United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1997
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend the one year transition from disqualification for a current welfare recipient while his or her naturalization application is pending.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1997
Intelligence Budget Accountability Act of 1997 - Directs the President to include in the annual budget submitted to the Congress a separate, unclassified statement of the appropriations and proposed appropriations for the current fiscal year, and the amount of appropriations requested for the fiscal year for which the budget is submitted, for national and tactical intelligence activities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1997
Security and Freedom Through Encryption (SAFE) Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to permit any person within any State, and any U.S. person in a foreign country, to use any encryption regardless of the encryption algorithm selected, encryption key length chosen, or implementation technique or medium used, with an exception for the unlawful use of encryption in furtherance of a criminal act. Allows any person within any State to sell in interstate commerce any encryption. Specifies that no person in lawful possession of a key to encrypted information may be required by Federal or State law to relinquish to another person control of that key, with an exception for access for law enforcement purposes. Sets penalties for the willful use of encryption in furtherance of the commission of a criminal offense. (Sec. 3) Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to grant the Secretary of Commerce exclusive authority to control exports of all hardware, software, and technology for information security (including encryption), except that which is specifically designed or modified for military use. Prohibits requiring any validated license (with limited exceptions pursuant to the Trading With The Enemy Act or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act) for the export or reexport of any: (1) software, including software with encryption capabilities that is generally available as is and that is designed for installation by the purchaser, or that is in the public domain for which copyright or other protection is not available or is available to the public because it is generally accessible to the public in any form; or (2) computing device solely because it incorporates or employs in any form software (including software with encryption capabilities) exempted from any requirement for a validated license under this section. Directs the Secretary to authorize the export or reexport of: (1) software with encryption capabilities for nonmilitary end-uses in any country to which exports of software of similar capability are permitted for use by financial institutions not controlled in fact by U.S. persons, unless there is substantial evidence that such software will be diverted to a military end-use or an end-use supporting international terrorism, modified for military or authorization that may be required under the Act; and (2) computer hardware with encryption capabilities if the Secretary determines that a product offering comparable security is commercially available outside the United States from a foreign supplier without effective restrictions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1997
Sets forth certain requirements with respect to the enclosure space and diet in the raising of calves for veal. Subjects violators to specified civil and criminal penalties. Authorizes inspections by the Secretary of Agriculture.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Commemorative Coins Title II: Circulating Coins Thomas Alva Edison Sesquicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Title I: Commemorative Coins - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison in commemoration of the sesquicentennial of his birth. Directs the Secretary to conduct an open design competition for the design of the obverse and reverse of the coins. Terminates the authority to mint such coins after December 31, 1997. Requires that certain surcharges received from coin sales be distributed to specified entities. Title II: Circulating Coins - Amends Federal law to declare that half-dollar coins minted between specified dates shall have the same design as the commemorative coins minted under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Income Equity Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny employers a deduction for payments of excessive compensation (more than 25 times the lowest compensation paid any other employee).
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the German Government should investigate and prosecute Dr. Hans Joachim Sewering for his crimes of active euthanasia and crimes against humanity committed during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1997
Recognizes Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta (1996 Nobel Peace Prize recipients) for their contributions on behalf of their oppressed people in East Timor. Affirms support for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in East Timor based on the people's right to self-determination.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1997
Medigap Amendments of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to certification of Medicare supplemental health insurance (Medigap) policies, particularly coverage for pre-existing conditions, providing for additional consumer protections for certain individuals whose enrollment with an eligible organization ceases for one or more specified reasons. Prohibits a Medigap policy issuer from denying or conditioning a policy to such an individual, from imposing preexisting condition exclusions, and from discriminating in pricing because of the individual's health, claims experience, or disability in the case of such an individual who has had continuous coverage (with no break longer than 63 days), if the policy in which the individual wishes to enroll has a comparable or less generous benefits package. Revises the prohibition against an insurer's excluding benefits based on a pre-existing condition during the initial six-month enrollment period after an individual first becomes eligible for Medicare. Extends the six-month initial enrollment period to non-elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants to private, independent, nonprofit consumer organizations and State agencies applying to conduct programs to prepare and make available to Medicare beneficiaries comprehensive and understandable information on enrollment in health plans with a Medicare managed care contract and in Medigap policies in which they are eligible to enroll. Requires any eligible organization with a Medicare managed care contract or any issuer of a Medigap policy to: (1) conduct a consumer satisfaction survey of the enrollees under such contract or such policy; and (2) make the survey results available to the Secretary and the State Insurance Commissioner of the State in which the enrollees are so enrolled. Requires each organization which provides a Medicare managed care contract or issues a Medigap policy to pay to the Secretary its pro rata share of the estimated costs to be incurred by the Secretary in providing the grants. Makes necessary appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1997
Animal Welfare Act Amendments of 1997 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to redefine "dealer," including delineation of auction operators and shelters or other facilities operated by or for a governmental entity. Revises licensing (and exception) provisions. Prohibits license issuance or renewal to a person who: (1) loses a license for a violation of such Act or failure to pay a related civil penalty; or (2) has violated another animal welfare or species protection law or treaty. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate humane standards and recordkeeping requirements for animal auctions. Sets forth enforcement and injunction provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Patient Right to Know Act - Prohibits any contract or agreement, or the operation of any contract or agreement, between an entity operating a health plan (including any partnership, association, or other organization that enters into or administers such a contract or agreement) and a health care provider (or group of health care providers) from prohibiting or restricting the provider from engaging in medical communications with his or her patient. Requires that each State shall enforce this Act with respect to health insurance issuers that sell, renew, or offer health plans in the State. Provides for enforcement of this Act by the Secretary of Health and Human Services if the Secretary, after consultation with the chief executive officer of a State and the insurance commissioner or chief insurance regulatory official of the State, determines that the State has failed to substantially enforce the requirements. Mandates a civil money penalty. Allows State requirements equal to or more protective of medical communications than the requirements of this Act. Defines "medical communication" as a communication between a provider and a patient (or the patient's guardian or legal representative) regarding the patient's health status, medical care, or treatment options.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Congressional Campaign Spending Limits and Benefits Subtitle A: Election Campaign Spending Limits and Benefits Subtitle B: Limitations on Contributions to House of Representatives Candidates Subtitle C: Related Provisions Subtitle D: Tax on Excess Political Expenditures of Certain Congressional Campaign Funds Title II: Independent Expenditures Title III: Contributions and Expenditures by Political Party Committees Title IV: Contributions Title V: Reporting Requirements Title VI: Broadcast Rates and Campaign Advertising Title VII: Miscellaneous Title VIII: Effective Dates; Authorizations American Political Reform Act - Title I: Congressional Campaign Spending Limits and Benefits - Subtitle A: Election Campaign Spending Limits and Benefits - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to limit the amount of aggregate expenditures an eligible House of Representatives candidate may make in an election cycle, runoff election, special election, and closely contested primary. Excludes from the limitation cases involving: (1) certain non-participating opponents; and (2) certain independent expenditures made during the election cycle against an eligible House candidate. Prohibits an eligible House candidate from making contributions or loans from personal funds to the candidate's own campaign totaling more than $50,000 and conditions that such contributions may not qualify for certification for voter benefits. Exempts an eligible House candidate from the preceding limitation if any other general election candidate for that office: (1) makes personal contributions to the candidate's own campaign totaling more than $50,000; or (2) with respect to any contribution or loan used for certain exempted costs. Requires that any contribution or loan to a candidate's campaign by a member of the candidate's immediate family shall be treated as made by the candidate. Authorizes the Federal Election Commission to examine and audit the campaign accounts of five percent of the eligible House candidates after each general election. Provides for civil penalties for low, medium, and large amounts of excess expenditures with respect to an election cycle, runoff election, and special election. Authorizes the Commission to assess a specified civil penalty against a candidate determined to have misused benefits and limits the notification period to no more than three years after an election. Prohibits the receipt of benefits unless such candidate certifies to the Commission that any television commercials of the candidate contain closed captioning. Subtitle B: Limitations on Contributions to House of Representatives Candidates - Limits the aggregate amount of contributions a House candidate may accept from multicandidate political committees with respect to an election for Federal office or to an election cycle (not including a runoff election). Requires that any political committee which is established or financed or maintained or controlled by any candidate or Federal officeholder shall be deemed to be the candidate's or Federal officeholder's authorized committee. (Sec. 122) Places limitations on contributions from political committees (PACs) and individual large donors to candidates for the office of Representative in, or Delegate, or Resident Commissioner to the Congress with respect to an election cycle, contested primaries, and runoff elections. Subtitle C: Related Provisions - Revises certain requirements of reporting by a House candidate, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner with respect to certain excess contributions of personal funds and certain expenditures. Requires: (1) a candidate to report to the Commission that the threshold has been reached no later than 48 hours after reaching the threshold; and (2) the Commission to transmit a copy to each other candidate for election to the same office within 48 hours of receipt. (Sec. 132) Provides for registration as an eligible House candidate. Subtitle D: Tax on Excess Political Expenditures of Certain Congressional Campaign Funds - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on excess political expenditures of any applicable campaign fund for any election cycle. Title II: Independent Expenditures - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to redefine the term "independent expenditures." (Sec. 202) Sets forth reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures, including for a reservation of broadcast time. Title III: Contributions and Expenditures by Political Party Committees - Revises certain contribution and expenditure exception definitions with respect to contributions and expenditures made by a political party committee in connection with activities conducted solely by volunteers. (Sec. 302) Limits the amount of contributions and expenditures made by an individual or a multicandidate political committee in any calendar year to a State Party Grassroots Fund or any other State political committee. Sets forth an overall limit on individual contributions made during any election cycle. Applies the limitation on expenditures to presidential committee transfers to the candidate's national political party for distribution to State Party Grassroots Funds. Authorizes the Commission to require reporting of the transfers, conduct an examination and audit of any such transfer, and require the return of the transferred amounts to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund if not used for the appropriate purpose. (Sec. 303) Increases the amount that multicandidate political committees may contribute to national political party committees. (Sec. 304) Sets forth provisions regarding amounts received by any political committee as a commission or royalty on: (1) the sale of goods or services; or (2) the issuance of credit cards from a corporation, including a State-chartered or national bank. (Sec. 305) Prohibits a national political party committee and the congressional campaign committees of a political party from soliciting or accepting soft money contributions or transfers. Limits disbursements a State political party committee may make from its State Party Grassroots Fund. Prohibits certain transfers of funds by a State political party committee from its State Grassroots Fund. Adds definitions respecting contributions and expenditure exceptions. Requires the applicable congressional campaign committee of a political party to make certain expenditures authorized by a State or national committee in connection with a general election campaign for candidates for Federal office unless the State or national committee allocates all or a portion of such expenditures to either or both of such committees. Allows a national or State committee to match independent expenditures made on the opponent's behalf during the campaign. (Sec. 306) Limits the fund raising activities of Federal candidates and office holders and certain political committees. Prohibits an individual who is a candidate for, or holds, Federal office during any period, from soliciting contributions to or on behalf of any tax-exempt organization under specified circumstances. (Sec. 307) Sets forth requirements of reporting by political committees. Provides that exclusion of any gift, subscription, loan, etc. shall not apply for the purposes of any requirement to report contributions and requires that exempt contributions aggregating in excess of $200 (and disbursements therefrom) be reported. Authorizes the Commission to allow a State political party committee to file with the Commission a report under State law if the Commission determines such reports contain substantially the same information. Title IV: Contributions - Sets forth restrictions on the bundling of contributions. (Sec. 403) Prohibits a candidate or the candidate's authorized committee from accepting a cash contribution from any one person aggregating more than $100. (Sec. 404) Prohibits a candidate for Federal office from accepting any contribution from a State or local committee of a political party, including any subordinate committee of such committee, if such contribution when aggregated exceeds the contribution limit. (Sec. 406) Revises the definition of "contribution" to provide for a limited exclusion of any advance voluntarily made by a campaign worker on behalf of the candidate's authorized committee. (Sec. 407) Makes amendments with respect to payments made by corporations or labor organizations for candidate debates, voter guides, or voting records directed to the general public. (Sec. 408) Prohibits a foreign national from directly or indirectly participating in any individual's election-related activities. Title V: Reporting Requirements - Changes certain reporting from a calendar year basis to an election cycle basis. (Sec. 502) Requires that a political committee report expenditures made by a candidate or the candidate's authorized committees for personal and consulting services by certain individuals other than employees and prescribes that such individuals maintain records of such services and report the information to the political committee. (Sec. 505) Revises the date for filing quarterly reports. Authorizes the treasurer of a political committee to file monthly reports. Requires filing of monthly reports if at any time during the election year a committee receives contributions or makes disbursements in excess of $100,000 ($10,000 in the case of a multicandidate political committee). Modifies requirements concerning best efforts by the treasurer of a political committee to obtain, maintain, and report contributor information. (Sec. 506) Permits the candidate's principal campaign committee to register on the date of its designation. (Sec. 507) Revises reporting requirements with respect to certain communications made by corporations and labor organizations. Title VI: Broadcast Rates and Campaign Advertising - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to revise provisions relating to broadcast rates and preemption of the use of a broadcast station by a legally qualified candidate. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) broadcast and cable independent expenditure communications made by any individual against an eligible House of Representatives candidate; (2) a licensee that endorses a candidate for Federal office in an editorial; and (3) revocation of a license for failure to permit access to a broadcasting station or cable system under the same terms, conditions, and business practices as apply to its most favored advertiser. (Sec. 603) Amends Federal law to extend eligibility for nonprofit third-class bulk rates of postage to a qualified campaign committee. Title VII: Miscellaneous - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to revise requirements respecting the prohibition of political committees that supports or has supported more than one candidate from being designated as an authorized committee. Prohibits a candidate for Federal office or any individual holding Federal office from establishing leadership committees. (Sec. 702) Authorizes the Commission to appear on its own behalf in any action relating to the exercise of its statutory duties in any court as either a party or as amicus curiae. (Sec. 703) Prohibits solicitation or acceptance of campaign contributions by House Members in the Halls of the House of Representatives, rooms leading thereto, or the cloakrooms. Title VIII: Effective Dates; Authorizations - Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) effective date; (2) severability; and (3) Supreme Court review of constitutional issues.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Homeowners Insurance Protection Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require a creditor to provide free, specified written disclosures about cancellation rights for private mortgage insurance if a consumer is required to obtain such insurance as a condition for entering into a residential mortgage transaction. Imposes civil liability in the amount of treble damages for noncompliance with such disclosure requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to require certain group health plans, and health insurance issuers providing coverage under a group plan, to ensure specified minimum coverage regarding: (1) breast cancer mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissections; (2) post-mastectomy breast reconstruction on both breasts; and (3) secondary consultations by specialists. Prohibits: (1) changing coverage terms and conditions based on a participant's or beneficiary's decision to request less than the minimum coverage; and (2) certain penalties or incentives to providers or specialists. Amends: (1) the Public Health Service Act to apply the same requirements to health insurance issuers in the individual market; and (2) the Internal Revenue Code to apply those requirements to group health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Bear Protection Act - Prohibits any person from: (1) importing bear viscera into, or exporting it from, the United States; or (2) selling bear viscera, bartering, offering it for sale or barter, purchasing, or possessing it with intent to sell or barter, transporting, acquiring, or receiving it in interstate or foreign commerce. Subjects persons who violate such prohibitions to specified penalties. Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the United States Trade Representative to discuss issues involving such trade with representatives of countries that are the leading importers, exporters, or consumers of such products. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress on the progress of efforts to end illegal trade in bear viscera.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Directs the Secretary of the Army to close the military education and training facility known as the United States Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. Repeals current statutory authority for the School.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Pet Safety and Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act regarding permissible sources of research facility dogs and cats. Establishes monetary penalties for related violations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to restore the link ended by the Senior Citizens' Freedom to Work Act of 1995 between the rules relating to substantial gainful activity for blind individuals and the rules relating to excess earnings under the social security earnings test for individuals who have attained retirement age (thus allowing blind individuals, once again, to earn up to the social security excess earnings threshold without being regarded as having demonstrated an ability to engage in substantial gainful activity and without losing entitlement to OASDI benefits).
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Requires the House of Representatives to participate in State and local government transit programs to encourage House employees to use public transportation. Directs the Committee on House Oversight to issue appropriate regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Commends the organizers, sponsors, coordinators, and volunteers of NetDay. Supports NetDay's commitment to providing the Nation's elementary and secondary schools with the technological infrastructure needed to help the Nation's children succeed.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Medicare Hospice Benefit Amendments of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to hospice care to: (1) restructure the hospice care benefit period; (2) cover any other item or service which is specified in the plan and for which payment may otherwise be made under Medicare; (3) permit contracting with independent physicians or physician groups for hospice care services; (4) allow waiver of certain staffing requirements for hospice care programs in non-urbanized areas; (5) define coverage denial, with respect to the limitation on the liability of beneficiaries and providers, to mean a determination that an individual is not terminally ill; and (6) extend the period for physician certification of an individual's terminal illness.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that cost-of-living adjustments for Federal retirees should be paid beginning in January of each year, as current law prescribes, and should not be delayed, whether as part of a budget agreement or otherwise.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Authorizes appropriations for the payment of arrearages in assessed U.S. contributions to the United Nations, including contributions for international peacekeeping activities, for specified past fiscal years. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) maintain its leadership role within a more effective and less costly United Nations; (2) continue efforts to persuade other U.N. members to support a broad agenda for reform, budgetary discipline, and equitable financial burden sharing; and (3) promptly negotiate a reduction in its assessed contribution for any U.N. peacekeeping operation to no more than 25 percent of all assessed contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Downed Animal Protection Act - Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to make it unlawful for any stockyard owner, market agency, or dealer to buy, sell, give, receive, transfer, market, hold, or drag any nonambulatory livestock unless such livestock has been humanely euthanized. Imposes civil and criminal penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
American Handgun Standards Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a junk gun that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Defines a "junk gun" as any handgun that does not meet specified criteria for authorization by the Secretary of the Treasury for importation into the United States. Makes such provision inapplicable to: (1) the possession or transfer of any junk gun otherwise lawfully possessed under Federal law on the date of this Act's enactment; (2) any firearm or replica of a firearm that has been rendered permanently inoperative; (3) the manufacture for, transfer to, or possession by the United States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State of a junk gun, or a transfer to or possession by a law enforcement officer employed by such an entity for law enforcement purposes (whether on or off duty); (4) the transfer to or possession by a rail police officer employed by a rail carrier and certified or commissioned as a police officer under the laws of a State of a junk gun for such purposes; or (5) the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a junk gun by a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer for the purposes of testing or experimentation authorized by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the possession or transfer of a non-sporting handgun which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, except with respect to the continuous and otherwise lawful possession of such handgun during any period that began before the effective date of this provision.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits a person from being elected to serve more than three consecutive terms in the House of Representatives or more than two consecutive terms in the Senate. Excludes elections occurring before ratification of this article in determining the number of times a person has been elected.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Patent and Trademark Office Modernization Subtitle A: United States Patent and Trademark Office Subtitle B: Effective Date; Technical Amendments Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions Title II: Examining Procedure Improvements: Publication with Provisional Royalties; Term Extensions; Further Examination Title III: Protection for Prior Domestic Users of Patented Technologies Title IV: Enhanced Protection of Inventors' Rights Title V: Improved Reexamination Procedures Title VI: Miscellaneous Improvements 21st Century Patent System Improvement Act - Title I: Patent and Trademark Office Modernization - Patent and Trademark Office Modernization Act - Subtitle A: United States Patent and Trademark Office - Reestablishes the Patent and Trademark Office as a wholly owned Government corporation under the policy direction of the Secretary of Commerce, except as otherwise provided in this title. Requires the Office to maintain its principal office in the District of Columbia metropolitan area. Makes the Office responsible, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, for authorizing the transfer of not to exceed $100,000 in any year to the Department of State to make special payments to international intergovernmental organizations for studies and programs for advancing international cooperation concerning patents, trademarks, and related matters. Authorizes the Office to retain and use all of its revenues and receipts, subject to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. (Sec. 113) Requires Office management to be vested in a Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. (Currently, such management is vested in a Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks.) Requires the Director to appoint a Commissioner for Patents and a Commissioner for Trademarks. Exempts the Office from any administratively or statutorily imposed limitations on positions or personnel. Subjects Office employees to provisions governing Federal employees and requires the Office to adopt all existing labor agreements. (Sec. 114) Requires the Office to have a Management Advisory Board to review and report annually to the President and specified congressional committees on the Office's policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees and to advise the Director. (Sec. 115) Repeals provisions subjecting the Director's performance (including regulations governing agents and attorneys representing the Office) to the direction or approval of the Secretary of Commerce. (Sec. 116) Revises the composition of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to include the Director, the Commissioner for Patents, the Commissioner for Trademarks, and appointed members. (Sec. 117) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) revised membership of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences; (2) suits by, and against, the Office; (3) annual report disclosure of the purposes for which receipts were spent; (4) the Director's discretion to designate Office attorneys to conduct hearings relating to the suspension or exclusion from practice of certain individuals; (5) Office receipts, expenditures, and borrowing authority; and (6) the transfer to the Office of Department of Commerce functions, powers, duties, funds, and property related to the authority and functions vested in the Office by this title. Subtitle B: Effective Date; Technical Amendments - Makes this title effective four months after its enactment. Subtitle C: Miscellaneous Provisions - Makes existing appropriations and funds for the performance of functions, programs, and activities terminated pursuant to this title available for their duration for necessary expenses in connection with such action. Title II: Examining Procedure Improvements: Publication With Provisional Royalties; Term Extensions; Further Examination - Examining Procedure Improvements Act - Amends Federal patent law to require each application for a patent, other than certain design patents, to be published promptly after the expiration of 18 months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought. Allows an earlier application publication at the request of the applicant. Prohibits information concerning published patent applications from being made available to the public, except as the Director determines, such decision being final and nonreviewable. Provides publication requirement exceptions. Authorizes the Director to establish appropriate procedures to ensure that this title does not create new opportunities for pre-issuance opposition. (Sec. 203) Entitles a patent applicant to claim the benefit of an earlier filing date in a foreign country if a claim (identifying the original foreign application by its application number, country, and date of filing) is filed in the Office at any such time during the pendency of the application as required by the Director. Allows the Director to: (1) consider the failure by the applicant to file a timely claim for priority as a waiver of such claim; (2) require the payment of a surcharge as a condition of accepting an untimely claim during such pendency; and (3) require a certified copy of the original foreign application and related information, as necessary. (Sec. 204) Specifies that a patent shall include the right to obtain a reasonable royalty from any person who, between the date of publication of the application and the date the patent is issued: (1) makes, uses, or sells in or imports into the United States the claimed invention; or (2) if the invention is a process, uses, offers for sale, or sells in or imports into the United States products made by that process; and (3) had actual notice of the published application or a translation of the international application. Bases the right to such royalty on substantially identical inventions only and only when brought within six years after patent issuance. Specifies the commencement date of the period for obtaining a royalty based upon the publication of an international application designating the United States. (Sec. 205) Provides that a person shall not be entitled to a patent if the invention was described in a published application by another filed in the United States, or in a published international application, before the invention thereof by the applicant. (Sec. 206) Requires the Director to recover the cost of an early publication by adjusting the filing, issue, and maintenance fees, by charging a separate publication fee, or by any combination of such fees. (Sec. 208) Provides for the extension of the term of a patent the issue of which is delayed due to an unusual Office administrative delay. Limits to ten years the total duration of extensions which result from administrative or judicial review, Office administrative delay, or both. Reduces the extension period by the time in which the applicant failed to engage in reasonable efforts to conclude prosecution of the application. (Sec. 209) Requires the Director to prescribe regulations for the further limited reexamination of patent applications. (Sec. 210) Extends to the next business day the last day of pendency of a provisional application when such day will normally fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday. (Sec. 211) Requires the Director, beginning in 2001, to report annually to the Congress regarding the impact of patent applications filed by an applicant who has been accorded the status of independent inventor. Title III: Protection for Prior Domestic Users of Patented Technologies - Protection for Prior Domestic Commercial Users of Patented Technologies Act - Amends Federal patent law to create a defense to patent infringement with respect to any subject matter that would otherwise infringe one or more claims in the patent being asserted, if a person had, acting in good faith, commercially used the subject matter before the effective filing date of such patent. Specifies that the sale or other disposition of the subject matter of a patent by a person entitled to assert the defense shall exhaust the patent owner's rights to the extent they would have been exhausted had such disposition been made by the patent owner. Subjects the defense to specified limitations and qualifications, including those regarding: (1) burden of proof; (2) abandonment of use; (3) who may assert the defense (it is a personal defense); (4) unsuccessful assertion of the defense; and (5) invalidity of a patent. Title IV: Enhanced Protection of Inventors' Rights - Enhanced Protection of Inventors' Rights Act - Requires that every contract for invention development services be in writing and that a copy of the signed written contract be given to the customer at the time the customer enters into the contract. Outlines information required to be included in the contract by the invention developer. Allows a customer to terminate such a contract by sending a written letter to the invention developer stating the intent to cancel. Prescribes language and information required to be included in a cover notice on every such contract. Requires the invention developer to deliver to the customer quarterly progress reports. Outlines mandatory terms for invention development services contracts. Makes voidable by the customer any such contract which does not comply with provisions of this title or which is entered into in reliance upon any material false, fraudulent, or misleading information, representation, notice, or advertisement of the invention developer. Provides appropriate remedies through civil actions, including damages, costs, and reasonable attorney's fees. Requires the Director to make publicly available all complaints received by the Office involving invention developers. Provides penalties for fraudulent representations by invention developers. Title V: Improved Reexamination Procedures - Improved Reexamination Procedures Act - Amends Federal patent law concerning patent reexamination request authority to authorize the filing of such requests by any person on the basis of patent specification requirements, except for the best mode requirements. (Current law permits reexamination requests only on the basis of prior art.) Establishes procedures for reexamination proceedings based upon third- party (persons other than the patent owner) requests. Requires documents filed in such proceedings to be served upon all parties. Grants third-party requesters: (1) one opportunity to file written comments; and (2) the right to appeal final reexamination decisions. Requires all appealable claims to be brought up during an original reexamination procedure or be thereafter barred. Requires the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences to review adverse decisions of examiners in reexamination proceedings and authorizes appeals to the Board by patent owners and third-party requesters with respect to reexamination decisions. Permits appeals of Board decisions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Title VI: Miscellaneous Improvements - Revises provisions regarding abandonment of original applications to allow, notwithstanding the absence of a claim, a provisional application to be treated as a patent application, under specified conditions. Grants, under specified conditions, benefits of an earlier filing date to an invention patent application filed in this country that has previously and regularly been filed for the same invention in a foreign country which affords similar privileges in the case of applications filed in a World Trade Organization country. (Sec. 603) Allows a patent to be issued for a tuber propagated plant, with the same protections against reproduction, sale, or import into the United States. (Sec. 604) Allows the use of an electronic medium to file papers in the Office. (Sec. 605) Provides that, in the case in which patent issue restriction is required on the ground that two or more independent and distinct inventions are claimed in one application, the applicant shall be entitled to submit an examination fee and request examination for each independent and distinct invention. Allows an examination fee refund to an applicant who requests reconsideration of a restriction requirement when such requirement is determined to be improper.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to authorize the transfer to State and local governments of surplus real and related personal property needed for use by the transferee or grantee for a law enforcement or public safety purpose. Applies the law to prior transfers and conveyances.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Freedom of Choice for Women in the Uniformed Services Act - Repeals a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 which prohibits any medical treatment facility of the Department of Defense from being used to perform an abortion except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to full term or in the case of rape or incest.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Breast-Cancer Research Stamp Act - Requires the U.S. Postal Service to establish a special rate of postage for first-class mail that is one cent higher than the regular rate as an alternative that patrons may use voluntarily to contribute to funding for breast-cancer research. Authorizes the Service to design and sell special stamps. Requires the Service to pay amounts attributable (additional revenues minus costs) to the one-cent differential to the National Institutes of Health as mutually agreed.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Subsidy Termination for Overdue Payments Act of 1997 - Prohibits a Federal agency or instrumentality from providing financial assistance, with specified exceptions, without certification that the applicant is: (1) not more than 60 days delinquent in the payment of a child support payment order; or (2) in compliance, if so delinquent, with an agreement regarding support collection with the person to whom payment is to be made or a State providing collection services to that person.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Retirement Savings Incentives Subtitle A: Restoration of IRA Deduction Subtitle B: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs Title II: Penalty-Free Distributions Savings and Investment Incentive Act of 1997 - Title I: Retirement Savings Incentives - Subtitle A: Restoration of IRA Deduction - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the deduction for individual retirement accounts (IRAs), to increase the income limits applicable to active participants. Removes limitations on a spouse's participation. (Sec. 102) Provides an inflation adjustment for the deductible amount. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions concerning the allowance of certain coins and bullion as IRA investments. Subtitle B: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs - Permits individuals to establish IRA Plus accounts which shall be treated similarly to an IRA plan. Prohibits deductions for contributions to such accounts. Sets forth distribution rules (including the exclusion of qualified distributions from gross income). Title II: Penalty-Free Distributions - Permits distributions without penalty for qualified: (1) first home purchases; (2) higher education expenses; and (3) unemployed individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify displaced homemakers for the targeted jobs income tax credit. Defines "displaced homemaker" as an individual who: (1) has not worked in the labor force for at least five years but has, during those years, worked in the home providing unpaid services for family members; and (2) has been dependent on public assistance or on the income of another family member but is no longer supported by that income or is receiving public assistance on account of dependent children in the home.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Requires the House of Representatives, when the legislatures of an additional three States ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, to take any legislative action necessary to verify the ratification of the Amendment as a part of the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Calls for: (1) the United States to use its influence with the Turkish Government and as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to suggest that the Turkish Government ensure the proper protection for the Patriarchate and all Orthodox faithful residing in Turkey, assure that positive steps are taken to reopen the Halki Patriarchal School of Theology, provide for the proper protection and safety of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Patriarchate personnel, establish conditions that would prevent the recurrence of past terrorist activities and vandalism and other personal threats against the Patriarchate, establish conditions to ensure that the Patriarchate is free to carry out its religious mission, and do everything possible to find and punish the perpetrators of any provocative and terrorist acts against the Patriarchate; and (2) the Administration to report to the Congress the status and progress of such concerns on an annual basis.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 1997 - Waives the English language naturalization requirement for certain aliens (or their spouses or widows) who served with special guerilla units in Laos. Provides for naturalization under the Immigration and Nationality Act through such service.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit a group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group coverage from discriminating on the basis: (1) of genetic information; or (2) that the participant or beneficiary has requested or received genetic services. Regulates genetic information collection and disclosure by plans and issuers. Provides for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages. Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan, a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, or a health issuer in the individual market from so discriminating. Regulates genetic information collection and disclosure by plans and issuers. Provides for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit an issuer of a Medicare supplemental policy from so discriminating. Provides for compensatory, consequential, and punitive damages. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group coverage from so discriminating. Regulates genetic information collection and disclosure by plans and issuers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Protection from Sexual Predators Act of 1997 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that States should: (1) more seriously consider the relatively high recidivism rate of sexual offenders when deciding whether to plea bargain with or grant parole to sexual offenders; and (2) review treatment and parole supervision programs for sexual offenders to assure that such programs are fulfilling their goals. Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that whoever violates provisions regarding aggravated sexual abuse (or engages in conduct that would violate such provisions if the conduct had occurred in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States under specified circumstances) after previously having been convicted of another State or Federal sexual abuse offense (or conduct which would have been such an offense if the offense had occurred in such jurisdiction) shall be imprisoned for life. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require a State, to be eligible for a truth in sentencing incentive grant, to provide assurances to the Attorney General that such State has in effect laws which allow the court to impose a sentence of life in prison without parole on a defendant in a criminal case who is convicted of a State offense for conduct which is a sexual abuse or aggravated sexual abuse offense under the Federal criminal code (or which would have been an offense under such provisions if the offense had occurred in U.S. jurisdiction) after having previously been convicted of another State or Federal sexual abuse or aggravated sexual abuse offense. Requires the National Institute of Justice to carry out a study of persistent sexual predators and to report to the Congress and the President.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Reconstructive Breast Surgery Benefits Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require group health plans and insurers offering group health coverage, if they cover a mastectomy, to also cover reconstructive breast surgery resulting from the mastectomy, including surgery on a nondiseased breast to establish symmetry. Prohibits related: (1) denial of coverage or monetary incentives to women; and (2) penalties or incentives to providers. Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply the above requirements to individual health insurance coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Aircraft Repair Station Safety Act of 1997 - Terminates the effectiveness of certain November 22, 1988, amendments to the foreign repair station rules of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Declares that certain standards issued by the FAA for domestic repair stations shall apply in the same manner to foreign repair stations. Amends Federal aviation safety law to require the FAA Administrator to issue an order revoking a repair station certificate if the Administrator finds that the station knowingly used an uncertified or substandard airframe, engine, propeller, appliance, or any other part in the repair or overhaul of an aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a congressional gold medal to Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Natural Disaster Insurance Title II: Multihazard Mitigation Program Natural Disaster Protection and Insurance Act of 1997 - Title I: Natural Disaster Insurance - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (the Secretary) to establish within the Department of the Treasury a National Commission on Catastrophe Risk and Insurance Loss Costs to estimate loss costs from catastrophic natural disasters. Instructs the Commission to: (1) make an initial estimate of catastrophe loss costs (updated at least every three years); (2) file catastrophe loss costs estimates at least every three years; (3) conduct special studies of catastrophe insurance issues in order to develop estimates of catastrophe loss costs, including the investigation of specified issues according to certain procedural guidelines. (Sec. 101) Permits a private insurer to elect to cite the Commission's final catastrophe loss cost estimates in its rate filings to a State department of insurance. Instructs the Secretary to consider catastrophe loss cost estimates when developing reserve prices for Federal excess-of-loss reinsurance contracts. Requires State insurance pools that provide direct insurance, in order to be eligible to purchase Federal excess-of-loss reinsurance contracts, to consider, when developing property coverage rates, such estimates as the minimum loss costs to be filed with State department of insurance. Prescribes guidelines under which the Commission may review and certify private commercial natural disaster hazard models intended to be used to make estimates of catastrophe loss costs. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the intent of the Congress that: (1) this Act relates specifically to the business of insurance; and (2) specified activities prescribed by this Act and applicable to such business shall be regulated by State law. (Sec. 102) Directs the Secretary to implement a program to auction Federal excess-of-loss reinsurance contracts to eligible purchasers in order to increase the capacity of insurance coverage against specified catastrophic natural disasters. Establishes the Federal Excess-of-Loss Reinsurance Fund within the Treasury to make payments on claims and for: (1) the operation of the National Commission on Catastrophe Risk and Insurance Loss Costs; (2) the anticipated Federal contribution to the Natural Disaster Hazard Mitigation Fund (established by this Act); and (3) administrative expenses. (Sec. 103) Prescribes eligibility qualifications for a licensed private corporation providing excess reinsurance for catastrophic natural disasters, which shall not be subject to antitrust liability. (Sec. 104) Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a joint study with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce evaluating specified public policy issues associated with conferring favorable Federal tax treatment to insurance reserves set aside by private insurers for future catastrophic natural disasters. (Sec. 105) Requires the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to study and report to the Congress on the national flood insurance program operated under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. (Sec. 106) Requires each State department of insurance to take into account natural disaster hazard mitigation measures in setting rates and deductibles for property insurance. (Sec. 107) Requires the FEMA Director and the Secretaries of Treasury and of Commerce to study jointly, evaluate, and report to the Congress on the availability and affordability of catastrophe insurance for natural hazards to private enterprises and State and local governments. Title II: Multihazard Mitigation Program - Prescribes guidelines and a deadline for the development of State-wide strategic mitigation plans to reduce the hazards of future natural disasters. Denies non-compliant States eligibility to receive funds from the Natural Disaster Hazard Mitigation Fund. (Sec. 202) Establishes the Natural Disaster Hazard Mitigation Fund. (Sec. 203) Directs the Comptroller General to identify all Federal programs providing assistance for public facilities and lifelines, and determine those which include or could include as an eligible use of Federal assistance the retrofitting or strengthening of public facilities and lifelines to minimize damage from future natural disasters. (Sec. 204) Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to enter into an agreement with the interagency National Wildfire Coordinating Group to study and report to the Congress on the threat posed by wildfires. (Sec. 205) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Cuba Reconciliation Act - Repeals the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 which impose certain economic sanctions with respect to trade with Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Freedom to Travel Act of 1997 - Prohibits the President from restricting U.S. citizens or legal residents from traveling abroad, except to countries with which the United States is at war, where armed hostilities are in progress, or where there is imminent danger to the public health or physical safety of U.S. travelers. Revises the areas which the President is expressly denied authority to regulate or prohibit under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Adds to such areas specifically excluded from presidential regulatory authority: (1) normal banking transactions incident to specified travel activities, including the issuance, clearing, processing, or payment of checks, drafts, travelers checks, credit or debit card instruments, or similar instruments; and (2) financial or other transactions, or travel, incident to activities of scholars, educational or academic activities, exchanges, cultural activities, and public exhibitions or performances by the nationals of one country in another country, with specified exceptions. Amends the Trading With the Enemy Act to add similar provisions restricting presidential authority to regulate or prohibit transactions incident to travel by U.S. citizens or residents. Declares that this Act applies notwithstanding certain economic sanctions against Cuba under the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Amends the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Trading With the Enemy Act, and provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 regarding the embargo on trade with Cuba to provide that the authorities granted to the President under such Acts do not include the authority to regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly, financial or other transactions related to the establishment of news bureaus by U.S. news organizations in foreign countries, or the establishment of news bureaus in the United States by foreign news organizations. Amends the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to repeal provisions restricting the establishment of U.S. news bureaus in Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Uniformed Services Medicare Subvention Demonstration Project Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly establish a demonstration project to provide the Department of Defense (DOD) with reimbursement, under provisions of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, for health services provided to Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries who participate in the project and receive such services through the managed care option of the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program). Requires the project to be conducted during the three-year period beginning on January 1, 1998, in no more than five geographic regions designated by the Secretaries. Makes project enrollment voluntary. Requires the Secretary of Defense to waive the TRICARE enrollment fee for project participants for whom Medicare reimbursement may be made. Requires inclusion in the project of a provision for expansion to incorporate health care services provided to such beneficiaries under the fee-for-services options of the TRICARE program if the Secretaries determine that such expansion is feasible and advisable. Directs the HHS Secretary to make monthly payments to DOD from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund representing appropriate reimbursement amounts. Provides for the determination of such amounts. Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) maintain the DOD health care efforts for Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries; (2) estimate the amount expended by DOD for FY 1997 for providing health care items and services to such beneficiaries; and (3) establish monthly targets for the number of such beneficiaries enrolled in the project necessary to meet DOD maintenance of health care efforts for such individuals. Limits to $65 million the annual payments to DOD for the project. Requires the Comptroller General, for each project year, to submit to the Secretaries and the Congress a report on the extent to which costs under the TRICARE program and the Medicare program have increased as a result of the project. Directs the Secretaries to modify the project at the end of each year to correct for any discrepancy between cost targets and actual spending under the project. Directs the Secretaries to submit to the Congress an interim and final report on various project aspects.
![Official portrait of Rep. Furse, Elizabeth [D-OR-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000434_200.jpg)