United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1997
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA) to revise and increase remedies and enforcement on behalf of victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex. Amends FLSA to provide for enhanced enforcement of equal pay requirements (also known as the Equal Pay Act of 1963), adding a nonretaliation requirement. Increases penalties for such violations. Provides for the Secretary of Labor to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages in such cases. Amends CRA to direct the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to require certain employers to maintain payroll records and report to the EEOC pay information analyzed by race, sex, and national origin of employees. Applies such requirement to employers who have 100 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks. Requires EEOC and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving discrimination in the payment of wages. Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and provide information to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning the means available to eliminate pay disparities between men and women, including convening a national summit and carrying out other specified activities. Establishes the Robert Reich National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace, which shall be evidenced by a medal. Sets forth criteria for specified types of entities to receive such an award. Authorizes appropriations to the EEOC, the OFCCP, and the Secretary to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1997
Crack-Cocaine Equitable Sentencing Act of 1997 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to eliminate specified mandatory minimum penalties relating to the trafficking in, and possession, importation, or distribution of, crack cocaine.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1997
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Research, Treatment, and Assistance Act of 1997 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for a waiver of the 24-month waiting period for Medicare coverage for individuals disabled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to provide for Medicare coverage of any drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the treatment or alleviation of ALS-related symptoms. Authorizes appropriations, in addition to any already available, for ALS research through the National Institutes of Health.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1997
Celebrates the accomplishments of: (1) title IX of the Education Act Amendments of 1972 in increasing opportunities for women and girls in all facets of education; and (2) the magnificent accomplishments of women and girls in sports.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Point Reyes National Seashore Farmland Protection Act of 1997 - Amends Federal law to include the Farmland Protection Area in the Point Reyes National Seashore, California, with the primary objective being to protect private agricultural land from nonagricultural development by conservation easements. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make farmland acquisitions within the Area. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a Thurgood Marshall Legal Educational Opportunity Program to provide low-income, minority, and disadvantaged college students with information, preparation, and financial assistance to gain access to and complete law school study. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with, or make a grant to, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, for at least a five-year period, to deliver specified services under such program, directly and through subgrants and subcontracts. Directs the Secretary to establish annually the maximum stipend to be paid to Thurgood Marshall Fellows for the period of prelaw preparation in summer institutes and midyear seminar prior to and during the period of law school study. Sets forth the maximum amount of grants for such program services for any fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Fair Play Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require: (1) each institution of higher education to provide the Secretary of Education with information regarding men's and women's athletic programs; and (2) the Secretary to prepare a report based on such information, which shall be made available on the Internet. Requires the Secretary to establish a toll-free telephone service to provide the public with information regarding such reports and respond to inquiries about title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and athletic opportunities for girls and women.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Urges the Federal Communications Commission to issue a notice of inquiry to seek comment and gather facts related to issues raised by the introduction of distilled spirits advertising on television and radio, with a particular focus on the effects of such advertisements on children and teenagers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1997
Cuban Humanitarian Trade Act of 1997 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to exempt from the embargo on trade with Cuba the export of food, medicines, or medical supplies, instruments, or equipment, or any travel incident to delivery of such items. Exempts the same items from the President's authority to restrict exports to Cuba under the Export Administration Act of 1979 or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate the denial of foreign tax credit with respect to income, war profits, or excess profits taxes paid to Cuba that are attributable to activities with respect to the permitted exports, or travel incident to such activities, under this Act. Directs the President to report to the Congress with respect to the uses, and end users, of the permitted exports to Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1997
Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Amendments Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace certain provisions relating to the Office of Minority Health with provisions establishing the Advisory Committee on Minority Health. Regulates the Office's activities, including regarding: (1) bilingual assistance to providers (mandating special consideration to those serving Asians and Pacific Islanders); (2) equitable allocation of grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts among racial and minority populations; (3) provision of information and services in the most appropriate language, educational, and cultural context; (4) the making of grants, cooperative agreements, contracts; and (5) evaluations. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 3) Requires: (1) that the Office of Research on Minority Health of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) coordinate minority health research conducted or supported by NIH; (2) a comprehensive research plan; (3) equitable addressing of all racial and ethnic minority groups; (4) establishment of the Advisory Committee on Research on Minority Health; (5) determination of the extent of minority representation among senior physicians and scientists of (or conducting research with funding from) the national research institutes; (6) that all grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts be competitively awarded; and (7) expansion of the Minority Health Initiative. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 4) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the National Center for Health Statistics; (2) grants to States for demonstration programs to increase the availability of primary care in health professional shortage areas; (3) Federal capital contributions to health professions student loan funds; (4) scholarships for health professions students of exceptional financial need; (5) grants to health professions schools for scholarships for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds; (6) educational loan repayments in return for serving as faculty at health professions schools; (7) grants and contracts to increase the number of underrepresented minority faculty at health professions schools; (8) grants to health professions schools for programs of excellence for minority individuals; (9) grants and contracts for health professions schools for recruiting, counseling, preparing, and providing scholarships to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds; (10) grants and contracts for research on the extent to which medical student educational debt has had a detrimental effect on students' decisions on entering primary care specialties. (Sec. 5) Mandates a conference on matters relating to the health of individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including racial and ethnic minorities.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1997
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1997 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities, including an employing authority or office to which specified provisions of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 or the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 apply. Prohibits related retaliation and coercion. Declares that: (1) this Act does not apply to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's partner; and (2) a disparate impact does not establish a prima facie violation of this Act. Prohibits: (1) quotas and preferential treatment; and (2) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from entering into a consent decree that includes a quota or preferential treatment. Declares that this Act does not apply to: (1) religious organizations (except regarding employment in a position the duties of which pertain solely to activities of the organization that generate unrelated business income subject to taxation under specified Internal Revenue Code provisions); (2) the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Provides for enforcement. Disallows State immunity. Makes the United States or a State liable for all remedies (except punitive damages, with compensatory damages available to the extent specified in certain existing provisions of law) to the same extent as under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Allows recovery of attorney's fees. Requires posting notices for employees and applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1997
Family Farm and Small Business Estate Tax Relief Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the estate tax exclusion for qualifying family-owned businesses. Provides for a related inflation adjustment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Personal Information Privacy Act of 1997 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to redefine the term "consumer report" to exclude identifying information listed in a local telephone directory (thereby ensuring that the personal identification information in the credit headers accompanying credit reports of unlisted individuals remains confidential). Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to prohibit the commercial acquisition or distribution of an individual's social security number (or any derivative of it), as well as its use as a personal identification number, without the individual's written consent. Provides for a civil action in a U.S. District Court by any individual aggrieved by any violation of this prohibition. Provides for civil money penalties for violations as well. Amends the Federal criminal code to require the uses of social security numbers by State departments of motor vehicles to be consistent with the uses authorized by the Social Security Act, the Privacy Act, and by any other statutes explicitly authorizing their use. Prohibits the use of social security numbers by marketing companies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to conduct a demonstration project under which covered members and beneficiaries under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) who are or become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act will be eligible to enroll in health benefits plans offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. Requires the demonstration project to be conducted in two geographic areas and to last at least two, but not more than three, contract years. Provides for: (1) management of participation in the project; (2) Government contributions for beneficiary coverage under the FEHB program; and (3) reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Healthy Future Title II: Caring for Families Title III: Family Safety Title IV: Economic Security Title V: Educating Our Children Title VI: Budgeting Provisions Children's National Security Act - Title I: Healthy Future - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow State plans to provide for making Medicaid assistance available to low-income children. (Sec. 102) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to provide guaranteed availability of individual health insurance coverage to uninsured children. (Sec. 103) Authorizes additional appropriations for diabetes-related research by the National Institutes of Health, particularly the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (Sec. 104) Amends PHSA to extend the authorization of appropriations for the bone marrow program. Requires the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry to increase the representation in the pool of potential donors of children of mixed ancestry. (Sec. 105) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, PHSA, SSA title XVIII (Medicare), and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information in group health insurance plans, individual market health insurance policies, and Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies. Prohibits such plans or their issuers from requiring participants, beneficiaries, or applicants to disclose genetic information. Requires participant, beneficiary, or applicant authorization before such plans or insurers may disclose such genetic information. Makes violators of such prohibitions and requirements liable for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages. (Sec. 106) Amends PHSA to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), to carry out, through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, a public information and education program on eating disorders, including toll-free telephone information and referral services. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 107) Amends SSA to set forth a special rule for Medicare reimbursement for primary care combined residency programs, including obstetrics and gynecology. (Sec. 108) Amends SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation to exempt families headed by an adult nonparental relative caregiver from certain welfare assistance work requirements and time limits. Requires work participation rates to be determined without regard to such families. Prohibits States from imposing work requirements or time limits on such families, and reduces a State's grant if it violates such prohibitions. Entitles eligible States to grants for assistance to adult nonparental caregivers. Makes appropriations for such grants. Title II: Caring for Families - Directs the Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development and of HHS to carry out a program of grants to demonstrate the effectiveness of providing assistance to private nonprofit organizations for development of intergenerational foster care housing and for providing foster care services in such housing. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 202) Amends the IRC with respect to the child care tax credit to increase the amount of employment-related expenses taken into account and the amount at which phase-down of percentage begins. Offsets the cost of such changes by eliminating the following tax provisions regarding foreign sales corporations: (1) an exclusion for certain exempt foreign trade income; and (2) a deduction for dividends received from certain foreign corporations. (Sec. 203) Requires an employer to provide an employee who is a parent of an adopted child or a foster child with the same leave the employer provides (in addition to leave required by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993) an employee who is on parental leave for the birth of a child. (Sec. 204) Amends SSA title IV part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) to require States to have certain standby guardianship laws and procedures as a condition of eligibility for Federal funds for foster care and adoption assistance. (Sec. 205) Amends SSA title IV part E to require States to: (1) administer qualifying examinations to all State employees with new authority to make decisions regarding child welfare services; and (2) establish certain procedures to expedite the permanent placement of foster children. Provides for placement of foster children in permanent kinship care arrangements. Gives States an option, for adoption assistance payment purposes, to deem kinship placement as adoption. Provides for consideration of the kinship placement option at the dispositional hearing. Makes Federal funds for foster care and adoption assistance available only to States that require State agencies to give preference to adoption applications of a foster parent or caretaker relative of the child. (Sec. 206) Amends the Child Care Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize appropriations for FY 1997 through 2002 for: (1) child care for low-income working families; and (2) child care supply shortages. Requires States and the Secretary of HHS to report on access to child-care by low-income working families. Title III: Family Safety - Directs the Attorney General, as part of the prevention of date rape, to: (1) reschedule Gamma y-hydroxybutyrate in schedule I and Ketamine in schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act; (2) establish nationwide programs and disseminate materials to provide young people in high school and college with education about the use of controlled substances in the furtherance of rape and sexual assault; and (3) assist law enforcement personnel in the prevention of abuse of controlled substances for such purpose. (Sec. 302) Amends ERISA and the IRC to allow the creation or assignment of rights to employee pension benefits, under a qualified child abuse order, if this is necessary to satisfy a judgment against an employee benefit plan participant or beneficiary for physically, sexually, or emotionally abusing a child. (Sec. 303) Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to protection from sexual predators. Amends Federal criminal law relating to punishment of sexual predators. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to condition State eligibility for certain grants on a State's having in effect laws which allow the court to impose a sentence of life in prison without parole on a criminal defendant convicted of a State offense for specified types of sexually predatory conduct. Requires the National Institute of justice to study and report to the Congress and the President on persistent sexual predators. (Sec. 304) Establishes requirements relating to child safety locks for firearms. Sets forth prohibitions, and civil penalties, against: (1) the manufacture of handguns as well as the transfer of firearms without locking devices attached; (2) and (2) the transfer of firearms by licensees without notice and warning. Includes loss of a Federal dealer's license among civil penalties for such violations. Sets forth criminal penalties for an adult's leaving a firearm and ammunition with an unsupervised minor. Directs the National Institute of Justice and the Consumer Product Safety Commission each to study, and report to the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury on, the feasibility of developing minimum quality standards for locking devices for firearms. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control to study and report on the results. Authorizes appropriations to the Attorney General and the Secretary of HHS for public service announcements and counter advertisements designed to educate the public on the proper storage of firearms. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations which prescribe minimum quality standards for locking devices. (Sec. 305) Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of the funds authorized for Federal aid highway programs for FY 2001, and ten percent of such amounts for subsequent fiscal years, from any State that has not enacted and is not enforcing: (1) a law that considers as intoxicated an individual with an alcohol concentration level of 0.08 percent or greater while operating a motor vehicle; and (2) a law that provides, for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, revocation of driver's license for at least six months for a first conviction, revocation for at least one year for a second conviction, and permanent revocation for a third or subsequent conviction. (Sec. 307) Amends Federal criminal law to define firearm locking device. Makes it unlawful for a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer to sell, deliver, or transfer a handgun (with law enforcement and government exceptions) without a locking device or a specified related warning. Sets forth civil (in addition to any administrative) penalties for related violations, including suspension or loss of license. Title IV: Economic Security - Amends the IRC to provide for a refundable credit for household and dependent care services necessary for gainful employment. Increases the amount of a taxpayer's employment-related expenses taken into account and the amount at which phase-down of percentage begins. (Sec. 401) Allows an employer-provided child care credit for businesses. Amends the Child Care Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to extend the authorization of appropriations for grants to States for child care services for low-income working families. Authorizes appropriations for child care supply shortages, and requires States to use such funds in certain areas for specified types of activities. Requires States and the Secretary of HHS to report on access to child- care by low-income working families. (Sec. 402) Amends the IRC to allow an individual an income tax credit equal to the unpaid child support such individual is entitled to receive for the taxable year. Requires the taxpayer to identify each individual required to pay support. Increases by the amount of such credit the tax of the individual failing to make required support payments. Prohibits treating any such increase in tax as a tax for purposes of determining a credit or the minimum tax. Title V: Educating Our Children - Establishes a program to provide Federal interest subsidies, or similar assistance, to States and localities to help them bring all public school facilities up to an acceptable construction standard and build the additional public schools needed in the next decade. (Sec. 503) Makes appropriations to the Secretary of Education to carry out this title. (Sec. 504) Reserves specified funds for Indian school construction by the Secretary of the Interior and for grants to outlying areas. (Sec. 511) Sets forth requirements for formula grants to States and for direct grants to local educational agencies (LEAs). (Sec. 531) Sets forth general requirements relating to technical employees, wage rates, non-liability of the Federal Government, and consultation with Secretary of the Treasury. Title VI: Budgeting Provisions - Provides for: (1) an increase in budget functions for domestic programs resulting from this Act; and (2) offsetting reductions in the defense budget function.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Access to Women's Health Care Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to establish standards requiring that group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans provide adequate access to services provided by obstetrician-gynecologists.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging Establishment Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish: (1) the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging in the National Institutes of Health; and (2) the National Biomedical Imaging Program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Teenage Pregnancy Reduction Act of 1997 - Mandates evaluation (directly or through grants or contracts) of a wide variety of existing promising programs to prevent adolescent pregnancy, including programs that do not receive Federal grants. Mandates scientific peer review of evaluation proposals. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes an operating grant to a program found (by the evaluation under this Act) to be effective. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Church Insurance Protection Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) any arson attacks against churches should be condemned; and (2) houses of worship and their congregations should be held harmless for any acts of arson and insurance companies should be prohibited from taking punitive measures against them because of such acts. Prohibits an insurer from canceling, declining to renew, or requiring a higher premium or contribution for fire insurance for a religious property based on: (1) the race, color, religion, or national origin of property users; (2) the status of the property as religious property; (3) any previous arson against the property; or (4) any perceived arson threat. Places authority and responsibility for investigating violations of, and enforcing, this Act in the Attorney General. Authorizes the Attorney General to begin a civil action. Authorizes preventive relief and mandates civil monetary damages.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1997
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Mother Teresa of Calcutta in recognition of her contributions to humanitarian and charitable activities. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike a suitable gold medal. Authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Declares these medals to be national medals. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates deposit of sale proceeds in the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Computer Learning Center Act of 1997 - Establishes a fund in the Department of Commerce to provide grants to assist nonprofit organizations in renovating vacant storefronts for computer learning centers in low income areas. Requires such an organization, in order to receive a grant, to certify that it has a secure commitment from a private business partner to donate 50 up-to-date computers for a proposed learning center. Requires such computer learning centers to educate residents of low-income areas in using computer equipment, including word processing and information gathering programs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Drug Courts Title II: Youth Courts Title I: Drug Courts - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to States, State and local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments for programs that involve: (1) continuing judicial supervision over offenders with substance abuse problems who are not violent offenders; and (2) the integrated administration of other sanctions and services, which shall include mandatory periodic testing for the use of controlled substances or other addictive substances during any period of supervised release or probation for each participant. Sets forth requirements regarding grant applications, the Federal grant share of program costs, geographic distribution of grant awards, reporting requirements, and technical assistance, training, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Youth Courts - Directs the Attorney General to carry out a program in accordance with title I specifically for individuals who are under age 21. Permits a youth to participate in the program under this title only if a parent or other legal guardian participates. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Children's Environmental Protection Subtitle A: Disclosure of Industrial Releases That Present a Significant Risk to Children Subtitle B: Disclosure of High Health Risk Chemicals in Children's Consumer Products Title II: Public Right to Know About Toxic Chemical Use Children's Environmental Protection and Right to Know Act of 1997 - Title I: Children's Environmental Protection - Subtitle A: Disclosure of Industrial Releases That Present a Significant Risk to Children -Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish thresholds for toxic chemicals which may present significant risks to children's health or the environment. Includes lead, mercury, dioxin, cadmium, chromium and other specified bioaccumulative chemicals as substances subject to such thresholds. Makes dioxin and specified bioaccumulative chemicals subject to toxic chemical release form reporting requirements under such Act. Authorizes citizen suits against the Administrator for failures to establish thresholds under this Act. Subtitle B: Disclosure of High Health Risk Chemicals in Children's Consumer Products - Amends the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the National Toxicology Program, to publish a list of substances which are toxic due to carcinogenic, neurotoxic, or reproductive toxic effects. Directs the Secretary to identify those substances to which infants and young children are exposed. Requires manufacturers or importers of eligible products (defined as toys or other articles intended for use by children) which contain such substances to report specified information to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, including information supporting that a substance is not a misbranded or banned hazardous substance. Authorizes exemptions from such reporting requirements if a substance would not cause substantial personal injury or illness as a result of foreseeable handling, including ingestion by children. Permits citizen suits with respect to certain violations under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act and against the Commission for failure to perform duties under this Act. Title II: Public Right to Know About Toxic Chemical Use - Expands information to be included in toxic chemical release forms, including the number of employees and occupational exposures at reporting facilities as well as materials accounting information. Requires the Administrator to take certain actions to: (1) standardize data and obtain and integrate information regarding toxic chemicals; (2) consolidate all annual reporting requirements of Federal environmental laws for small businesses and entities subject to toxic chemical release reporting; and (3) provide the public with one point of contact for access to information gathered by EPA. Requires disclosures on the uses of toxic chemicals by reporting facilities. Permits the withholding of portions of materials accounting information reported by covered facilities for purposes of protecting trade secrets.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Grandparent and Family Caregiver Support Act of 1997 - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to generally exempt adult nonparental relative caregiver heads of families on TANF assistance from various specified (welfare reform) provisions added by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that involve work and various time limits, including the five-year limit on TANF assistance. Sanctions States that ignore such exemption in imposing work requirements and time limits on such adults with reduced State TANF grants. Provides for grants to States for assistance provided for adult nonparental relative caregivers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, acting through the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, to establish a demonstration program providing assistance to nongovernmental organizations and grass roots organizations in developing countries with illicit crop production for the purpose of developing alternative crop production specific to the unique soil, environmental, and economic development needs of such countries. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1997 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish in the National Park Service (NPS) a program to be known as the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom under which the Secretary shall: (1) produce and disseminate educational materials about the Railroad; (2) provide technical assistance to other government agencies, private entities, or the Governments of Canada, Mexico, or any appropriate Caribbean country to ensure coordination of Federal and non-Federal elements of the Network; and (3) regulate use of an official symbol for the Network. Includes within the Network: (1) NPS units or programs pertaining to the Railroad; (2) Federal, State, local, or privately-owned properties pertaining to the Railroad that have a verifiable connection to it and that are included or eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places; and (3) governmental or nongovernmental facilities or programs of educational, research, or interpretive natures that are directly related to such Railroad. Prohibits amounts from being appropriated for the purposes of this Act except to the Secretary for carrying out his or her responsibilities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Block Grants and Grant Requirements Title II: Allocation of Grant Amounts Title III: Federal Guarantees for Financing Education Development Block Grant Act of 1997 - Title I: Block Grants and Grant Requirements - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to local bond authorities to repair their school infrastructures. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Allocation of Grant Amounts - Directs the Secretary to allocate any amounts made available for assistance under this Act in accordance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Title III: Federal Guarantees for Financing - Authorizes the Secretary to guarantee and make commitments to guarantee the notes or other obligations issued by local bond authorities (local education agencies or local governments with authority to issue area bonds) to finance school infrastructure repairs, if there is a lack of financing from other sources. Prohibits such guarantees or commitments if the total outstanding notes or obligations of the issuer guaranteed under this title (excluding any amount deceased under the repayment contract) would exceed five times the amount of the grant approval for the issuer (thus allowing a local bond authority to borrow up to five times the grant amount to make school infrastructure repairs). (Sec. 302) Sets forth security and repayment requirements. (Sec. 303) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make grants to or on behalf of a local bond authority to cover up to 30 percent of the net interest cost of such obligations; and (2) assist the issuer of a guaranteed note or other obligation, in circumstances of extreme hardship, in the payment of principal and interest due. (Sec. 304) Directs the Secretary to carry out training and information activities with respect to this guarantee program. (Sec. 305) Authorizes the Secretary, to the extent approved or provided in appropriations Acts, to enter into commitments to guarantee notes and obligations under this title. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to monitor the use of such guarantees by local bond authorities and, if necessary, limit the amount.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Drug Seizure Accountability Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to set penalties of up to 15 years' imprisonment, a fine, or both for theft under color of law. Specifies that if the stolen property is a controlled substance, the penalty shall be the same as for the offense of possessing such substance under the Controlled Substances Act. Requires: (1) each law enforcement authority in the United States to make and maintain records of controlled substances that come into their possession during the course of law enforcement activities; and (2) the Attorney General to include in the annual report to the Congress information regarding the types and amounts of controlled substances for which such records have been made during the period covered by the report.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions relating to substance abuse prevention and treatment block grants, substance abuse data collection, and a national database on substance abuse prevention. Requires that States spend a minimum percentage of the grants on drug abuse prevention and treatment in communities with a significant number of individuals who are at risk of developing drug abuse (in addition to amounts required by other provisions for such individuals).
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions relating to substance abuse prevention and treatment block grants, substance abuse data collection, and a national data base on substance abuse prevention. Requires that States spend a minimum percentage of the grants on rehabilitation services (in addition to amounts required by other provisions for such services).
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Directs the Attorney General, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to carry out a program for the prevention and treatment of substance abuse among individuals who are in Federal penal or correctional institutions and in the criminal custody of the Attorney General. Provides for special consideration to individuals whose terms of such custody are within 12 months of completion. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to increase the amount of funds that the Director of National Drug Control Policy may transfer between National Drug Control Program agency accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Small Business Development Fund Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose upon each individual who has a 50 percent strategy-based capital gains tax reduction (as defined in this Act) for the taxable year a tax equal to one percent of the strategy amount for that taxable year. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to publish a list of applicable tax reduction strategies for the next calendar quarter. Makes the above amendment effective only if a decrease in the maximum Federal capital gains tax rate is enacted during 1997. Amends Code provisions relating to the treatment of certain interests in corporations as stock or indebtedness to treat a corporate interest as stock if such interest: (1) has a maximum weighted average maturity of over 40 years; or (2) is payable in stock of the issuer or a related person. Requires an issuer to be treated as issuing an interest in stock if: (1) the issuer is a corporation required to file annual financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission; (2) such statements do not characterize such interest as indebtedness; and (3) such interest has a maximum weighted average maturity of over 15 years. Provides exceptions. Makes such amendment effective only if no decrease in the maximum Federal capital gains tax rate is enacted during 1997. Establishes in the Treasury the Small Business Development Fund and appropriates to such Fund amounts equal to any taxes received as a result of amendments made by this Act. Provides Fund assistance application requirements. Allows the Fund to provide such financial assistance to credit unions, community development corporations, entities engaged in job creation or enterprise and commercial development, or financial institutions needing capital to begin or expand a small business activity in a low-income community.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Declares that the Congress: (1) maintains that the standard for the "Made in USA" label should continue to be that a product was all or virtually all made in the United States; and (2) urges the Federal Trade Commission to refrain from lowering the standard at the expense of consumers and jobs in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1997
Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to make satisfactory progress toward completion of high school or a college program a permissible work activity under the TANF program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1997
Lewis and Clark Expedition Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one-dollar and half-dollar coins emblematic of the expedition of Lewis and Clark. Allocates surcharges from coin sales between the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council and the National Park Service for activities associated with the bicentennial commemoration of the expedition.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1997
Establishes as a nonprofit corporation the National Military Museum Foundation to: (1) preserve military artifacts having historical or technological significance; (2) facilitate research on military history; (3) promote partnerships between the Federal Government and the private sector for the preservation of such artifacts; (4) engage in related military history documentation and preservation activities; and (5) recognize and honor the individuals who have served in the armed forces. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1997
American Cities Investment Act of 1997 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to: (1) set limitations on maximum outstanding loan guarantees issued by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; (2) authorize the Secretary to guarantee advances from Federal Home Loan Banks; and (3) expand the community participation requirements to include major stakeholders (as defined by this Act). Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to authorize advances to metropolitan cities, urban counties, or their public agencies for certain extraordinary, nonusual community development purposes pursuant to such loan guarantees. Prohibits the use of such funds to supplant Federal or non-federal fund sources. Sets forth amount limit and repayment provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that any exclusion from taxation of capital gains on the sale of a primary residence enacted during the 105th Congress should take effect on January 1, 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Hunger Has a Cure Act of 1997 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to provide for an annual price-indexed standard deduction adjustment (as of FY 2001). (Sec. 3) Revises maximum excess shelter deduction amounts and authorizes such amounts through FY 2001 (currently permanent). (Sec. 4) Provides for an annual price-indexed vehicle allowance adjustment. (Sec. 5) Revises work requirement provisions. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to reserve specified amounts for FY 1998 through 2002 employment and training programs. (Sec. 6) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 to make legal immigrants who became disabled after U.S. entry and certain elderly and under-18 years of age legal immigrants eligible for the food stamp program (program). Extends program eligibility for refugees and asylees from five years to seven years. Repeals specified program attribution of (alien) sponsor income provisions. (Sec. 7) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) specified funds under the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 should be appropriated to provide FY 1998 short-term emergency food assistance; and (2) FY 1997 and 1998 appropriations for the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) should meet case load demands. (Sec. 9) Amends the National School Lunch Act to: (1) increase lunch and supper reimbursement rates for the summer food service program for children; and (2) increase the number of meals and-or supplements available under the child and adult food care program. (Sec. 10) Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to direct the Secretary to carry out school breakfast and summer feeding program outreach activities. Obligates specified Treasury funds for State start-up and expansion costs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Gift of Life Congressional Medal Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design and strike a bronze medal to commemorate organ donors and their families. Makes any organ donor, or the family of any organ donor, eligible for the medal. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to direct the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) to arrange for medal presentation to eligible individuals. Declares the medals to be national medals. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into agreements with the OPTN to collect funds to offset expenditures relating to medal issuance. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit all solicited donations into the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Customs Enforcement and Market Access Act of 1997 - Directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), whenever the United States negotiates a protocol for accession of a country to the World Trade Organization (WTO), to negotiate for inclusion in that protocol: (1) provisions for effective market access to that country's domestic markets for U.S. textile and apparel products; and (2) provisions allowing the suspension or revocation of paragraph 14 (relating to increasing import levels based on growth rates) of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, if the country has failed to enforce such market access provisions. Requires negotiation of bilateral agreements containing similar provisions with countries that are not WTO members. (Sec. 3) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to direct the USTR to identify annually, report to the Congress, and publish in the Federal Register the names of priority foreign countries that deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons producing or selling textile or apparel products. (Sec. 4) Establishes in the Treasury a Textile Global Competitiveness Research Fund, consisting in part of fines levied under this Act, and whose amounts shall be available: (1) to the Office of Textiles, Apparel, and Consumer Goods of the Department of Commerce to provide funds for the American Textile Partnership the Textile-Clothing Technology Center, the National Textile Center, and the Garment Industry Development Center; (2) for adjustment assistance for firms in the textile and apparel industry that have been adversely affected by textile and apparel imports; and (3) to the Customs Service for the enforcement of laws governing trade in textile and apparel goods. (Sec. 5) Directs the USTR to take necessary steps to negotiate a quota agreement with any non-WTO country whose exports to the United States exceed $100 million annually, or are creating serious damage or the actual threat of it to the U.S. textile and apparel industry. States the sense of the Congress that any agreement negotiated with a non-WTO country which already has a textile agreement with the United States should permit imports of textile and apparel products of that country, during each 12-month period, to increase by not more than the percentage of growth in the U.S domestic market for all textile and apparel products in the preceding 12-month period. Specifies provisions for inclusion in the accession protocol of countries acceding to the WTO. (Sec. 6) Requires the USTR to ensure that any protocol under negotiation for accession to the WTO of a non-WTO country with a bilateral textile import agreement with the United States, as well as any subsequent agreement, provides for a reduction in the quantity of that country's textile and apparel goods that may be imported into the United States if the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements determines that the bilateral agreement is being circumvented and that inadequate or no measures are being taken by that country to take action against such circumvention. (Sec. 7) Prescribes specified Customs Service enforcement actions and penalties (including fines, seizure, and forfeiture) for violations of customs laws involving textile and apparel goods. (Sec. 10) Directs the Commissioner of Customs to establish a Division on Textile Enforcement. (Sec. 11) Requires withdrawal of preferential tariff or quota treatment (unilateral trade concessions) from the textile and apparel goods of any country: (1) demonstrating a consistent pattern of circumventing textile agreements with United States; (2) refusing to cooperate in investigations; or (3) failing to provide fair and equitable market access for U.S. textile and apparel goods.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Community Environmental Equity Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to define "covered substance" to mean hazardous contaminants, chemicals, materials, wastes, and substances listed, identified, or defined in specified laws or designated by the President. Prohibits any entity that handles, manages, treats, releases, disposes, stores, transports, or delivers covered substances from disproportionately exposing any individual or community, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, to any covered substance. Authorizes enforcement: (1) by denial or termination of authorization to handle, manage, etc., covered substances; (2) by any other means authorized by law; and (3) for entities receiving Federal financial assistance, through specified compliance provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Extends the legislative authority of the National Peace Garden to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia until June 30, 2002.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Work for Real Wages Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide, with respect to an individual, that the term earned income credit shall include a specified portion of benefits received under part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act if: (1) as a condition of receiving any TANF payment or amount, the individual is required to perform services for any person or governmental unit; and (2) such individual receives no compensation (other than such payment or amount) for performing such services.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Extends congressional gratitude to Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope for his accomplishments and service on behalf of U.S. military service members. Confers upon Mr. Hope the status of an honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1997
African Growth and Opportunity Act - Declares the support of the Congress for the economic self-reliance of Sub-Saharan African countries committed to economic and political reform, market incentives and private sector growth, eradication of poverty, and the importance of women to economic growth and development. (Sec. 4) Makes a sub-Saharan African country eligible to participate in programs, projects, or activities, or receive assistance or other benefits under this Act for a fiscal year only if the President determines, according to specified evidence, that it has established, or is making continual progress toward establishing, a market-based economy. Directs the President to monitor and review eligible sub-Saharan countries that are in need of making continual progress in meeting one or more of this Act's requirements. Makes ineligible to participate in programs or receive assistance or other benefits under this Act any countries that have not made progress in meeting such requirements. (Sec. 5) Expresses the sense of the Congress that sustained economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa depends upon the development of a receptive environment for trade and investment through the continued support by the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) of programs that help to create this environment. Sets forth declarations of policy with respect to assistance provided to sub-Saharan Africa through the Development Fund for Africa and the African Development Foundation. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide: (1) additional program authorities to include assistance to promote democratization and strengthen conflict resolution; and (2) increased program flexibility through presidential waivers of certain requirements (except those for certain child survival activities). (Sec. 6) Directs the President to convene annual high-level meetings between U.S. Government officials and officials of the governments of sub-Saharan African countries to foster close economic ties between them. Directs the president to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 7) Directs the President to develop a plan meeting certain requirements to enter into one or more trade agreements with certain eligible sub-Saharan African countries to establish a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Area. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of the Congress that reform of trade policies in sub-Saharan Africa that removes structural impediments to trade, consistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO), can lay the groundwork for sustained growth there in both textile and apparel exports. Directs the United States, pursuant to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, to eliminate the existing quotas on textile and apparel exports to the United States from Kenya and Mauritius, provided they adopt a visa system to guard against the unlawful transshipment of such goods. Directs the President to: (1) continue the existing no quota policy for sub-Saharan African countries; and (2) report to the Congress on the growth in textiles and apparel exports to the United States from such countries in order to protect U.S. consumers, workers, and textile manufacturers from economic injury on account of the no quota policy. (Sec. 9) Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to authorize the President to provide duty-free treatment for any non-import-sensitive article that is the growth, product, or manufacture of an eligible sub-Saharan African beneficiary developing country. Waives the competitive need limitation with respect to eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Extends duty-free treatment to sub- Saharan African beneficiary developing countries through May 31, 2007. (Sec. 10) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) specified international financial institutions and their programs are vital to the economic growth and development of sub-Saharan African countries; (2) the executive branch should extinguish concessional debt owed to the United States by the poorest sub-Saharan countries; and (3) the Congress supports the efforts of the executive branch to secure agreement from such institutions to maximize debt reduction for such countries as part of the multilateral initiative known as the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Supports and encourages the implementation of specified initiatives through AID and the Trade Development Agency, including: (1) the formation of American-African business partnerships; (2) technical assistance to promote trade reforms; (3) agricultural market liberalization; (4) trade promotion; and (5) trade in services. (Sec. 11) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) should exercise its authorities to initiate two or more equity funds in support of projects in sub-Saharan African countries, particularly projects that expand opportunities for women entrepreneurs and employment for the poor. (Sec. 12) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise the composition of the Board of Directors of OPIC to require at least one of the eight presidentially-appointed Directors to have extensive private sector experience in sub-Saharan Africa. Directs the Board to increase financial assistance in sub-Saharan Africa. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to make similar changes with respect to the Export-Import Bank of the United States. (Sec. 13) Directs the President to establish the position of Assistant United States Trade Representative within the Office of the United States Trade Representative to focus on trade issues relating to sub-Saharan Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1997
Insular Fair Wage and Human Rights Act of 1997 - Amends Federal law to prohibit the affixation of the "Made in the USA" label to a textile fiber product from the Northern Mariana Islands unless: (1) each worker producing such product was paid a minimum wage equal to or greater than a specified amount; and (2) the product was manufactured in compliance with all Federal labor laws, including, but not limited to, the National Labor Relations Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Applies to the Northern Mariana Islands: (1) the Immigration and Nationality Act; and (2) the minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as modified by this Act. Requires a minimum wage through December 31, 1997, of $3.55 per hour, adjusted semiannually thereafter in $.50 increments until it equals the minimum wage required by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Requires a study of the extent of human and labor rights violations in the Northern Mariana Islands, which shall be included in the Secretary of the Interior's annual Federal-CNMI Initiative on Labor Immigration, and Law Enforcement report to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
![Official portrait of Rep. Clayton, Eva M. [D-NC-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000494_200.jpg)