United States · United States Congress · 4 September 1997
Calls upon the President to instruct the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations (UN) to act to amend the 1998-99 Regular Program Budget of the UN to eliminate funding of Kurt Waldheim's retirement allowance and to act to deny him a retirement allowance in all future UN budgets.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 1997
United States-Taiwan Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense Cooperation Act - Amends the Taiwan Relations Act to provide that its provisions respecting defense articles and services, and the determination of Taiwan's defense needs, supersede any provision of the Joint Communique of the United States and China of August 17, 1982. Directs the Secretary of Defense to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the architecture requirements for the establishment and operation of a theater ballistic missile defense system in the Asia-Pacific region capable of protecting Taiwan from ballistic missile attacks; and (2) cooperative United States measures which would provide Taiwan with an advanced local-area ballistic missile defense system. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President, upon the request of the Taiwan Government, and in accordance with such study results, should transfer to the Taiwan Government defense articles or services under the foreign military sales program of the Arms Export Control Act for the purpose of establishing and operating a local-area ballistic missile defense system to protect Taiwan and specified islands against limited ballistic missile attacks. Declares that it is in the U.S. national interest that Taiwan be included in any effort at ballistic missile defense cooperation, networking, or interoperability with friendly and allied nations in the Asia-Pacific region.
United States · United States Congress · 3 September 1997
Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide penalties against any person who, while engaged in the business of betting or wagering, knowingly uses a communication facility for the transmission or receipt in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers, information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, or a communication that entitles the transmitter or receiver to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers. Provides a smaller penalty for those engaging in such activities who are not in the business of betting or wagering. Provides prohibition exceptions. Authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to enforce against interstate computer service providers regulations prohibiting the interstate or foreign transmission of gambling information. Authorizes injunctive relief against such carriers or providers. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal Government should have extraterritorial jurisdiction over the transmission to or receipt from the United States of gambling information as well as any communication that entitles the transmitter or recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers. Requires a report from the Attorney General to the Congress concerning the enforcement of such gambling regulations and related recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1997
Parents and Students Savings Account Plus Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to education individual retirement accounts to: (1) include qualified elementary and secondary education expenses (including home schooling); and (2) increase annual contribution limits to $2,000.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Political Freedom in China Act of 1997 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for additional diplomatic personnel at U.S. posts in China to monitor political repression there.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Speed Trafficking Life in Prison Act of 1997 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to: (1) repeal provisions prescribing penalties for violations involving specified quantities of methamphetamine; and (2) provide for a fine of up to $8 million (for an individual) or $20 million (if other than an individual) and a mandatory life penalty (unless the death penalty is imposed) for manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing (or possessing with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense) methamphetamine, its salts, isomers, or salts of its isomers.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1997
Declares that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol to, or other agreement regarding, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992, at negotiations in Kyoto in December 1997 or thereafter which would: (1) mandate new commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the Annex 1 Parties, unless the protocol or other agreement also mandates new specific scheduled commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for Developing Country Parties within the same compliance period; or (2) result in serious harm to the U.S. economy. Calls for any such protocol or other agreement which would require the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification to be accompanied by: (1) a detailed explanation of any legislation or regulatory actions that may be required to implement it; and (2) an analysis of the detailed financial costs which would be incurred by, and other impacts on, the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Executive Branch Governance and Senior Management of the Internal Revenue Service Subtitle A: Executive Branch Governance and Senior Management Subtitle B: Personnel Flexibilities Title II: Electronic Filing Title III: Taxpayer Protection and Rights Title IV: Congressional Accountability for the Internal Revenue Service Subtitle A: Oversight Subtitle B: Budget Subtitle C: Tax Law Complexity Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1997 - Title I: Executive Branch Governance and Senior Management of the Internal Revenue Service - Subtitle A: Executive Branch Government and Senior Management - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to replace current provisions establishing the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue with provisions establishing the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board (the Board). Requires that seven of the nine members of the Board not be full-time Federal officers or employees. Requires that all Board members have expertise in, among other things: (1) management of large service organizations; (2) customer service; and (3) the needs and concerns of taxpayers. Requires the Board to: (1) review and approve strategic plans of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); (2) review the operational functions of the IRS; (3) select the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (Commissioner), as well as senior IRS managers, and review the Commissioner's reorganization plans; and (4) review and approve the IRS budget request, as well as ensure audits of the IRS. (Sec. 102) Replaces current provisions which authorize the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to employ such personnel as necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of the internal revenue laws with provisions requiring there to be in the Department of the Treasury a Commissioner who shall be appointed by the Board for a five-year term. Sets forth the duties of the Commissioner, including the: (1) administration and management of the internal revenue laws; and (2) Commissioner's responsibility to consult with the Board. Establishes and sets forth duties for: (1) a Chief Counsel for the IRS to be appointed by the President; (2) the Office of Employee Plans and Exempt Organizations; (3) an Office of the Taxpayer Advocate. (Sec. 103) Replaces current provisions concerning the effect of reorganization plans with provisions which authorize the Commissioner to employ such number of persons as proper to administer and enforce the internal revenue laws. Subtitle B: Personnel Flexibilities - Directs the Commissioner to establish a performance management system covering IRS employees which: (1) establishes retention standards; and (2) establishes performance goals or objectives. Provides for awards based on performance, but prohibits making an award solely on the basis of tax enforcement results. Sets forth other provisions concerning: (1) classification and pay; (2) staffing; and (3) demonstration projects. Title II: Electronic Filing - Provides for paperless filing and payment of taxes. Title III: Taxpayer Protection and Rights - Sets forth provisions concerning taxpayer protections and rights, including provisions concerning: (1) authority to issue taxpayer assistance orders; (2) authority to award costs and fees; (3) damages for negligence in collection actions; (4) criteria and procedures for selecting taxpayers for examination; (5) archival treatment of IRS records; (6) freedom of information; (7) offers-in-compromise; (8) jurisdiction of the Tax Court; (9) cataloging of complaints; and (10) procedures for taxpayer interviews. (Sec. 309) Eliminates the interest differential on overpayments and underpayments. (Sec. 310) Eliminates the failure to pay penalty as long as an installment payment agreement is in effect. (Sec. 311) Directs the Secretary to accept installment tax liability payments if: (1) such liability does not exceed $10,000; (2) the taxpayer has, during the past five years, paid on time; and (3) the taxpayer has not entered into a prior installment agreement. (Sec. 313) Directs the Secretary to make grants to provide matching funds for qualified low-income taxpayer clinics. (Sec. 319) Provides for studies concerning: (1) taxpayer confidentiality; (2) penalty administration; (3) treating all taxpayers as separate filing units; and (4) burden of proof. Title IV: Congressional Accountability for the Internal Revenue Service - Subtitle A: Oversight - Authorizes the Joint Committee on Taxation (Joint Committee) to procure the services of experts for investigations of the IRS by the General Accounting Office. (Sec. 402) Establishes additional reporting requirements for the Joint Committee. Subtitle B: Budget - Provides for additional budget authority for the IRS, but only on annual basis and only if specified improvements are made in taxpayer services. (Sec. 413) Directs the Commissioner to convene a financial advisory management group to advise the Commissioner. Subtitle C: Tax Law Complexity - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the IRS should provide the Congress with an independent view of tax administration. (Sec. 422) Requires a Senate or House of Representatives committee, when reporting legislation including any provision amending the IRC, to contain within the report a Tax Complexity Analysis. (Sec. 423) Declares it to be the policy of the Congress that employers should have a single point of filing tax and wage reporting information. (Sec. 424) Requires the Joint Committee to prepare a study of the feasibility of developing a baseline estimate of taxpayers' compliance burdens against which future legislative proposals could be measured.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1997
Arches National Park Expansion Act of 1997 - Modifies the boundary of the Arches National Park, Utah, to include the Lost Spring Canyon Addition (Area). Requires the Secretary of the Interior to transfer jurisdiction over the Federal lands contained in the Area from the Bureau of Land Management to the National Park Service to be administered in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable to the Park. Continues existing grazing leases, permits, or licenses for the Area for the lifetime of the existing permittee and of any direct descendants of the permittee born before enactment of this Act. Allows the sale of such grazing lease, permit, or license, except that the term of a sold lease, permit, or license shall not exceed ten years or its retirement date, whichever occurs first. Withdraws Federal lands within the Area from the public land and mineral leasing laws. Provides that the inclusion of the Area in the Park shall not affect the operation or maintenance by the Northwest Pipeline Corporation of the natural gas pipeline that passes through the Area. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer specified Federal lands to the State of Utah in exchange for specified State school trust lands, if the State offers such exchange within one year after enactment of this Act. Subjects such exchanged lands to valid existing rights. Specifies requirements to be satisfied by the State before undertaking or permitting any surface disturbing activities. Requires the State to preserve existing grazing, recreational, and wildlife uses of such lands. Permits Utah to authorize or undertake surface or mineral activities authorized by existing or future land management plans for the acquired lands.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1997
Authorizes the President to award the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously to Theodore Roosevelt for his actions in the attack of San Juan Heights, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War on July 1, 1898.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1997
Authorizes the President to present a gold medal to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions to religious understanding and peace. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike duplicate medals in bronze. Authorizes appropriations from the Numismatic Public Enterprise Fund, where sales proceeds shall be deposited.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1997
Designates the Federal building and U.S. courthouse to be constructed on Las Vegas Boulevard between Bridger Avenue and Clark Avenue in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the Lloyd D. George Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1997
Education Land Grant Act - Amends the Recreation and Public Purposes Act to provide for the disposal of national forest lands (currently, only public lands) to a State, territory, county, municipality, or other State, territorial, or Federal instrumentality or political subdivision, including to a local education agency (LEA) for an elementary or secondary school, including a public charter school. Makes such Act inapplicable to lands in: (1) the National Park System; (2) the National Wildlife Refuge System; (3) the National Wilderness Preservation System; (4) the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; (5) the National Trails System; (6) any Bureau of Land Management area of critical environmental concern; and (7) any national recreation area. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon receipt of an application from a duly qualified LEA that is seeking conveyance of land for use for a school, to: (1) notify the applicant of such receipt before the end of the ten-day period beginning on the date of receipt; and (2) before the end of the 60-day period beginning on such date, determine whether or not to convey such land and to notify the applicant of that determination, or report to the Congress and the applicant the reasons that determination has not been made.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1997
Radio Free Asia Act of 1997 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for programs of international broadcasting to China. Earmarks amounts for: (1) Radio Free Asia; (2) additional personnel to staff Cantonese language broadcasting; (3) additional advanced editing equipment; (4) capital expenditures for the purchase and construction of transmission facilities; and (5) augmentation of transmitters at Tinian, Marshall Islands. Directs the President to report to the Congress on a plan to achieve continuous broadcasting of Radio Free Asia and Voice of America to China in multiple major dialects and languages. Reduces FY 1998 and 1999 authorizations of appropriations for migration and refugee assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Soft Money and Contributions and Expenditures of Political Parties Title II: Indexing Contribution Limits Title III: Expanding Disclosure of Campaign Finance Information Title IV: Effective Date Bipartisan Campaign Integrity Act of 1997 - Title I: Soft Money and Contributions and Expenditures of Political Parties - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to ban the use of certain soft money by national political parties, specified entities, and Federal candidates. Prohibits transfers of non-Federal funds between State parties unless the funds are subject to the Act. (Sec. 102) Increases the aggregate annual limit on contributions made by individuals to political parties. (Sec. 103) Repeals the limitations on the amount of coordinated expenditures that may be made by political parties. Title II: Indexing Contribution Limits - Sets forth provisions for the indexing of contribution limits. Title III: Expanding Disclosure of Campaign Finance Information - Requires the disclosure of certain radio and television communications. (Sec. 302) Revises FECA filing requirements for reports to mandate: (1) the monthly filing of reports by principal campaign committees and other political committees (other than a candidate's authorized committees); and (2) electronic filing for certain reports. (Sec. 304) Waives the "best efforts" exception with respect to information regarding the occupation or the name of employers of certain individual contributors. Title IV: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
National Marrow Donor Program Reauthorization Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace provisions relating to the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry with provisions mandating establishment, by contract, of a program to assist patients needing a blood stem cell transplant in searching for biologically unrelated donor individuals. Sets forth program functions, including: (1) maintaining one or more donor and one or more recipient registries; (2) educational activities (including donor recruitment and professional and public information); and (3) establishing the Office of Patient Advocacy and Case Management. Mandates: (1) standards regarding quality, tissue typing, donor informed consent, and patient advocacy; (2) donor selection criteria; (3) stem cell collection and transportation procedures; (4) confidentiality standards; and (5) procedures for integrating participating donor registries and centers. Mandates criminal penalties for confidentiality violations. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates a plan to effectuate efficiencies in the relationship between the program and donor centers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
Laogai Slave Labor Products Act of 1997 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 and 1999 for monitoring by the U.S. Customs Service and the Department of State of the exportation of slave labor products by China. Directs the Commissioner of Customs and the Secretary of State each to report annually to the Congress on manufacturing and exportation of slave labor products in China. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, since China has substantially frustrated the purposes of the 1992 Memorandum of Understanding with the United States on Prison Labor, the President should immediately commence negotiations to replace the current Memorandum with one providing for effective monitoring of forced labor there, without restrictions on which prison labor camps international monitors may visit.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
Directs the Secretary of Defense to compile and publish in the Federal Register a list of Communist Chinese military companies that are operating directly or indirectly in the United States or its territories and possessions. Prohibits the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to goods that are produced, manufactured, or exported by the People's Liberation Army or a Communist Chinese military company.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
Communist China Subsidy Reduction Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) determine annually the amount of the U.S. portion of any subsidy provided to China or any Chinese citizen, national, or entity by each international financial institution during the fiscal year; and (2) reduce the U.S. contribution to such institution by an amount equal to such subsidy.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
Directs the Directors of Central Intelligence and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to report jointly and annually to the Congress on intelligence activities of China directed against or affecting U.S. interests. Specifies topics such report must address.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
Finds that the delivery of China National Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation C-802 cruise missiles to Iran is of a destabilizing number and type constituting a violation of the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act of 1992. Urges the executive branch to enforce such Act with respect to the acquisition by Iran of such missiles.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 1997
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Taiwan should be admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a separate customs territory without making such admission conditional on the previous or simultaneous admission of China, either as a developing or a developed country. Declares that it should be U.S. policy to support Taiwan's unconditional admission to the WTO.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 1997
Prohibits funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Secretary of the Interior (including for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) from being used to develop, implement, or carry out any program for the reintroduction of grizzly bears into the Bitterroot Ecosystem in east central Idaho.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 1997
Authorizes the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, to submit to the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, a written offer to purchase specified Federal properties bordering on North Las Vegas on behalf of adjacent real property owners who have been adversely affected by reliance on certain erroneous private land surveys. Directs the Secretary to convey such properties to the city upon payment by the city of the fair market value of the properties as of December 1, 1982, and on the condition that the city convey the properties to such adversely affected parties.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1997
Joan's Law Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to require that any person convicted of a Federal offense involving a serious violent felony or the sexual exploitation of children shall, unless the death sentence is imposed, be sentenced to life in prison if the victim is under 14 years old and dies as a result of the offense.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1997
Prohibits burial in a federally funded cemetery of the remains of a person convicted of crimes related to the murder or attempted murder of certain Federal officers or employees or terrorist-related crimes.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 1997
Selective Service Registration Privacy Act of 1997 - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 and the Military Selective Service Act to prohibit the Corporation for National and Community Service, and related State Commissions, from: (1) receiving information from the Selective Service System (SSS); or (2) using SSS to help recruit or notify young people of service opportunities with the Corporation or recruit national service participants. Prohibits SSS from providing the Corporation with information about SSS registrants or providing such registrants with information about national and community service opportunities.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1997
China Sanctions and Human Rights Advancement Act - Prohibits the Secretary of State (except in the case of a presidential waiver in the U.S. national security interest) from issuing any visa to, and the Attorney General may not admit to the United States, certain high-ranking officials of the Chinese government who have been involved in limiting the free exercise of religion and other human rights in China. (Sec. 3) Mandates certain economic sanctions against China including: (1) votes and restrictions to deny multilateral assistance by international development banks; and (2) reduction in U.S. contributions to international development banks for multilateral assistance and to organizations providing family planning assistance in China. Directs the President to: (1) prohibit the importation of products (with specified exceptions) produced by the China Poly Group (also known as Polytechnologies Incorporated or BAOLI) or the China North Industries Group (Norinco); (2) deny or impose restrictions on the entry into the United States of foreign nationals employed by such entities; (3) prohibit the issuance of licenses for U.S. Munitions List exports to such nationals or entities; (4) prohibit the export of controlled goods or technology to them; (5) direct the Export-Import Bank of the United States not to approve the issuance of credit to them; (6) prohibit U.S. nationals from issuing guarantees for loans or investments, or extending credit, to them; and (7) prohibit U.S. agencies and U.S. nationals from entering into any contract with such nationals or entities for the procurement of goods or services. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should consult with its major allies and trading partners in order to encourage them to adopt similar sanctions against China. Requires a report to the Congress on such consultations. (Sec. 4) Directs the President to report annually to the Congress on China's practices with respect to the free exercise of religion and other human rights during the preceding year. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary of State to publish in the Federal Register a list of corporations that were owned in whole or in part by the Chinese People's Liberation Army as of December 31 of the preceding year. (Sec. 6) Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Attorney General to establish a program to provide training on religious persecution to U.S. immigration officers. (Sec. 7) Declares that FY 1998 funding levels for certain U.S. Information Agency programs and grants for student, cultural, and legislative exchange activities with China, for Radio Free Asia, and for China-related programs of the National Endowment for Democracy shall not be less than FY 1997 funding levels. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the transfers by China of chemical and missile weapons equipment and technology to Iran and Pakistan poses a threat to the national security interests of the United States; (2) the failure of the Clinton Administration to initiate a process to determine whether to impose sanctions for such transfers contributes to such threat by the proliferation of such equipment and technology; and (3) the President should immediately initiate such process to determine whether such sanctions should be imposed. Directs the President to report to the Congress on the process to determine whether to impose sanctions against China for such transfers.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that, as a part of balancing the budget and reevaluating the role of government, Federal, State, and local elected officials should carefully consider the costs of government spending and regulatory programs in the year to come so that American families will be able to keep more of what they earn.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for the creation of general rules relating to civil forfeiture proceedings. Requires the seizure notice required by an agency under the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to any nonjudicial civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute to be sent, together with information on the applicable procedures, not later than 60 days after the seizure to each party known to the agency to have an ownership or possessory interest in the seized article. Authorizes: (1) the Government to apply to a Federal magistrate judge for an extension of time to comply under specified circumstances; (2) a person with such an interest who failed to file a claim within the prescribed time period, on motion made within two years after the date of final publication of notice of seizure, to move to set aside a declaration of forfeiture; and (3) a person claiming seized property to file a claim with the appropriate official within 30 days after the date of final publication of notice of seizure or, in the case of a person receiving written notice, the date that such notice is received. Directs the Attorney General, in cases where property has been seized or restrained by the Government and a claim has been filed, to file a complaint for forfeiture in the appropriate court in the manner set forth in the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims, or to include a forfeiture count in a criminal indictment or information, or both, not later than 90 days after the claim was filed, or return the property pending the filing of a complaint or indictment. Permits the 90-day filing requirement to be waived by mutual agreement between the Government and the claimants. Authorizes the Government to apply to a Federal magistrate judge in any district where venue for a forfeiture action would lie for an extension of time in which to comply with such requirement, based on a showing of good cause. Specifies that, if the reason for the extension is that the filing would jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution or court-authorized electronic surveillance, the application may be ex parte. Directs the claimant, upon the filing of a civil complaint, to file a claim and answer in accordance with the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims. Authorizes the court to appoint counsel to represent a person regarding a claim if the person filing the claim is financially unable to obtain representation by counsel and requests that counsel be appointed. Directs the court to consider the nature and value of the property subject to forfeiture, the claimant's standing to contest the forfeiture, and whether the claim appears to be made in good faith or to be frivolous. Sets forth provisions regarding attorney compensation. Places the burden of proof at trial on the United States, in all suits or actions brought for the civil forfeiture of any property, to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the property is subject to forfeiture. Places the burden on the claimant, if the Government proves that the property is subject to forfeiture, to establish any affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence. Specifies that an innocent owner's interest in property shall not be forfeited in any civil forfeiture action. Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) motions to suppress seized evidence; (2) the use of hearsay at pretrial hearings; (3) stipulations; (4) preservation of property subject to forfeiture; (5) excessive fines; and (6) a pre-discovery standard of forfeitability. Entitles a person who has filed a claim to release of seized property pending trial if: (1) the claimant has a possessory interest in the property sufficient to establish standing to contest forfeiture, has filed a nonfrivolous claim on the merits of the forfeiture action, and has sufficient ties to the community to provide assurance that the property will be available at time of trial; (2) the continued possession by the Government pending the final disposition of forfeiture proceedings will cause substantial hardship to the claimant; (3) the claimant's hardship outweighs the risk that the property will be destroyed, damaged, lost, concealed, diminished in value, or transferred if it is returned to the claimant during the pendency of the proceeding; and (4) the seized property is not contraband, currency (not constituting business assets), evidence of a violation of law, particularly suited for use in illegal activities, or likely to be used to commit additional criminal acts if returned. (Sec. 3) Amends the Federal Tort Claims Act to make such Act applicable to any claim based on the negligent destruction, injury, or loss of goods, merchandise, or other property while in the possession of any officer of customs or excise or any other law enforcement officer, if the property was seized for the purpose of forfeiture but the interest of the claimant is not forfeited. Authorizes the Attorney General to settle certain claims, for up to $50,000 per case, for damage to or loss of privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer who is employed by the Department of Justice acting within the scope of his or her employment. (Sec. 4) Makes the United States liable for post-judgment interest upon entry of judgment for the claimant in any proceeding to condemn or forfeit property seized or arrested under any Act of Congress, but not for prejudgment interest, with exceptions. Specifies that the United States shall not be required to disgorge the value of any intangible benefits nor make any other payments to the claimant not specifically authorized. (Sec. 5) Amends civil forfeiture provisions of the code to require that seizures be made pursuant to a warrant obtained in the same manner as provided for a search warrant under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (FRCrP), with exceptions. (Sec. 6) Provides that, in any civil forfeiture case or in an ancillary proceeding in a criminal forfeiture case under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the refusal of the claimant to provide records in response to a discovery request or to take action necessary to make the records available shall result in the dismissal of the claim with prejudice where: (1) financial records located in a foreign country may be material to any claim or to the ability of the Government to respond to such claim, or in a civil forfeiture case, to the Government's ability to establish the forfeitability of the property; and (2) it is within the capacity of the claimant to waive the claimant's rights under such secrecy laws or to obtain the records, so that the records can be made available. (Sec. 7) Amends: (1) the Internal Revenue Code to provide for the disclosure of tax returns and return information for use in criminal investigations involving civil forfeitures; and (2) the Federal criminal code to expand the provision authorizing disclosure of grand jury information to Federal prosecutors to cover any use in connection with any civil forfeiture provision of Federal law, regardless of whether it concerns a banking law violation. (Sec. 9) Authorizes the use of forfeited funds to pay restitution to financial institutions and regulatory agencies. Establishes procedures for the enforcement of foreign forfeiture judgments. Provides for the admissibility into evidence of foreign business records under specified circumstances. (Sec. 13) Amends: (1) the code and the CSA to make cost bond and burden of proof provisions of the Tariff Act inapplicable to forfeitures governed by the procedures set forth in the code regarding civil forfeitures; (2) Tariff Act provisions regarding judicial condemnation to require that a customs officer transmit a claim and bond and specified information to the United States attorney for the district in which a forfeiture action could be filed; and (3) the code to authorize sharing forfeited property with cooperating foreign governments whenever property is civilly or criminally forfeited under any provision of Federal law. (Sec. 20) Authorizes the forfeiture of: (1) property used to facilitate foreign drug crimes; (2) proceeds traceable to facilitating property in drug cases; (3) proceeds of specified foreign crimes; and (4) coins and currency in confiscated gambling devices. (Sec. 26) Amends: (1) the Tariff Act regarding the statute of limitations for civil forfeiture actions; (2) the code to expand the scope of provisions prohibiting the destruction or removal of property to prevent seizure; (3) code provisions to provide that any criminal forfeiture, including any seizure and disposition of the property and any related administrative or judicial proceeding, shall be governed by the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, with an exception; (4) the code and the CSA to make inapplicable a provision under FRCrP 15 requiring the defendant's consent and the defendant's presence at the deposition where property has been declared forfeited; and (5) the code to allow a party to pursue discovery of bank records pursuant to the FRCrP. (Sec. 32) Requires the court to order criminal forfeiture for money laundering conspiracies. (Sec. 34) Amends: (1) the CSA to authorize the court to order the repatriation of property placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court and provide that any property that is transferred to a person other than the defendant after the U.S. interest in the property has vested shall be ordered forfeited to the United States, with an exception; (2) the Archeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 to provide that if a forfeiture count is included within an indictment in accordance with the FRCrP and the defendant is convicted of the offense giving rise to the forfeiture, the forfeiture may be ordered as part of the criminal sentence; (3) the code to provide for forfeiture of instrumentalities of terrorism, telemarketing fraud, and other specified offenses, criminal proceeds transported in interstate commerce, and counterfeit paraphernalia, and for odometer tampering offenses; and (4) the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for civil and criminal forfeiture of proceeds of violations of the Act. (Sec. 41) Amends the CSA to: (1) eliminate the use of bankruptcy to defeat criminal forfeitures; (2) authorize the enforcement of forfeiture orders in the manner provided for the collection and payment of fines under the code, or in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action; (3) make it unnecessary to seize or restrain property already in U.S. custody for criminal forfeiture purposes; (4) require the court to afford the defendant a prompt post-restraint hearing under specified circumstances and to exempt from such restraint such property as may reasonably be needed by the defendant to pay attorney's fees, necessary cost-of-living expenses, and expenses of maintaining restrained assets pending the entry of judgment in the criminal case; and (5) authorize the court to hold a pretrial hearing under specified circumstances to determine whether the restraining order should be vacated or modified for certain reasons, such as that restrained property would not be subject to forfeiture or that the defendant establishes that assets are needed to retain counsel, subject to specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1997
Places a four-year moratorium on the promulgation of new or revised national ambient air quality standards for ozone or fine particulate matter under the Clean Air Act by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Requires the Administrator, within five years of this Act's enactment date, to: (1) complete a review of the air quality criteria and standards for ozone and particulate matter; and (2) determine whether to retain or revise such standards or promulgate new standards. Directs the Administrator, in reviewing such criteria for particulate matter, to: (1) evaluate any adverse health effects of exposure to airborne particulate matter; (2) determine the amount and size of particles inhaled and retained in the lungs; and (3) investigate the biological mechanisms by which particulate matter may induce adverse health effects. Authorizes the Administrator to require State implementation plans to require air quality monitoring for fine particulate matter and to make grants to States for such purposes. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1997
Prohibits persons sentenced to life in prison or death pursuant to Federal law from receiving gratuitous veterans' benefits (including the right to burial in a national cemetery).
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1997
Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to require the Secretary of the Interior, in lieu of requiring a bond or other financial guarantee under regulations for reclamation of hardrock mining operations, to accept evidence of any financial guarantee required under State law or regulations, held or approved by a State agency for the area covered by the notice or plan of operations, and determined by such agency to be reasonable for the amount of reclamation. Prohibits the Secretary from rejecting any submitted financial instrument if such instrument is satisfactory under State law and redeemable by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1997
Reno, Nevada, Railroad Right-of-Way Conveyance Validation Act - Validates the conveyances from the United States to the Central Pacific Railway Company of certain lands in Washoe County, Nevada, constituting parts of a right-of-way granted to such Railway. Reserves to the United States any federally owned mineral rights in such lands.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1997
Prohibits funds appropriated or otherwise made available to a Federal agency from being used to develop, implement, or carry out the American Heritage Rivers Initiative or any similar initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1997
National Salvage Motor Vehicle Consumer Protection Act of 1997 - Amends Federal transportation law to require States, in licensing a passenger motor vehicle whose ownership has been transferred, to disclose on the certificate of title whenever records indicate that such vehicle was previously issued a title that contained a word or symbol signifying that it was "salvage," "unrebuildable," "parts only," "scrap," "junk," "nonrepairable," "reconstructed," "rebuilt," or that it has been damaged by flood. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations requiring each State in licensing such vehicles to apply uniform standards, procedures, and methods for the issuance and control of motor vehicle titles and for information to be contained on such titles. Sets forth requirements for the transfer of salvage title and rebuilt salvage title vehicles and nonrepairable vehicle certificate vehicles. Requires persons transferring ownership of a salvage vehicle to give notice to the transferee that the vehicle is a salvage vehicle. Directs the Secretary to prescribe requirements (similar to those of the Automobile Information Disclosure Act) that a label containing certain information be affixed to the windshield or window of a rebuilt or remanufactured salvage vehicle before its first sale. Prohibits a person from willfully removing, altering, or rendering illegible such label before the vehicle is delivered to the ultimate purchaser. Makes it unlawful for any person knowingly and willfully to: (1) make false statements on an application for a motor vehicle title; (2) fail to apply for a salvage title when such application is required; (3) alter, forge, or counterfeit a certificate of title, a nonrepairable vehicle certificate, a certificate verifying an anti-theft inspection or an anti-theft and safety inspection, or a required decal affixed to a passenger motor vehicle; (4) falsify the results of an inspection; (5) offer to sell any salvage vehicle or nonrepairable vehicle as a rebuilt salvage vehicle; or (6) conspire to commit any of the above acts. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes States and other State officials to bring civil or criminal action in the appropriate court to enforce the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1997
Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to require that in any nonjudicial civil forfeiture proceeding under a civil forfeiture statute, with respect to which the agency conducting a seizure of property must give written notice to interested parties, such notice shall be given within 60 days after the later of the date of the seizure or the date the identity of the interested party is first known or discovered by the agency, with exceptions. Allows a person entitled to written notice in such proceeding to whom written notice is not given to void, on motion, the forfeiture with respect to that person's interest in the property unless the agency shows good cause for the failure to give notice or that the person otherwise had actual notice of the seizure. Provides that if the Government does not provide notice of a seizure of property in accordance with this Act, it shall return the property and may not take any further action to effect the forfeiture of such property. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) filing deadlines; (2) persons filing claims who are financially unable to obtain representation by counsel; and (3) the burden of proof. Prohibits an innocent owner's interest in property from being forfeited under any civil forfeiture statute. (Sec. 4) Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to provide that Federal criminal code provisions applicable to civil forfeiture procedures shall apply to civil forfeitures proceedings relating to the condemnation or forfeiture of property for violation of the customs laws. (Sec. 5) Makes the Federal Tort Claims Act applicable to claims based on the negligent destruction, injury, or loss of goods, merchandise, or other property while in the possession of any officer of customs or excise or any other law enforcement officer, if the property was seized for the purpose of forfeiture but the interest of the claimant is not forfeited. Authorizes the Attorney General to settle, for not more than $50,000 in any case, certain claims for damage to or loss of privately owned property caused by an investigative or law enforcement officer who is employed by the Department of Justice and acting within the scope of his or her employment, subject to specified limitations. (Sec. 6) Makes the United States liable for post-judgment interest upon entry of judgment for the claimant in any proceeding to condemn or forfeit property seized or arrested under any Act of Congress, but not for prejudgment interest (with exceptions). Specifies that the United States shall not be required to disgorge the value of any intangible benefits nor make any other payments to the claimant not specifically authorized. (Sec. 7) Makes the amendments made by this Act applicable to claims, suits, and actions filed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, with exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
District of Columbia Student Opportunity Scholarship Act of 1997 - Authorizes the establishment as a private, nonprofit corporation the District of Columbia Scholarship Corporation to administer, publicize, and evaluate the District of Columbia (District) scholarship program and to determine student and school eligibility for program participation. Establishes the District of Columbia Scholarship Fund, to be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, through which annual funds shall be provided to the District and used by the Corporation for the program. Authorizes appropriations to the Fund for FY 1998 through 2002. Provides for: (1) organization and management of a Corporation Board of Directors, as well as related offices and staff; and (2) the annual audit of Corporation records. Authorizes the Corporation to award tuition scholarships and enhanced achievement scholarships to District students in kindergarten through grade 12 with family incomes not exceeding 185 percent of the national poverty line. Provides for: (1) scholarship payments and amounts; (2) certification requirements for educational institutions for eligibility to receive payments on behalf of students receiving a scholarship; (3) participation requirements for such institutions, including compliance with the nondiscrimination requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (4) payments from the Corporation to participating institutions; (5) annual institution reporting requirements; (6) program appraisal by the Comptroller General, performed through an independent evaluation agency (with an authorization of appropriations for such appraisal); (7) an annual program progress report from the Corporation to the appropriate congressional committees; and (8) judicial review of actions challenging the program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 1997
Higher Education and Learning Promotion Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish nontaxable education investment accounts which shall permit annual contributions of not more than $1,500 for the account holder's qualified higher education costs. Subjects account distributions used for nonqualifying purposes to taxation, including an additional ten percent tax. Sets forth related reporting requirements. Makes the employer-provided educational assistance program exclusion permanent. Excludes from gross income distributions from a qualified state tuition program used for qualified higher education expenses (including room and board).
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Robert Stodola Homeless Veterans Assistance Act - Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to require each city, county, State, and Indian tribe which is provided assistance under the following programs to ensure that not less than 20 percent of the total amount received by such entity is used for activities benefiting homeless veterans: (1) the emergency shelter grants program; (2) the supportive housing program; (3) the safe havens for homeless individuals demonstration program; (4) a program for single room occupancy dwellings; (5) the shelter plus care program; and (6) the rural homelessness grant program. Provides for related technical assistance. Allows a waiver of such requirement in each case upon a determination that general program funds will remain unused for an unreasonable period of time unless the waiver is permitted.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to conduct a demonstration project under which covered members and beneficiaries under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) who are or become entitled to hospital insurance benefits under part A of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act will be eligible to enroll in health benefits plans offered through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. Requires the demonstration project to be conducted in two geographic areas and to last at least two, but not more than three, contract years. Provides for: (1) management of participation in the project; (2) Government contributions for beneficiary coverage under the FEHB program; and (3) reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the imposition of Medicaid home liens and Medicaid estate recovery for long-term care services in the case of an individual who has received benefits under a qualified long-term care insurance policy for at least three years during the five-year period ending on the date of provision of such services. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the inclusion in an employee's gross income of employer-provided coverage (through a flexible spending or similar arrangement (FSA)) of qualified long-term care services; (2) allow the carryover of amounts in excess of the maximum amount of reimbursement under an FSA; and (3) exclude from gross income the reimbursement of long-term care insurance premiums by FSAs (as well as the reimbursement of health insurance premiums during unemployment).
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 1997
Former Speakers Privilege Reform Act of 1997 - Repeals provisions of H. Res. 1238, 91st Congress, thus terminating certain entitlements of former Speakers of the House of Representatives, such as: (1) retention of a Federal office (furnished and maintained by the Government) in the Member's congressional district after his or her expired term in office; (2) an allowance for payment of office and other expenses or administration of matters pertaining to incumbency in office as Representative and Speaker; (3) franked mail and printing privileges; and (4) staff assistance in connection with the administration, settlement, and conclusion of matters pertaining to, or arising out of, his or her incumbency in such office.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Medical Device Regulatory Modernization Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to set forth the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mission and to mandate annual FDA and Comptroller General reports to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 3) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, when there is a scientific controversy between a regulated person and the Secretary, to establish a procedure under which the regulated person may request a review of the disputed subject matter. (Sec. 4) Revises or imposes requirements regarding: (1) investigational device exemptions; (2) premarket approval requirements (mandating a device review priority); (3) humanitarian device exceptions; (4) safety and effectiveness performance standards (allowing recognition of self-certifiable consensus standards); (5) effectiveness determinations (as used in classifying devices); (6) reliance on postmarket controls to expedite classification; (7) substantial equivalence; (8) labeling (as affecting premarket approval); (9) supplemental applications; (10) promotional material representations; (11) premarket notification; (12) initial classification; (13) classification panels; and (14) premarket approval application review (allowing review by accredited persons). (Sec. 12) Mandates accreditation of persons to review and initially classify devices. (Sec. 13) Mandates publication of a list of types of class III devices that are not subject to regulation under specified provisions and for which the Secretary has determined that premarket approval is unnecessary, requiring each to be regulated as class III subject to general and appropriate special controls. (Sec. 14) Modifies requirements regarding: (1) device tracking; (2) postmarket surveillance; and (3) good manufacturing practice regulations (including foreign harmonization) and inspections (including adding references to accredited entities and post-inspection procedural requirements). (Sec. 17) Removes distributors from recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Removes reporting requirements regarding certain certification and removals and corrections. Mandates new user reporting regulations limiting user reporting to a user subset to create a representative profile of user reports. (Sec. 18) Prohibits subjecting a person to penalties if the person acted in good faith and had no reason to believe the acts violated the law. (Sec. 19) Mandates an information system to track the status of each submission requesting FDA action. (Sec. 20) Prohibits actions by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the FDCA from requiring the preparation of an environmental assessment or impact statement. (Sec. 22) Regulates communications to non-FDA persons regarding certain matters before completion of related investigations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Small Business Remediation Act of 1997- Requires the maximum level of remediation of dry cleaning solvents in soil, surface water, groundwater, and other environmental media that a Federal, State, local agency, or court may require of a person engaged in dry cleaning, or of the owner of land or a facility in which such a person is conducting dry cleaning, to be one-tenth the equivalent exposure of the workplace standard for such solvents established by the Secretary of Labor under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. Requires: (1) the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to publish in the Federal Register its computation, based on realistic scientific assumptions, of equivalent exposure by ingestion, inhalation, and absorption indices for the general public, for environmental media in nonoccupational circumstances; and (2) the equivalent exposure to be calculated from the workplace standard for dry cleaning solvents which assures that no employee will suffer material impairment of health or functional capacity even if such employee has regular exposure for the employee's entire working lifetime. Specifies that nothing in this Act shall: (1) preempt or otherwise prevent a Federal, State, or local government or private party from remediating environmental media to a lower level than the maximum level of remediation at its own cost and expense; or (2) alter or affect the Federal drinking water standards under the Public Health Service Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
China Market Access and Export Opportunities Act of 1997 - Directs the President to increase the rate of duty with respect to one or more products of China if it is determined that China is not: (1) according adequate trade benefits to the United States; or (2) taking adequate steps or making significant proposals to become a World Trade Organization (WTO) member. Grants, upon China's accession to the WTO, nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation) treatment to Chinese products.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1997
Sportsmen's Bill of Rights Act - Requires Federal public land and water to be open to access and use for fishing and hunting except as limited by: (1) the State involved; or (2) the responsible Federal agency for reasons of national security, public safety, or specific authorization. Allows such land to be closed only during the period in which the reasons for such closure exist. Amends the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to cooperate with the Secretary of the Interior of Puerto Rico (currently the Secretary of Agriculture of Puerto Rico) in wildlife-restoration projects. Prohibits funds made available to the Secretary for expenses in the administration and execution of wildlife-restoration projects under such Act and the Federal Aid in Fish Restoration Act from being used as a supplement to decreased funding for any other expense of the Secretary. Prohibits a Federal agency's action that may significantly diminish opportunities or access to engage in fishing or hunting on Federal public land or water until the agency prepares a detailed statement evaluating the action's effect on fishing and hunting. Provides for judicial review of such action. Provides for intervention by an interested person in a civil action relating to the use of Federal public land or water for fishing or hunting. Provides standing to seek declaratory or injunctive relief regarding the implementation of this Act for an individual licensed to engage in fishing or hunting, or an organization representing the interests of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1997
Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1997 - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to proscribe bringing a private class action based upon State or municipal law in State or Federal court by any private party alleging: (1) an untrue statement or omission in connection with the purchase or sale of a covered security; or (2) that the defendant used any manipulative or deceptive device in connection with such a transaction. Declares that any class action brought in any State court involving a covered security shall be removable to the Federal district court for the district in which the action is pending.
![Official portrait of Rep. Gibbons, Jim [R-NV-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000152_200.jpg)