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United States · Official source
4,140 records where Rep. English, Phil [R-PA-3] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Credit Union Membership Access Act - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to limit Federal credit union membership to one or more groups each of which has a common bond within such group.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Removal of Tax Traps for the Unwary Title II: Conformity with Regulated Investment Company Rules Title III: Other Simplification Real Estate Investment Trust Tax Simplification Act of 1997 - Title I: Removal of Tax Traps for the Unwary - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose monetary penalties for the failure of a real estate investment trust (REIT) to comply with regulations regarding ascertaining the actual ownership of the outstanding shares, or certificates of beneficial interest, of the REIT. Requires treating a complying REIT as if it had met a requirement to not be closely held if it does not know, or exercising reasonable diligence would not have known, whether it was closely held. (Sec. 102) Revises the definition of "rents from real property" with regard to impermissible tenant service income and constructive ownership of stock. Title II: Conformity with Regulated Investment Company Rules - Provides for the treatment by shareholders of undistributed capital gains. Title III: Other Simplification - Revises requirements concerning the treatment of earnings and profits with regard to certain distributions. (Sec. 302) Modifies the grace period regarding foreclosure property. Allows one extension (currently, one or more extensions). Allows a REIT to revoke an election to treat property as foreclosure property. Changes requirements concerning termination of the grace period. (Sec. 303) Sets forth special foreclosure rules for health care properties. (Sec. 304) Revises: (1) the treatment of certain interest rate agreements; (2) the formula for determining the amount of excess noncash income; and (3) the circumstances in which a sale of property that is a real estate asset is not a prohibited transaction. (Sec. 307) Provides for the circumstances in which sale of secured property by a REIT will be treated as if the REIT had held the property for at least four years. (Sec. 308) Removes a requirement that, in order to be a qualified REIT subsidiary, the stock of a corporation must have been held by the REIT at all times the corporation was in existence.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Disapproves the rule submitted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration relating to occupational exposure to methylene chloride. Declares that such rule shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that it recognizes: (1) the concern of the railroad industry that the current spousal annuity system is inadequate; and (2) that a process of dialogue must take place among all parties of the railroad community including rail labor, management, and retiree organizations before railroad annuity legislation can be enacted. Urges all parties to find a way to fund an amendment that would improve the survivor benefits component to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Microcredit for Self-Reliance Act of 1997 - Authorizes the President to provide through U.S. and indigenous nongovernmental organizations and credit institutions credit and other assistance for microenterprises in developing countries. Sets forth assistance eligibility criteria. Authorizes funds allocations. Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, in order to maximize the sustainable development impact of such assistance, to establish a monitoring system that sets certain performance goals for it. Authorizes appropriations for the U.S. contribution to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) only to provide grants to nongovernmental organizations and other private community-based microenterprise institutions serving the poor, especially women. Directs the President to urge other IFAD donor nations to contribute to the microenterprise and microfinance activities of the Fund. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Microstart Program established by the United Nations Development Program represents an important new initiative; and (2) the President should instruct the U.S. representative to the United Nations to use the U.S. vote to support the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Provides that amounts recovered or collected with respect to the cost of furnishing care or services at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center shall be credited to amounts currently available for the furnishing of care and services at that center.
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
Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish birth defects prevention and research programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to provide for collection, analysis, and reporting of birth defects statistics from birth certificates, infant death certificates, hospital records, or other sources and to collect and disaggregate such statistics by gender and racial and ethnic group. Directs the Secretary to establish at least five regional birth defects monitoring and research programs to collect and analyze information on the number, incidence, correlation, and causes of birth defects. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Director of CDC, to award grants or enter into cooperative agreements with specified entities to serve as Centers of Excellence for Birth Defects Prevention Research. Requires one of the Centers to focus on birth defects among ethnic minorities. Requires the CDC to establish a clearinghouse for the collection and storage of data generated from birth defects monitoring programs developed under this Act. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to provide for the evaluation, and implementation of prevention strategies designed to reduce the incidence and effects of birth defects. Requires the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to consult with State and local governmental agencies, managed care organizations, nonprofit organizations, physicians, and other health professionals and organizations. Directs the Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee for Birth Defects Prevention. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources regarding birth defects. Subjects the provisions of this Act to requirements of the Privacy Act. Applies all Federal laws relating to the privacy of information to the data and information that is collected under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
Subjects veterans' benefits claim decisions made by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or the Board of Veterans' Appeals to revision on the grounds of clear and unmistakable error. Requires reversal or revision of such decision, by the same party making the original decision, if evidence establishes such error. Allows review requests for determining the existence of such error to be instituted by the Secretary, the Board, or the claimant.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
Medicare Telemedicine and Medical Informatics Demonstration Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, to make a grant to a consortium meeting specified criteria to provide for a project for the development and operation of telemedicine and medical informatics systems to demonstrate the application of high-capacity computing and advanced networks to the provision of health care to residents of medically underserved rural and inner-city areas. Requires the project to focus on Medicare beneficiaries and on improvements in primary care (and prevention of complications) for residents with diabetes. Lists project objectives, which include improving patient access to and compliance with appropriate care guidelines for chronic diseases through direct telecommunications link with information networks in order to improve patient quality-of-life and reduce overall health care costs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to eliminate provisions which provide for automatic pay adjustments for Members of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the deduction of trade or business expenses, to repeal the special provisions regarding the place of residence and living expenses of Members of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
HIV Prevention Act of 1997 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to add certain requirements relating to prevention of the transmission of the HIV virus which State Medicaid plans must incorporate in order to receive Federal approval. Includes among such requirements: (1) mandatory confidential reporting of HIV positive results by the health professional or other entity performing HIV tests to the State public health officer; (2) informing of individuals who may have been exposed to HIV by the public health officer of the State (partner notification); (3) mandatory HIV testing of alleged rapists for which victims and their attorneys are notified of the results, with appropriate follow up tests upon the request of the victim; (4) subjection to mandatory HIV testing of prospective patients who are to undergo a medical procedure that would place the health professionals involved at risk of becoming infected with HIV, with the health professionals notified of the results; (5) affording applicants for health insurance who are required by the health insurance issuer to undergo HIV testing as a condition of issuance the opportunity to be informed by the issuer, upon request, of the applicant's HIV status; and (6) affording prospective adoptive parents the opportunity to be informed by the adoption agency, upon request, of the HIV status of the child which they wish to adopt. Expresses the sense of the Congress that with respect to health professionals with HIV disease: (1) the health professionals should notify their patients that they have the disease in medical circumstances that place the patients at risk of being infected with HIV by the health professionals; and (2) the States should encourage the medical profession to develop guidelines to assist the health professionals in so notifying patients. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) States should have in effect laws providing that, in the case of an individual who knows that he or she has HIV disease, it is a felony for the individual to infect another with HIV if the individual engages in the behaviors involved with the intent of so infecting the other individual; and (2) strict confidentiality should be maintained in carrying out the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Internet Tax Freedom Act - Prohibits a State or local government from imposing, assessing, or attempting to collect any tax or fee on the Internet or interactive computer services (ICs) or on their use. Preserves State and local taxing authority with respect to income, license, and sales taxes. Directs the Secretaries of the Treasury, Commerce, or State to: (1) undertake an examination of U.S. and international taxation of the Internet and ICs, as well as commerce conducted thereon; and (2) jointly submit to the President appropriate policy recommendations concerning such taxation. Directs the President to transmit to the appropriate congressional committees policy recommendations on the taxation of sales and other transactions effected on the Internet or through ICs. Requires all such recommendations to be consistent with policy statements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to state that the Federal Communications Commission or any equivalent State commission shall have no regulatory authority or jurisdiction with respect to charges paid by subscribers for ICs or information services transmitted through the Internet, except for the requirement that such services be provided at affordable rates to rural health care providers, schools, and libraries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should seek bilateral and multilateral agreements through various international forums to establish that activity on the Internet and ICs be free from tariff and taxation.
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 · 13 March 1997
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the time limitation on benefits for immunosuppressive drugs under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Return Capital To The American People Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide all taxpayers with a 50 percent capital gains deduction. Allows such deduction in computing adjusted gross income. (Sec. 3) Increases from 50 to 75 percent the exclusion for gain from the sale or exchange of certain qualified small business stock. Reduces from three to five the number of years which such stock must be held in order to be excludable. Makes such exclusion available to corporations. Repeals the minimum tax preference. Doubles the dollar gross asset limits domestic C corporations must not exceed in order to qualify for the exclusion and institues an inflation adjustment. Repeals the per-issuer limitation. Modifies the working capital limitation and the definition of a qualified trade or business. (Sec. 4) Provides for the taxation of the gain from the sale of qualified small business stock, when such gain is used to purchase qualified small business stock, only to the extent that the amount realized from the sale exceeds: (1) the cost of any qualified small business stock purchased within 60 days of the sale; and (2) any portion of such cost previously taken into account. (Sec. 5) Substitutes the indexed basis, based on the "applicable inflation adjustment" (as defined), for the adjusted basis of assets held more than three years for purposes of determining gain or loss on the disposition of: (1) common stock in a C corporation; or (2) tangible property, which is a capital asset or property used in a trade or business. Sets forth special rules: (1) where there is a diminished risk of loss; (2) for short sales; (3) for regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts; (4) for other pass-through entities; (5) for dispositions between related persons; (6) for transfers to increase the indexing adjustment; (7) for the sale of a principal residence; and (8) to cover other situations. (Sec. 6) Permits a capital loss deduction with repect to the sale or exchange of a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities Title II: Tax Provisions Subtitle A: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities Subtitle B: Charitable Contribution Credit Title III: Low-Income Educational Opportunity Scholarship Program Title IV: Additional Provisions American Community Renewal Act of 1997 - Title I: Designation and Evaluation of Renewal Communities - Renewing American Communities Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a new subchapter on renewal communities (RCs), authorizing designation of not more than 100 areas (with the first 50 being from areas which are enterprise zones or empowerment communities) as RCs if: (1) the areas have pervasive poverty, unemployment, and general distress and meet other requirements; and (2) State and local governments agree to take actions such as tax reduction, crime reduction strategies, and reducing, repealing, or not enforcing within the area certain governmental requirements such as licensing, zoning, and permits. Provides for: (1) coordination of RCs with empowerment zones and enterprise communities; and (2) interaction of the provisions of this Act with other Federal programs. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to report to the Congress concerning such designations. Title II: Tax Provisions - Subtitle A: Tax Incentives for Renewal Communities - Excludes from gross income the capital gain from an RC stock, business property, or partnership interest held more than five years. Allows a deduction to any qualified individual or other person for amounts paid in cash to a family development account for the individual's benefit. Allows account use for postsecondary education, first home purchase, business capitalization, medical expenses, and qualified rollovers. Excludes such accounts from taxation. Requires that the individual resided in an RC and was allowed an earned income credit for the preceding taxable year. Authorizes designation of not more than 25 RCs as account matching demonstration areas. Provides, to the extent provided in appropriations Acts, for matching contributions to accounts. Sets the commercial revitalization credit (established below) at 20 to 50 percent of the revitalization expenditures regarding a revitalization building. Increases, for an RC business, the dollar limit on expensing certain depreciable business assets. Permits a taxpayer to treat any RC environmental remediation cost as an expense which is not chargeable to capital account. Allows any cost so treated as a deduction. (Sec. 202) Provides a special work opportunity credit rule for RCs. (Sec. 203) Provides for the commercial revitalization credit. Subtitle B: Charitable Contributions Credit - Allows an individual a credit for 75 percent of the contributions (of up to $100 annually for a taxpayer) to an organization described in Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) (charitable, etc., organizations) for which the taxpayer has done more than ten hours of volunteer service and which: (1) is primarily assisting poor individuals; (2) spends all of its resources providing services to the poor; and (3) has limited political activity. Terminates such credit after December 31, 1999. Title III : Low-Income Educational Opportunity Scholarship Program - Low-Income Educational Opportunity Act of 1997 - Requires an RC to establish and operate a Low-Income Educational Opportunity Scholarship program to: (1) provide RC families a choice of schools; and (2) provide assistance for attending public and private elementary and secondary schools, including religious schools. (Sec. 309) Requires that children attending: (1) private schools receive assistance for tuition, fees, and transportation; and (2) alternative public schools receive assistance for transportation. (Sec. 310) Sets forth school eligibility requirements. (Sec. 311) Declares that a scholarship under this title is an award of aid to a family, not to a school. Prohibits: (1) a Federal, State, or local agency taking into account Federal funds provided to a renewal community, school, or parent in determining whether to provide any other funds; and (2) deeming scholarships as parental income for Federal income tax purposes or for determining eligibility for other Federal programs. States that nothing in this title shall be construed to supersede any State law prohibiting the expenditure of public funds by sectarian schools, except that no State law may prohibit the expenditure by sectarian schools of Federal funds under this title. (Sec. 316) Requires that any constitutional challenge to the program be tried in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Permits an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Sec. 317) Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Additional Provisions - Provides for the transfer of ownership of any qualified Department of Housing and Urban Development property to the unit of local government having jurisdiction, if such unit of local government agrees to dispose such qualified property as specified, including granting to a community development corporation the right of first refusal. (Sec. 402) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to declare that the provisions of this section apply to each program under the PHSA that makes Federal awards to prevent or treat substance abuse. Allows, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a religious organization (RO) to be an award recipient, make subawards, provide services through vouchers, or accept vouchers for providing services. Makes ROs eligible on the same basis as any other nonprofit private organization. Prohibits Federal or State: (1) discrimination against an organization on the basis that the organization has a religious character; and (2) requirements that an RO, in order to be a program participant, remove religious art, icons, scripture, or other symbols. Requires an RO to arrange for services through an alternative entity if an individual objects to the RO. Allows an RO to require a beneficiary who has elected to receive services from the organization to actively participate in religious practice, worship, and instruction. Prohibits using funds for sectarian worship or instruction, unless the beneficiary may choose where the assistance is redeemed or allocated. Declares that assistance to or on behalf of a beneficiary is aid to the beneficiary and not to the organization. Requires, if a State law or constitution would prevent the expenditure of State or local funds by ROs, that the Federal funds shall be segregated from State or other public funds. Requires, for personnel working in RO drug treatment programs, giving credit for religious education and training equivalent to credit given for secular course work. Mandates waiver of educational requirements if the RO has a record of successful drug treatment and the State or local government fails to demonstrate empirically that the educational qualifications are necessary. (Sec. 403) Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to allow the appropriate Federal financial supervisory agency, in assessing the record of a financial institution, to consider the institution's ventures with any community development organization in an RC.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Congressional Responsibility Act of 1997 - Prohibits a regulation from taking effect before the enactment of a bill comprised solely of the text of the regulation. Requires an agency, whenever it promulgates a regulation, to submit to each House of the Congress a report containing its text and an explanation. Sets forth expedited congressional procedures for consideration of agency regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Grants States the option to modify at any time before January 1, 1998, any voluntary agreement with the Commissioner of Social Security for coverage of State and local employees so as to exclude service performed in the employ of a school, college, or university if it is performed by a student who is enrolled there and regularly attending classes.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Defense Jobs and Trade Promotion Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the limitation on the amount of receipts attributable to military property which may be treated as exempt foreign trade income.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Bureau of Labor Statistics alone should make any adjustments to the methodology used to determine the Consumer Price Index.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Requires the Capitol Police Board to: (1) designate or establish a flag pole upon which the U.S. flag shall be flown at half-staff for one day whenever a Federal, State, local, or territorial law enforcement officer is slain in the line of duty; (2) post, in close proximity to the flag, public notice of the name, tenure of service, and jurisdiction of the officer being honored; and (3) present such flag to the officer's family.
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 · 11 March 1997
Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997 - Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to provide or pay for any health care item or service or health benefit coverage for the purpose of causing, or assisting to cause, the death of any individual. Sets forth a nonexclusive list of programs, facilities, and personnel to which the prohibition applies, including under Social Security Act titles V (Maternal and Child Health Services), XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), and XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services), the Public Health Service Act, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, and provisions of Federal law relating to Federal employees, the military health care system, veterans medical care, Peace Corps volunteers, and Federal prisoners. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for: (1) causing or assisting in suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing; (2) compelling any person or entity to provide or fund any item, benefit, program, or service for such purpose; or (3) asserting or advocating a legal right to cause or assist such actions. Sets forth a nonexclusive list of programs to which the prohibition applies, including under specified provisions of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Older Americans Act of 1965, and the Legal Services Corporation Act. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for any item or service for the purpose of causing or assisting in the suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of any individual. Declares that, for this Act, references to appropriated funds include funds appropriated to the District of Columbia under specified provisions of the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act. Declares that this Act supersedes other Federal laws except to the extent such laws specifically supersede this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
Amateur Radio Volunteer Services Act of 1997 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that an individual licensee in the amateur radio service who provides volunteer services to the Federal Communications Commission shall be deemed to be a Federal employee only for purposes of Federal tort claims procedure (the adjudication of claims against Federal employees for damages or injuries caused by the employee while acting within the scope of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to guarantee veterans loans for adjustable rate mortgages in a manner similar to the manner in which the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development insures adjustable rate mortgages under provisions of the National Housing Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
Mandates Information Act of 1997 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (the Act) to require a congressional committee report on any bill or joint resolution that includes any Federal mandate to contain information concerning the impact of such mandate on consumers, workers, and small businesses, including any disproportionate impact in particular regions or industries. Revises provisions concerning legislation subject to a point of order to: (1) define the point of order for a determination by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO Director) that it is not feasible to determine the economic impact of a Federal mandate; and (2) replace certain references to Federal intergovernmental mandates with references to Federal mandates. Expresses the sense of the Congress that any unfunded mandates that are determined by the CBO Director to exceed the applicable threshold under the Act should be financed through reduced taxes, tax abatements, or direct compensation by the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
United States Olympic Checkoff Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish the United States Olympic Trust Fund; (2) permit an individual to designate one dollar of any tax overpayment for such Fund; (3) permit an individual to make cash contributions to such Fund; and (4) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to pay amounts in the Fund, less administrative expenses, to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
Allows an individual to deduct losses arising from the sale or exchange of the taxpayer's principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
Constitutional Amendment - Requires that a bill to increase the internal revenue shall laws shall require for final adoption in each House the concurrence of two-thirds of the whole of the number of that House, unless the bill does not increase the internal revenue by more than a de minimis amount. Permits the waiver of such requirement, for up to two years, if there is a declaration of war or if the United States is engaged in a military conflict which causes an imminent and serious threat to national security and is so declared by a joint resolution which becomes law.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1997
Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Standardization Coverage Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for standard national Medicare coverage of bone mass measurements (for early detection of potential osteoporosis).
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Railway Labor Act to apply its provisions regarding railway labor practices to U.S. air carrier flight operations (excluding ground operations performed by non-flight crew members) conducted in whole or in part outside of the United States and their flight crew members who perform their duties in whole or in part outside of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Brownfields Remediation and Economic Development Act of 1997 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to certify and, where appropriate, provide technical assistance to any State program for brownfields (abandoned industrial sites in need of hazardous waste remediation before they may be returned to productive use) if the program: (1) covers only sites that have been contaminated prior to enactment of this Act and are not listed on the National Priorities List; (2) provides for public participation prior to a landowner's release from liability upon completion of site remediation (carried out under a certified program) under State law and under abatement and response provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA); (3) provides for a reopening of a cleanup proposal under specified conditions; (4) contains standards for the sites that protect public health and the environment; and (5) includes coordination among State agencies for environmental protection and economic development. Provides (in addition to the release of landowners from liability described above) for the release from liability under State law and under CERCLA, upon completion of remediation, of lenders and developers (except with respect to pollution directly caused by them), prospective purchasers, and local governments not involved in the management of a site. Allows the Administrator to waive Federal permit requirements if the State program includes a waiver of State permit requirements. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for payments into a tax-exempt Hazardous Waste Remediation Reserve to be used exclusively to pay costs of the taxpayer to: (1) assess the extent of a site's environmental contamination and its expected remediation cost; and (2) remediate the contamination.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Mandates approval of the marketing of devices to aid in the self-examination of breasts without the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requirement that such devices be prescription-only or otherwise restricted in their availability to women.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit, as specified, the issuance of tax-exempt qualified contaminated site remediation bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Individual Investment Account Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for amounts contributed to individual investment accounts. Allows tax-free distributions, limited to $15,000 for all taxable years, from such accounts for use in the purchase of a principal residence by a first-time homebuyer. Makes such accounts tax-exempt unless the individual engages in prohibited transactions. Adjusts dollar limitations under this Act for inflation. Allows such deduction in determining adjusted gross income. Exempts such accounts from estate tax. Excludes from gross income gain from the sale or exchange of property if, during the five-year period ending on the date of the sale or exchange, such property has been owned and used by the taxpayer as a principal residence for periods aggregating three years or more. Limits such exclusion to the amount paid to an individual investment account during the one-year period beginning on the date of the sale or exchange. Provides for adjusting the basis of a residence acquired through the use of an individual investment account.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the expensing (of up to $500,000) and amortization (of the remaining amount over a 60-month period) of qualified environmental remediation expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Tax-Free Internet Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from any excise tax amounts paid for any Internet access service, access-related service, or online service.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the post-1987 reduction in the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides, beginning in 1999, for cost-of-living adjustments in the State ceiling on such bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the credit for increasing research activities. Removes a restriction on electing the alternative incremental credit.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit performing a partial birth abortion in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, unless it is necessary to save the life of the mother and no other medical procedure would suffice. Defines "partial-birth abortion" as an abortion in which the person performing the procedure partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the infant and completing the delivery. Prescribes penalties. Authorizes the father and, if the mother is under 18 years of age, the maternal grandparents of the fetus to obtain specified relief in a civil action, even if the mother consented to the abortion, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion. Prohibits the prosecution of a woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed for conspiracy to violate this Act or under provisions regarding punishment as a principal or an accessory or for concealment of a felony.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Union Members Right to Know Act of 1997 - Amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to revise requirements for reports by labor organizations to the Secretary of Labor. Requires such reports to include specified information regarding the use of employee dues and fees, including itemization of sums spent on political and other specified activities. Requires labor organizations to provide the employees they represent with complete copies of such annual reports.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Amends Federal employees' retirement law to compute annuities for Members of Congress under the same formula as applies to Federal employees generally. Subjects Members to the same guidelines as apply to Federal employees with respect to deductions from pay and Government contributions for retirement plans. Applies this Act to individuals who first served as Members of Congress in the 103d Congress or later. Requires Member annuities based on service performed before enactment of this Act or to which this Act does not apply to be computed as if this Act had never been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 to revise the formula for the extended benefits trigger. Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to require increases and decreases in the earnings allocated to State accounts when States meet or fail to meet funding goals. Amends SSA to restrict interest-free advances to State accounts in the Unemployment Trust Fund to States which meet funding goals. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act to allow certified States to elect to collect Federal unemployment taxes. Requires States to distribute to unemployed individuals State-specific information packets explaining unemployment insurance eligibility conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Permits a member of the clergy to revoke his or her exemption from social security coverage under the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend from one year to two years the period of time within which adversely affected workers may file a petition for trade adjustment assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Family Freedom Home Office Deduction Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the deduction for home office expenses if a portion of a dwelling unit is used as the sole fixed location of business for a taxpayer who has no other fixed location of business, regardless of: (1) the amount of time or type of work performed in such location; or (2) the proportion of the total income from the business attributable to such location.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Unemployment Tax Repeal Act of 1995 (sic) - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the requirement to include unemployment compensation in gross income and the provision concerning the voluntary withholding on unemployment benefits.