rural Crime and Drug Control Act of 1991 - Title I: Fighting Drug Trafficking in Rural Areas - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize appropriations, and increase the base allocation, for rural drug enforcement assistance. Directs the Attorney General to establish a Rural Drug Enforcement Task Force in each of the Federal judicial districts which encompass significant rural lands. Specifies the membership of such task forces. Directs the Attorney General to cross-designate up to 100 Federal officers with jurisdiction to enforce Controlled Substances Act (CSA) provisions on non-Federal lands to the extent necessary to effect the purposes of this title. Requires the Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to develop a specialized course of instruction devoted to training law enforcement officers from rural agencies in the investigation of drug trafficking and related crimes. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies - Authorizes appropriations for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to hire, equip, and train not less than 350 agents and necessary support personnel to expand DEA investigations and operations against drug trafficking organizations in rural areas. Title III: Increasing Penalties for Certain Drug Trafficking Offenses - Ice Enforcement Act of 1991 - Amends the CSA to increase penalties for specified offenses involving crystalline methamphetamine. Title IV: Rural Drug Treatment - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to provide grants to hospitals, community health centers, and other appropriate entities that serve nonmetropolitan areas to assist in developing and implementing projects that provide, or expand the availability of, substance abuse treatment services. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Rural Drug Prevention - Directs the Secretary to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities that serve nonmetropolitan areas to assist such entities in developing and implementing projects that provide, or expand the availability of, substance abuse prevention services. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the alcohol and drug abuse information clearinghouse required to be established under the PHSA to: (1) gather information pertaining to rural drug abuse treatment and education projects funded by the Administrator of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration and other such projects operating throughout the United States; and (2) disseminate information to rural hospitals, community health centers, community mental health centers, treatment facilities, community organizations. and other interested individuals. Title VI: Rural Land Recovery Act - Specifies that each of the Rural Drug Enforcement Task Forces shall include one Director of Rural Land Recovery. Directs State and Federal prosecutors, when bringing charges against the operators of such laboratories, to include, in addition to drug-related charges, counts involving infringements of applicable environmental protection laws, including illegal disposal of hazardous waste and knowing endangerment of the environment. Authorizes such prosecutors and private citizens to bring suit against the operators of such laboratories for environmental and health-related damages caused by the operators in their manufacture of illicit substances.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1991
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to study and evaluate, through the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, the effectiveness of various programs that guarantee disadvantaged children the financial resources needed to pursue a postsecondary education in exchange for the child's commitment to achieving a satisfactory elementary and secondary education. Requires dissemination of such study findings through appropriate agencies and organizations, including business associations. Requires an interim and a final report to specified congressional committees. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
Urges the United States Trade Representative to initiate negotiations with South Africa in order to enter into a bilateral arrangement governing the importation of South African steel that is consistent with the steel trade liberalization program announced by the President on July 25, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Postmaster General should issue a postage stamp commemorating the service of veterans of the U.S. armed forces who served during a period of armed conflict. Provides that such stamp should be issued for a one-year period at one-cent above the denomination that applies to first class mail weighing up to one ounce. Requires the one-cent profit from the sale of such stamp to be: (1) used for improvements in pension, compensation, and life insurance programs in the Department of Veterans Affairs; and (2) considered as funding in addition to funds already appropriated for such programs in the Department.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1991
Prohibits the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from making any payment for covered drugs and biologicals unless the price charged by the manufacturer is determined in accordance with an agreement between the Secretary and the manufacturer pursuant to the Social Security Act, under which the price charged cannot exceed the price charged as of September 1, 1990, increased by the sum of the covered drug updates. States that such pricing agreement shall apply to any drug or biological product procured by the Department of Veterans Affairs that is: (1) purchased under a depot contracting system; or (2) listed under the Federal Supply Schedule of the General Services Administration on or after January 1, 1990. Amends the Social Security Act to exclude the prices for prescription drugs procured by the Federal Government from the calculation of best price procurement for purposes of application of Medicaid rebate agreements. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of, and report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Commitees on, the costs and availability of drugs and biological products for programs of the Department as they relate to exemptions and limitations under this Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Chapman, Jim [D-TX-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000312_200.jpg)