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United States · Official source
2,056 records where Rep. Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [R-FL-21] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1997
Sets forth the rule (modified open) for the consideration of H.R. 2159 (foreign operations, export financing, and related programs appropriations).
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1997
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to make aliens eligible for food stamps if they were receiving supplemental security income benefits as of a specified date or if they are eligible for such benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1997
Directs each Federal agency, before implementing policies and regulations that may affect family well-being, to assess such actions with respect to specified criteria. Requires each agency to: (1) certify to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and to the Congress that such policy or regulation has been assessed in accordance with this Act; and (2) provide adequate rationale for implementation of each policy or regulation that may negatively affect family well-being. Directs OMB to: (1) ensure that policies and regulations proposed by agencies are implemented consistent with this Act; and (2) compile, index, and submit annually to the Congress the written certifications received. Directs the White House Office of Policy Development to: (1) assess proposed policies and regulations in accordance with this Act; (2) provide evaluations of such policies and regulations to OMB; and (3) advise the President on policy and regulatory actions that may be taken to strengthen the institutions of marriage and family in the United States. (Sec. 4) Requires an agency to conduct an assessment of a proposed policy or regulation in accordance with this Act upon request by a Member of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1997
Commends the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for successfully carrying out the Mars Pathfinder Mission and for its commitment to developing low-cost spacecraft with highly focused science objectives. Urges the United States to continue to act as the leader in space exploration into the 21st century.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1997
Recognizes the many talents of the late James M. "Jimmy" Stewart. Honors the artistic, military, and political contributions he made to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1997
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Accountability and Safety Act of 1997 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to withhold the U.S. share of assistance for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) projects in Cuba except those for the discontinuation, dismantling, or safety inspection of nuclear facilities or related materials, or for inspections and similar activities designed to prevent the development of nuclear weapons by Cuba or other specified countries. Denies this exception to (thereby withholding the U.S. share of assistance for IAEA projects at) the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant near Cienfuegos, Cuba, or the Pedro Pi Nuclear Research Center, unless Cuba ratifies certain nuclear weapon nonproliferation treaties and incorporates internationally accepted nuclear safety standards. Directs the Secretary of State to instruct the U.S. representative to the IAEA to oppose IAEA projects at the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant and the Pedro Pi Nuclear Research Center (including any other IAEA project in Cuba that is, or could become, a threat to the security of the United States). Requires specified reports.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Florida Coast Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to define preleasing activity to include: (1) the scheduling of a lease; (2) making of a request for industry interest; (3) the issuance of a call for information or a nomination; (4) the publication of a draft or final environmental impact statement; and (5) the performance of any form of rotary drilling in a prospective lease area. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from conducting any preleasing activity, or holding any lease sale in the South Atlantic Planning Area off the coast of Florida, the Straits of Florida Planning Area, or the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area within 100 miles of the Florida coast. Requires the Secretary to cancel the six leases known as the "Pensacola Block 933 Unit." Prohibits the Secretary from approving any exploration or development plan or permit to drill with respect to such lease areas, prior to the Secretary's cancellation of those leases. Provides for compensation to lessees owning canceled leases.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Human Rights in India Act - Prohibits development assistance for India for any fiscal year unless the President certifies to the Congress that the Government of India: (1) has released all prisoners of conscience; (2) ensures that all political prisoners are brought to trial promptly and fairly and have access to legal counsel and family members; (3) has eliminated the practice of torture by the military and police forces; (4) impartially investigates all allegations of torture and deaths of individuals in custody; (5) has established to the best of its ability the fate or whereabouts of all political detainees who have disappeared; (6) brings to justice promptly members of the military and police forces responsible for torturing or improperly treating prisoners; (7) permits citizens who are critical of such Government to travel abroad and return to India; (8) ensures that human rights monitors are not targeted for arrest or harassment by the military and police forces; (9) permits human rights organizations and television, film, and print media full access to all states in India where significant human rights problems exist; (10) has investigated allegations of cremations of Sikhs who have died in police custody and has made every effort to bring those responsible to justice; and (11) has repealed certain special and preventive detention laws. Waives such prohibition if such waiver is in the national security interest.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to conduct a demonstration project under which covered members and beneficiaries under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) who are or become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act will be eligible to enroll in health benefits plans offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. Requires the demonstration project to be conducted in two geographic areas and to last at least two, but not more than three, contract years. Provides for: (1) management of participation in the project; (2) Government contributions for beneficiary coverage under the FEHB program; and (3) reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Sets forth the rule (open) for the consideration of H.R. 1757 (Department of State and related agencies authorization). Sets forth the rule (closed) for the consideration of H.R. 1758 (North Atlantic Treaty Organization enlargement). Directs the Clerk of the House, in the engrossment of H.R. 1757, to await the disposition of H.R. 1758, add its text at the end of H.R. 1757, and make appropriate conforming changes.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Missing and Exploited Children Act of 1997 - Authorizes appropriations to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for FY 1998 through 2002 to operate a national resource center and clearinghouse designed to: (1) provide information regarding free or low-cost legal, restaurant, lodging, and transportation services for the benefit of missing children and their families and information on Federal programs to assist such persons; (2) coordinate public and private programs which locate or reunite missing children with their legal guardians; (3) disseminate information about innovative and model missing children's programs, services, and legislation; and (4) provide technical assistance and training in the prevention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment of missing and exploited child cases and in locating and recovering missing children.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1997
Freedom From Religious Persecution Act of 1997 - Establishes in the Executive Office of the President the Office of Religious Persecution Monitoring, whose Director, appointed by the President, with Senate consent, shall: (1) consider the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom presented in certain annual reports on human rights by the Department of State and by independent human rights groups and nongovernmental organizations; (2) make policy recommendations to the President regarding U.S. policies toward governments engaged in religious persecution; and (3) maintain lists of religious persecution facilitating goods and services and the responsible entities within countries engaged in religious persecution. (Sec. 3) Distinguishes between category 1 religious persecution (conducted by government officials or agents) and category 2 religious persecution (conducted by non-government entities or persons, but which the government fails to undertake serious and sustained efforts to eliminate). (Sec. 5) Requires the Director to report to specified congressional committees on countries and entities engaged in religious persecution, identifying the category of persecution and listing persecution facilitating products, goods, and services. (Sec. 7) Prohibits: (1) Federal agencies and U.S. persons from exporting goods, including religious persecution facilitating goods and services, to countries and responsible entities engaged in religious persecution; and (2) U.S. and multilateral assistance to such countries. Directs the President, in casting any vote concerning the membership of a country in the World Trade Organization (WTO), to consider as a significant factor that the country is engaged in religious persecution. Directs the Secretary of State to deny the issuance of a visa to, and the Attorney General shall exclude from the United States, any alien responsible for carrying out acts of religious persecution. (Sec. 8) Provides for the waiver of such sanctions. (Sec. 9) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996), with respect to eligibility for asylum in the United States, to include under the term "credible fear of persecution" aliens who can claim membership in a community found to be subject to religious persecution. Directs the Attorney General to establish a program to provide training on religious persecution to immigration officers who inspect aliens for admission into the United States. Sets forth procedures for the denial of admission based on religious persecution claims. (Sec. 10) Sets forth requirements with respect to certain State Department human rights reports. Directs the Secretary of State to provide training on the right to religious freedom to chiefs of missions as well as certain Department officials. (Sec. 11) Provides for the termination of sanctions. (Sec. 12) Extends certain existing trade and economic sanctions against Sudan for supporting acts of international terrorism until the Director determines that Sudan has substantially eliminated religious persecution, or no longer supports acts of international terrorism, whichever occurs later. Imposes additional trade, economic, and cultural sanctions against Sudan. Sets forth penalties for violations of certain sanctions. Declares it is the sense of the Congress that the President, or, at his discretion, the Secretary of State should convene an international conference of the other industrialized democracies to reach an international agreement to bring about an end to religious persecution in Sudan. Prescribes congressional procedures for implementing such an agreement. Declares it is the sense of the Congress that the President should instruct the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations (UN) to propose that the UN Security Council impose measures against Sudan. Makes it U.S. policy to impose additional measures against Sudan if its policy of religious persecution has not ended on or before December 25, 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1997
Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offenders Registration Improvements Act of 1997 - Amends the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (Title XVII, Subtitle A, of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994) regarding State sex offender registration programs to require that a determination that a person is or is no longer a sexually violent predator be made by the sentencing court after considering the recommendations of the appropriate State board or boards or of the State under certain circumstances. Directs each State, within two years, to establish one or more State boards. Authorizes the Attorney General to waive such requirement under specified circumstances. Modifies requirements regarding release, parole, supervised release, and probation of such persons to require specified actions by a designated agency, court, or other responsible official under an approved State registration program, including reporting address changes as provided by State law. Requires such agency to forward the registration information to the agency responsible for registration under State law, in accordance with State procedures that meet specified requirements. Requires that any person who is: (1) required to register in that person's State of residence also register in accordance with the law that governs the registration, verification, and notification of sex offenders of each State in which that person is employed or carries on a vocation or is enrolled as a student; and (2) serving a sentence of probation, parole, or other supervised release for conviction of an offense that requires registration, and who is residing in any State other than that in which that person was sentenced, to register in accordance with the law of the State of residence of the offender. Sets forth notification requirements. Requires a State, by July 1, 1999, to submit a report to the Attorney General that sets forth existing or proposed laws regarding stalking crimes against individuals 16 years old or younger. Prohibits the sale or exchange of information collected under a State registration program for profit or remuneration. Includes independent contractors acting at the direction of law enforcement agencies and State officials within immunity for good faith conduct. Expands registration requirements to include certain Federal offenders and military offenders. Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State should have in effect a law that makes it a crime to stalk an individual under age 16 without requiring that such individual be physically harmed before a stalker is restrained or punished.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1997
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Mother Teresa of Calcutta in recognition of her contributions to humanitarian and charitable activities. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike a suitable gold medal. Authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates. Declares these medals to be national medals. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates deposit of sale proceeds in the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the surviving post-World War II, pre-1965 Basketball Association of America, National Basketball League, and National Basketball Association players with a minimum of three years of eligible service should be entitled to pension benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1997
Declares that the Congress: (1) maintains that the standard for the "Made in USA" label should continue to be that a product was all or virtually all made in the United States; and (2) urges the Federal Trade Commission to refrain from lowering the standard at the expense of consumers and jobs in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 1997
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that: (1) to secure the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience, the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, or traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed; and (2) the Government shall not require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity, initiate or designate school prayers, discriminate against religion, or deny equal access to a benefit on account of religion.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1997
Private Property Rights Implementation Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that whenever a district court has jurisdiction in civil rights cases it shall not abstain from exercising or relinquishing its jurisdiction to a State court in an action where no claim of a violation of a State law, right, or privilege is alleged. Authorizes the district court, in such cases that cannot be decided without resolution of a significant but unsettled question of State law, to certify such question to the highest appellate court of that State (and after the State appellate court resolves the question certified to it, the district court shall proceed with resolving the merits). Bars the district court from certifying a question of State law unless such question will significantly affect the merits of the injured party's Federal claim and is so unclear and obviously susceptible to a limiting construction as to render premature a decision on the merits of the constitutional or legal issue in the case. Requires that any claim or action brought to redress the deprivation of a property right or privilege secured by the Constitution be ripe for adjudication by the district courts upon a final decision rendered by any person acting under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or territory of the United States, that causes actual and concrete injury to the party seeking redress. Provides that any claim brought under provisions regarding the United States as defendant and regarding the jurisdiction of the Court of Federal Claims that is founded upon a property right or privilege secured by the Constitution, but allegedly infringed or taken by the United States, shall be ripe for adjudication upon a final decision rendered by the United States that causes actual and concrete injury to the party seeking redress. Sets guidelines for what constitutes a "final decision" for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1997
Veterans' Cemetery Protection Act of 1997 - Sets penalties for vandalism and theft at national cemeteries.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Recognition of the Millennium Society Title II: Commemorative Postage Stamps Millennium Society Act of 1997 - Title I: Recognition of the Millennium Society - Recognizes the Millennium Society (a nonprofit U.S. corporation chartered and organized under the laws of the State of Illinois on November 21, 1983) and any other organization that is organized and operated by the corporation exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. (Sec. 105) Sets forth the goals and purposes of the Society, which include: (1) establishing national goals for commemoration and celebration of the millennium in the United States and U.S. participation in such international events; (2) exercising exclusive jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to U.S. participation in commemorations or celebrations of the millennium; (3) coordinating activities and holding forums and symposiums to promote educational and cross-cultural exchange; and (4) establishing, endowing, and administering the Millennium Scholars Program providing for a university level exchange for women and men from all world regions to better prepare young leaders for greater achievements in the next millennium. (Sec. 114) Grants the Society the sole and exclusive right to the use of specified symbols, emblems, trademarks, and names in carrying out its functions. Allows persons who lawfully used such a symbol or slogan before the enactment of this Act to continue such lawful use for the same purpose and for the same goods or services. Title II: Commemorative Postage Stamps - Urges the Postal Service to cooperate with the Society in: (1) issuance of appropriate first day of issuance postage stamps commemorating the end of the second millennium and the advent of the third; and (2) production of a philatelic numismatic combination as a unique item to be made available to the public for such commemoration.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Hunger Has a Cure Act of 1997 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to provide for an annual price-indexed standard deduction adjustment (as of FY 2001). (Sec. 3) Revises maximum excess shelter deduction amounts and authorizes such amounts through FY 2001 (currently permanent). (Sec. 4) Provides for an annual price-indexed vehicle allowance adjustment. (Sec. 5) Revises work requirement provisions. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to reserve specified amounts for FY 1998 through 2002 employment and training programs. (Sec. 6) Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 to make legal immigrants who became disabled after U.S. entry and certain elderly and under-18 years of age legal immigrants eligible for the food stamp program (program). Extends program eligibility for refugees and asylees from five years to seven years. Repeals specified program attribution of (alien) sponsor income provisions. (Sec. 7) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) specified funds under the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 should be appropriated to provide FY 1998 short-term emergency food assistance; and (2) FY 1997 and 1998 appropriations for the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC) should meet case load demands. (Sec. 9) Amends the National School Lunch Act to: (1) increase lunch and supper reimbursement rates for the summer food service program for children; and (2) increase the number of meals and-or supplements available under the child and adult food care program. (Sec. 10) Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to direct the Secretary to carry out school breakfast and summer feeding program outreach activities. Obligates specified Treasury funds for State start-up and expansion costs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1997
Extends congressional gratitude to Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope for his accomplishments and service on behalf of U.S. military service members. Confers upon Mr. Hope the status of an honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1997
Miccosukee Settlement Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, as trustee for the Miccosukee Tribe, to assist in the fulfillment of the settlement agreement concerning the transfer of: (1) certain Miccosukee tribal land to the Florida Department of Transportation; and (2) certain Florida land to the United States to be received and accepted in trust for the use and benefit of the Miccosukee Tribe, constituting thereby Indian Reservation lands of the Miccosukee Tribe.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1997
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 with respect to restrictions on welfare benefits for aliens to provide an exception to limited eligibility for Supplemental Security Income benefits and food stamps for permanent resident aliens who are applicants for naturalization.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1997
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend the transition period for redetermination of food stamp and supplemental security income eligibility for aliens currently receiving such benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1997
Sets forth the rule (open) for the consideration of H.R. 1274 (National Institute of Standards and Technology authorization).
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1997
Sets forth the rule (open) for the consideration of H.R. 1273 (National Science Foundation authorization).
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that certain provisions of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920 relating to transportation of merchandise between U.S. points in other than domestically built or rebuilt and documented vessels and to incineration of hazardous waste at sea (those provisions popularly known as the Jones Act) and related statutes are critically important components of our Nation's economic and military security and should be fully and strongly supported.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend, for five years, the credit for producing energy from wind or a closed-loop biomass.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Veterans Medicare Reimbursement Demonstration Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly carry out a demonstration project, during the three-year period beginning on January 1, 1998, under which the HHS Secretary provides the VA with reimbursement from the Medicare program (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) for health-care services provided to targeted Medicare-eligible veterans in or through selected VA facilities. Provides for: (1) the waiver of certain Medicare requirements in order to carry out the project; and (2) selection of participating VA facilities (requires the VA Secretary to designate up to three geographic service areas from which such facilities are to be selected and to establish a selection plan). Requires at least one facility selected to be in the same catchment area as a military medical facility which was closed pursuant to a defense base closure law. Requires project participation to be voluntary. Directs the VA Secretary to establish requirements for participating veterans. Requires project reimbursement at a rate equal to 95 percent of amounts that would otherwise be payable under the Medicare program if the facility were not a Federal facility, were participating in the project, and imposed charges for such services. Requires reimbursement payments periodically from Medicare trust funds, with an annual Medicare payment limit of $50 million. Requires reductions in such payments when the amount of actual VA medical expenditures for targeted veterans is less than the amount of the maintenance of effort level (as defined under this Act) for such fiscal year. Directs the Secretaries to compare the expenditures made under the project to the expenditures that would have been made for such veterans if the project had not been conducted, and to take appropriate steps if the expenditures under the Medicare program increased as a result of the project. Requires annual audits by the Comptroller General. Requires: (1) an independent entity to undertake an ongoing project evaluation and report results to the Secretaries and appropriate congressional committees; and (2) a report from the Secretaries to the Congress on possible project extension and expansion. Directs the Secretaries to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the feasibility and advisability of establishing a new demonstration project to reimburse the VA Secretary for health care services furnished to targeted Medicare-eligible veterans enrolled in managed health care plans established by such Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to make certain permanent resident aliens who are unable to naturalize because of physical or developmental disability or mental impairment eligible for food stamps or supplemental security income benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose Title II: Binding Budget Law Title III: Enforcement of Budget Discipline Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law Subtitle B: Line Item Reduction Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited Subtitle D: "Pay-as-You-Go" Requirement for New Spending Subtitle E: "Lock-Box" for Savings From Spending Reductions Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism Title V: Protection of Social Security Title VI: Technical Amendments to Federal Law to Carry Out This Act Title VII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation Budget Process Reform Act - Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal budget process should focus the attention of policymakers and the public on the aggregate impact of Federal spending on the economy, and on the tradeoffs that must be made among priorities in order to control overall spending levels. Declares that the budget process should contain safeguards against delay and inaction, so that temporary shut-downs of the Government may be avoided. Title II: Binding Budget Law - Requires the Congress to enact a binding budget law, in the form of a joint resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year before that in which the fiscal period commences. (Sec. 202) Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any spending bill affecting spending in a major functional category unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is enacted. Allows waiver of such prohibition if such bill is required to be approved by a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate. (Sec. 203) Prohibits baseline budgeting. Requires objective year-to-year comparisons under budget law, with the starting point for both presidential and congressional budgets the levels of budget outlays for the current fiscal year. (Sec. 204) Amends the CBA to require a budget law to include a major functional category ("rainy day fund") for natural disasters, subject to specified conditions. (Sec. 205) Amends Federal law to require the President to submit: (1) a budget, by the first Monday in February of each year before that in which a fiscal period commences, setting forth on a single page specific budget ceilings in each major functional category; and (2) a detailed budget, on or before the 15th day after a joint resolution on the budget is enacted. Title III: Enforcement of Budget Discipline - Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law - Amends CBA to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide the appropriate House of Congress (or any committee, subcommittee, or conference) an estimate of the costs in each major functional category of each spending bill likely to result in costs of over $10 million, before being voted on by the Senate or the House, or any committee, subcommittee, or conference committee. (Sec. 301) Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House or the Senate (or any committee, subcommittee, or conference committee) to consider over-budget spending bills. (Sec. 302) Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House or the Senate, or both, to waive any provision of this Act. Subtitle B: Limited Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to exercise line-item reduction authority if the Congress, by two-thirds vote, exceeds the budget ceilings in the binding budget law or an automatic continuing resolution for a fiscal period. Declares that such authority shall permit the reduction of over-budget spending in a major functional category to the level established in the binding budget law or automatic continuing resolution. Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited - Declares the intent of the Congress to end open-ended, "blank check" appropriations which typically authorize spending "such sums as may be necessary." (Sec. 306) Amends CBA to require fixed-dollar appropriations for every account except Social Security and interest on the debt. Prohibits open-ended appropriations. (Sec. 307) Requires executive agencies to adjust expenditures, including program eligibility requirements and benefit levels, to ensure that appropriations for entitlement programs are not exceeded. (Sec. 308) Restricts budget authority and entitlement authority to one fiscal period. Subtitle D: "Pay As You Go" Requirement for New Spending - Amends CBA to prohibit the Congress from considering any legislation which exceeds the budget ceiling unless it offsets such increased spending with an equal amount of reductions in spending in the same functional category. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House or in the Senate to waive such prohibition. (Sec. 309) Sets forth special rules in the case of legislation that exceeds a budget ceiling for the natural disaster functional category. Repeals an exemption in the House from pay-as-you-go rules. Subtitle E: "Lock-Box" for Savings From Spending Reductions - Amends CBA to: (1) establish "lock-box" procedures to ensure that budget savings from House and Senate amendments to appropriations bills result in actual spending cuts; (2) require CBO reports on such procedures; and (3) mandate reduction of spending allocations to House and Senate committees and subcommittees to meet "lock-box" levels. Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism - Makes appropriations to provide for an automatic continuing resolution if for any account an appropriation for a fiscal period does not become law before the beginning of such period. (Sec. 402) Provides for contingency regulations for automatic continuing resolutions. Grants each State the option of receiving an aggregate amount for the fiscal period for social safety net programs equal to the allocation to the State for such programs in the preceding fiscal period. (Sec. 403) Restricts consideration of legislation providing budget or spending authority to only that reported by the Committees on Appropriations. Makes such restriction inapplicable in the case of social security benefits. Title V: Protection of Social Security - Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to require or permit reductions in otherwise payable Social Security benefits. (Sec. 502) Amends Federal law to provide that no reduction in benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) shall be made as a consequence of this Act. Title VI: Technical Amendments to Federal Law to Carry Out This Act - Makes various technical and conforming amendments. Title VII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation - Sets forth definitions for specified terms. Changes the definition of budget authority to exclude offsetting receipts and collections as negative budget authority.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1997
Amends the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) to allow certain eligible covered beneficiaries to enroll in any health benefits plan under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHB) offering medical and dental care comparable to that offered under CHAMPUS. Includes as an eligible covered beneficiary any member or former member of the armed forces, and any dependent of such member, who: (1) is not guaranteed access under CHAMPUS or TRICARE Standard (a Department of Defense managed care program) to health and dental care comparable to the highest level provided under the FEHB; (2) is eligible to enroll in the TRICARE Program but is not so enrolled because of geographical inaccessibility, enrollment limitations, or any other reason; or (3) is entitled to hospital insurance benefits under Part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. States that any such beneficiary shall not be required to satisfy any FEHB eligibility criteria as a condition for enrollment. Provides for: (1) enrollment contributions; (2) participation management by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM); and (3) annual reports from the Secretary of Defense and the OPM Director concerning the provision of such care. Requires the health and dental care benefits provided under CHAMPUS and TRICARE Standard, as well as the rates prescribed for the reimbursement of providers under such programs, to be comparable to the highest level of benefits provided under the FEHB. Requires the Secretary to begin offering the health benefits option of this Act no later than November 1, 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1997
Homeowners Association Clarification Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow timeshare associations to elect to be taxed under provisions relating to homeowner associations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1997
Expanded War Crimes Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to apply the criminal penalties prescribed for a grave breach of the Geneva Convention, inside or outside the United States, by a U.S. national or member of the armed forces to additional war crimes defined to include conduct: (1) prohibited by Articles 23, 25, 17, or 28 of the Annex to the Hague Convention IV, Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, signed October 18, 1907; (2) which constitutes a violation of common Article 3 of the conventions and which deals with non-international armed conflict; or (3) of a person who willfully kills or causes serious injury to civilians in relation to an armed conflict and contrary to the provisions of the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended at Geneva on May 3, 1996, when the United States is a party to such Protocol.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 1997
Counter-Narcotics Policy Review Act - Establishes the High Level Commission on International Narcotics Control to determine and report to the Congress on the effectiveness of the annual certification process relating to international narcotics control in curtailing international drug trafficking and in reducing drug use and consumption within the United States. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1997
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997 - Revises the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to instruct the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to: (1) develop and operate a repository for the permanent geologic disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste; (2) accept spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste by no later than January 31, 2000; (3) provide for the transportation of such wastes; and (4) pursue expeditiously the development of each component of the integrated management system. Requires intermodal transfer (rail-to-heavy-haul-truck) of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste pending direct rail access to the interim storage facility site. Sets a deadline for the Secretary to develop the capability to commence rail to truck intermodal transfer at Caliente, Nevada. Provides for heavy-haul transportation route and truck transportation. Requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Caliente and Lincoln County, Nevada, to provide advice to the Commission regarding intermodal transfer and to facilitate on-site representation. Subjects the Secretary's movement of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste by heavy-haul transport route to the exclusive regulatory purview of the Secretary of Transportation and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Prescribes transportation planning, package certification, technical assistance, interim storage facility, permanent disposal, land withdrawal, and private storage facility requirements to ensure that the Secretary is able to accept spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste by January 31, 2000, and transport it to mainline transportation facilities. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) offer Nye County, Nevada an opportunity to designate an on-site oversight representative; and (2) offer to enter into separate benefits agreements with Lincoln and Nye Counties concerning the integrated management system. Requires the Secretary to make certain initial land conveyances to Nye County. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with any person holding title to or generating or holding title to spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste of domestic origin for the acceptance of title, and possession, transportation, interim storage, and disposal. Requires the Secretary to determine the level of an annual fee for electricity generated and sold by each civilian nuclear power reactor. Permits the Secretary to make expenditures from the Nuclear Waste Fund in the event of a shortfall. Delineates budget priorities in the event of such shortfall. Requires the NRC to suspend the license of any licensee who fails or refuses to pay the currently required one-time fee on spent nuclear fuel, or high-level radioactive waste derived from it, and used to generate electricity in a civilian nuclear power reactor before April 7, 1983. Provides that payment of the one-time fee relieves the responsible party from further financial obligation to the Federal Government for its long-term storage or permanent disposal. Authorizes the NRC to require prior agreement with the Secretary for spent fuel and waste disposal as a precondition to the issuance or renewal of a license. Continues the Nuclear Waste Fund and the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue a final rule establishing the appropriate portion of the costs of managing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste allocable to the interim storage or permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activities, and spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors; and (2) advise the Congress annually of the amount of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel from atomic energy defense activities requiring management in the integrated spent nuclear fuel management system. Grants the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and this Act preeminence in the event of a conflict or duplication of laws. Precludes this Act from being construed as: (1) constituting either an express or implied Federal reservation of water rights for any purpose arising under it; (2) authorizing the Federal use of eminent domain to acquire water rights; or (3) limiting the exercise of water rights as provided under Nevada State laws. Grants the U.S. courts of appeals original and exclusive jurisdiction over civil actions under this Act. Prescribes guidelines for NRC licensing hearings. Prohibits the Secretary from conducting site-specific activities for a second repository unless the Congress has specifically authorized and appropriated funds for them. Requires the NRC to promulgate regulatory guidelines for: (1) financial assurances for low-level radioactive waste site closures; and (2) training and qualification of civilian nuclear powerplant personnel. Delineates an acceptance schedule for contract holders' spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Prohibits: (1) subseabed or ocean water disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste; and (2) any obligation of funds for any such related activity. Continues the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to take necessary action to improve the management of the civilian radioactive waste management program to ensure that it is operated to the maximum extent like a private business. Directs the Secretary to employ, on an on-going basis, integrated performance modeling regarding site characterization.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1997
Mammography Quality Standards Reauthorization Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations to carry out provisions relating to the certification of mammography facilities. Requires that appeals from certification denials follow procedures in effect at that time (currently, in effect on a specified date). Modifies mammogram record retention requirements. Allows inspection of facilities (currently, certified facilities) for compliance with certification requirements and mammography quality standards (currently, compliance with mammography quality standards). Allows inspections to be conducted by a local agency on behalf of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Empowers the Secretary to require a facility to notify patients who received mammograms if the Secretary determines the quality was so inconsistent with standards as to present a significant risk to the individual or public health. Authorizes civil money penalties for failure to comply. Allows certificate suspension or revocation for a failure to comply with an accreditation body's requests for records or materials. Modifies requirements for certification suspension before holding a hearing.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1997
Imported Produce Labeling Act of 1997 - Requires country of origin labeling of perishable agricultural commodities imported into the United States. Authorizes fines for violations of such provision.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1997
Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for salaries and expenses of the National Weather Service, including the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, for FY 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 1997 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or local governments. Requires States to grant public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees. Specifies related requirements for public safety employers. Requires the Director the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) to issue regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in States that fail to comply with the requirements of this Act. Gives the FMCS the same authority as a State Labor Relations Board (or of the National Labor Relations Board where no such State Board exists) for public safety employers and employees covered by this Act. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such regulations through appropriate State courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Accountability and Safety Act of 1997 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise provisions concerning the withholding of the U.S. share of assistance for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) projects to apply such limitations to projects in: (1) Cuba; and (2) Burma, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Libya, Iran, or the Palestine Liberation Organization, unless the Secretary of State determines it would be contrary to the national security interests of the United States. Makes an exception to the withholding of funds with respect to IAEA programs or projects that provide for the discontinuation or dismantling of nuclear facilities or related materials. Directs the Secretary to instruct the U.S. representative to the IAEA to use the U.S. vote to: (1) oppose IAEA projects at the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant near Cienfuegos, Cuba (including any other IAEA project there that is, or could become, a threat to the security of the United States); (2) seek IAEA reforms to limit membership of its Board of Governors to representatives of member nations that are signatories to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; and (3) seek reforms to provide for the availability of IAEA reports to member nations for the purpose of determining the feasibility of and accountability for IAEA projects.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Firefighters Pay Fairness Act of 1997 - Amends Federal law to provide that, for Federal fire fighters, the annual rate of basic pay shall be calculated on the basis of 26 administrative biweekly work periods of up to 106 hours each. Prescribes a formula for computing the basic biweekly pay of Federal employees who are not fire fighters but perform fire fighting duties. Extends existing biweekly pay period and pay computation requirements to Federal fire fighters and employees in and under the judicial branch. Removes employees of the District of Columbia government from coverage by such requirements. Repeals the current exception from such requirements for employees on the Isthmus of Panama in the service of the Panama Canal Commission. Requires compensation at time-and-a-half per hour for any hours worked in excess of 106 during a biweekly pay period by fire fighters subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Prescribes basic rates of pay for fire fighters: (1) promoted to a supervisory position; and (2) selected and assigned for training. Adds certain pay retention rights for Federal fire fighters subject to a reduction or termination of a rate of pay established under this Act. Authorizes a Federal agency to pay cash awards of up to five percent of basic pay to fire fighters or other employees performing fire fighting duties who make substantial use of: (1) special skills, such as handling hazardous materials; or (2) a certification or license, such as certification as an emergency medical technician. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to report to the Congress with respect to transition and funding increase plans and regulatory or legislative modifications necessary to prevent diminution in retirement benefits under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Historic Homeownership Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to a certified historic home which has been substantially rehabilitated and which is owned by the taxpayer and used as his or her principal residence. Allows the credit for such expenditures to be taken by a purchaser of the rehabilitated home. Permits, in lieu of the credit, a historic rehabilitation mortgage credit certificate, which shall be transferred to a lender in exchange for a reduction in the rate of interest on the loan secured by the building.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1997 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army or Naval Transport Service, during World War II constituted active military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge under such Act to each merchant marine member whose qualified service warrants such a discharge. Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee for any benefit application of a member possessing such qualified service.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Research on Lupus Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus Lupus Research and Care Amendments of 1997 - Title I: Research on Lupus - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute with respect to lupus. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate such activities with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of Health; and (2) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, lupus, including research to determine the reasons underlying the elevated prevalence of the disease among African-American and other women. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus - Mandates grants for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with lupus and their families. Regulates fees imposed by grantees on service recipients. Authorizes technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Amends the Webb-Kenyon Act and the Liquor Law Repeal and Enforcement Act to allow any State, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory or possession to bring an action in U.S. district court to enjoin the shipment or transportation of liquor in violation of such Act, or to enforce their laws with respect to such transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Pharmacy Compounding Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to make specified provisions of that Act inapplicable to a drug or device that is compounded by a licensed pharmacist, licensed physician, or other licensed practitioner authorized by State law to prescribe drugs or devices. Declares null and void a proposed rule concerning exceptions to good manufacturing practices for makers of positron emission tomography drug products and a guideline on the manufacture of such products. Prohibits another proposed regulation or guideline on those matters.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1997 - Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund - Establishes in the Treasury the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Specifies that any individual who has a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection shall receive $125,000 from amounts available in the Fund if the individual meets one of the following conditions: (1) has a blood-clotting disorder and was treated with blood-clotting agents between July 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987; (2) is the lawful spouse of such individual or the former lawful spouse and was the lawful spouse of the individual at any time after a date within such period on which the individual was treated; or (3) acquired the HIV infection through perinatal transmission from a parent who is such an individual. Requires that the following conditions be met with respect to such individual: (1) the individual submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services written medical documentation that the individual has an HIV infection; (2) a petition for payment be filed with the Secretary by or on behalf of such individual; and (3) that the Secretary determine that the claim meets the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 105) Specifies that any right under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable. Sets limits regarding the number of claims per victim. (Sec. 106) Prohibits the Secretary from making any payment with respect to any petition filed under this Act unless the petition is filed within three years after the enactment of this Act. Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs - Prohibits a settlement payment from being considered income or resources in determining a class member's eligibility for, or the amount of: (1) medical assistance under the Medicaid program; or (2) benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program. Defines the terms: (1) "class member"; and (2) "settlement payment."
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should make freedom of religion one of the major objectives of U.S. foreign policy with respect to China. Prohibits the use of funds made available to the Department of State, the United States Information Agency, and the United States Agency for International Development to provide travel expenses for certain Chinese officials participating in international conferences, exchanges, programs, and activities. Requires each agency to certify to appropriate congressional committees that it did not pay such expenses. Makes such officials ineligible to receive visas for admission into the United States.