United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1995
Fair Pay Act of 1995 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin. Directs courts, in any action brought under this section for violation of such prohibition, to allow expert fees as part of the costs awarded to prevailing plaintiffs. Allows any such action to be maintained as a class action. Requires employers subject to such prohibition to preserve records which document and support the method, system, calculations, and other bases used by the employer in establishing, adjusting, and determining the wages paid to their employees, for periods of time prescribed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and make reports to the EEOC. Directs the EEOC to: (1) undertake studies and provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning effective means available to implement the provisions of this Act; (2) carry on a continuing program of research, education, and technical assistance with specified components related to the purposes of this Act; and (3) include a separate evaluation and appraisal regarding the implementation of this Act in its annual report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Designation of Wilderness Title II: Administrative Provisions America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 1995 - Title I: Designation of Wilderness - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin wilderness areas; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert wilderness areas; (3) the Grand Staircase Wilderness and the Kaiparowits Plateau Wilderness; (4) Escalante Canyon wilderness areas; (5) the Henry Mountains Wilderness; (6) the Dirty Devil River Wilderness; (7) Cedar Mesa wilderness areas; (8) Canyonlands wilderness areas; (9) San Rafael Swell wilderness areas; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin wilderness areas. Title II: Administrative Provisions - Reserves the Federal Government's rights to a quantity of water sufficient for each wilderness area designated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1995
Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Act of 1995 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of services for the early detection of prostate cancer and certain drug treatments for such cancer. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish fee schedules for such services. Amends Federal law to cover such detection and treatment services for veterans as a preventive health service. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for certain public health programs related to prostate cancer research and education. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to: (1) conduct and support prostate cancer health services and screening and treatment procedures; and (2) provide for the development, periodic review, and updating of clinically relevant guidelines, standards of quality, performance measures, and medical review criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1995
Lead Battery Recycling Incentives Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations for persons who generate, transport, store, recycle, or dispose of spent lead-acid batteries. Sets forth required elements of such regulations, including specific requirements for battery storage and transfers and recordkeeping and management practices. Directs battery retailers to accept from customers spent lead-acid batteries of the same type and quantity as the batteries sold. Requires the Administrator to implement education activities to inform the public about the environmental and safety hazards associated with improper handling and disposal of spent lead-acid batteries. Authorizes appropriations. Applies such requirements to batteries which are transported to or managed by a lead-acid battery recycling facility, a secondary lead smelter, or any facility that prepares batteries for recycling. Requires producers or importers of lead-acid batteries to recycle, for the ten-year period beginning 24 months after this Act's enactment, an amount of spent lead equal to at least the amount determined by multiplying the amount of lead in the batteries produced or imported by such persons by the recycling percentage established by the Administrator. Authorizes compliance with such requirement by: (1) reclaiming lead and using it in the production of new batteries; (2) purchasing reclaimed lead from secondary lead smelters to produce new batteries or shielding; or (3) purchasing recycling credits. Sets the recycling percentage at 80 percent. Increases such percentage by two points annually. Authorizes the Administrator to reduce or waive the two percent increase if the rate exceeds 95 percent. Directs the Administrator to allow: (1) producers of lead-acid batteries to create credits for recycling an amount of batteries greater than required; and (2) producers of new batteries to purchase such credits for purposes of complying with this Act. Applies battery recycling requirements to persons who produce or import more than 10,000 pounds of new lead-acid batteries annually. Sets the recycling percentage at 90 percent if the Administrator fails to promulgate recycling regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1995
Declares, with regard to AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, and substance abuse, the sense of the Congress concerning women, youth, families, extended family members, and other nonbiological relatives.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Meat Inspection Title II: Poultry Inspection Family Food Protection Act of 1995 - Title I: Meat Inspection - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to issue regulations to control and reduce human pathogens and other harmful substances in meat and meat food products. Considers as adulterated a carcass or meat or meat food product prepared at an official establishment (as defined by this Act) for commercial distribution that is not in compliance with such regulations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulatory limits for human pathogens and other harmful substances in meat or meat food products. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and administer surveillance and sampling systems for foodborne illnesses and adulterating substances; (2) issue hazard control regulations for official establishments; (3) convene a meat and poultry safety advisory board; and (4) establish voluntary guidelines for retail meat handling, processing, and storage. Authorizes State enforcement for in-State violations. Directs the Secretary to prescribe livestock traceback methods to permit animal and establishment identification. Authorizes the Secretary to prohibit or restrict animal entry into or from a slaughtering establishment. Requires a preparer who has reasonable belief that any carcass, meat, or meat food product is adulterated or misbranded to notify the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to recall such products. Authorizes civil penalties for violations of this title. Provides whistleblower protection. Title II: Poultry Inspection - Amends the Poultry Products Inspection Act to provide similar provisions to title I.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1995
Contact Lens Prescription Release Act of 1995 - Directs the Federal Trade Commission to amend its trade regulation rule on ophthalmic practice under 16 C.F.R. 456 to require the prescriber of contact lenses, regardless of whether or not the patient requests the prescription, to offer to release a copy of it: (1) after the fitting process is completed; or (2) in the case of a prescription renewal, immediately if there is no change in its specifications.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1995
Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research, Assistance, and Education Act of 1995 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate a program for the conduct and support of research and training, the dissemination of health information, and other programs regarding Parkinson's disease. Establishes the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Parkinson's Disease. Requires Core Center Grants to encourage the development of innovative multidisciplinary research and provide training concerning Parkinson's, designating each grant recipient as a Morris K. Udall Center for Research on Parkinson's Disease. Authorizes establishment of the National Parkinson's Disease Data System to collect, store, analyze, retrieve, and disseminate data. Establishes: (1) the National Parkinson's Disease Information Clearinghouse; (2) a grant program to support scientists who have distinguished themselves in Parkinson's research; and (3) a national education program to foster a national focus on Parkinson's and the care of those with Parkinson's. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1995
National Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 1995 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the sale of beer, mineral water, soda water, wine coolers, or carbonated soft drinks in beverage containers by retailers and distributors unless such containers carry a refund value of ten cents. Requires distributors to collect from retailers the refund value for each beverage sold to retailers and retailers to collect from consumers the refund value for each beverage sold to consumers. Requires retailers and distributors to pay the refund on returned containers of brands (in the same kind and size of container) sold. Directs distributors to pay annually to a State unclaimed refund amounts (the amount by which the total refund value of all containers sold by distributors exceeds the amount paid by distributors to persons in that State). Makes unclaimed refunds available to a State for carrying out pollution prevention and recycling programs. Prohibits distributors and retailers from: (1) selling beverages in metal beverage containers with detachable openings; and (2) disposing of containers subject to this Act or any metal, glass, or plastic from such containers (other than the top or seal) in landfills or solid waste disposal facilities. Makes this Act inapplicable to States that have adopted requirements identical to those under this Act or that have demonstrated achievement of a recycling or reuse rate for beverage containers of at least 70 percent. Prohibits States or political subdivisions that impose taxes on the sale of beverage containers from imposing any tax on the amount attributable to the refund value of such containers. Provides for the adjustment for inflation of the ten-cent refund amount at ten-year intervals. Prescribes civil penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 1995
Authorizes appropriations to the National Science Foundation for the Alliance for the Centers of Excellence in Teaching Preparation (to increase the number of minority scientists).
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1995
United States Peace Tax Fund Act - Establishes the United States Peace Tax Fund to receive payments designated by qualified individuals to be used for nonmilitary purposes. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to the Congress on amounts transferred into the Fund. Requires the information to be printed in the Congressional Record. Permits conscientious objectors to designate on their income tax returns that any tax liability be paid into the Fund. Makes this designation procedure available to any individual who has demonstrated himself or herself, by reason of religious training and belief, to be opposed to participation in war in any form. Requires every taxpayer who makes such a designation for any taxable year to file a questionnaire return for the purpose of determining eligibility for such status. Permits the setting aside of criminal or civil penalties imposed upon a taxpayer for nonpayment of tax prior to enactment of this Act if the taxpayer pays the tax due (with interest) and establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury that the nonpayment was due to religious beliefs. Authorizes corresponding procedures in connection with estate and gift tax payments, under conditions prescribed by the Secretary. Directs the Comptroller General to determine the percentage of actual appropriations made by the United States from the Federal budget during the preceding year for military purposes. Requires publication of this information in the Congressional Record. Authorizes a portion of the Fund (corresponding to amounts expended for military purposes) to be appropriated each fiscal year for the following programs and activities: (1) the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC); (2) Head Start; (3) the United States Institute of Peace; and (4) the Peace Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1995
Torture Victims Relief Act of 1995 - States that the United States shall not involuntarily return a person to a country where such person would be subject to torture. Establishes an expedited procedure for processing refugee, asylum, withholding of deportation, and parole entry claims of torture victims. Expresses the sense of the Congress that sufficient funds should be allocated to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's Resource Information Center to maintain information on foreign torture. Provides for specialized training in torture identification and handling of torture victims for consular, immigration, and asylum personnel. Directs the Center for Disease Control to study and report on torture victims residing in the United States. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide for respective domestic and foreign treatment centers for torture victims. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations from specified funds for the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. Expresses the sense of the Congress in support of international means to protect torture victims and investigate human rights violations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Department of Commerce Grants Title II: Public Works and Job Restoration Subtitle A: Jobs 2000 Subtitle B: Employment in Support of Community Renewal Subtitle C: Employment Activities: Repair and Renovation of Educational Facilities Title III: General Provisions Job Creation and Infrastructure Restoration Act of 1995 - Title I: Department of Commerce Grants - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make grants to any State or local government for construction, renovation, repair, restoration, or other improvement of local public works projects, including those for which Federal financial assistance is authorized under other titles or Acts. Limits the Federal share to not more than 90 percent of project cost. Prohibits any new grants after the expiration of any three-month period during which the national unemployment rate remains below five percent for each such month, or after September 30, 1999, whichever occurs first. (Sec. 103) Provides for allocation of funds and for preferences. Gives priority to State or local governments with unemployment rates higher than the national average. Requires State and local prioritization of applications. Allows localization of unemployment determinations. (Sec. 105) Sets forth general limitations, including Buy American and minority participation requirements and applicability of laws regarding individuals with disabilities. (Sec. 106) Authorizes appropriations and deems them to be emergency spending. Title II: Public Works and Job Restoration - Subtitle A: Jobs 2000 - Jobs 2000 Act of 1995 - Provides for jobs for the unemployed and underemployed, especially youth, through payments for labor and related costs for: (1) construction, repair, or rehabilitation of community and educational facilities; (2) reclamation and conservation of public lands; and (3) creation, repair, rehabilitation, and restoration of public safety, public transportation, health, social services, and recreation facilities and other activities necessary to the public welfare. (Sec. 203) Sets forth participant eligibility requirements, duration and extent of subsidized employment, participation priorities, special considerations for welfare recipients and veterans, and equal employment opportunities for traditionally underrepresented groups. (Sec. 204) Requires that at least 75 percent of funds made available to any recipient under subtitles B and C be used for wages and related employment benefits for work which the recipient certifies has been performed in authorized activities. Sets forth other limitations on use of funds, except training costs in specified circumstances. Subtitle B: Employment in Support of Community Renewal - Part A: Community Improvement Projects - Requires participants to be employed in community improvement projects in various specified activities under the categories of: (1) repair, rehabilitation, or improvement of public facilities; (2) conservation, restoration, rehabilitation, or improvement of public lands; and (3) public safety, health, social service, and other activities necessary to public welfare. (Sec. 210) Provides for joint programs, public lands projects limitations, eligibility and qualification of administrative entities, allotment of funds, requirements for receipt of funds, reports, and project design priorities and coordination. Part B: Community Improvement and Renewal Activities for Youth Trainees - Authorizes use of funds for wages and benefits for eligible youth for part-time employment up to 32 hours per week in authorized youth trainee activities at a work site of a public or private nonprofit or for-profit employer, in a manner which requires and is consistent with enrollment in high school, an equivalency program, or a program of basic skills, skills training, or employability development for at least eight hours per week. (Sec. 221) Provides for joint programs, youth eligibility requirements, exemption from unemployment duration requirements, priority for the economically disadvantaged, and equitable service for school dropouts. Part C: State Job Programs - Reserves five percent of State allotments for: (1) authorized State-administered programs and activities; (2) special assistance for areas with sudden or severe economic dislocations; (3) State-directed emergency aid to cope with natural disasters; and (4) special assistance to seasonal farmworkers and small farmers in areas with severe economic disruption. (Sec. 231) Sets forth requirements for program and activity selection and design. Subtitle C: Employment Activities: Repair and Renovation of Educational Facilities - Part A: Elementary and Secondary School Facility Improvement Jobs - Requires funds to be made available to any eligible local education agency in an eligible jurisdiction to provide employment to eligible participants in repair, renovation, restoration, or rehabilitation of public school facilities. (Sec. 241) Provides for use of quick-start projects, permitted uses of funds, tribal school projects, allotment of funds, and receipt requirements. Part B: Higher Education Facility Improvement Projects - Requires funds under this part to be made available to higher education institutions in eligible jurisdictions to provide employment to eligible participants in work on repair, restoration, renovation, or rehabilitation of academic facilities. (Sec. 251) Provides for use of quick-start projects, permitted uses of funds, selection of projects, allotment of funds, and receipt requirements. Part C: Special Definitions for Subtitle C - Sets forth special definitions for subtitle C. Part D: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations. Title III: General Provisions - Sets forth general requirements, including wage rates, labor standards, fiscal controls and sanctions, and judicial review procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1995
Prohibits the shipment in interstate or foreign commerce of steel jaw leghold traps and of articles of fur derived from animals trapped in such traps. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to reward nongovernment informers for information leading to a conviction under this Act. Empowers enforcement officials to detain, search, and seize suspected merchandise or documents and to make arrests with and without warrants. Subjects seized merchandise to forfeiture.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 1995
Chlorine Zero Discharge Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require pulp and paper manufacturing facilities to achieve zero discharge into water of organochlorine compounds, byproducts, or metabolites formulated as a result of the use of chlorine or any other chlorinated oxidizing agent in the pulp and paper manufacturing process. Requires permits for paper and pulp mills which use chlorine or chlorinated oxidizing agents to require compliance with the zero discharge requirement. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) evaluate alternatives to the use of organochlorines in pulp and paper manufacturing and to publish a report on the transfer to chlorine-free technology in the pulp and paper industry as a model for pollution prevention; and (2) provide technical information and support to assist permit applicants in the use of such alternatives.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Contract Formation Subtitle A: Competition Statutes Subtitle B: Truth in Negotiations Subtitle C: Procurement Protests Subtitle D: Policy, Definitions, and Other Matters Title II: Contract Administration Subtitle A: Contract Payment Subtitle B: Cost Principles Subtitle C: Claims and Disputes Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Title III: Commercial Items Title IV: Simplified Acquisition Threshold Subtitle A: Threshold Defined Subtitle B: Inapplicability of Laws to Acquisitions At or Below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold Subtitle C: Simplified Procedures Subtitle D: Micro-Purchase Procedures Title V: Acquisition Management Subtitle A: Pilot Programs Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Title VI: Other Procurement-Related Matters Subtitle A: Standards of Conduct/Ethics Subtitle B: Additional Amendments Subtitle C: Intellectual Property Title VII: Small Business and Socioeconomic Laws Subtitle A: Small Business Laws Subtitle B: Socioeconomic Laws Title VIII: Defense International Trade Federal Acquisition Improvement Act of 1995 - Title I: Contract Formation - Subtitle A: Competition Statutes - Part I: Armed Services Acquisitions - Subpart A: Competition Requirements - Amends Federal armed services law to revise competition and other contract requirements to provide for delegation of certain authority. (Sec. 1002) Modifies approval levels for contracts. (Sec. 1003) Defines advisory and assistance services. Subpart B: Planning, Solicitation, Evaluation, and Award - Provides that nothing under any Federal law shall be construed to prohibit an agency from adding, deleting, or tailoring evaluation factors or specifications at any time up until the issuance of a request for final offers, when purchasing commercial items. (Sec. 1012) Authorizes contracting officers to limit the competitive range if they make specified determinations. (Sec. 1013) Provides for pre-award debriefings of excluded offerors. (Sec. 1014) Establishes two-phase selection procedures. Subpart C: Kinds of Contracts - Repeals certain fee limitations, as well as specified provisions relating to architectural and engineering services and employment of outside architects and engineers. Revises provisions applicable to contracts for architectural and engineering services and construction design. Part II: Civilian Agency Acquisitions - Subpart A: Competition Requirements - Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (FPASA) to revise competition and other contract requirements to provide for delegation of certain authority. (Sec. 1052) Modifies approval levels for contracts. (Sec. 1053) Defines advisory and assistance services. (Sec. 1054) Allows justification for use of noncompetitive procedures in order to provide for continued occupancy of leased space. Subpart B: Planning, Solicitation, Evaluation, and Award - Provides that nothing under any Federal law shall be construed to prohibit an agency from adding, deleting, or tailoring evaluation factors or specifications at any time up until the issuance of a request for final offers, when purchasing commercial items. (Sec. 1062) Authorizes contracting officers to limit the competitive range if they make specified determinations. (Sec. 1063) Provides for pre-award debriefings of excluded offerors. (Sec. 1064) Establishes two-phase selection procedures. Subpart C: Kinds of Contracts - Repeals certain fee limitations. Part III: Acquisitions Generally - Repeals a Small Business Act provision for duplicative approval authority. Repeals provisions under the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act for an annual competitive report, a review of regulations for consistency with Federal acquisition regulation, and a biannual report on procurement regulatory activity. Subtitle B: Truth in Negotiations - Part I: Armed Services Acquisitions - Amends Federal armed services law relating to truth in negotiations for armed services acquisitions to revise certain required regulations. Part II: Civilian Agency Acquisitions - Amends FPASA provisions relating to truth in negotiations for civilian agency acquisitions to revise certain required regulations. Revises provisions relating to the status of certain Federal employees' health benefits contracts. Subtitle C: Procurement Protests - Part I: Protests to the Comptroller General - Amends Federal law relating to money and finance to revise requirements that the Comptroller General rule on dispositive motions with respect to protests. (Sec. 1202) Adds provisions relating to frivolous protests. (Sec. 1203) Revises requirements relating to decisions on protests. (Sec. 1204) Prohibits certain awards of costs unless the party has provided the agency a reasonable opportunity to provide relief pursuant to an established administrative procedure for resolution of protests that provides for review by a senior agency official and tolls protest stay periods during pendency of agency review. (Sec. 1205) Provides for availability of funds following resolution of a formal protest or any administrative or judicial challenge. Part II: Protests in the Federal Courts - Amends Federal law relating to the judiciary and judicial procedure to give the U.S. Court of Federal Claims exclusive judicial jurisdiction of federal contract bid protests. Amends Federal law relating to money and finance to declare that specified provisions do not give the Comptroller General exclusive jurisdiction over protests nor affect the right of any interested party to file a protest with the contracting agency or an action in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Part III: Protests in Procurement of Automatic Data Processing - Amends FPASA to revise requirements relating to decisions on protests, and to add provisions relating to interlocutory appeals, suspension of procurement pending protest, dispositive motions, and frivolous protests. (Sec. 1436) Prohibits certain awards of costs unless the party has provided the agency a reasonable opportunity to provide relief pursuant to an established administrative procedure for resolution of protests that provides for review by a senior agency official, and tolls protest stay periods during pendency of agency review. Part IV: General - Amends the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (OFPPA) to add provisions regarding: (1) protests of procurements made through the Federal acquisition computer network under the simplified acquisition threshold; and (2) offeror statements to refrain from protesting procurements. (Sec. 1443) Expresses the sense of the Congress that executive agencies should consider the establishment of their own administrative remedial procedures for the resolution of protests, and that protest stay periods should be tolled during the pendency of such procedures. Subtitle D: Policy, Definitions, and Other Matters - Amends FPASA to: (1) repeal a multi-year limitation on inspection, maintenance, and repair; (2) authorize the Administrator of the General Services Administration to accept and pay for public utility services under a tariff at the lowest applicable rates, without entering into a contract; and (3) make specified funds available for procurement by contract for services of guards, elevator operators, messengers, and custodians without limitation. Title II: Contract Administration - Subtitle A: Contract Payment - Part I: Armed Services Acquisitions - Amends Federal armed services law to add provisions for vestiture of title with respect to acquisitions. Part II: Civilian Agency Acquisitions - Amends FPASA to add provisions for vestiture of title with respect to acquisitions. Subtitle B: Cost Principles - Part I: Civilian Agency Acquisitions - Amends FPASA to make certain contracts for health benefits for Federal employees covered contracts for purposes of applicability of allowable cost principles. Part II: Acquisitions Generally - Directs the Federal Acquisition Registry to identify those costs incurred with respect to a protest that are unallowable under covered contracts. Subtitle C: Claims and Disputes - Amends Federal law relating to the judiciary and judicial procedures to divest Federal district courts of jurisdiction for Federal contract disputes subject to the Contract Disputes Act of 1978. (Sec. 2252) Amends the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 to reduce from 12 months to 90 days the period for a contractor's filing for an action directly on the claim in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (in lieu of appealing the contracting officer's decision to an agency board). Subtitle D: Miscellaneous - Amends Federal law relating to money and finance to eliminate specified provisions relating to accounting for advisory and assistance services. Waives cancellation of funding for: (1) satellite on-orbit incentive fees; and (2) Navy and other Government shipbuilding and conversion. Title III: Commercial Items - Amends OFPPA to revise a definition of commercial items. Title IV: Simplified Acquisition Threshold - Subtitle A: Threshold Defined - Amends OFPPA to define simplified acquisition threshold as: (1) $100,000; or (2) $1 million for the acquisition of services, including construction, when the procurement is conducted as a small business set-aside and if supply items are expected to constitute less than 20 percent of the total value of the contract. Subtitle B: Inapplicability of Laws to Acquisitions At or Below the Simplified Acquisition Threshold - Repeals a provision of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 relating to inapplicability of certain laws (the Miller Act) to acquisitions at or below the simplified acquisition threshold. Subtitle C: Simplified Procedures - Amends OFPPA to: (1) repeal provisions for duplicative authority for simplified acquisition purchases; (2) conform procurement notice posting thresholds; and (3) provide exemptions from a wait period when using a detailed synopsis and from synopsizing requirements. (Sec. 4205) Repeals a duplicative procurement notice provision under the Small Business Act. Subtitle D: Micro-Purchase Procedures - Amends OFPPA to authorize purchases not greater than $2,500 without obtaining competitive quotations if the purchase price is considered reasonable (removing a requirement for contracting officer determination of this). Title V: Acquisition Management - Subtitle A: Pilot Programs - Amends OFPPA to replace provisions for tests of innovative procurement methods and procedures with provisions for acquisition research demonstration projects in the form of agency test programs to determine whether a specified change in acquisition policies or procedures would result in improved Federal acquisition management. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act to revise certain administrative procedures. Title VI: Other Procurement-Related Matters - Subtitle A: Standards of Conduct/Ethics - Amends OFPPA to repeal specified provisions relating to procurement integrity. Adds provisions relating to penalties and administrative actions for cases of disclosing and obtaining contractor bid or proposal information or source selection information. Subtitle B: Additional Amendments - Amends Federal armed services law with respect to the inapplicability of a prohibition on gratuities. Subtitle C: Intellectual Property - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to revise provisions for cooperative research and development agreements. Adds provisions for Federal agencies to negotiate licensing agreements for copyrights owned by, or voluntarily assigned to, the Government. (Sec. 6101) Adds provisions for Federal agency claims of copyright of certain computer programs. Revises provisions for distribution of royalties received by Federal agencies. (Sec. 6102) Revises employee activities provisions to authorize Federal agencies to allow Government employee authors of computer programs to acquire title to copyright, subject to certain conditions. (Sec. 6103) Amends Federal copyright law to provide an exception to the prohibition on copyright protection for works of the Federal Government. (Sec. 6104) Amends Federal patent law to revise provisions relating to patent rights in inventions made with Federal assistance. Title VII: Small Business and Socioeconomic Laws - Subtitle A: Small Business Laws - Amends the Small Business Act to add provisions relating to direct contracting with certain program participant companies and to small business subcontracting plans, and to revise a reporting requirement on the number of small business subcontract awards. (Sec. 7004) Repeals: (1) the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program Act of 1988; (2) a program for manufacturing contracts through manufacturing application and education centers; and (3) a pilot program for very small business concerns. Subtitle B: Socioeconomic Laws - Repeals the Walsh-Healey Act (relating to public contracts). (Sec. 7102) Amends the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to: (1) revise provisions relating to biennial reports on Federal procurement; and (2) remove certain provisions relating to requirements for certification and verification. Title VIII: Defense International Trade - Amends Federal law relating to arms export control and foreign military sales authorizations with respect to U.S. companies' competitiveness and the reduction or waiver of certain charges.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Voluntary Environmental Cleanup Title II: National Environmental Business Development Program Title III: National Environmental Response, Remediation, and Restoration Training Programs Subtitle A: National Environmental Response Training Program Subtitle B: National Environmental Remediation and Restoration Training Program Title IV: National Environment-Related Employment Program Comprehensive Economic and Environmental Recovery Act of 1995 - Title I: Voluntary Environmental Cleanup - Authorizes innocent landowners or responsible owners to submit cleanup plans for affected sites to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for approval. Defines: (1) an "affected site" as a facility that has environmental contamination that could prevent its use, development, reuse, or redevelopment and is limited in scope and can be comprehensively characterized and readily analyzed; (2) an "innocent landowner" as a person who intends to own or who owns an affected site and did not contribute to any contamination or the release of hazardous substances; and (3) a "responsible owner" as a person who owns an affected site on which industrial activities take place. Establishes a Cleanup Loan Fund to provide funding to persons undertaking the development and implementation of approved cleanup plans. Requires liens in favor of the United States to arise on contaminated property subject to a loan. Authorizes civil actions to enforce loan agreements. Provides for the annual transfer of a specified amount of funds from the Hazardous Substance Superfund to the Cleanup Loan Fund. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include within the tax deduction allowed for trade and business expenses all amounts paid or incurred in preparing and implementing cleanup plans. Title II: National Environmental Business Development Program - Exempts wages paid to an owner-employee (any employee who is a principal shareholder) of an employer which is a new environmental business from social security taxes. Makes such exemption inapplicable to amounts after the first $100,000 paid to such employee. Defines a "new environmental business" as any corporation which: (1) is a small business concern; (2) meets requirements similar to those under the Internal Revenue Code for targeted urban areas; (3) is a new business for the calendar year; and (4) during such year, trains and certifies environmental response employees and emergency responders, employs such individuals, or performs environmental assessments, remediation, or restoration. Provides for a similar exemption from social security taxes for self-employed new environmental businesses. Terminates such exemptions after 2000. Title III: National Environmental Response, Remediation, and Restoration Training Programs - Subtitle A: National Environmental Response Training Program - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a National Environmental Response Training Program for purposes of: (1) training and certifying targeted urban area residents who are unemployed and underemployed to become environmental response employees and emergency responders; and (2) providing grants to environmental training providers. Requires the Secretaries of Labor and Education to develop an academic or work-site experience curriculum cooperatively with local educational agencies to enable 11th and 12th grade students to become environmental response employees or emergency responders. Provides for grants to communities for purposes of implementing such curriculum. Subtitle B: National Environmental Remediation and Restoration Training Program - Directs the Administrator to establish an education and training program in qualified institutions of higher education to enable qualified individuals to acquire career training in environmental engineering, environmental sciences, or environmental project management as it relates to hazardous waste response, cleanup, and restoration. Makes eligible for such program persons who have a high school diploma or its equivalence, are enrolled in or accepted into a qualified institution of higher education, and reside in targeted areas. Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Energy and the Administrator to provide grants to qualified institutions of higher education, subject to certain conditions. Requires such institutions to use such funds for purposes of establishing consortium programs to provide education and training in environmental restoration to qualified individuals. Title IV: National Environment-Related Employment Program - Requires Federal agencies authorized to award contracts to carry out environmental or emergency response to give preference to firms that: (1) meet the requirements of the contract; (2) are located in a targeted urban area; and (3) have a payroll in which at least 25 percent of their certified environmental response employees and responders reside in a targeted urban area or, in cases where availability of certified environmental response employees and responders does not allow firms to comply, actively participate in a youth apprenticeship program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1995
Maritime Security Act of 1995 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to modify the authority of the Secretary of Transportation regarding operating-differential subsidies (ODSs) for vessels over 25 years old. Allows the Secretary to authorize replacement vessels for certain liner vessels receiving ODSs, making them ineligible for ODSs and limiting them to payments under this Act until the existing contract terminates by its terms. Allows the Secretary to authorize replacement vessels for certain bulk cargo vessels receiving ODSs, requiring that they continue to receive ODSs until the existing contract terminates by its terms. Prohibits new ODS contracts after enactment of this Act. Prohibits renewing or extending existing contracts. Allows operation of an ODS vessel in the U.S. foreign trade without restriction, notwithstanding any other provision of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936. Allows certain liner vessels to be transferred and registered under the flag of an effective U.S.-controlled foreign flag, provided the vessel is available for requisition by the Secretary. Mandates the establishment of a fleet of active, militarily useful vessels to meet national defense and other security requirements and maintain an American presence in international commercial shipping. Requires that the fleet consist of privately owned, U.S.-flag liner vessels with ODSs. Requires each fleet vessel to have an operating agreement with the Secretary, operate exclusively in the foreign trade, and be documented under Federal law. Allows the vessels to operate in the foreign trade without restriction. Requires the owner or operator of a vessel covered by an agreement, in war, national emergency, or the national interest, to make available, under an Emergency Preparedness Program, vessels, capacity in vessels, intermodal systems and equipment, terminal facilities, and intermodal and management services. Prohibits an owner, operator, or related party from engaging in noncontiguous trade, except as permitted in regulated waivers. Authorizes appropriations for the operating agreements under this Act. Declares that existing provisions prohibiting ODS holders from operating competing foreign-flag vessels do not preclude owners, operators, and others from owning, chartering, or operating foreign-flag vessels in specified ways. Amends cargo preference provisions to modify the definition of "privately owned United States-flag commercial vessels." Deems certain cargo preference provisions fulfilled regarding liner vessels if specified requirements are met. Terminates restrictions and requirements of specified provisions on vessels constructed, reconstructed, or reconditioned with the aid of a construction-differential subsidy for liner or dry bulk cargo vessels when they become 25 years old and for liquid bulk cargo vessels when they become over 20 years old.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1995
Maritime Administration Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 - Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Transportation for FY 1996 for: (1) the operating-differential subsidy; (2) operating agreements for vessels enrolled in the Maritime Security Program; (3) operations and training activities; and (4) the costs of guaranteed loans authorized by the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as well as for administrative expenses related to loan guarantee commitments. Amends: (1) the Merchant Ship Sales Act of 1946 to require the Secretary of Transportation to consult with the Secretary of Defense (currently, Secretary of the Navy) regarding the National Defense Reserve Fleet and to repeal certain restrictions on requiring bids, payments, performance, or completion bonds from contractors with respect to repair or maintenance of Fleet vessels; and (2) the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to extend war risk insurance authority. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to submit to the Congress a report on the condition of public ports of the United States each even-numbered (currently, each) year.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1995
Amends the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 to revise requirements for the computation of fees for the guarantee of obligations under the Federal Ship Mortgage Insurance program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1995
Panama Canal Commission Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1996 - Authorizes: (1) expenditures by the Panama Canal Commission for FY 1996 for the operation, maintenance, and improvement of the Panama Canal and for administrative expenses (limits reception and representation expenses of the Board); and (2) the use of Commission funds for the purchase of passenger motor vehicles for replacement only.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1995
Panama Canal Amendments Act of 1995 - Amends the Panama Canal Act of 1979 to reestablish the Panama Canal Commission as a wholly owned Government corporation within the executive branch.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1995
Extends through December 31, 2003, the eligibility of veterans for: (1) inpatient care for exposure to toxic substances and ionizing radiation during military service; and (2) inpatient and outpatient care for exposure to a toxic substance or environmental hazard during the Persian Gulf War. Extends eligibility for such outpatient care for any disability to veterans who, during the period before December 31, 2003, either: (1) served on active duty in Vietnam and may have been exposed to dioxins or other toxic substances during such duty; or (2) were exposed during active duty to ionizing radiation during atomic testing or during the American occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1995
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicaid coverage of services furnished by certified nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists which are authorized under State law to be performed by such a nurse, regardless of whether or not such services are performed under the supervision of a physician or other health care provider. Defines "clinical nurse specialist" as an individual who: (1) is a registered nurse licensed to practice nursing in the State in which the individual furnishes services; and (2) has a master's degree in a clinical area of nursing from an accredited institution.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1995
Waterways Restoration Act of 1995 - Amends the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to delete the requirement that each watershed improvement under such Act must contain benefits directly related to agriculture that account for at least 20 percent of the total project benefits. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and implement a Waterways Restoration Program which provides technical assistance and grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities for carrying out waterway restoration projects. Requires such projects to achieve ecological restoration or protection and one or more of the following objectives: (1) flood damage reduction; (2) erosion control; (3) stormwater management; or (4) water quality enhancement. Provides project descriptions and priorities, including the location of projects in low-income or economically depressed areas adversely affected by poor watershed management. Outlines other project requirements, including a cost-benefit analysis. Requires the Secretary to designate Program administrators for each participating State (including a State agency if approved by the Secretary). Requires program grants to be awarded on an annual basis. Provides project application and selection requirements, including the establishment in each participating State of an interdisciplinary team of specialists to assist in reviewing project applications under the Program. Outlines conditions for receiving assistance under the Program, with sponsor and cosponsor requirements. Requires a non-Federal share of 25 percent of project costs, with a waiver for economically depressed communities. Limits the administrative and technical assistance costs of the Program. Requires the Governor of each participating State to establish a citizens oversight committee to evaluate management of the Program in that State. Requires program administrators to issue annual reports summarizing the Program evaluations of the oversight committees. Requires the Secretary to give a priority to waterways restoration projects in making funding decisions under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1995
Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Authorization Extension Act of 1995 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for: (1) the Office of Minority Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health; (2) health statistical and epidemiological activities of the National Center for Health Statistics; (3) grants for surveys or studies, data analysis, and research regarding ethnic and racial populations; (4) grants to States for demonstration programs to increase the availability of primary health care in health professional shortage areas; (5) grants to provide public housing residents with primary health services and health counseling and education services; (6) Federal capital contributions to student loan funds for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds; (7) grants to schools of medicine, osteopathic medicine, and dentistry for scholarships for students of exceptional financial need; (8) grants to health professions schools for scholarships; (9) educational loan repayments for those agreeing to serve as members of the faculties of specified types of health professions schools; (10) grants and contracts with health or educational entities to assist in increasing the number of underrepresented minority faculty members; (11) grants to health professions schools to support programs of excellence in health professions education for minority individuals; and (12) grants and contracts to assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to undertake education to enter a health profession. Declares that provisions of the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program, except as inconsistent, shall apply to provisions regarding educational loan repayments of health professionals who agree to conduct clinical research as employees of the National Institutes of Health. (Current law applies some but not all of the provisions that would be applied under the amendment made by this Act.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1995
Calls for: (1) the United States to use its influence with the Turkish Government and as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to suggest that the Turkish Government ensure the proper protection for the Patriarchate and all Orthodox faithful residing in Turkey, assure that positive steps are taken to reopen the Halki Patriarchal School of Theology, provide for the proper protection and safety of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Patriarchate personnel, establish conditions that would prevent the recurrence of past terrorist activities and vandalism and other personal threats against the Patriarchate, establish conditions to ensure that the Patriarchate is free to carry out its religious mission, and do everything possible to find and punish the perpetrators of any provocative and terrorist acts against the Patriarchate; and (2) the Administration to report to the Congress the status and progress of such concerns on an annual basis.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1995
Honors the memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide. Calls for the United States to encourage the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge and commemorate the atrocity committed against the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1995
Newborn Infant HIV Notification Act - Requires a State, if it requires that the results of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing of an infant be reported to it (or if the State conducts an HIV test of the infant), to disclose such results to: (1) the biological mother of the infant if the mother is the legal guardian; or (2) specified State agencies if the State is the legal guardian of the infant. Directs the State, in disclosing such results (other than to State agencies), to ensure that appropriate counseling on HIV is provided to the individual.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1995
Corporate Welfare Reduction Act of 1995 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to determining the foreign tax credit, to replace the formula for reducing the amount of oil and gas extraction taxes taken into account. Disallows as creditable amounts: (1) any taxes paid or accrued to a foreign country with respect to foreign oil and gas income (including extraction income) which are not imposed under the country's generally applicable income tax law; and (2) any other taxes on such income to the extent that the country's law is structured or operates so that the tax amount imposed will generally be materially greater, over a reasonable period, than the amount generally imposed on other income. Separates such income, for purposes of certain limitations on the application of the credit, into foreign oil and gas extraction income and foreign oil related income. Removes the deferral, for purposes of taxation of controlled foreign corporations, of tax on extraction income or income from consumption in the foreign country. Provides that the Secretary of the Treasury's authority, in allocating income, deductions, credits, and allowances among taxpayers owned or controlled by the same interests, shall not be limited by any restriction on the ability of the entities to transfer or receive money or property. Terminates, effective with taxable years beginning January 1, 1996, the exclusion of foreign earned income and the housing cost amounts of U.S. citizens or residents living abroad. Treats the gain or loss of a nonresident alien individual or foreign corporation that is a ten-percent shareholder in a domestic corporation upon disposition of such a corporation's stock as if the taxpayer were engaged during the taxable year in a trade or business within the United States and such gain or loss attributable to a permanent U.S. trade or business establishment. Imposes a 26-percent minimum tax on nonresident alien individuals. Provides for the withholding of tax on such dispositions, except in the case of stock which is not regularly traded. Excepts such gain from the branch profits tax imposed on foreign corporations. Requires notice to the Secretary upon distributions by a U.S. person to a foreign person in redemption of stock or complete liquidation of a subsidiary. Removes the exemption of ten-percent shareholders from the tax on interest of nonresident alien individuals received from portfolio debt investments. Redefines portfolio interest as only interest paid on obligations issued by governmental entities. Provides special rules for determining the source of income from the sale of inventory property.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1995
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) if Department of Defense (DOD) commissary and exchange systems are reduced or eliminated, derived funds should be used to increase other forms of compensation for current and retired military personnel in order to offset the decrease in indirect pay for such personnel; and (2) if exchange stores are reduced, eliminated, or privatized, funds should be provided to DOD to upgrade and avoid the erosion of morale, welfare, and recreation activities and other facilities provided to current and retired military personnel and their dependents.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1995
Requires nonlethal excess supplies of the Department of Defense to be made available to a State, local government, territory, or possession, upon request, before being made available for humanitarian relief purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1995
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government should not establish any policy restricting medical professionals from providing women full and accurate medical information on their reproductive health options, including the provision of nondirective abortion counseling.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improving Aid to Families with Dependent Children Title II: Making Work Pay Title III: Improving Child Support Enforcement Title IV: Reauthorization of Child Care and Development Block Grant Title V: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code Title VI: Effective Date Family Stability and Work Act of 1995 - Title I: Improving Aid To Families With Dependent Children - Amends parts A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) and F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make various specified changes with regard to AFDC benefits, including changes: (1) increasing the standard earned income disregard under AFDC and State flexibility regarding recipient participation in the JOBS program; (2) eliminating the different treatment of two-parent families; (3) extending the transitional child care guarantee under AFDC; (4) increasing the Federal matching rates for child care under AFDC; (5) increasing JOBS program funding; (6) adding requirements for State JOBS program participation rates; (7) increasing JOBS and transitional child care matching rates for States whose recipients leave AFDC for paid employment; (8) increasing at-risk child care funding; and (9) establishing a jobs creation and work experience program under JOBS. Title II: Making Work Pay - Amends Medicaid and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to provide for transitional Medicaid benefits and the continuation of food stamps in order to make work pay for former AFDC recipients. (Sec. 202) Provides for the temporary exclusion of earned income for purposes of determining rent paid for units in federally assisted housing. Title III: Improving Child Support Enforcement - Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to make various specified changes with regard to: (1) State obligations to provide paternity establishment and child support enforcement services; (2) distribution of payments; (3) due process rights; (4) privacy safeguards; (5) program administration and funding, including funding for Secretarial assistance to State programs; (6) locate and case tracking, including providing for centralized collection and disbursement of support payments and an expanded Federal Parent Locator Service; and (7) State law requirements, including interstate enforcement of child support orders, expedited administrative and judicial procedures, and paternity establishment. (Sec. 351) Establishes a National Child Support Guidelines Commission to develop a national child support guideline for consideration by the Congress that is based on a study of various guideline models, the benefits and deficiencies of such models, and any needed improvements. (Sec. 361) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a change in the order of refund distributions and make other specified changes with regard to the enforcement of support orders, including providing for the Internal Revenue Service to collect child support arrears and revising the authority for support collection with respect to Federal employees. (Sec. 364) Provides for the enforcement of child support obligations of members of the armed forces through the establishment of a centralized personnel locator service. (Sec. 365) Makes other specified changes with regard to child support enforcement matters, including establishing State procedures for: (1) placing liens for arrears of child support on motor vehicle titles of individuals owing such arrears; (2) voiding fraudulent transfers in cases where a debtor transferred income or property to avoid payment of a child support creditor; (3) suspending driver's and other types of licenses in arrearage cases; and (4) charging for the collection of interest and penalties on arrearages. (Sec. 368) Modifies arrearage reporting to credit bureaus. (Sec. 389) Extends the statute of limitations for collection of arrearages. (Sec. 371) Provides for the denial of passports for nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 372) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention of 1956. Provides for the treatment of international child support cases as interstate cases. (Sec. 381) Makes a technical correction to the definition of medical child support order under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Title IV: Reauthorization of Child Care And Development Block Grant - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to reauthorize the child care and development block grant program. Title V: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 35 percent to 36.25 percent of a corporation's taxable income over $10 million the top marginal corporate tax rate. Title VI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1995
Amends the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 to exempt the provision of food by other foreign countries from provisions calling upon them to restrict trade with Cuba. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate the denial of foreign tax credit with respect to Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1995
Long-Term Care Insurance Consumer Protection Act of 1995 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the sale of long-term care insurance unless this Act is complied with. Imposes civil money penalties. Requires application of standards meeting the requirements of this Act, allowing State standards providing greater policyholder protection. Imposes a duty of good faith and fair dealing. Prohibits: (1) twisting, high pressure tactics, and cold lead advertising; (2) knowingly selling a policy to an individual eligible for assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; (3) selling a service-benefit policy duplicating existing coverage; and (4) selling a policy to an organization's member without disclosing a financial arrangement between the seller and the organization. Imposes civil money penalties and applies Social Security Act provisions regarding civil money penalties. Requires issuers to return premiums if a policy is denied or returned, explain denials, and use pre-issuance medical assessments of applicants 75 years old or older, and limit agent sales compensation. Imposes civil money penalties and applies Social Security Act provisions regarding civil money penalties. Prohibits cancellation or nonrenewal except for nonpayment of premium or material misrepresentation. Regulates continuation and conversion rights. Requires policies to use uniform language and format and contain certain disclosures. Prohibits conditioning or limiting benefits in specified ways or placing certain limits or requirements on home health care services, if covered. Mandates a minimum coverage period. Prohibits treating benefits differently for individuals with certain dementias or mental illness differently from individuals with other conditions. Restricts preexisting condition limits. Requires policies to determine benefits based on a functional assessment. Requires policies to provide for annual increases in payment levels and the maximum payment limit and limits on annual premium increases. Requires policies to provide that, if a policy lapses after being in effect for a minimum period, the policy will provide certain benefits without additional premiums. Prohibits policy cancellation or claim denial based on issuance fraud or misrepresentation unless notice is provided within six months of issuance. Allows applicants to return a policy within 30 days and have the premium refunded. (Sec. 3) Amends Medicaid provisions to require each State Medicaid plan to establish a regulatory program to enforce the standards issued under this Act. Prohibits Medicaid payments to a State for nursing facility services if the State fails to establish a regulatory program. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations for information, counseling, and assistance regarding the procurement of adequate and appropriate long-term care insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1995
Student Loan Affordability Act of 1995 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax deduction for the interest paid on qualified higher education loans. Allows such deduction in computing adjusted gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1995
Captive Exotic Animal Protection Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for knowingly transferring, transporting, or possessing a confined exotic animal for purposes of allowing the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or the collection of a trophy.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1995
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to redefine legitimate or illegitimate children as children born in or out of wedlock, respectively, for purposes of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1995
Historically Black Colleges and Universities Historic Building Restoration and Preservation Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to administer a program of grants-in-aid, from amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry out the National Historic Preservation Act for FY 1996 through 1999, to eligible historically black colleges and universities for the preservation and restoration of historic buildings and structures on their campuses. Requires a grantee to covenant, for the period of time specified by the Secretary, that: (1) no alteration will be made in the property with respect to which the grant is made without the concurrence of the Secretary; and (2) reasonable public access will be permitted to such property for interpretive and educational purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) obligate funds for a grant with respect to a building or structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places only if the grantee agrees to match the amount of such grant with funds derived from non-Federal sources; and (2) waive this matching requirement if an extreme emergency exists or if such a waiver is in the public interest to assure the preservation of historically significant resources. Earmarks funds for FY 1996 for grants to: (1) Fisk University; (2) Knoxville College; and (3) historically black colleges and universities identified for inclusion in the Department of the Interior Historically Black College and University Historic Preservation Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Establishment of a State-Based American Health Security Program; Universal Entitlement; Enrollment Title II: Comprehensive Benefits, Including Preventive Benefits and Benefits for Long Term Care Title III: Provider Participation Title IV: Administration Subtitle A: General Administrative Provisions Subtitle B: Control Over Fraud and Abuse Title V: Quality Assessment Title VI: National Health Security Budget; Payments; Cost Containment Measures Subtitle A: Budgeting and Payments to States Subtitle B: Payments by States to Providers Subtitle C: Mandatory Assignment and Administrative Provisions Title VII: Promotion of Primary Health Care; Development of Health Service Capacity; Programs to Assist the Medically Underserved Subtitle A: Promotion and Expansion of Primary Care Professional Training Subtitle B: Direct Health Care Delivery Subtitle C: Primary Care and Outcomes Research Subtitle D: School-Related Health Services Title VIII: Financing Provisions; American Health Security Trust Fund Subtitle A: American Health Security Trust Fund Subtitle B: Taxes Based on Income and Wages Subtitle C: Increase in Excise Taxes on Tobacco Products Title IX: Conforming Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 American Health Security Act of 1995 - Title I: Establishment of a State-Based American Health Security Program; Universal Entitlement; Enrollment - Establishes in the United States an American Health Security Program (AHSP) to be administered by the States (including the District of Columbia and, if they so choose, U.S. territories) in accordance with Federal standards established under this Act. Requires a State to establish a State health security program (program) in accordance with this Act to receive Federal health care funding. (Sec. 102) Entitles every individual who is a resident of the United States and is a U.S. citizen or national or a lawful resident alien to benefits for health care services under this Act under the appropriate State program. Sets forth provisions regarding the treatment of nonimmigrants and other individuals. (Sec. 103) Requires each State program to: (1) provide a mechanism for the enrollment of individuals entitled or eligible for benefits (which includes a process for the automatic enrollment of individuals at the time of birth, immigration, or other acquisition of lawful resident status in the United States and provides for the enrollment of all individuals who are eligible to be enrolled as of January 1, 1995); and (2) issue a health security card to enrolled individuals. (Sec. 104) Makes benefits portable when enrollees move or travel between States. Prohibits imposition of a minimum residence or waiting period in excess of three months for program benefit eligibility. Allows reciprocal arrangements between programs in adjacent States for coverage for enrollees residing in the border region. (Sec. 105) Makes benefits available under this Act for items and services furnished on or after January 1, 1996. (Sec. 106) Supersedes Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, and CHAMPUS, which must pay for completion of services they covered before January 1, 1996. Specifies that nothing in this Act affects the eligibility of veterans for Veterans Administration health benefits and services, or of Indians for benefits and services of the Indian Health Service. Title II: Comprehensive Benefits, Including Preventive Benefits and Benefits for Long Term Care - Entitles all eligible individuals to have payment made (if medically necessary and appropriate for the maintenance of health or for the diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitation of a health condition) for inpatient and outpatient hospital services, professional services of State-authorized practitioners, community-based primary health services, preventive services, long-term, acute, and chronic care services, prescription drugs, biologicals, insulin, and medical foods, dental services, mental health services and substance abuse treatment services, diagnostic tests, and other specified items and services, including outpatient therapy, durable medical equipment, home dialysis, ambulance, prosthetic devices, and other items and services specified by the American Health Security Standards Board (Board) (established by title IV of this Act). Specifies that: (1) no deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments may be charged for acute care benefits, except for specified cost-sharing for long-term care services; (2) no provider may charge a patient for covered services; (3) no private insurance may duplicate program benefits; and (4) States and employers may provide additional benefits at their own expense. (Sec. 203) Covers home and community-based long-term care services for persons unable to perform at least two of five listed activities of daily living without assistance. Limits the cost of such services to 65 percent (or an alternative percentage determined by the Board) of the cost of nursing home care for an individual in the same area in which the services were provided. (Sec. 204) Sets forth special delivery requirements for mental health and substance abuse treatment services provided to at-risk children. Directs the Board to make national determinations on coverage of experimental services, with professional and public input. Specifies that where the Board has recognized practice guidelines, coverage is limited to services provided according to the guidelines or any established exception process. Allows the Board to limit quantities of eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and durable medical equipment that will be covered. Excludes from coverage cosmetic procedures, personal comfort items, and services furnished in non-participating facilities. (Sec. 205) Specifies that: (1) States may require providers to certify that covered services were provided according to program requirements; (2) quality review programs must meet Federal standards; and (3) States may require plans of care for coverage of certain services. Title III: Provider Participation - Requires providers, to receive payment, to agree: (1) not to discriminate based on race, national origin, income, religion, age, sex or sexual orientation, disability, handicapping condition, or (subject to the professional qualifications of the provider) illness; (2) not to charge patients for covered services; (3) to furnish necessary information to the Board or program; (4) not to employ other providers whose participation has been terminated for cause; and (5) to submit bills within a specified time frame. (Sec. 302) Considers a health care provider to be qualified if it is licensed or certified and meets State law requirements, applicable Federal requirements, and additional standards that the Board may specify. Requires: (1) the Board to establish, evaluate, and update national minimum standards to assure the quality of services provided and to monitor efforts by programs to assure such quality; (2) a reasonable transition period for any new standards; and (3) the Board to provide for an exchange of information among programs with respect to quality assurance and cost containment. (Sec. 303) Defines a "comprehensive health service organization" (CHSO) as a public or private organization which, in return for a capitated payment amount, furnishes or arranges a full range of health services and out-of-area coverage in the case of urgently needed services to an identified population in a specified service area which enrolls voluntarily in the organization. Sets forth various CHSO requirements regarding enrollment, withdrawal for cause, accessibility of services, continuity of care, consumer and provider representation on the board of directors, a patient grievance program, medical standards committees, premiums, utilization and bonus information, provision of services to enrollees at institutions operating under global budgets, marketing of services, and provision of emergency services to nonenrollees. (Sec. 304) Extends current Medicare prohibitions on physician self-referrals to other services and applies such prohibitions to AHSP. Title IV: Administration - Subtitle A: General Administrative Provisions - Establishes the American Health Security Standards Board to develop policies and procedures for enrollment, benefits, provider participation, national and State funding levels, assisting programs with planning for capital expenditures and service delivery, and other functions and to establish uniform reporting standards for health services and programs. Authorizes the Board to make statistical and other studies, test alternative payment methods, and develop and test information and budget systems. Provides for the appointment of an Executive Director of the Board and an Inspector General. (Sec. 402) Directs the Board to provide for an American Health Security Advisory Council to advise the Board on matters of general policy, in the formulation of regulations, and in the performance of the Board's duties and to study the operation of, and utilization of health services under, this Act. (Sec. 403) Directs the Board and the Secretary to consult with private entities. (Sec. 404) Requires: (1) each State to submit to the Board a plan for a program for providing health care services to residents of the State (but allows neighboring States to join in regional plans); (2) the Board to provide incentives for States to develop regional planning mechanisms to promote the rational distribution of, adequate access to, and efficient use of, tertiary care facilities, equipment, and services; (3) State programs to meet Federal standards, including single-agency administration, a State health security budget, provider payment and quality review methodologies consistent with Federal standards, freedom to choose providers, a consumer ombudsman, an annual report, and a fraud and abuse prevention and control unit; and (4) the Governor of each State to provide for appointment of a State Health Security Advisory Council to advise and make recommendations to the Governor and State regarding program implementation. Allows: (1) programs not meeting Federal requirements, after notice, to be placed in receivership under the Board's jurisdiction; and (2) States to use fiscal agents, after competitive bidding, to process claims. (Sec. 405) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to direct all activities of the Department of Health and Human Services toward contributions to health of the people in a manner complementary to this Act. Subtitle B: Control Over Fraud and Abuse - Authorizes the Board to exclude providers from participation, impose civil monetary penalties, and seek criminal prosecution for fraud or abuse, based on current Medicaid standards. Requires providers to disclose relevant information about their ownership interest in health facilities and services, based on current Medicaid standards. (Sec. 412) Requires the Board: (1) through the Inspector General, to establish a national health care fraud and abuse data base, including the identity of any provider who has been convicted, had a license revoked, has been excluded or suspended from participation, or has been subjected to a civil penalty with respect to a State program, Medicare, Medicaid, or any other federally funded health program; and (2) to establish rules to protect the confidentiality of information in the data base. Requires States to provide relevant information for this purpose and to periodically inquire of the data base to determine provider qualifications to participate in programs. Sets penalties for submitting false information. (Sec. 413) Requires each program to establish and maintain a health care fraud and abuse unit. (Sec. 414) Directs the Board to provide for the assignment of a unique identifier to each participating provider and to each individual eligible for services, which shall be used for claims and payment. Title V: Quality Assessment - Establishes the American Health Security Quality Council in order to: (1) review and evaluate each practice guideline developed under specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act; (2) review and evaluate each standard of quality, performance measure, and medical review criterion developed under specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act; (3) develop criteria for entities conducting quality reviews; (4) report to the Board annually; and (5) perform the functions of the Council described in sections 502 and 505. (Sec. 502) Directs the Council to: (1) adopt methods for profiling the patterns of practice of health care professionals and for identifying outliers; (2) develop guidelines for certain medical procedures to be performed only at tertiary centers; (3) develop standards for education and sanctions with respect to outliers; and (4) disseminate such methods, guidelines, and standards to the States. (Sec. 503) Requires each participating State to establish an entity to conduct quality reviews of persons providing covered services under its program which meet Federal standards for the adoption of practice guidelines, identification of outliers, development of remedial programs and monitoring for outliers, and the application of sanctions. Allows the State to adopt alternative methodologies to those adopted by the Quality Council provided that the State can demonstrate that the efficacy of such review and education programs meets Federal standards. Requires the quality review entity to meet the criteria for competence for such entities developed by the Council. (Sec. 504) Expresses the intent to replace random utilization controls with a systematic review of patterns of practice that compromise the quality of care by January 1, 1998. Supersedes all existing Federal utilization review programs, including random case-by-case reviews and programs requiring pre-certification of medical procedures on a case-by-case basis, with exceptions. Specifies that nothing in this section shall preclude case management of catastrophic, mental health, or substance abuse cases where necessary to achieve appropriate, cost-effective, and beneficial comprehensive medical care. (Sec. 505) Requires: (1) each State program to develop and use a uniform electronic data base in order to perform systematic quality review and support comparative outcomes research and analysis; (2) the Council to establish a set of clinical data derived from patient medical records to be transmitted to State electronic data bases to be used by State health security programs; (3) the Board to designate standards for software in order to assure compatibility; and (4) the Council to establish standards, as specified, for the use and disclosure by a State health security program of such data. Title VI: Health Security Budget; Payments; Cost Containment Measures - Subtitle A: Budgeting and Payments to States - Directs the Board to establish a national health security budget which specifies the total expenditures to be made by the Federal Government and the States for covered health care services, and allocates those expenditures among the States. Prohibits such budget from exceeding the budget for the preceding year increased by the percentage increase in gross domestic product. Divides the budget into quality assessment, professional education, administrative, and operating components. (Sec. 602) Provides for the allocation of funds in the budget by the Board to the States, based on the national average per capita costs of covered services adjusted for differences among the States in costs and the health status of populations. Permits the use of statistical models to estimate State capitation amounts. Sets forth State adjustment factors to reflect differences in relative needs for funds and directs that such factors be applied in a budget-neutral manner resulting in no change in total Federal expenditures from the national per capita average. (Sec. 603) Requires each program to submit to the Board a proposed and final annual budget broken into quality assessment, professional training, administrative, and operating components, with the operating component broken into facility-based services, individual practitioner payments, payments to CHSOs, and payments for other items and services. Sets forth provisions regarding proposed and final budget deadlines, adjustments in allocations, and expenditure limits. Permits programs to provide for a process for the approval of capital expenditures based on information derived from regional planning agencies. (Sec. 604) Provides for programs to receive Federal funds equal to a weighted average of 86 percent of their population-based share of the budget, which the Board may adjust between 81 and 91 percent based on State economic conditions. (Sec. 605) Requires each program to establish a separate budget account for health professional education expenditures and to distribute funds consistent with the achievement of specified national and program goals, including the receipt by the Board of reports to monitor compliance, and taking into account the potentially higher costs of placing health professional students in clinical education programs in health professional shortage areas. Subtitle B: Payments by States to Providers - Directs that: (1) payment for operating expenses for institutional and facility- based care under State programs be made directly to each institution or facility under an annual prospective global budget approved under the program; (2) such budgets take into account discharges by diagnosis-related group, prior expenditures, the extent to which debt service for capital expenditures has been included in the proposed operating budget, the extent to which capital expenditures are financed directly or indirectly through reductions in direct care to patients, change in the consumer price index and other price indices, compensation, occupancy levels, past financial and clinical performance, training, technological changes, and incentives to maintain costs without reducing care; and (3) facility budgets be adjusted to reflect payments made by CHSOs. Allows programs to permit institutions and facilities to raise funds from private sources to pay for newly constructed facilities, major renovations, and equipment. (Sec. 612) Requires: (1) State programs to pay individual practitioners on a fee-for-service basis, as negotiated between States and practitioner representatives; (2) the Board to establish models for such payment and for global fee payment methodologies to encourage payment for combinations of services; and (3) practitioners to bill State programs within 30 days of providing services. Permits States to require electronic billing. (Sec. 613) Authorizes programs to pay CHSOs based on annual budgets or risk-adjusted capitation payments, reduced by the costs of covered services not provided by the CHSO. (Sec. 614) Directs that programs pay for community-based primary health services based on global budgets, basic primary care capitation amounts for enrollees, or fee-for-service, taking into account costs of serving non-covered patients, providing case management, transportation, and translation, and providing health professional education programs. (Sec. 615) Requires: (1) the Board to establish a list of approved prescription drugs and to determine maximum prices; and (2) each program to pay for such drugs based on such maximum prices and to pay separate dispensing fees to pharmacies. (Sec. 616) Directs the Board to establish a list of approved durable medical equipment and therapeutic devices and equipment and programs to pay for such items based on maximum prices determined by the Board. (Sec. 617) Requires State programs to pay for other items and services based on methodologies to be adopted by the Board, consistent with the State health security budget. (Sec. 618) Directs the Board to establish model payment methodologies and other incentives to promote the provision of services in medically underserved areas. Permits programs to adjust payments amounts within their budgets to encourage provision of appropriate services in underserved areas. (Sec. 619) Authorizes programs to utilize alternative payment methodologies, provided that such methodologies do not affect the entitlement of individuals to coverage, the weighting of fee schedules to encourage an increase in the number of primary care providers, the ability of individuals to choose among qualified providers, the benefits covered under the Program, or compliance with the State health security budget. Requires States to report on the operation and effectiveness of alternative methodologies to enable the Board to evaluate the appropriateness of applying such methodologies to other States. Subtitle C: Mandatory Assignment and Administrative Provisions - Specifies that participating providers: (1) must accept payment from a program as full payment for covered services; and (2) may not impose additional charges on patients. Permits the Board to exclude from participation and subject to civil penalties violators of such provision. (Sec. 632) Requires programs to establish: (1) procedures for reimbursing providers within 60 days of bill submission; and (2) an appeals process to handle grievances pertaining to provider payments. Title VII: Promotion of Primary Health Care; Development of Health Service Capacity; Programs to Assist the Medically Underserved - Subtitle A: Promotion and Expansion of Primary Care Professional Training - Makes the Board responsible for: (1) coordinating health professional education policies and goals to achieve national goals; (2) overseeing program health professional education expenditures; (3) developing and maintaining a system to monitor the number and specialties of individuals through their health professional education, any postgraduate training, and professional practice; and (4) developing, coordinating, and promoting other policies that expand the number of primary care practitioners. Sets as national goals that: (1) at least 50 percent of graduate medical residencies be in primary care within five years of this Act's enactment; and (2) there be a certain number, specified by the Board, of midlevel primary care practitioners employed in the health care system as of January 1, 2001. Directs the Board to: (1) establish a method of applying such goals to program goals for each medical residency program or consortium of programs and reducing payments for residency programs failing to meet their goals; (2) advise the Public Health Service on allocations of funding under specified programs to increase the supply of midlevel primary care practitioners; and (3) commission a study of the potential benefits and disadvantages of expanding the scope of practice authorized under State laws for any class of midlevel primary care practitioners. (Sec. 702) Requires the Board to establish an Advisory Committee on Health Professional Education to advise the Board concerning graduate medical education policies under this title. (Sec. 703) Directs the Board to transfer specified revenues from the American Health Security Trust Fund (Trust Fund) for specified existing programs supporting health professional education and nursing education and for the National Health Service Corps. Subtitle B: Direct Health Care Delivery - Requires the Board to transfer specified Trust Fund revenues to the Public Health Service for: (1) maternal and child health block grants, prevention and treatment of tuberculosis, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, preventive health block grants, grants to States for community mental health services and prevention and treatment of substance abuse, grants for HIV health care services, and public health formula grants; and (2) primary care service expansion grants. (Sec. 713) Directs the Board to make primary service expansion grants to primary care centers (i.e., nonprofit community health centers, migrant health centers, and other federally qualified health centers) to serve medically underserved populations in urban and rural areas. Specifies that grant funds may be used to plan, develop, and deliver primary care in such areas. Subtitle C: Primary Care and Outcomes Research - Requires the Board to transfer specified Trust Fund revenues to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research for health outcomes research. (Sec. 722) Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) an Office of Primary Care and Prevention Research to be headed by a Director who shall identify and coordinate research activities relating to primary care and prevention, including care provided by multidisciplinary teams. Requires the Director of NIH to establish a national data system and clearinghouse on primary care and prevention research. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: School-Related Health Services - Authorizes appropriations through FY 2002 for this subtitle. (Sec. 734) Directs the Secretary to make grants to State health agencies or to local community partnerships to develop and operate school health service sites. Requires preference in making grants to be given to those communities showing the most substantial level of need. Title VIII: Financing Provisions; American Health Security Trust Fund - Subtitle A: American Health Security Trust Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create the American Health Security Trust Fund. Appropriates to the trust fund the increase in tax liabilities attributable to the application of amendments made by this title and receipts from the following programs: Medicare, Medicaid, Federal employees' health benefits program, and the CHAMPUS program, Maternal and Child Health program (under title V of the Social Security Act), vocational rehabilitation programs, drug abuse and mental health services programs under the Public Health Service Act, programs providing general hospital or medical assistance, and certain other Federal programs. Transfers to such trust fund amounts in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Subtitle B: Taxes Based on Income and Wages - Creates a health care excise tax on every employer with respect to each employee equal to 8.7 percent of wages paid. Imposes the tax on the self-employed, railroad employers, and railroad employee representatives. Imposes an individual health care income tax equal to 2.2 percent of taxable income. Prohibits credits against the tax and any effect on the minimum tax in relation to the individual health care income tax. Subtitle C: Increase in Excise Taxes on Tobacco Products - Increases the excise taxes on tobacco products. Title IX: Conforming Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Makes ERISA inapplicable to health coverage arrangements under State health security programs. Exempts State health security programs from ERISA preemption. Prohibits employee benefits duplicating State health security program benefits and requires that a liable workers' compensation carrier reimburse the State health security plan. Repeals continuation coverage requirements under ERISA.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1995
Marine Resources Revitalization Act of 1995 - Amends the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966 to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions of the National Sea Grant College Program relating to grants, contracts, and fellowships.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1995
Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. economic cooperation projects in China or Tibet should adhere to specified principles, including to: (1) suspend the use of merchandise manufactured by convict or forced labor; (2) seek to ensure political and religious freedom without fear of one's employment status; (3) ensure that methods of production do not pose a danger to project employees and the surrounding environment; (4) strive to use business enterprises that are not controlled by China; and (5) promote specified freedoms in China. Requires the Secretary of State to forward a copy of such principles to member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and encourage them to promote such principles. Requires each U.S. parent company conducting an economic cooperation project in China or Tibet to register with the Secretary and indicate whether they agree to implement such principles. Sets forth specified reporting requirements. Authorizes Federal agencies to intercede with a foreign government or national regarding export marketing activity in China or Tibet on behalf of such a parent company only if such company adheres to such principles.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1995
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the harbor maintenance rate of tax for 1996 through 1998. Provides further reductions after 1998, but only if the balance in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund exceeds $100 million.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1995
Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 1995 - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to include certain service in the organized military forces of the Philippines and service as Philippine Scouts within the definition of active U.S. military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits for former active-duty military personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1995
Amends the National Trails System Act to designate the route from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama (traveled by the march dramatizing the need for voting rights legislation), as a National Historic Trail.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1995
Medical Procedures Innovation and Affordability Act - Prohibits the issuance of a patent for any invention or discovery of a technique, method, or process for performing a surgical or medical procedure, administering a surgical or medical therapy, or making a medical diagnosis. Provides that if a technique, method, or process is performed by or as a necessary component of a machine, manufacture, or composition of matter or improvement which is itself patentable subject matter, the patent on such machine, manufacture, or composition may claim the technique, method, or process.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1995
Amends part B (Supplemental Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include within Medicare coverage the use of blood-testing strips for individuals with Type I or II diabetes. Requires such strips to be included within a payment methodology covering inexpensive and routinely purchased equipment.
![Official portrait of Rep. Dellums, Ronald V. [D-CA-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000222_200.jpg)