United States · United States Congress · 8 September 1993
Amends rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit a bill or joint resolution carrying any provision providing for a retroactive tax increase from being reported in the House. Provides that no amendment in the House or proposed by the Senate carrying a retroactive tax measure shall be in order during the consideration of a bill or joint resolution. Allows a question of order to be raised at any time under this clause.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose Title II: Binding Budget Law Title III: Enforcement Mechanics Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law Subtitle B: Line Item Reduction Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited Subtitle D: "Pay As You Go" Requirement for New Spending Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism Title V: Protection of Social Security Title VI: Timetable Title VII: Conforming Amendments Title VIII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation Title IX: Effective Date Budget Process Reform Act - Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose - Declares that the purpose of this Act is to facilitate rational, informed, and timely decisions by the Congress. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal budget process should focus the attention of policymakers and the public on the aggregate impact of Federal spending on the economy, and on the tradeoffs that must be made among priorities in order to control overall levels of spending. Declares that the budget process should contain safeguards against delay and inaction, so that temporary shut-downs of the Government may be avoided. Title II: Binding Budget Law - Requires the Congress to enact a binding budget law, in the form of a joint resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year before that in which the fiscal period commences. Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any spending bill affecting spending in a major functional category unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is enacted. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit baseline budgeting. Requires the President to submit to the Congress on or before the 15th day after a joint resolution on the budget is enacted a detailed budget for the fiscal period beginning on October 1 of the current calendar year. Title III: Enforcement Mechanics - Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law - Requires a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate to consider any spending bill prior to the enactment of the budget law. Requires the Congressional Budget Office to provide to the Congress an estimate of the costs in each major functional category of certain spending bills as soon as practicable after its introduction. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to consider over-budget spending bills. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive any provision of this Act. Subtitle B: Limited Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to limit the President's rescission authority to spending that is above the limits of the budget law. Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited - Declares the intent of the Congress to end open-ended, "blank check" appropriations which typically authorize spending "such sums as may be necessary." Requires fixed-dollar appropriations for every account except social security and interest on the debt. Prohibits open-ended appropriations. Requires Executive agencies to adjust benefit levels to ensure that appropriations for entitlement programs are not exceeded. Restricts budget authority and entitlement authority to one fiscal period. Subtitle D: "Pay As You Go" Requirement for New Spending - Prohibits the Congress from considering any legislation which exceeds the budget ceiling unless it offsets such increased spending with an equal amount of reductions. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive such prohibition. Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism - Makes appropriations to provide for an automatic continuing resolution if for any account an appropriation for a fiscal period does not become law before the beginning of such period. Restricts legislation providing funding to the Committees on Appropriations. Title V: Protection of Social Security - Provides that no reduction in benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) shall be made as a consequence of this Act. Title VI: Timetable - Revises the timetable for the congressional budget process. Title VII: Conforming Amendments - Makes various technical and conforming amendments, including changing references to a concurrent resolution on the budget to references to a joint resolution on the budget. Title VIII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation - Sets forth definitions for specified terms. Title IX: Effective Date - Declares the effective date of this Act to be January 1, 1995, applicable to fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Protection of Neighborhoods, Families, and Children Subtitle A: Safe Schools Subtitle B: Secure Neighborhoods Subtitle C: Crimes Against Children Subtitle D: Punishment of Serious Juvenile Offenders Title II: Equal Protection for Victims Subtitle A: Victims' Rights Subtitle B: Admissibility of Evidence Subtitle C: Protecting the Integrity of the Judicial Process Title III: Protection of Women Subtitle A: Spouse Abuse and Stalking Subtitle B: Victims of Sexual Violence Subtitle C: Punishment of Sex Offenders Title IV: Prevention of Terrorism Subtitle A: Enhanced Controls on Entry into the United States Subtitle B: Deportation of Alien Terrorists Subtitle C: Penalties for Engaging in Terrorism Title V: Criminal Aliens and Alien Smuggling Subtitle A: Deportation of Criminal Aliens Subtitle B: Prevention and Punishment of Alien Smuggling Title VI: Taking Criminals Off the Street Subtitle A: Expanding Prison Capacity Subtitle B: Miscellaneous Title VII: Punishment and Deterrence Subtitle A: Capital Offenses Subtitle B: Violent Felonies and Drug Offenses Subtitle C: Enhanced Penalties for Criminal Use of Firearms and Explosives Subtitle D: Miscellaneous Title VIII: Elimination of Delays in Carrying Out Sentences Subtitle A: Post Conviction Petitions: General Habeas Corpus Reform Subtitle B: Special Procedures for Collateral Proceedings in Capital Cases Subtitle C: Funding for Litigation of Federal Habeas Corpus Petitions in Capital Cases Title IX: Public Corruption Title X: Funding Crime Control Act of 1993 - Title I: Protection of Neighborhoods, Families, and Children - Subtitle A: Safe Schools - Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to increase penalties for drug trafficking in or near schools. (Sec. 102) Authorizes: (1) a school district to elect to qualify as a Federal safe school district by decision of a local educational agency or by referendum of the voters in a school district served by such an agency; and (2) the Attorney General to make grants to local educational agencies or local law enforcement agencies of Federal safe school districts to pay for enhanced school security measures. (Sec. 103) Increases penalties for violation of the Gun-Free School Zones Act. Subtitle B: Secure Neighborhoods - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Omnibus Act) to authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to make grants to local governments and to community groups for increasing the police presence in communities. Requires the Director to develop a written model that informs community members regarding how to identify the existence of a drug or gang house and what civil remedies and mediation techniques are available. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 114) Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) committing specified "predicate gang crimes" (including murder, assault, kidnapping, arson, and retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant) with intent to promote or further the activities of a criminal street gang or for the purpose of gaining entrance to, or maintaining or increasing position in, a gang; (2) participating in, or inducing any individual to participate in, a gang; (3) employing or inducing any individual to commit a predicate gang crime with such intent; or (4) using any communication facility in causing or facilitating the commission of such a crime with such intent. Sets penalties for violations. Authorizes the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury to investigate such offenses. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to increase the base offense level for any felony committed for the purpose of gaining entrance into, or maintaining or increasing position in, a gang. (Sec. 115) Amends: (1) the Federal criminal code to set penalties for drive-by shootings; (2) the Omnibus Act to include among drug control and system improvement grant funding objectives law enforcement and prevention programs relating to gangs or to youth who are involved or at risk of being involved in gangs; and (3) the CSA to increase penalties for drug trafficking in or near public housing. Subtitle C: Crimes Against Children - Provides for imposition of the death penalty for murder during the sexual exploitation of children. (Sec. 132) Increases penalties for sex offenses against victims below age 16. (Sec. 133) Sets penalties for international trafficking in child pornography. (Sec. 134) Directs the Attorney General to establish guidelines for State legislation prohibiting the production, distribution, receipt, or possession of materials depicting a person under age 18 engaging in sexually explicit conduct and providing for a maximum imprisonment of at least one year and for the forfeiture of assets used in, or gained from, such offenses. Requires each State to enact and maintain legislation complying with such guidelines in order to receive assistance under provisions of the Victims of Crime Act and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. (Sec. 135) Provides for national registration of convicted child abusers. Requires the Attorney General to establish guidelines for State registration programs. Authorizes a State to permit qualified entities to obtain from an authorized State agency a nationwide background check on a provider. (Sec. 136) Increases penalties for: (1) assaults against children; (2) using minors in drug trafficking; (3) drug distribution to minors; and (4) using a minor in the commission of a Federal offense. (Sec. 137) Amends the CSA to set penalties for physical trainers or advisers who attempt to persuade or induce a person to possess or use anabolic steroids. (Sec. 139) Provides for interstate enforcement of child support orders. (Sec. 140) Makes certain crimes involving the use of persons below age 18 predicates to an offense under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). (Sec. 143) Makes it a Federal offense to remove a child from, or to retain a child outside, the United States to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights. Authorizes appropriations to carry out State court programs regarding international parental child abduction. Subtitle D: Punishment of Serious Juvenile Offenders - Makes serious juvenile drug offenses Armed Career Criminal Act predicates. (Sec. 152) Provides for adult prosecution of serious juvenile offenders. (Sec. 153) Requires that juveniles found guilty of certain offenses be fingerprinted and photographed, with such fingerprints and photographs sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Identification Division. Directs the court to transmit to such division information concerning the adjudication. Title II: Equal Protection for Victims - Subtitle A: Victims' Rights - Enacts Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers in Federal Practice, including provisions regarding: (1) a prohibition on attorneys engaging in actions deemed abusive to clients or others; (2) a duty of enquiry (to elicit from the client a truthful account of the material facts concerning the matters in issue); (3) a duty to expedite litigation; and (4) a duty to disclose information necessary to prevent the commission of a crime. (Sec. 202) Revises Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure: (1) 24(b) to entitle each side to six peremptory challenges (currently, six for the Government and ten for the defendant or defendants jointly); and (2) 32 to provide for a victim's right of allocution in sentencing for a crime of violence or sexual abuse. (Sec. 204) Provides for the enforcement of restitution orders through the suspension of Federal benefits. (Sec. 205) Sets penalties for retaliatory killings of witnesses, victims, and informants. Subtitle B: Admissibility of Evidence - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) to allow evidence of similar offenses in criminal or civil sexual assault and child molestation cases. (Sec. 212) Revises FRE 412 (sex offense cases; relevance of victim's past behavior) to: (1) expand the scope of the rape shield law and to require that an order admitting evidence of a victim's past sexual behavior explain the reasoning leading to a finding of relevance and the basis of a finding that the probative value of the evidence outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice; and (2) make inadmissible evidence to show invitation or provocation by a victim in sexual abuse cases. (Sec. 214) Specifies that evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure shall not be excluded on the ground that the search or seizure was in violation of the fourth amendment to the Constitution if carried out in circumstances justifying an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment. Subtitle C: Protecting the Integrity of the Judicial Process - Provides that in a criminal trial in any Federal or State court: (1) on motion of the defense attorney or prosecutor, the risk of racial prejudice or bias shall be examined on voir dire if there is a substantial likelihood that such prejudice will affect the jury; (2) on motion of the defense attorney or prosecutor, a change of venue shall be granted if an impartial jury cannot be obtained in the original venue because of such prejudice; and (3) neither the prosecutor nor the defense attorney shall make any appeal to such prejudice in statements before the jury. (Sec. 222) Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that a list of veniremen and witnesses need not be furnished in capital cases if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that providing the list may jeopardize the life or safety of any person. (Sec. 223) Increases penalties for attempting to influence or injure court officers or jurors. (Sec. 224) Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for the murder of a Federal witness. Title III: Protection of Women - Subtitle A: Spouse Abuse and Stalking - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) set penalties for interstate travel to commit spouse abuse or to violate a protective order; and (2) provide for full faith and credit of protective orders among the States. Subtitle B: Victims of Sexual Violence - Establishes a civil remedy for victims of sexual violence. (Sec. 312) Authorizes the restitution of victims of sex offenses. (Sec. 313) Provides for pretrial detention in sex offense cases. Subtitle C: Punishment of Sex Offenders - Provides for imposition of the death penalty for persons engaging in sexual abuse resulting in death. (Sec. 322) Increases penalties for recidivist sex offenses. (Sec. 323) Directs the Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to increase the base offense level for sex offenses. (Sec. 324) Provides for testing for human immunodeficiency virus for persons charged in sex offense cases and the disclosure of the test results to the victim. Directs the Sentencing Commission to amend existing guidelines for sentences for sex offenses where the offender knew or had reason to know that he was infected with such virus, except where the offender did not engage or attempt to engage in conduct creating a risk of transmission of the virus to the victim. Title IV: Prevention of Terrorism - Subtitle A: Enhanced Controls on Entry into the United States - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to require exclusion from admission to the United States of anyone who is a member of an organization that engages in terrorist activity or who actively supports or advocates terrorist activity. (Sec. 402) Provides for the exclusion of an alien for presenting fraudulent documents, or for failing to present documents used to board a common carrier, to an immigration officer upon arrival at a port of entry into the United States. Specifies that any alien who is excludable under such provisions may not apply for or be granted asylum, with exceptions. (Sec. 404) Limits court jurisdiction with respect to habeas corpus review, other judicial review and action, and collateral enforcement proceedings. Subtitle B: Deportation of Alien Terrorists - Establishes procedures to apply whenever the Attorney General certifies under seal to a special court (established pursuant to this subtitle) that: (1) the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General has approved of the deportation proceeding; (2) an alien terrorist is physically present in the United States; and (3) removal of such terrorist by deportation proceedings would pose a risk to national security because such proceedings would disclose classified information. Directs the Chief Justice of the United States to publicly designate up to seven judges to hear and decide such cases. Sets forth procedures for a special removal hearing, including provisions for appointment of counsel and appeals. Subtitle C: Penalties for Engaging in Terrorism - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) prohibit providing material support to terrorists; and (2) extend the statute of limitations for certain terrorism offenses. (Sec. 422) Directs the Sentencing Commission to provide for an increase in the base offense level for any felony involving or intended to promote international terrorism, unless such involvement or intent is itself an element of the crime. (Sec. 424) Increases penalties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for violation of orders with respect to the declaration of a national emergency and the Federal criminal code for passport and visa-related violations. (Sec. 425) Sets penalties for: (1) specified acts of violence at international airports; (2) violence against maritime navigation; (3) violence against maritime fixed platforms; and (4) the use of weapons of mass destruction. (Sec. 429) Directs the President to establish a National Task Force on Counterterrorism. (Sec. 430) Provides for imposition of the death penalty for causing death through the use of a bomb or other destructive device. Title V: Criminal Aliens and Alien Smuggling - Subtitle A: Deportation of Criminal Aliens - Amends the INA to permit an alien sentenced to imprisonment to be deported prior to the termination of such imprisonment if the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) petitions the appropriate court or other authority to release the alien into INS custody for execution of a deportation order. Prohibits the deportation until all direct appeals of the conviction have been exhausted. (Sec. 502) Authorizes the registration of aliens on criminal probation or criminal parole within the United States. (Sec. 503) Expands the definition of "aggravated felony" to include illicit trafficking in explosive materials and a crime of violence for which the term of imprisonment imposed is at least five years. (Sec. 504) Amends the INA to authorize the Attorney General to issue a final order of deportation without an administrative hearing or administrative review for any alien who was not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or who had permanent resident status on a conditional basis, and whom the Attorney General determines is deportable and has been convicted of an aggravated felony. Limits judicial review of such determinations. Provides that an alien convicted of an aggravated felony shall be conclusively presumed to be deportable. (Sec. 505) Grants a U.S. district court jurisdiction to enter a judicial order of deportation at the time of sentencing against an alien convicted of an aggravated felony, if such order has been requested prior to sentencing by the U.S. Attorney. (Sec. 506) Restricts defenses to exclusion and deportation for certain aliens convicted of aggravated felonies. (Sec. 507) Enhances penalties for failing to depart or reentering after a final order of deportation. Limits collateral attacks on deportation orders. (Sec. 509) Authorizes appropriations for a criminal alien information system. Subtitle B: Prevention and Punishment of Alien Smuggling - Authorizes appropriations for Border Patrol agents and investigators. (Sec. 513) Includes alien smuggling as a predicate to an offense under RICO. (Sec. 514) Increases penalties for: (1) employers who knowingly employ smuggled aliens; and (2) bringing in and harboring certain aliens. (Sec. 516) Expands forfeiture for smuggling or harboring illegal aliens. Title VI: Taking Criminals Off the Street - Subtitle A: Expanding Prison Capacity - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include within the definition of "exempt facility bond" certain bonds issued to provide for correctional facilities. (Sec. 602) Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish a Regional Prison Task Force; and (2) create a plan for the establishment of a nationwide regional prison system. Sets forth provisions regarding State and prisoner eligibility requirements. Establishes in the Treasury a Regional Prison Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 603) Amends the Davis-Bacon Act to make provisions concerning the rate of wages for laborers and mechanics inapplicable to prison construction. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous - Amends the Federal judicial code to deny the district court, in any action challenging the constitutionality of conditions of confinement in any correctional institution housing persons accused or convicted of a crime or juveniles adjudicated delinquent, jurisdiction to: (1) impose a ceiling on the population of any correctional institution or to require any adjustment of the release dates of inmates; or (2) prohibit the use of tents or prefabricated structures for housing inmates. Prohibits any consent decree in any such action from providing relief greater than the minimum required to bring the conditions of confinement into substantial compliance with the Constitution. Provides for modification of orders or decrees. Title VII: Punishment and Deterrence - Subtitle A: Capital Offenses - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the attorney for the Government, whenever the Government intends to seek the death penalty for an offense punishable by death, to file with the court and serve on the defendant a notice of such intent and the aggravating factors the Government will seek to prove as the basis for such penalty. Requires the judge who presided at the trial or before whom the guilty plea was entered, or another judge if that judge is unavailable, to conduct a separate sentencing hearing when the attorney for the Government has filed such notice and the defendant is found guilty of an offense punishable by death. Permits information to be presented as to any matter relating to any mitigating factor and any aggravating factor for which notice has been provided, except that information may be excluded if its probative value is outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury (but permits the Government to present information concerning the effect of the offense on the victim and the victim's family). Specifies mitigating and aggravating factors. Sets forth special aggravating factors for: (1) treason, espionage, homicide, and the attempted murder of the President; and (2) drug offenses punishable by death (including previous serious drug felony convictions, use of a firearm in committing or furthering certain continuing criminal enterprises, use of minors in trafficking, and lethal adulteration of controlled substances). Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of the defendant or victim in considering whether to recommend a sentence of death. Sets forth procedures for the imposition, appeal, and implementation of a sentence of death. Prohibits: (1) a death sentence from being carried out upon a pregnant woman or a person who lacks the mental capacity to understand the death penalty and why it was imposed; and (2) requiring any employee of, or any person providing services under contract to, any State department of corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the U.S. Marshals Service to be in attendance or to participate in any execution if such participation is contrary to such employee's moral or religious convictions. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) appointment of counsel; (2) collateral attacks on judgments imposing a death sentence; and (3) stays of execution. Limits the circumstances under which a person subject to the criminal jurisdiction of an Indian tribal government may be executed under this Act. Declares that the death penalty and all other penalties shall be administered by the United States and by every State without regard to the race or color of the defendant or victim, and that neither the United States nor any State shall prescribe any racial quota or statistical test for the imposition or execution of the death penalty or any other penalty. Specifies that, in a prosecution for an offense against the United States for which a death sentence is authorized, the fact that the killing was motivated by racial prejudice or bias shall be deemed an aggravating factor. Amends specified civil rights provisions to cover conspiracy against the rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law, of any person in (currently, inhabitant of) a State, territory, or district. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for specified Federal crimes, including: (1) murders committed by prisoners in Federal correctional institutions; (2) murders of Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers; (3) civil rights murders; (4) gun murders; (5) murders by escaped prisoners; (6) torture under specified circumstances where death results; and (7) carjackings which result in death. Subtitle B: Violent Felonies and Drug Offenses - Amends the Federal criminal code to require: (1) the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a program of drug testing of criminal defendants on post-conviction release; and (2) the chief probation officer in each district to arrange for the drug testing of such defendants. Requires, as an explicit condition of probation, parole, or supervised release for a felony or a specified violent or drug offense, that the defendant refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance and submit to periodic drug tests. (Sec. 712) Requires the court to sentence a defendant convicted of a Federal violent felony to life imprisonment or, if death results, subject such defendant to the death penalty, if the defendant had previously been convicted of two other violent felonies. (Sec. 713) Amends the Armed Career Criminal Act to include within the definition of "serious drug offense" an offense under State law which, if it had been prosecuted as a CSA violation at the time of the offense and because of the type and quantity of the controlled substance involved, would have been punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or more. (Sec. 714) Provides an enhanced penalty for the use of a semiautomatic firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime. (Sec. 715) Sets mandatory penalties for firearms possession by persons previously convicted of a violent felony or a serious drug offense, and a mandatory minimum sentence for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, fugitive from justice, or transferor or receiver of a stolen firearm. (Sec. 717) Increases: (1) the general penalty for violation of Federal firearms laws; and (2) enhanced penalties for possession of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime. (Sec. 719) Sets penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking or violent crime. (Sec. 723) Establishes: (1) a temporary prohibition against possession of a firearm by, or transfer of a firearm to, persons convicted of a drug crime; and (2) enhanced penalties for possession of a firearm during a drug crime. Subtitle C: Enhanced Penalties for Criminal Use of Firearms and Explosives - Chapter 1: Instant Check System for Handgun Purchases - Requires each State to establish and maintain an instant criminal check system for handgun purchases. Sets forth: (1) prohibitions on uses of such information; and (2) identification procedure requirements for licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers once a State system becomes operational and specified notice requirements are met. Sets penalties for noncompliance. (Sec. 734) Requires each State to establish a system accessible by telephone that any licensee, law enforcement officer, or court may contact for criminal history information. (Sec. 735) Provides for the correction of erroneous system information as well as a private course of action after all administrative remedies are exhausted and records are not corrected. (Sec. 736) Directs the Attorney General to expedite: (1) the incorporation of the remaining State criminal history records into the Federal criminal records systems maintained by the FBI; and (2) the development of hardware and software systems to link State criminal history check systems into the National Crime Information Center. (Sec. 737) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) access to State criminal records; and (2) funding for improvements in State records systems. Chapter 2: Other Firearms Provisions - Increases penalties for: (1) interstate gun trafficking; (2) making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the purchase of a firearm from a licensed dealer; and (3) a second offense of using an explosive to commit a felony. (Sec. 742) Prohibits: (1) transactions involving stolen firearms which have moved in interstate or foreign commerce; (2) the receipt of firearms by non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides, unless such receipt is for lawful sporting purposes; (3) the possession of explosives by felons and others; and (4) the possession of explosives during the commission of a felony. (Sec. 745) Provides for mandatory revocation of supervised release for possession of a firearm in violation of a condition of release. (Sec. 756) Authorizes the summary destruction of explosives subject to forfeiture under specified circumstances. Subtitle D: Miscellaneous - Increases penalties for Travel Act crimes involving racketeering and conspiracy to commit contract killings. (Sec. 762) Makes it a criminal offense to fail to obey an order to land an aircraft issued by an authorized Federal law enforcement officer under specified circumstances. (Sec. 764) Provides enhanced penalties for drug trafficking in prisons. (Sec. 765) Directs the Federal Communications Commission: (1) in its review of applications for renewal of television broadcast licenses, to consider the extent to which the licensee has participated in efforts to educate the public as to the dangers of drug abuse and appropriate methods for obtaining treatment; and (2) not to find that a renewal of such a licensee is consistent with the public interest unless the applicant demonstrates that the station has broadcast public service announcements concerning drug abuse and treatment. Title VIII: Elimination of Delays in Carrying Out Sentences - Subtitle A: Post Conviction Petitions: General Habeas Corpus Reform - Amends the Federal judicial code to establish a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. (Sec. 802) Vests authority to issue certificates of probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. (Sec. 804) Permits the denial of a habeas corpus petition on the merits notwithstanding the failure of the applicant to exhaust State court remedies. (Sec. 805) Imposes a two-year period of limitation for filing for collateral relief by Federal prisoners. Subtitle B: Special Procedures for Collateral Proceedings in Capital Cases - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Subtitle C: Funding for Litigation of Federal Habeas Corpus Petitions in Capital Cases - Amends the Omnibus Act to require the Director of BJA to provide grants to the States to support litigation pertaining to Federal habeas corpus petitions in capital cases. Title IX: Public Corruption - Amends the Federal criminal code to prescribe criminal penalties to be imposed upon: (1) anyone who uses any facility of, or affects, interstate or foreign commerce to deprive or defraud the inhabitants of a State of the honest services of a State official or of a fair and impartially conducted election process; and (2) any State or Federal official who, in order to carry out or conceal any scheme or artifice to defraud, discriminates, harasses, or takes adverse action against another official. Authorizes such adversely affected official to obtain relief through a civil action, provided such person did not participate in the scheme or artifice. (Sec. 902) Amends mail fraud provisions to prohibit the use of any facility of interstate or foreign commerce in the execution of a scheme or artifice to defraud. (Sec. 903) Sets forth prohibitions regarding narcotics-related public corruption. Title X: Funding - Requires each head of a Federal agency making a grant to, or entering into a contract with, an institution of higher education for research and development to reduce the overhead payment rate under the grant or contract to 90 percent of the current level and return the amount saved to the general fund of the Treasury. (Sec. 1002) Reduces the overhead expenses identified and reduced by the President in Executive Order 12837 by an additional five percent.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1993
Prohibits the intentional creation of legislative districts based on race, color, or language minority status of voters within such districts. Provides a private right of action for a violation of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1993
Amends rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to allow meetings of standing committees and subcommittees to be closed to the public only if approved by a majority of the committee or subcommittee's total membership because disclosure of matters to be considered would endanger national security, tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person, jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation, or compromise a confidential source of any criminal investigation. Repeals provisions making the coverage of committee hearings and meetings by television broadcast, radio broadcast, or still photography a privilege made available by the House. Requires proceedings of open committee hearings or meetings to be open to television broadcast, radio broadcast, and still photography, or by any of such method of coverage. Prohibits a committee or subcommittee chairman from limiting the number of television or still cameras below two representatives from each medium.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1993
Interstate Transportation of Municipal Waste Act of 1993 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize a State Governor to prohibit the disposal of out-of-State municipal waste in any landfill or incinerator in the State. Exempts from a Governor's authority to prohibit the disposal of out-of-State waste: (1) landfills that received documented shipments of such waste in 1991 and are in compliance with Federal and State laws relating to design and location standards, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, and financial assurance for closure and post-closure and corrective action; (2) proposed landfills that, prior to January 1, 1993, received an approval from the affected local government or solid waste planning unit to receive municipal waste generated outside the jurisdiction of the local government, planning unit, or State and a State notice of decision to grant a construction permit; or (3) incinerators that received documented shipments of such waste during 1991 and are in compliance with performance standards under the Clean Air Act and Federal and State laws relating to facility design, operations, and emissions. Authorizes State Governors, beginning in 1993, to further limit the quantity of out-of-State waste received for disposal, or the disposal of such waste, at specified landfills and incinerators. Applies the authorities of this Act to industrial waste to be disposed of at landfills or incinerators that receive municipal solid waste. Prohibits discrimination against shipments of out-of-State waste on the basis of State of origin. Authorizes a State Governor to limit or prohibit the exportation outside the State of municipal waste generated within the State.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1993
Directs the President to: (1) investigate and report to the Congress on the whereabouts of U.S. citizens and others who have been missing from Cyprus since 1974; and (2) do everything possible to return such persons (including remains of those no longer alive) to their families.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers primarily engaged in a farming-related business an investment tax credit for a percentage of: (1) the costs of agricultural environmental property; and (2) the amount allowed as a deduction for soil and water conservation expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1993
Business Improvement Act of 1993 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the head of any participating Federal agency (other than the Department of Defense), in order to facilitate the attainment of such agency's goal regarding the participation in procurement contracts of small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, to enter into contracts using: (1) less than full and open competition; or (2) a price evaluation preference of up to ten percent for offers received from such qualifying small businesses. Terminates such authority at the end of FY 2000. Revises the authority of the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to continue to award Capital Ownership Development Program (Program) contracts to past Program participants. Eliminates the requirement restricting competition for such contracts to eligible Program participants. Restricts the competition for the award of a contract to furnish products or services to a participating agency to small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals if there exists a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from two or more of such small businesses. Requires such small business in turn to subcontract a specified percentage of such contract to small businesses in the development stage of the minority small business and capital development program. Directs the SBA Administrator to authorize a short-term study for determining the appropriate program participation term by industry sector for qualifying small businesses and to submit study results to specified congressional officers and committees. Suspends temporarily the termination of eligibility for qualified small businesses for participation in the Program until one year after the completion of such study. Requires compliance with the Buy Indian Act for Federal agencies contracting with the SBA for the acquisition of goods or services supplied by Indian tribes. Directs the Administrator to establish uniform procedures for contesting the status of a small business concern owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1993
Health Care Cooperative Antitrust Protection Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate guidelines under which a health care joint venture may submit an application requesting that the Secretary provide the entities participating in the venture with an exemption under which: (1) monetary recovery on an antitrust claim brought against the entity shall be limited to actual damages if specified conditions are met and the conduct of the entity in making or performing a contract to carry out the venture shall not be deemed illegal per se; or (2) the antitrust laws shall not apply to conduct within the scope of the venture for a five-year period. Requires the Secretary to approve or disapprove the application within a specified time frame and, with respect to a disapproval, to provide a statement explaining the reasons for such disapproval. Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to approve the application if: (1) in the case of a venture seeking the five-year exemption, the Secretary finds that such venture meets specified criteria, such as promoting enhancement of the quality of health care services to individuals residing in the geographic area served by the participating entities, preserving meaningful competition among health care providers, reducing costs or increasing efficiency, improving utilization of services, and eliminating costly and unnecessary duplication in the delivery of health care services in such area; and (2) an entity participating in the venture submits to the Secretary, the Attorney General, and the Interagency Advisory Committee on Competition, Antitrust Policy, and Health Care (created by this Act) an application that contains the identities of the parties to the venture; the nature, objectives, and planned activities of the venture; and specified assurances and information. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) revocation and renewal of exemptions, and withdrawal of an application; and (2) requirements relating to notice and publication of exemptions. Establishes the Advisory Committee to: (1) discuss and evaluate competition and antitrust policy and their implications regarding the performance of health care markets; (2) analyze the effectiveness of health care joint ventures receiving exemptions in reducing costs and expanding access; and (3) make recommendations to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
Reorganization of the Federal Administrative Judiciary Act - Establishes an administrative Law Judge Corps to be comprised of all current administrative law judges. States that the chief administrative law judge shall be the chief administrative officer of the Corps as well as its presiding judge. Specifies the qualifications for chief judge. States that such judge shall be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Makes the chief judge responsible for developing programs and practices which foster economy and efficiency in the processing of cases heard by administrative law judges. Establishes eight divisions within the Corps, with each division headed by a division chief judge appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Identifies the divisions and their respective areas of jurisdiction. Specifies qualifications required for division chief judges. States that the Corps' policymaking body shall be the Council of the Corps comprised of the chief judge and the division chief judges. Authorizes the Council to: (1) assign judges to divisions and to transfer or reassign judges from one division to another; (2) appoint persons as administrative law judges; (3) file charges against an administrative law judge; (4) prescribe certain rules of practice and procedure for proceedings before the Corps; (5) issue rules and regulations for the efficient conduct of the Corps; and (6) perform other administrative functions. Directs the Council to appoint new judges from a register maintained by the Office of Personnel Management. Confers jurisdiction upon members of the Corps to adjudicate cases under specified sections of the Administrative Procedure Act. Requires cases arising under such sections to be referred to the Corps. Directs the Council to issue regulations for assigning such cases. Authorizes agencies and courts to refer cases to the Corps, subject to specified requirements. Requires guidelines for the removal and discipline of administrative law judges. Establishes a Complaints Resolution Board within the Corps to recommend action upon complaints against the official conduct of judges. Details the membership of such Board and the procedures to be followed. Declares Board proceedings and the contents of complaints to be privileged and confidential. Exempts: (1) documents and reports considered by the Board from the disclosure and publication requirements of the Freedom of Information Act; and (2) the Board from compliance with the public meeting requirements of specified Federal law. Directs the Corps' chief judge to study the various types of agency review to which decisions of administrative law judges are subject. Sets guidelines for such studies and directs the Council to report the findings of such studies to the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1993
Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to set forth maximum deficit amounts starting with FY 1994 which reduce the deficit to zero by the end of FY 2000. Repeals the budget agreement enforcement provisions of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Applies to FY 1994 through 2000 the emergency powers to eliminate deficits in excess of the maximum deficit amount set forth under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), as in effect immediately prior to November 5, 1990. Extends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 until September 30, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1993
Designates September 17, 1993, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Requires the display of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag at: (1) all national cemeteries and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 31, 1993 (Memorial Day), September 17, 1993 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day), and November 11, 1993 (Veterans Day); and (2) the White House and the buildings containing the primary offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Selective Service Commission (sic) on September 17, 1993 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day).
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1993
Equitable Escheatment Act of 1993 - Amends specified Federal law to prescribe guidelines under which unclaimed distributions of security interests shall be subject to the custodial taking (escheatment) by the State which contains the principal executive offices of either the issuer or the holder of those securities.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1993
Urges the President to recognize the influential role rail, bus, air passenger service, highway, and byway investments and other transportation initiatives have in the development of tourism opportunities in the United States by convening a White House Conference on Tourism to address critical issues which highlight the interdependence of transportation and tourism. Declares that transportation infrastructure and the Scenic Byways Program are key components of economic development and should be addressed by the Conference.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1993
Bankruptcy Amendments of 1993 - Amends Federal bankruptcy law to raise to $1 million the ceiling on debts for eligibility to file as a chapter 13 debtor (bankrupt consumer repayment of debt under court supervision). (Currently the ceiling is $100,000 for unsecured debts, or $350,000 for certain secured debts.) Modifies the guidelines for: (1) chapter 13 bankruptcies; (2) automatic stays; (3) exemptions; (4) discharges; and (5) preferences. Directs the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to compile and make available to the public statistical information regarding bankruptcy cases.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 1993
Declares that it is the Congress' intent that the Secretary of Transportation, in negotiating under the auspices of the Land Transportation Standards Committee established under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), shall not weaken U.S. truck safety standards by increasing truck sizes and weights or by compromising such standards as truck driver hours of service, front brake and other safety equipment requirements, and the truck driver record system.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1993
Designates July 25 through 31, 1993, as National Week of Recognition and Remembrance for Those Who Served in the Korean War. Authorizes the President to urge U.S. departments and agencies, interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the American flag at half-staff on July 27, 1993, in honor of the Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Death Penalty Title II: Habeas Corpus Reform Subtitle A: General Habeas Corpus Reform Title III: Exclusionary Rule Title IV: Firearms and Related Amendments Title V: Terrorism and International Matters Title VI: Sexual Violence, Child Abuse, and Victims' Rights Subtitle A: Sexual Violence and Child Abuse Subtitle B: Victims' Rights Subtitle C: Crime Victims Fund Subtitle D: National Child Protection Act Subtitle E: Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act Subtitle F: Domestic Violence Subtitle G: Other Provisions Title VII: Equal Justice Act Title VIII: Public Corruption Title IX: Federal Prisons Title X: Violent Crime Title XI: International Parental Kidnapping Violent Crimes Control Act of 1993 - Title I: Death Penalty - Federal Death Penalty Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. (Sec. 102) Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing (including victim impact statements), but permits evidence to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. Sets forth: (1) procedures for the implementation of, and appeal from, a sentence of death; and (2) provisions regarding the appointment of counsel, deadlines for collateral attacks on judgments imposing a death sentence, and stays of execution. (Sec. 110) Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for various offenses, including: (1) murder committed by prisoners in Federal prisons; (2) murder for hire; (3) murder in the aid of racketeering activity; (4) specified violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA); (5) murder of Federal witnesses; (6) rape and child molestation murders; and (7) murders in the District of Columbia. Title II: Habeas Corpus Reform - Subtitle A: General Habeas Corpus Reform - Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal judicial code to establish a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. (Sec. 204) Vests authority to issue certificates of probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Subtitle B: Death Penalty Litigation Procedures - Death Penalty Litigation Procedures Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Subtitle C: Equalization of Capital Habeas Corpus Litigation Funding - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Omnibus Act) to require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to provide grants to the States to support litigation pertaining to Federal habeas corpus petitions in capital cases. Title III: Exclusionary Rule - Amends the Federal criminal code to bar the exclusion of evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure carried out under circumstances justifying an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment. Title IV: Firearms and Related Amendments - Sets forth various firearms-related provisions, including the following. Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) increase mandatory minimum sentences for knowingly possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime; and (2) establish penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking and for theft of firearms and explosives. (Sec. 402) Increases penalties for: (1) a second offense of using an explosive to commit a felony; (2) making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer; and (3) interstate gun trafficking. (Sec. 406) Authorizes the summary destruction of explosives subject to forfeiture under specified circumstances. Sets forth requirements for reimbursement of the value of destroyed property. (Sec. 410) Prohibits: (1) the receipt of firearms by non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides, unless such receipt is for lawful sporting purposes; (2) transactions involving stolen firearms which have moved in interstate or foreign commerce; and (3) the possession of explosives by felons and specified others. (Sec. 418) Amends: (1) the Internal Revenue Code regarding the disposition of forfeited firearms; and (2) the Federal criminal code regarding the definitions of "burglary" and "serious drug offense" under the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984. Title V: Terrorism and International Matters - Repeals the Antiterrorism Act of 1990. Establishes a civil remedy for U.S. nationals (and their survivors or estates) injured, in their person, property, or business, by acts of international terrorism. (Sec. 502) Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) make it a criminal offense to provide material support to terrorists; and (2) provide for civil and criminal forfeiture of assets used to support terrorists. (Sec. 504) Authorizes the Attorney General to waive immigration admission and other legal requirements and grant permanent resident status for alien witnesses who cooperate with the Government in Federal or State prosecutions. (Sec. 513) Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) establish penalties for removing a child from, or retaining a child outside, the United States with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights; (2) provide for the prosecution of individuals who murder U.S. nationals abroad; and (3) permit Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) access to telephone subscriber information under specified circumstances. Title VI: Sexual Violence, Child Abuse, and Victims' Rights - Subtitle A: Sexual Violence and Child Abuse - Defines "sexual act" to include the intentional touching, not through the clothing, of the genitalia of another person who has not attained age 16 with intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person. (Sec. 602) Increases penalties for recidivist sex offenders. (Sec. 603) Authorizes the court to award restitution for victims of sex offenses. (Sec. 604) Sets forth provisions regarding human immunodeficiency virus testing, penalty enhancement, and cost of testing in sex offense cases. Subtitle B: Victims' Rights - Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) restitution and suspension of Federal benefits; and (2) the number of peremptory challenges under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Subtitle C: Crime Victims Fund - Repeals: (1) the current $150 million cap on the Crime Victims Fund under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984; and (2) sunset provisions under such Act. Modifies the formula for the distribution of sums deposited into the Fund. (Sec. 622) Increases the Federal share of victim compensation programs from 40 to 45 percent of the amounts awarded by each program during the preceding fiscal year. (Sec. 623) Allows up to five percent of a victim compensation program grant to be used for administrative costs. (Sec. 624) Specifies that if the compensation paid by an eligible crime victim compensation program would cover costs that a Federal program, or a federally financed State or local program, would otherwise pay: (1) such victim compensation program shall not pay such compensation; and (2) the other program shall make its payments without regard to the existence of the crime victim compensation program. (Sec. 626) Requires crime victim assistance chief executives to give particular attention to children who are victims of violent street crime. Subtitle D: National Child Protection Act - National Child Protection Act of 1993 - Provides for: (1) State reporting of child abuse crime information to a national criminal background check system; (2) funding to improve such information; and (3) the withholding of a portion of such funding to States not in compliance with a timetable established under this Act. Subtitle E: Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act - Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Registration Act - Directs the Attorney General to establish guidelines for State programs requiring any person who is convicted of a criminal offense against a minor to register a current address with a designated State law enforcement agency for ten years after release from prison or being placed on parole or supervised release. Sets forth registration, State compliance, and related requirements. Subtitle F: Domestic Violence - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize the Director of the BJA to make grants to assist States in implementing a civil and criminal response to domestic violence. Specifies that such grants shall be used to: (1) encourage increased prosecutions for domestic violence; (2) report more accurately the incidences of such violence; (3) facilitate arrests and aggressive prosecution policies; (4) provide legal advocacy services for victims; and (5) improve the knowledge of health professionals regarding domestic violence and facilitate cooperation between health professionals, social service providers, and law enforcement personnel to better assist such victims. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) application requirements; (2) allocation of funds and limitations on grants; (3) grant award and renewal; and (4) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 662) Requires the Attorney General and Secretary of Health and Human Services to transmit to the Congress a report on the medical and psychological basis of battered women's syndrome and on the extent to which evidence of the syndrome has been held to be admissible as evidence of guilt or as a defense in a criminal trial. Subtitle G: Other Provisions - Sets penalties for inducing a minor to commit an offense against the United States. (Sec. 672) Amends the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the disclosure of arrest records by campus police. (Sec. 673) Requires the Attorney General to contract with an appropriate entity to provide for a national baseline study to research the effectiveness of campus sexual assault policies for institutions of postsecondary education. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 674) Expresses the sense of the Congress that in determining child custody and visitation rights the courts should take into consideration the history of drunk driving of any person involved in the determination. Title VII: Equal Justice Act - Equal Justice Act - Requires that the death penalty and all other penalties be administered by the United States and by every State without regard to the race or color of the defendant or victim. Bars the use of any racial quota or statistical test for the imposition or execution of any penalty. (Sec. 703) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) safeguards against racial prejudice or bias in criminal courts; and (2) jury instructions and certification, and racial motivation in killings as an aggravating factor, in Federal capital cases. (Sec. 705) Amends specified civil rights provisions to cover conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law, of any person in (currently, inhabitant of) a State, territory, or district. Title VIII: Public Corruption - Anti-Corruption Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prescribe criminal penalties to be imposed against anyone who uses any facility of, or affects, interstate or foreign commerce to deprive or defraud the inhabitants of a State or political subdivision of a State of the honest services of a government official or employee, or of a fair and impartially conducted election process. Prescribes criminal penalties to be imposed upon any official, or person selected to be a public official, who, in order to carry out or conceal any scheme or artifice to defraud, discriminates, harasses, or takes adverse action against any employee or official of the United States, or any State or political subdivision. Authorizes such an adversely affected employee or official to obtain relief through a civil action, provided such person did not participate in the scheme or artifice. (Sec. 803) Amends mail fraud provisions to prohibit the use of any facility of interstate or foreign commerce in the execution of a scheme or artifice to defraud. (Sec. 804) Sets forth prohibitions regarding narcotics-related public corruption. Title IX: Federal Prisons - Authorizes appropriations for new prison construction. Title X: Violent Crime - Life Imprisonment for Egregious Recidivists Act of 1993 - Requires the court to sentence a defendant convicted of a Federal violent felony to life imprisonment if the defendant has previously been convicted of two other violent felonies. Title XI: International Parental Kidnapping - International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993 - Sets penalties for removing a child from the United States or retaining a child (who has been in the United States) outside the United States in order to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights. (Sec. 1103) Authorizes appropriations to carry out, under the State Justice Institute Act of 1984, national, regional, and in-State training and educational programs dealing with criminal and civil aspects of interstate and international parental child abduction.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1993
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the issuance of a permit for the operation of any new off site hazardous waste incinerator or other hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility if: (1) the facility is located within a two-mile radius of the boundary of a Federal prison; and (2) an accident at such a facility could require evacuation of prisoners or nearby residents.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 1993
Amends rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives to allow meetings of the standing committees and subcommittees to be closed to the public only if disclosure of matters to be considered would endanger national security or would tend to defame, degrade, or incriminate any person. Repeals provisions making the coverage of committee hearings and meetings by television broadcast, radio broadcast, or still photography a privilege made available by the House. Requires proceedings of open committee hearings or meetings to be open to television broadcast, radio broadcast, and still photography, or by any of such method of coverage. Prohibits a committee or subcommittee chairman from limiting the number of television or still cameras below two representatives from each medium.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 1993
Negotiated Rates Act of 1993 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize persons against whom a claim is made by a motor carrier of property (other than a household goods carrier), or by a nonhousehold goods freight forwarder for the collection of rates or charges in addition to the rates originally collected by such carrier or freight forwarder, to elect to satisfy such claim pursuant to a specified formula upon showing that the carrier or forwarder is no longer transporting property or is transporting property for the purpose of avoiding application of this Act. Requires that the claimant have been offered a rate other than the one legally on file with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), have tendered freight in reasonable reliance upon the offered rate, the carrier or forwarder did not properly or timely file a tariff for the rate or failed to execute a valid contract for transportation services, such rate was collected by the carrier or forwarder, and the carrier or forwarder demands additional payment of a higher rate filed in a tariff. Shortens the statute of limitations for the filing of claims: (1) by a motor common carrier or freight forwarder for recovery of transportation or service charges; and (2) by any person to recover overcharges by a motor carrier. Permits motor carriers and shippers to resolve by mutual consent, subject to ICC review and approval, any overcharge and undercharge claims resulting from billing errors or incorrect tariff provisions arising from the inadvertent failure to properly and timely file and maintain agreed upon rates, rules, or classifications. Prohibits a tariff filed with the ICC from being held invalid solely on the basis that it uses a numerical or alpha account code to designate customers or describe the applicability of rates. Requires a motor contract carrier to enter into a written agreement (separate from a bill of lading or receipt) for the provision of transportation services. Sets forth both civil and criminal penalties for violations of this requirement. Requires the ICC to issue regulations prohibiting any motor carrier from reducing a rate set forth in its tariff or contract for any person but the one paying for the transportation service. Sets forth civil penalties. Grants the ICC jurisdiction to resolve disputes arising with respect to certain motor carriers as to whether transportation is provided as a motor common carrier or as a motor contract carrier. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to arrange with the Transportation Research Board to study and report to specified congressional committees on: (1) the public benefits of tariff rate filings by motor carriers of property with the ICC; (2) the extent to which such filing system is used by shippers; (3) the difficulty and cost of determining rates for transportation services under such system; and (4) the number of actions brought before the ICC with respect to such rates.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1993
Provides that the effective date for discontinuance of veterans' disability compensation and veterans' pension paid by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall be the date on which the recipient dies (currently the last day of the month preceding death) in the case of a veteran with a surviving spouse. Requires payments of such compensation to be made to the surviving spouse. Provides that the effective date for the award of dependency and indemnity compensation for which application is received within one year from the date of the veteran's death shall be the day following the date of death in the case of a surviving spouse.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1993
Qualified Football Coaches Plan Technical Corrections Act of 1993 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to make technical revisions which restore treatment of a qualified football coaches plan as a multiemployer plan for pension plan purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1993
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the appropriate House committees should conduct hearings on the political and social turmoil in the former Yugoslavia; (2) all nations and appropriate international bodies should assist in peacefully resolving the region's political differences and bringing an end to ethnic violence; (3) the use of force by the military or any citizen of Yugoslavia to further a political or ethnic agenda is detrimental to democratic reform; and (4) the Secretary of State should conduct briefings for the Congress relating to political and social developments in the former Yugoslavia.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1993
Urges the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service to recommend to the Postmaster General that a postage stamp be issued honoring Americans held as prisoners of war or listed as missing in action.
![Official portrait of Rep. Gekas, George W. [R-PA-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000121_200.jpg)