United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1991
Calls on the President to: (1) decry the violence in Yugoslavia and affirm U.S. policy for a peaceful resolution through democratic negotiations and adherence to a ceasefire; (2) assert that no border changes that have occurred through force and without benefit of negotiation, and no groups occupying territory obtained through violent means, shall be recognized; (3) affirm his commitment to maintaining the international embargo on arms to all combatants in the conflict; (4) instruct the U.S. representatives of each international financial institution to support U.S. goals in completing and maintaining a ceasefire; (5) request the United Nations (UN) Secretary General to assist the European Community (EC)-sponsored negotiations (or initiate negotiations should the EC negotiations fail), to dispatch a contingent to monitor and enforce any ceasefire, and to assist in the completion of a long-term settlement to the conflict; (6) raise in the UN General Assembly the assessment of multilateral economic sanctions against any party disrupting the ceasefire or refusing to take part in negotiations; and (7) insist that all parties to the conflict approve the presence of a peacekeeping force in Yugoslavia to monitor a negotiated ceasefire.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1991
Authorizes claims for damages against the United States for personal injury or death of a member of the armed forces serving on active duty or on full-time National Guard duty. Provides that the personal injury or death must have arisen out of noncombatant medical or dental care furnished in a fixed medical facility operated by the United States. Offsets the amount of Government benefits for members of the armed forces or veterans for personal injury or death by the amount of any awards or judgments from such claims.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1991
Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 - Declares it is U.S. policy to: (1) seek multilaterally coordinated efforts with other countries to control the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons; and (2) strengthen efforts to control chemical agents, precursors, and equipment. Requires the President to use the U.S. export control laws to control the export of defense articles, defense services, goods, and technologies that he determines would assist a country in acquiring the capability to produce or use such weapons. Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a list of goods and technology that would assist a foreign government or group in acquiring chemical or biological weapons. Requires a validated export license for the export of such items to certain countries of concern. Requires the President to impose certain sanctions against foreign persons if he determines that they knowingly contributed to the efforts of a country to acquire, use, or stockpile chemical or biological weapons. Declares such sanctions to include: (1) denial of U.S. procurement contracts for goods or services from such foreign persons; and (2) prohibition against importation of products from such persons. Authorizes the President to waive imposition of such sanctions if he determines that is in the national security interests of the United States. Amends the Arms Export Control Act to set forth similar provisions. Requires the President to make a determination with respect to whether a country has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals. Authorizes specified congressional committees to request the President to make such determination with respect to the use of such weapons. Requires the President to impose the following sanctions against foreign countries that have been found to have used such weapons: (1) termination of assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (except humanitarian assistance and agricultural commodities); (2) termination of arms sales and arms sales financing; (3) denial of U.S. credit; and (4) prohibition of the export of certain goods and technology. Directs the President to impose at least three of the following additional sanctions unless such countries cease the use of such weapons and provide assurances that they will not use, and will allow inspections with respect to, such weapons: (1) opposition to the extension of multilateral development bank assistance; (2) prohibition of U.S. bank loans (except loans for food or agricultural commodities); (3) further export prohibitions (4) import restrictions; (5) suspension of diplomatic relations; and (6) termination of air carrier landing rights. Provides for the removal and waiver of such sanctions. Requires the President to submit to the Congress annual reports on the efforts of countries to acquire chemical or biological weapons.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1991
Health Access and Affordability Today Act of 1991 - Title I: Improvements in Access to Health Care - Subtitle A: Improvements in Medicaid Eligibility - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to mandate Medicaid eligibility for eligible persons with incomes below 133 percent of a State-adjusted poverty level. Allows each State Medicaid plan to elect to make eligible for medical assistance: (1) students in schools at which at least 70 percent of the students are eligible for assistance under specified programs; and (2) a younger sibling of the students being made eligible by these provisions. Mandates availability under these provisions of assistance for medical services required to terminate a pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. Adjusts payments to States. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate references to the health insurance credit in provisions relating to: (1) the earned income credit; and (2) deductions for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. Subtitle B: Improvements in Access to Providers Under the Medicare and Medicaid Programs - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on any health care provider (payable by a hospital, nursing facility, or individual provider) who discriminates against or denies treatment to any individual covered under title XIX (Medicaid) or parts A (Hospital Insurance) or B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Sets forth circumstances in which a hospital or nursing facility shall be treated as discriminating. Applies certain deficiency procedures to these provisions. Sets forth requirements regarding minimum Medicaid payment rates. Subtitle C: Improving Access of All Workers to Employer Health Insurance - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the providing of a group health plan unless: (1) all employees are eligible to participate in the plan (or another group plan of the employer meeting these requirements); and (2) the employer-provided benefit received by all employees is either the same dollar amount or the same percentage of the value of the coverage provided to each employee under the plan. Provides for part-time employees, small employers, and plans maintained pursuant to collective bargaining agreements. Subtitle D: Improved Provision of Services through Community Health Centers - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to add physicians coming to the United States to provide full-time medical services in a medically underserved area to the list of nonimmigrant aliens excluded from the definition of "immigrant." Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that: (1) health professions schools should require clinical experience in outpatient facilities that are principal sources of primary health services for medically underserved populations and offer courses that prepare students to practice at such facilities; (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services should issue, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget should cooperate in the issuance of, specified regulations regarding assignment of members of the National Health Service Corps; and (3) the Secretary should ensure the equitable allocation of assignments among urban and rural areas. Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate a grant for the establishment of a nationwide risk retention group to provide professional liability insurance and other approved types of profitable insurance to the migrant and community health centers. Requires all centers receiving funds under specified provisions and centers and clinics under certain other provisions to become members in the group. Makes all professional staff members of such centers eligible to obtain the insurance offered by the group. Authorizes appropriations for the grant and for capitalization of the group. Subtitle E: Continuation of Access through College and University Health Plans - Prohibits any State or the District of Columbia from establishing or enforcing any law or regulation that prevents a college or university health plan from offering students enrolled in the plan continuation coverage after graduation. Title II: Improvements in Affordability of Health Care - Preempts State laws and regulations dealing with: (1) health insurance under a health benefit plan; or (2) managed care. Mandates adoption of a specified standard (known as the X12 Standard) for electronic data interchange of health care related transactions as a standard under: (1) titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; (2) the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS); and (3) veterans health programs and the Federal employees health benefit program under specified provisions of Federal law. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow deduction of the full amount (currently, 25 percent of the amount) of health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. Removes provisions ending the deduction on a specified date. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to waive programmatic restrictions in title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act that hinder implementation of managed care plans under Medicare. Mandates a study of fraud in the health care industry and its impact on health care costs. Establishes the National Advisory Council on Access to Health Care. Requires data collection on: (1) rates and patterns of use of health services, collected through data on hospital discharges, including medical records and hospital bills; and (2) State efforts in health care reform. Authorizes the provision of funds to selected States to demonstrate innovative approaches of using existing data systems to evaluate State-based health care reform efforts. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Medicaid Financial Incentive for State Comprehensive Reform Package to Improve Access to Health Care and Reduce Costs of Health Care - Deems the Federal medical assistance percentage, if a State complies with this title, to be 100 percent of the expenditures attributable to: (1) individuals eligible for assistance only because of this title; or (2) the amount by which payments for medical assistance are increased by specified provisions relating to minimum Medicaid payment rates. Requires a State to enact a small employer health insurance market reform program including: (1) guaranteed access by each small employer group to private health insurance coverage, with a reinsurance mechanism mandated; (2) coverage of whole groups, with neither the employer nor the insurer able to exclude a high risk individual; (3) renewability of coverage; (4) continuity of coverage when an employee changes jobs or when an employer changes carriers; (5) rate and rate change limits; and (6) disclosure of rating practices and annual rating certification. Requires a State to enact laws requiring juveniles riding motorcycles to wear helmets, front seat passengers to wear a safety belt, and children under the age of four to be in a child restraint system. Requires a State to establish an alternative dispute resolution system for health care negligence and provide for malpractice liability reforms at least as stringent as specified requirements regarding future damages, collateral payment, noneconomic losses, attorney's fees, and statutes of limitations. Requires a State to establish one or more managed care plans for the provision of Medicaid services. Authorizes waiver of Medicaid programmatic restrictions that hinder implementation of managed care plans. Requires that there be in operation in a State a qualified pooling association, defined as an organization which: (1) is a nonprofit corporation; (2) permits health insurers, hospital and medical service plan corporations, health maintenance organizations, and employers and other health financing entities to be members; (3) makes specified levels of health insurance available, without regard to health, to all State residents not eligible for benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act; (4) charges a pool premium rate; and (5) assesses pool losses equitably among members. Specifies the levels of insurance covered. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to exclude such pools from provisions preempting State law.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1991
Small Business Recovery Act of 1991 - Authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to enter into agreements to participate, on a guaranteed basis, in the purchase of eligible securities issued pursuant to this Act by certain financial institutions. Sets forth participation criteria. Establishes the Regional Small Business Recovery Panel to evaluate: (1) applications submitted pursuant to this Act; (2) the type of proposed debt or equity security; and (3) claims for repurchase of approved securities by the SBA. Requires the SBA to submit a progress report to the Congress. Establishes the Regional Small Business Recovery Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1991
Federal Fire Safety Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to prohibit the use of Federal funds to: (1) construct, purchase, or lease a newly constructed Federal office building, other than housing, having more than 25 full-time Federal employees nor to renovate one with five or more stories unless the entire building includes automatic sprinkler systems or an equivalent level of safety, with specified exceptions; and (2) increase the number of employees in such building by more than 100 employees over that as of enactment of this Act without such system or level of safety. Prohibits the use of such funds after the enactment of this Act: (1) to construct, purchase, lease, rebuild, or operate Federal Government housing for Federal employees and their dependents; (2) multifamily housing for Federal employees subsidized by the Federal Government; and (3) rental assistance housing, without automatic sprinkler systems and smoke detectors (in some cases smoke detectors alone). Directs the: (1) Administrator of the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (Administrator) to promulgate regulations implementing this Act; and (2) head of any Federal agency that owns, leases, or operates a federally-funded building or housing unit, to invite the local agency or voluntary organization with fire protection responsibility in the jurisdiction of such building or housing unit to prepare, and biennially review, a prefire plan for it.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1991
Extends nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to the products of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should take prompt action to provide preferential tariff treatment to such products under the Generalized System of Preferences.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1991
Extends nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to the products of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to remove their products from the column two duty rate.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
National Air and Space Museum Expansion Site Selection Act of 1991 - Establishes the National Air and Space Museum Expansion Site Advisory Panel to conduct a national competition for the evaluation of possible expansion sites for the National Air and Space Museum. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution to select the site after considering the recommendation of the Panel. Terminates the Panel 30 days after such selection. Requires the General Accounting Office to review and evaluate the selection by the Board of Regents and report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
National Undersea Research Program Act of 1991 - Establishes in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the National Undersea Research Program to enhance scientific understanding of processes in the oceans and large lakes of the world through research and through developing and applying research technology. Establishes in NOAA the Office of Undersea Research to conduct the Program. Mandates appointment of a science advisor to the Program's Director. Establishes the National Undersea Research Steering Committee to advise the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Director. Requires designation of an undersea research region for each National Undersea Research Center in existence at the time of enactment of this Act and establishment of a new region, if certain conditions are met. Authorizes the Under Secretary to establish a Center in specified circumstances. Requires, if continued operation of a Center is not warranted, establishment of a new Center for the same region. Provides for Center research programs, including annual solicitation of individual research proposals. Authorizes use of amounts appropriated to carry out the Program to make grants and contracts to assist any Center, subject to terms and conditions. Exempts grants and contracts under the Program from review by the Financial Assistance Review Board. Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Grants the consent of the Congress for States to enter into agreements with foreign governments relating to the recognition and enforcement of court-ordered spousal or child support maintenance obligations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Secretary of State should examine specified international conventions relating to such obligations to determine whether they are appropriate for ratification by the United States; and (2) the President should submit any appropriate convention to the Senate for ratification.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
National Energy Efficient Lighting Education Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (the Secretary), within 12 months after enactment of this Act, to make grants to nonprofit institutions and universities (or a consortium of such entities) to establish one regional energy efficient lighting education and demonstration center (centers) in each of the ten regions served by a Department of Energy regional support office. Sets forth such centers' responsibilities, including functions relating to training of lighting professionals, information dissemination, and assistance for lighting engineering and technical programs and curricula. Sets forth requirements for grant applications, selection criteria, and matching funds. Directs the Secretary to establish a task force to: (1) oversee research and training carried out by grant recipients; (2) disseminate such research results; (3) review such programs; and (4) make recommendations for possible future programs. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on the activities of such centers. Authorizes appropriations for grants for such centers. Authorizes the Secretary to make matching grants to States to encourage State energy offices to supplement the activities of such centers in providing educational workshops to train local building owners, developers, and facility energy and financial managers regarding energy efficient lighting options. Requires such workshops to be conducted in cooperation with the center for the region in which the State is located and with technical assistance and educational material from such center. Gives preference for such grants to States in which a center has not been established. Sets limits on the amount of such a grant to any State. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on such educational workshops supported by State energy offices. Authorizes appropriations for such grants to States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Veterans' Hospice Services Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a pilot program to: (1) assess the feasibility and desirability of furnishing hospice care to terminally ill veterans; and (2) determine the most efficient and effective means of furnishing such care. Directs the Secretary to designate 15 to 30 Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities for such demonstration projects. Requires the Secretary to ensure that: (1) Department medical facilities conducting such projects include both urban and rural area facilities; (2) the full range of affilitation between medical facilities of the Department and medical schools is represented by the facilities selected to conduct such projects; and (3) such facilities vary in the number of beds they operate and maintain. Allows such hospice care to be accomplished by Department medical facilities and personnel by contract where inpatient services are provided by Department medical facilities, or by contract where inpatient services are provided by a non-Department medical facility. Allows such inpatient care to be provided at a facility not designated in the contract when the provision of such care at such other facility is necessary under the circumstances. Limits the amount paid for hospice care programs under this Act to the equivalent of hospice care payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Allows the Secretary to pay in excess of such amounts for hospice care when the Secretary determines, on a case-by-case basis, that: (1) the furnishing of such care is necessary and appropriate; and (2) the amount paid under Medicare would not compensate the program for the cost of furnishing such care. Directs the Secretary, during the pilot program period, to designate not less than five Department medical facilities at which palliative care is being furnished to terminally ill veterans either by Department personnel and facilities providing such care or by Department personnel monitoring care provided by non-Department facilities. Directs the Secretary to ensure that terminally ill veterans who have been informed of their medical prognosis receive information relating to their eligibility for hospice care and services under Medicare. Directs the Secretary to submit annual reports to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees relating to the conduct of the pilot program and the furnishing of hospice care to terminally ill veterans under the demonstration projects. Requires the Secretary to also report to such committees an evaluation and assessment of the hospice care program, including information enabling the committees to fully evaluate the feasibility of furnishing palliative care to terminally ill veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 1991 - Title I: Tax Relief for Middle-Income Taxpayers - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide an additional exemption amount ($1,000) to the regular personal exemption ($2,000) for middle-income taxpayers. Specifies the maximum gross income amounts for such taxpayers. Provides a formula for reducing the additional exemption amount for middle-income taxpayers whose incomes exceed certain transitional dollar amounts. Provides for inflation adjustments of amounts under this title. Title II: Revenue Provisions - Increases the individual income tax rates for certain higher-income taxpayers. Imposes a surtax on the individual tax rate or the alternative minimum tax rate for individuals whose incomes exceed $225,000. Increases the rate of corporate income tax and the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Reform Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) with respect to occupational safety and health programs, committees, employee representatives, coverage, standards, enforcement, antidiscrimination, training and education, hazard and illness evaluation, State plans, and victims' rights. Title I: Safety and Health Programs - Amends OSHA to establish requirements for each employer to set up and carry out a written occupational safety and health program that includes methods and procedures for: (1) identifying, evaluating, and documenting hazards; (2) correcting them; (3) investigating work-related illnesses, injuries, and deaths; (4) providing occupational safety and health services, including emergency response and first aid procedures; (5) employee participation in implementing such program, including, where applicable, a safety and health committee; (6) responding to such committee's recommendations; (7) providing safety and health training and education to employees and committee members; (8) designating an employer representative qualified to and responsible for identifying hazards and initiating corrective action; and (9) at a worksite where employees of two or more employers work, protecting employees from hazards under the other employers' control. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to modify the application of such requirements to classes of employers where, in light of the risks faced by the employer's employees, such a modification would not reduce their safety and health protection. Directs the Secretary to issue final regulations on the required employer occupational safety and health programs, covering employee training and education as well, including annual refresher courses. Title II: Safety and Health Committees and Employee Safety and Health Representatives - Amends OSHA to require each employer of 11 or more employees to provide for: (1) safety and health committees; and (2) employee safety and health representatives. Requires, in general, such employers to establish such a committee at each worksite, but authorizes the Secretary to modify application of this requirement to: (1) an employer whose employees do not primarily report to or work at a fixed location; (2) covered employers at worksites where less than 11 of their employees are employed; and (3) worksites where employees of more than one employer are employed. Requires committee membership to consist of elected or appointed employee representatives and up to an equal number of employer representatives. Requires the committee to be cochaired by an employer representative and an employee representative. Grants each committee the reasonable right to: (1) review occupational safety and health related employer programs, incidents of death, injury, or illness, complaints of hazards, the employer's work injury and illness records (other than personally identifiable medical information), and other related reports and documents; (2) conduct worksite inspections (and related employee interviews) at least once every three months and in response to complaints; (3) conduct meetings at least once every three months; (4) observe the measurement of employee exposure to toxic materials and harmful physical agents; (5) establish procedures for exercising committee rights; (6) make advisory recommendations for improvements and corrections; and (7) accompany the Secretary's representative during certain physical inspections of the worksite. Requires the employer to permit committee members to take such time from work as is reasonably necessary to exercise committee rights, without any loss of pay or benefits for such time. Directs the Secretary to issue final regulations for the establishment and functioning of such committees. Sets forth procedures for selection of employee representatives by and from nonmanagerial employees. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations on safety and health representatives, including specified numbers and selection procedures. Title III: Coverage - Revises the OSHA definition of employer to include the Federal Government (except certain congressional employees) and State and local governments, thus extending OSHA coverage to public employees. (Includes under such OSHA coverage the executive and judicial branches and the following agencies of the legislative branch: the Botanic Garden, the General Accounting Office, the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Copyright Royalty Tribunal.) Authorizes the Secretary to cede OSHA jurisdiction to a Federal agency with respect to specified standards or regulations affecting occupational safety and health of some or all employees within that agency's regulatory jurisdiction, if the agency has promulgated and is enforcing standards and regulations so that its employees are being protected at least as effectively as they would be by the Secretary. Declares that nothing in OSHA shall apply to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. Applies OSHA to employment performed in the Federal nuclear facilities under the control or jurisdiction of the Department of Energy. Extends an employer's duties under OSHA to all employees working at the place of employment (even if they are not the employer's employees). Title IV: Occupational Safety and Health Standards - Revises provisions for OSHA standards. Requires specified timeframes for setting such standards after the Secretary has received: (1) a recommendation of an advisory committee, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; or (2) a petition from an interested person setting forth with reasonable particularity the facts claimed to establish that a standard should be promulgated, modified, or revoked. Directs the Secretary, within 90 days after such receipt, to publish a response stating whether the Secretary intends to publish a proposed rule with respect to such standard, or if not, the reasons for the decision not to publish such a rule. Directs the Secretary, if such rule is intended to be published, to do so within 12 months after the receipt of the recommendation or petition. Directs the Secretary to: (1) afford interested persons a period of at least 30 days to submit written data or comments after publication of a proposed rule promulgating, modifying, or revoking an OSHA standard; and (2) issue a final rule within 180 days after the public comment period (or within 180 days after a required public hearing on objections to such rule). Allows any adversely affected person to petition for judicial review, in the U.S. court of appeals for the appropriate circuit, of the Secretary's refusal or failure to issue such rules or standards. Requires that such a petition to appeal the Secretary's determination not to propose a rule with respect to a standard be filed within 60 days after publication of such determination. Requires set-aside of the Secretary's determination if it is found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law. Allows a petition to appeal the Secretary's failure to publish a proposed rule within the required 12-month time frame to be filed at any time after such time period has elapsed. Directs the reviewing court to compel the Secretary to take any such action that is found to have been unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed. Provides that the withholding or delaying of action shall not be justified by the Secretary's desire to consult with, or receive approval from any other Federal agency or executive official, except where this is required by applicable law and pursued in timely fashion. Revises the definition of "occupational safety and health standard" to mean a standard which addresses a significant risk to the safety or health of employees by requiring conditions, or the adoption or use of one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes that most adequately assure, to the extent feasible, safe and healthful employment and places of employment. Requires each OSHA standard also to prescribe requirements for recording or reporting a work-related illness determined as a result of a medical examination or test conducted under the standard. Directs the Secretary to place in the public record all written comments and communications and a summary of all verbal communications with parties outside the Department of Labor (DOL) (including communications with executive branch officials) regarding promulgation, modification, or revocation of an OSHA standard. Directs the Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of HHS and in addition to other OSHA standards, to modify and establish exposure limits for toxic materials and harmful physical agents on a regular basis in a specified manner. Directs the Secretary of HHS, acting through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to: (1) regularly evaluate available scientific evidence, data, and information to determine if such exposure limits should be modified or be established to protect exposed employees from material impairment of health or functional capacity; and (2) at least every three years, on the basis of such evaluation, develop and transmit to the Secretary recommendations identifying materials and agents for which exposure limits should be modified or established to protect employees from such impairment. Directs the Secretary: (1) within 30 days of receipt of such recommendations, to publish them and provide a 30-day public comment period; (2) within six months of their receipt evaluate them and the public comments and publish a proposed rule for the exposure limits of each material and agent for which the Secretary of HHS has made a recommendation (explaining why any proposed limit is not the same as a recommended limit); (3) within one year of publication of the proposed limits, issue a final standard (explaining why any final limit is not the same as the recommended limit); and (4) establish or modify such limits whenever warranted, in addition to a periodic review. Directs the Secretary, within two years after the effective date of this Act, to promulgate final standards on exposure monitoring and medical surveillance programs, including specified requirements. Directs the Secretary to issue a final standard on ergonomic hazards to protect employees from work-related musculoskeletal disorders, including specified requirements. Sets forth timetables for the Secretary to issue various OSHA final standards. Title V: Enforcement - Revises OSHA enforcement provisions. Provides that time spent by an employee in accompanying the Secretary's representative on an OSHA inspection shall be deemed to be hours worked, with no loss of pay, benefits, or seniority. Requires the Secretary to notify employees or their representative within 30 days after receipt of their request for inspection that there are no reasonable grounds to believe a violation or danger exists. Directs the Secretary also to make a special inspection after determining that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an imminent danger or serious violation exists in a place of employment, upon notification from any other source (as well as upon notification by an employee or employee representative as in current law). Directs the Secretary to establish and carry out a special emphasis inspection program for conducting inspections of industries or operations where existing hazards or newly recognized or new hazards introduced into work sites warrant more intensive than normal inspections. Requires annual designation of the industries and operations for such program and the number of inspections planned and number of enforcement personnel required. Requires that special emphasis inspections be in addition to other programmed and complaint inspections conducted under OSHA before the effective date of this Act. Requires a report on such program in the Secretary's annual OSHA report to the Congress. Requires the Secretary to investigate any work-related death or serious incident (i.e. one resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees). Requires the employer to: (1) notify the Secretary of any death or serious incident occurring in a place of employment covered by OSHA; and (2) prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence that would assist in investigating such death or incident. Requires OSHA citations to state if the Secretary or the Secretary's representative believes that an alleged violation is serious and presents such a substantial risk to the safety or health of employees that initiation of review proceedings should not suspend the running of the period for correction of the violation. Revises the correction period to make it begin to run from the date of receipt of the citation, with specified exceptions. Requires employers to verify the abatement of a serious, willful, or repeated violation in writing to the Secretary within 30 days after the correction period has expired. Requires employers, within ten days after verification of abatement, to prominently post notice of such abatement at or near each place the violation occurred and to make a copy of the verification available to employers and employee representatives. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations implementing such abatement verification and notice requirements. Grants employees the right to contest: (1) citations' designations of the character of the violation or of the OSHA provision, standard, rule, regulation, or order violated (in addition to contesting the abatement period, as in current law); and (2) proposed penalties as inadequate. Grants employee representatives the right to participate in other proceedings (as well as hearings) conducted under specified OSHA enforcement procedures. Requires, if the Secretary intends to withdraw or modify a citation as a result of any agreement with the employer, the Commission's rules of procedure to provide for prompt notice to affected employees or their representatives. Grants employees or their representative, regardless of whether they have previously elected to participate in the proceedings, the right to file a notice alleging that the proposed agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of OSHA within 15 days after receipt of notice of the agreement. Directs the Secretary to consider the matter and, upon determination to proceed with the agreement, respond with particularity to the objections. Grants employees or their representative, within 15 days after the Secretary's response, the right to a hearing upon request to the Commission. Provides that if the Commission determines the proposed agreement fails to effectuate the purposes of OSHA, the proposed agreement shall not be entered as a Commission order and the citation shall not be withdrawn or modified in accordance with the proposed agreement. Revises OSHA provisions for restraining imminent dangers. Directs the Secretary to inform the employer and the affected employees and request that a condition or practice that poses an imminent danger be corrected immediately or that employees be immediately removed from exposure to such danger. Requires such actions if the Secretary determines, on the basis of an inspection or investigation, that a condition or practice in the place of employment is such that an imminent danger to safety or health exists which could reasonably be expected to cause death, serious physical harm, or permanent impairment of health or functional capacity of employees if not corrected immediately. Directs the Secretary to determine whether to post a notice in the workplace if the employer refuses to comply with the Secretary's request. Requires that such notice identify the source of the imminent danger. Grants employees the right to refuse to perform a duty that has been identified as the source of an imminent danger by such a notice, and prohibits discrimination against them for such refusal. Subjects an employer to a civil penalty of from $10,000 to $50,000 for each day during which an employee continues to be exposed if the employer does not immediately correct the hazard referred to in the posted notice or remove all employees from exposure to it, unless the Commission determines that the condition or practice is not covered by such imminent danger provisions. Revises OSHA criminal penalties to increase the maximum amount of fines and the length of prison terms for specified violations, including those for a willful violation causing death, an improper advance notice of an inspection, or a false statement. Establishes criminal penalties for a willful violation that causes serious bodily injury. Prohibits a penalty or fine which is imposed on a director, officer, or agent of an employer from being paid out of the employer's assets on behalf of that individual. Provides that nothing in OSHA shall preclude State and local law enforcement agencies from conducting criminal prosecutions in accordance with State or local laws. Title VI: Protection of Employees from Discrimination - Revises OSHA antidiscrimination provisions to extend coverage to an employee's: (1) reporting any injury, illness, or unsafe condition to the employer, employer's agent, safety and health committee, or employee safety and health representative; and (2) refusing to perform duties when reasonably apprehensive that doing so would result in serious injury to himself/herself or other employees, after having sought and been unable to obtain from the employer corrections of the circumstances causing such refusal. Revises procedures for consideration of complaints of discrimination. Increases the period for filing such complaints from 30 to 180 days after the alleged discrimination. Requires the Secretary, within 60 days after receipt of the complaint, to investigate and notify the complainant and the alleged violator of the findings. Requires such findings to be accompanied by a preliminary order providing relief, if the Secretary has concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe a violation has occurred. Allows the alleged violator or the complainant to file, within 30 days, objections to the findings and/or the preliminary order, and to request a hearing on the record. Provides that such filing of objections shall not operate to stay any reinstatement remedy in the preliminary order. Requires such hearings to be conducted expeditiously. Deems the preliminary order a final order not subject to judicial review if a hearing is not timely requested. Directs the Secretary to issue a final order within 120 days after the conclusion of such hearing. Allows such proceedings to be terminated at any time in the interim on the basis of a settlement agreement by the Secretary, the complainant, and the alleged violator. Requires the Secretary, upon determination that a violation of antidiscrimination provisions has occurred, to order: (1) correction of the violation; (2) reinstatement to the former position with all compensation (including back pay), terms, conditions, and privileges of such employment; and (3) compensatory damages. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request of the complainant, to assess against the person against whom such order is issued all costs and expenses (including attorney's fees) incurred by the complainant in connection with bringing the complaint. Allows adversely affected or aggrieved persons to petition within 60 days to obtain review of such orders in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit. Directs the Secretary to file a civil action in the appropriate U.S. district court to enforce such orders against persons who fail to comply. Authorizes such court to grant appropriate relief. Provides that the legal burdens of proof that prevail under the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 shall govern adjudication of protected activities under OSHA antidiscrimination provisions. Title VII: OSHA and NIOSH Training and Education - Revises OSHA provisions for training and education. Includes education programs for employees and members of safety and health committees, as appropriate, among those programs which the Secretary of HHS is to conduct through NIOSH. Requires the Secretary (of Labor) to develop training materials, model curricula, and programs to assist employers in: (1) providing the training and education required under the new provisions for employer occupational safety and health programs; and (2) complying with OSHA standards. Title VIII: Recordkeeping and Reporting - Revises OSHA provisions relating to statistics to require the Secretary to collect information and conduct analyses that identify: (1) industries, employers, processes, operations, and occupations that have a high rate of injury or illness; (2) factors that cause or contribute to injuries and illnesses; and (3) workers' compensation costs associated with the injuries and illnesses. Requires such data to be publicly available in a form suitable for further statistical analysis, and to be used in setting safety and health standards, targeting inspections of individual establishments, and evaluating standard setting and enforcement programs. Directs the Secretary to require each employer covered by OSHA to report: (1) each work-related death of an employee immediately upon knowledge; and (2) each serious incident resulting in hospitalization of two or more employees within 24 hours of the incident. Revises OSHA requirements for employer records and reports to include (in addition to work-related deaths, injuries, and illnesses) suspected work-related illnesses, including a work-related illness reported by an employee or an employee's physician, unless the employer makes a reasonable determination that the illness is not work-related. Provides that all such employer records and reports shall be made available to the Secretary, the Secretary of HHS, employees, and employee representatives. Title IX: NIOSH - Revises OSHA provisions relating to duties of the Secretary of HHS acting through NIOSH. Includes under hazard evaluation reports an evaluation of whether any hazardous condition or harmful physical agent found in the place of employment poses a risk to exposed employees. Directs the Secretary of HHS, if a final determination of hazard is not made within six months of a request, to provide to the employer and employees an interim report on the known or suspected hazards, a recommendation for control, and an estimate of the time in which a final determination will be made. Directs the Secretary of HHS to identify major factors contributing to occupational injuries and deaths through accident investigations and epidemiological research. Directs the Secretary of HHS to carry out a program to identify and notify employees at increased risk of occupational illnesses, injuries, and deaths, including public information and education programs, and recommendations for appropriate medical surveillance. Requires notification, if they are found to be at increased risk, of subjects of studies funded or conducted by the Secretary of HHS under such program. Specifies that the authority of the Secretary of HHS, and of NIOSH, to inspect records extends to the Secretary's designees and contractors. Directs the Secretary of HHS, through NIOSH (and in cooperation with other HHS agencies and the Secretary of Labor), to establish a national surveillance program to identify cases of occupational illnesses, deaths, and serious injuries. Requires coordination with State health agencies and Federal and State workers' compensation agencies under such program. Directs the Secretary of HHS to collect data each year on the number and characteristics of all occupational deaths and selected occupational illnesses and injuries. Requires, in making such selections, consideration of known frequency and severity of the disorder and of the size of the population at risk. Directs the Secretary of HHS to report on and analyze the occupational deaths, illnesses, and injuries collected under such program, and transmit such information to the Secretary of Labor, State health agencies, employers, employees, and other interested parties. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to require an employer, through a physician or health professional employed by or under contract to the employer, to report information on occupational deaths, illnesses, and injuries. Establishes NIOSH as a separate agency within the U.S. Public Health Service in the Department of HHS. Title X: State Plans - Revises OSHA requirements for State plans to provide for: (1) development of safety and health programs and safety and health committees and training programs that are at least as effective as those under the new OSHA requirements; and (2) reporting requirements, protection of employee rights, and access to information that are at least as effective as those under OSHA or other Federal laws governing access to information related to OSHA. Requires a State to enforce a Federal OSHA standard until a State standard at least as effective is in effect, if a State fails to adopt or promulgate such a standard within six months after the Federal standard is promulgated. Requires the Secretary (of Labor) to: (1) promptly investigate complaints against a State plan if there are reasonable grounds to believe a deficiency exists; (2) investigate complaints alleging a deficiency in a State enforcement action within 30 days of receipt; and (3) within 30 days of completion of the investigation, transmit findings and recommendations for correction to the State and complainant (or notify the complainant if there are no reasonable grounds to believe a deficiency exists). Requires a State to respond as to what action it has taken on the Secretary's findings and recommendations within 30 days of their receipt. Directs the Secretary to issue a citation with reasonable promptness if, after receipt of the State's response, the Secretary believes a serious violation of OSHA exists for which the State has failed to issue a citation. Requires the Secretary, upon determination that there are reasonable grounds to conclude there is a failure to comply substantially with any provision or assurance of the State plan, to: (1) notify the State and allow six months for correction of deficiencies; (2) institute proceedings for withdrawal of approval of the State plan, if the State has not corrected the deficiencies within six months (unless there are exceptional circumstances); and (3) during the pendency of such proceedings, exercise concurrent jurisdiction with the State over the safety and health issues that are subject to the State plan. Requires States which are operating State safety and health plans to modify them to conform to this Act. Title XI: Victim's Rights - Sets forth provisions for victims' rights under OSHA. Defines a victim as: (1) an employee who has sustained a work-related injury or illness which is the subject of an OSHA inspection or investigation; or (2) the family member of an employee who either is killed or cannot reasonably exercise victim's rights as a result of such an injury or illness. Grants victims the right, on request, to: (1) meet with the Secretary or a representative respecting the inspection or investigation before the Secretary's decision to issue a citation or to take no action; (2) receive a free copy of any citation or report issued as a result of the inspection or investigation; (3) be informed of any notice of contest filed; (4) be provided an explanation of the rights of employees and employee representatives to participate in OSHA enforcement proceedings; and (5) be provided an opportunity to appear and make a statement before the parties conducting any settlement negotiations, before the Secretary agrees to withdraw or modify the citation. Provides that a victim shall have the same rights as an employee under OSHA enforcement procedures. Entitles a victim, if such victims' rights are violated, to declaratory relief, injunctive relief, recovery of costs of securing specified documents, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Directs the Secretary to take reasonable actions to inform victims of these rights. Title XII: Worker's Compensation Study - Establishes the Federal Worker's Compensation Commission. Directs the Commission to study worker's compensation laws and system with respect to: (1) the recommendations of the National Commission on State Workmen's Compensation Laws; (2) the feasibility of using workers' compensation data to target loss prevention activities on high risk occupations; (3) the laws' adequacy in providing for needs of injured workers, occupational illnesses and diseases, quality control and medical and rehabilitation costs with cost control, and time for recuperation and counseling before return to full-time work; (4) the administrative system's adequacy and the appropriateness of such laws as the exclusive remedy; (5) the relationship between workers' compensation, safety and health programs, and insurance rates and services; (6) the feasibility and appropriateness of transferring the branch of the Department of Labor involved in workers' compensation studies from the Employment Standards Administration to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; and (7) the feasibility of preempting State workers' compensation laws with a national program. Requires such Commission to report the results of such study to the President and the Congress. Title XIII: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1991 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to such retirement pay is based solely on: (1) age; (2) length of service; or (3) both. Reduces the amount of retirement pay, in the case of individuals receiving both types of pay, by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, once the Federal budget deficit has been reduced, the Congress should reexamine and eliminate any offset of retired pay by a veteran's disability compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to require air carriers that have acquired a certificate transferring air route authority from another air carrier to hire from such air carrier, in order of seniority, no less than the number of employees required to operate such route. Affords such hired employees seniority integration protections provided in Tiger International Seaboard Acquisition Case, CAB Docket 33712. Provides for the enforcement of such seniority protections by U.S. district courts. Amends the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 to declare that air carrier employees who are furloughed or terminated by an air carrier (other than for cause) prior to the last day of the 17-year (currently, ten-year) period beginning upon enactment of such Act shall have first right of hire, regardless of age in his or her occupational speciality by any other air carrier that is hiring additional employees.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Establishes a Joint Committee on the Organization of the Congress to: (1) make a full and complete study of the organization and operation of the Congress; and (2) recommend improvements in such organization and operation with a view toward strengthening its effectiveness, simplifying its operations, improving its relationships with other branches of the Government, and improving the orderly consideration of legislation. Requires a report to the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than the adjournment sine die of the 102d Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Research Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Services Research Act of 1986 to rename the Act as the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Research Act of 1991. Changes, with regard to the Council on Alzheimer's Disease: (1) the composition and designated chair; (2) Council duties; and (3) congressional reporting requirements. Replaces, on the Advisory Panel on Alzheimer's Disease, the Director of the National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment with the Administrator of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Provides for staggered terms for Panel members. Modifies: (1) vacancy procedures; (2) minimum meeting frequency; and (3) compensation requirements. Abolishes the Panel on September 30, 1994. Authorizes appropriations. Alters the Alzheimer's disease research responsibilities of: (1) the National Institute of Mental Health; and (2) the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Services Act to allow Federal payments to Alzheimer's disease centers to be used for construction of the centers, but not for land acquisition. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Medicare Physician Payment Reform Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the transition rules for phasing in the resource-based relative value scale (RB RVS) method of payment for physician services to prohibit adjustments for asymmetry in the transition and for behavioral responses. Declares spending under this Act to be an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and exempt from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Self-Reliance Scholarship Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to provide for Self-Reliance Scholarships to assist students in financing their undergraduate and graduate education. Establishes the self-reliance scholarship program as a student loan program, with repayments to be made over chosen periods under the income tax system on the basis of the individual's adjusted gross income. Requires the Director of the Office of Self-Reliance Scholarships established by this Act (the Director) to make such loans to each eligible student who qualifies, in an amount determined according to a specified formula. Authorizes the Director to enter into a contract for the conduct of the program or any portion of it. Requires each eligible institution to submit a list of loan applicants and the amounts for which they are qualified and promptly notify the Director of any change in their enrollment status. Requires the Director to establish an account for each such loan recipient by name and taxpayer identification number and provide for the increase of the total amount stated for such account by any amounts subsequently loaned to such recipient. Sets forth the terms of institutional agreements under such program, enforcement provisions, and reporting requirements. Requires each eligible institution entering such a program agreement, if it experiences a percentage increase in its cost of attendance exceeding a certain amount, to report to the Director on such increase and its justification. Requires the Director to report to the Congress on the reasons for such excessive increases and whether such information should be used as a basis on which to suspend or revoke, in whole or in part, the agreement with the eligible institution. Sets forth annual and aggregate limits on the amounts of such loans to individuals, with adjustments for inflation and for less than full-time students. Sets forth terms of such loans and provisions for disbursement of proceeds. Prohibits the amount of any such loan from being taken into consideration in determining student eligibility for assistance under any other program assisted under HEA. Establishes in the Treasury the Education Trust Fund (the Fund), consisting of transfers from education loan repayment taxes and surtaxes on individuals with incomes over $1,000,000 and from loan refunds after student withdrawals, amounts received pursuant to the issuance of obligations, and any interest earned on Fund investments. Bases the transfer of tax and surtax amounts on estimates. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest the portion of the Fund which the Director judges is not required to meet current withdrawals. Authorizes the Fund to issue certain obligations. Authorizes the Director to obligate certain sums available to the Fund for specified purposes. Requires the Director to hold the Fund and report annually to the Congress on its financial condition, the results of its operations, and its expected condition and operations. Provides for repayment of such loans. Requires the Director to develop and implement a procedure for computing repayment percentage options for each borrower, taking specified factors into consideration. Sets various limits on such repayments based on the individual's gross income. Limits the maximum repayment period to 25 years, with individuals given the option of selecting a 15, 20, or 25 year repayment period. Requires development of a buyout procedure, including interest and a prepayment penalty. Requires the Director to: (1) provide each borrower with the option to select a repayment status with a repayment percentage determined in accordance with specified procedures and factors; and (2) transmit such information along with the borrower's taxpayer identification number to the borrower and to the Secretary of the Treasury by January 1 of each calendar year. Requires repayment status to commence at the start of the first taxable year following either the date of the loan or the date of graduation, but in no event later than the sixth taxable year after the date of the loan. Authorizes the Director, however, to establish special repayment rules for individuals in categories of special consideration. Makes proprietary trade schools ineligible for the Self-Reliance Scholarship program. Makes eligible for such scholarships any student who is a U.S. citizen of age 17 through 50. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the education loan repayment tax, to be imposed upon individuals certified by the Director in an amount equal to the repayment percentage of the taxpayer's adjusted gross income for the taxable year. Sets forth minimum and maximum adjusted gross income amounts. Sets forth requirements for joint returns. Establishes a surtax on individuals with taxable incomes over $1,000,000. Imposes such surtax on income tax at a specified rate in certain cases, and on the tentative minimum tax at a specified rate in certain cases. Makes special rules for a surtax on estate and trusts and for treatment of married individuals filing separate returns. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish the Office of Self-Reliance Scholarships, to be administered by the Director who is responsible for overseeing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Condemns Syria's denial of Syrian Jews' right to travel freely and calls upon the Syrian Government to: (1) immediately grant Syrian Jews the right to travel freely without imposing a fee; and (2) release all Jewish prisoners who were charged or suspected of traveling illegally. Urges the President to encourage U.S. allies and trading partners to make similar pleas to the Syrian Government. Calls upon the United Nations to send an official delegation to Syria to investigate the present condition of Syrian Jews.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Condemns the resurgence of organized anti-Semitism and ethnic animosity in Romania. Calls on: (1) the Government of Romania to speak out against anti-Semitism, work to promote harmony among ethnic and religious groups, and take steps toward greater respect for internationally recognized human rights; (2) the Romanian people to resist extremist organizations and strengthen the forces of tolerance and pluralism; and (3) the President of the United States to ensure that progress by such Government in combating anti-Semitism and in protecting the rights and safety of its ethnic minorities shall be a significant factor in determining levels of assistance to Romania.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1991
Medicare Hospice In-Home Respite Care Coverage Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover up to 40 hours of in-home respite care for individuals during any of the 90-day periods or the subsequent 30-day period in which they are receiving Medicare hospice care. Sets the payment rate for such care.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1991
Toxic Cleanup Equity and Acceleration Act of 1991 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to absolve municipalities or other persons from liability to any person other than the United States for claims of contribution or other response costs or damages related to the generation or transportation, or arrangement for the transportation, treatment, or disposal of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge unless there is a basis for liability under provisions governing owners or operators. Prohibits the President from initiating or maintaining an action against any person (other than owners or operators) in the absence of exceptional circumstances. Provides that exceptional circumstances exist where the President obtains evidence that: (1) the release of hazardous substances on which liability is based is not that ordinarily found in municipal solid waste or sewage sludge and the hazardous substances were derived from a commercial, institutional, or industrial process or activity; (2) the total contribution to the site of hazardous substances from such activities is insignificant in terms of volume and toxicity when compared to the volume and toxicity of the municipal solid waste and sewage sludge; or (3) absent the contribution of such substances, the contribution of hazardous substances from the municipal solid waste and sewage sludge would be a significant cause of the release that will result in the response action. Authorizes the President, when the release involves trash from commercial, institutional, or industrial sources, to require persons handling such materials to provide evidence that the general composition and toxicity of the trash are similar to those of waste generated by households. Authorizes a municipality, whenever an administrative or judicial action is brought against the municipality for acts or omissions concerning the handling of municipal solid waste or sewage sludge, to request the President to settle the municipality's potential liability for response costs or damages to natural resources. Prohibits an action from being commenced or pursued during the period the President is considering the settlement request. Limits permissible reasons to fail to reach a settlement to one or more of the following: (1) the settlement offer from the municipality does not meet the cost allocation criteria; (2) the municipality refuses to agree to settlement terms required in consent decrees; or (3) insufficient information exists to permit a cost allocation. Provides that if the President completes a settlement with a party other than the municipality requesting a settlement, such settlement creates a rebuttable presumption that the President cannot invoke insufficient information as a reason for failing to settle with the municipality concerning matters addressed in the other party's settlement. Provides that settlements shall: (1) require the municipality to pay for costs based on the quantity of hazardous constituents in municipal solid waste and sewage sludge, subject to a certain condition; (2) limit a municipality's payments if such payments would force a municipality to dissolve, declare bankruptcy, or default on debt obligations; and (3) be reached even in the event that a municipality may be liable for response costs or damages in other actions. Requires the President to provide a covenant not to sue with respect to the facility concerned to any municipality which has entered into a settlement. Directs the President to prepare a nonbinding preliminary allocation of responsibility (based on the quantity of hazardous constituents in municipal solid waste and sewage sludge) upon the request of a municipality. Applies this Act to all administrative or judicial actions commenced before this Act's effective date, unless a final court judgement has been rendered or a court-approved settlement agreement has been reached.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
Lead-Based Paint Hazard Abatement Act - Title I: Abatement of Lead-Based Paint Hazards - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a program of formula allotments to States and city and urban entities for abatement of lead-based paint hazards. Sets requirements for annually increasing matching funds. Describes grant purposes, including inspection of residential and child day-care structures for lead hazards, removal of hazards, housing for displaced occupants, and counseling on lead poisoning. Allows grant abatement expenditures only if the income of a residential structure's occupants is 80 percent or less of the median income of the geographic area; or, for other eligible structures, only if a public health service agency has determined the structure is a significant-hazard structure. Prescribes rulemaking procedures for the issuance of program standards, requiring the use of specified regulations of the State of Massachusetts if a final rule is not issued within one year. Requires the establishment of an advisory council to supply advice on the administration of the program. Sets forth additional standards regarding authorized grant activities, planning requirements, annual reports, and allotment reallocations. Title II: Lead Abatement Trust Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on lead removed from any U.S. smelter and imported lead and lead products of 75 cents per pound for primary lead and 37 cents per pound for secondary lead. Terminates the tax after ten years. Establishes the Lead Abatement Trust Fund in the Treasury. Title III: General Provisions - Sets forth the effective dates for the formula grants and the imposition of the excise tax.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
Amends the Arms Export Control Act to require the President to extend guarantees in connection with the commercial sale of defense articles and services to North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries, Japan, Israel, Australia, or New Zealand. Prohibits the President from offering terms and conditions more beneficial than would be provided by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 and 1993 for the cost of such guarantees. Requires a fee to be charged for each guarantee.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1991
St. Croix, Virgin Islands Historical Park and Ecological Preserve Act of 1991 - Establishes the St. Croix, Virgin Islands Historical Park and Ecological Preserve. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire lands within the park. Prohibits the acquisition of lands containing dwellings within the park boundary as of July 1, 1991, without the consent of the owner. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the Virgin Islands or political subdivisions for the management of the park. Requires the Secretary to submit a general management plan for the park to the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Directs the Secretary, for a ten-year period, to provide funds for employees of the Government of the Virgin Islands engaged in the management of the park and to implement a program under which Virgin Islands citizens may be trained in phases of park operations and management. Establishes the St. Croix, Virgin Islands Historical Park and Ecological Preserve Commission. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1991
Condemns the resurgence of organized anti-Semitism and ethnic animosity in Romania. Calls on: (1) the Government of Romania to condemn those organizations promulgating anti-Semitism and animosity toward ethnic Hungarians, Gypsies, and other minorities, use every lawful means to curb such organizations and their activities, and ensure full respect for internationally recognized human rights; and (2) the President of the United States to ensure that progress by such Government in combating anti-Semitism and in protecting the rights and safety of its ethnic minorities shall be a significant factor in determining levels of assistance to Romania.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Prohibits any Federal agency from entering into any contract with a foreign person unless: (1) such foreign person certifies to such agency that it does not comply with the Arab boycott of Israel; and (2) such agency has determined that such foreign person does not comply with such boycott.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and State and the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to encourage the Government of Japan to use a portion of its increased foreign assistance funds to increase the availability of international food aid supplies through bilateral or multilateral channels to meet the needs of the world's hungry people; (2) Japanese aid resources could be channeled to finance long-term contracts to purchase and deliver commodities from the United States and developing country agricultural producers as donations to nongovernmental or international organizations for use in hunger alleviation projects; (3) during such long-term contractual agreement, such purchases of food and agricultural commodities purchased by Japan should be considered as increased importation by Japan of such products for the purposes of U.S. trade laws; (4) during the period of any such purchases by Japan from the United States, the value of U.S. purchases of the same agricultural commodities should be maintained at no less than FY 1990 levels; and (5) the commodities purchased under this program should be donated to organizations equipped to ensure that the food will be available only to projects that meet specified criteria (relating to the proper use of such food aid and the assurances of no negative impact on the agricultural producers in the areas to which the food is sent).
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1991
Affirms the U.S. commitment to implement the recommendations contained in the Amsterdam Declaration adopted by the International Forum on Population in the Twenty-First Century, in particular the recommendations that countries and donors: (1) increase their political commitment to population programs and policies and take into account the principles of the World Population Plan of Action of 1974; (2) contribute to the development of comprehensive population goals and objectives and take into account the review of population experience conducted by the United Nations Population Fund; (3) adopt integrated population, environmental, and natural resource management policies; (4) provide the financial resources to reach the medium variant population projection by the year 2000; (5) improve the role and status of women and ensure that women participate in and benefit from population and development activities; (6) ensure that population programs provide education and counseling for young people and promote their participation in development activities; (7) guarantee all individuals the right to decide the number and spacing of their children and ensure that they have the information and means to do so; (8) take into account the results of the Forum in the formulation of international development strategies for specified United Nations conferences; (9) support research for family planning and expedite distribution of existing methods; (10) respond positively to requests for population assistance and increase the proportion of development assistance going to population activities; (11) observe the priorities of, and harmonize, donor financial inputs and program procedures; and (12) coordinate population assistance with other donors. Urges all entities referred to in the Declaration to implement applicable recommendations. Sets forth the text of the Declaration.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) promote the maximum conservation and protection of whale, dolphin, and porpoise populations; (2) work to strengthen and maintain the current International Whaling Commission moratorium on the commercial killing of whales; (3) work to strengthen the Commission by reaffirming its competence to regulate whaling on all species of cetaceans and take actions to assure global protection for small cetaceans; and (4) in promoting protection, make use of diplomatic channels, domestic and international law, and all other means.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1991
Directs the Administrator of the General Services Administration to provide for the installation of bicycle racks or lockers at each Federal office building.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1991 - Prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States or any State (the government) from burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except that the government may burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the burden to the person: (1) is essential to further a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest. Sets forth provisions pertaining to judicial relief, attorney's fees, and applicability.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide that title I (Protection of Employee Benefit Rights) does not preempt any State law which provides for: (1) the payment of prevailing wages; or (2) standards or other requirements relating to apprenticeship or other training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
GPO Wide Information Network for Data Online Act of 1991 - Directs the Superintendent of Documents to establish the GPO Windo program to provide a single point of online public access to a wide range of Federal databases containing public information. Permits depository libraries to access such databases through the program without charge. Authorizes fees for other subscribers priced at the incremental cost of dissemination.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
Community Economic Adjustment Funding Act of 1991 - Requires payments to counties by defense contractors that change the place of performance of defense contracts away from such counties. Requires a defense contractor to make such a payment equal to ten percent of the value of all Department of Defense (DOD) contracts held by it and performed at a plant or facility on the day before the contractor makes any change in the place of contract performance that results in the closing of, or severe curtailment of operations at, such plant or facility. Exempts the contractor from such a payment if the Secretary of Labor determines that the change is the direct result of the cancellation or termination of such contractor or the failure of the DOD to proceed with a previously approved major defense acquisition program. Directs the Secretary of Labor to make community economic adjustment grants to counties adversely affected by terminations or layoffs of employees at military bases or facities of defense contractors as a result of reductions in DOD spending, base closures or realignments, cancellation or termination of a DOD contract, or the failure to proceed with a previously approved major defense acquisition program. Sets forth requirements for such grant amounts, uses, and applications, and deadlines for consideration of such applications. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for a fiscal year in amounts equal to: (1) 20 percent of the value in the immediately preceding fiscal year of the payroll of employees terminated or laid off in the United States as a result of the described actions; and (2) ten percent of such value in the second preceding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1991
World Cup USA 1994 Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in commemoration of the 1994 World Cup and the unique appeal of soccer. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires that all sales include a surcharge of $35 per coin for the five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for the one-dollar coins, and $1 per coin for the half-dollar coins. Requires that all surcharges be paid to the Organizing Committee to organize and stage the 1994 World Cup. Requires that ten percent of such funds shall be made available through the U.S. Soccer Federation Foundation, Inc., for distribution to institutions for scholastic scholarships to qualified students.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1991
Highway Tree Planting Initiative of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation: (1) to identify public rights-of-way along Federal-aid highways suitable for the planting of trees and publish a report listing those identified rights-of-way; (2) within 24 months, to require each State to develop a plan for tree planting along such highways which include identification of species, design standards, and specifications for tree plantings for States which do not have such standards and specifications, and development of a tree maintenance policy; and (3) within 30 months, to require each State to have in effect a program for the planting of trees in public rights-of-way along such highways where safety, topography, soil, and other natural conditions provide that trees may be grown satisfactorily and with minimal maintenance. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants of up to $500,000 in a fiscal year to States for identifying rights-of-way, developing a plan, and implementing a program pursuant to the Act. Limits the Federal share to 80 percent. Directs the Secretary to: (1) take action as necessary to encourage State highway departments to enter into cooperative agreements with State foresters in implementing the requirements of this Act; and (2) enter into a cooperative agreement with the Chief of the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture for technical and other assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should ask the United Nations (UN) to release through UNICEF a portion of Iraq's frozen assets to provide medical and humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, particularly children, with release of the funds contingent on Iraqi Government acceptance of UN oversight and control.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1991
Authorizes the Go for Broke National Veterans Association to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor Japanese American Veterans. Prohibits any Federal funds from being used to pay any expense of the establishment of the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1991
Prohibits the proposed sale to the United Arab Emirates of AH-64 APACHE attack helicopters and related defense articles and services, and design and construction services described in the certification submitted to the Congress pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act on June 11, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) U.S. businesses engaged in the rebuilding of Kuwait should, to the maximum extent possible, use U.S. subcontractors and U.S. goods and services; and (2) the Department of Commerce should monitor and encourage the implementation of this policy.
![Official portrait of Rep. Gejdenson, Sam [D-CT-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000120_200.jpg)