United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1997
Student Health Insurance Portability Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to apply health insurance portability, access, and renewability requirements to coverage offered in connection with a college-sponsored health plan as they apply to a group health plan. Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to include coverage under a college-sponsored plan in the definition of "creditable coverage."
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1997
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Class Action Relief Act of 1997 - Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to provide a moratorium between the date of enactment of this Act and December 31, 1998, on class certification, sanction imposition, or other proceedings with regard to class action lawsuits under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1997
Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to mandate a program for the conduct and support of research and training regarding Parkinson's disease. Directs the Director of the National Institutes of Health to provide for coordination of the program among all the national research institutes conducting Parkinson's research. Requires coordination to include the convening of a research planning conference at least once every two years. Provides for each such conference to prepare and submit to certain congressional committees a report concerning the conference. Requires Core Center Grants to encourage the development of innovative multidisciplinary research and provide training concerning Parkinson's, designating each grant recipient as a Morris K. Udall Center for Research on Parkinson's Disease. Establishes a grant program to support investigators with a proven record of excellence and innovation in Parkinson's research and who demonstrate potential for significant breakthroughs in the understanding of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of Parkinson's. Limits the availability of grants for a period not to exceed five years. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from taking land in trust for the benefit of an Indian or Indian tribe until the affected State and local jurisdictions have entered into a written agreement with the person or tribe regarding State and local sales and excise taxes. Exempts from such provision land taken into trust pursuant to: (1) an Act extending Federal recognition to a tribe; or (2) a judgment or order of a U.S. court.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
21st Century Classrooms Act for Private Technology Investment - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide businesses with a deduction for: (1) the donation of computer technology and equipment (within two years of production or acquisition) to elementary or secondary schools, tax-exempt entities supporting education, or private foundations that contribute such property to these entities; and (2) cash contributions used for such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Federal Facility Superfund Compliance Act of 1997 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to subject each department, agency, and instrumentality of the Federal Government to all Federal, State, interstate, and local requirements regarding response actions related to, or management of, hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants (current law refers only to compliance with CERCLA provisions) in the same manner and to the same extent as a nongovernmental entity. Waives any U.S. immunity otherwise applicable with respect to any such requirement. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue an abatement order to a Federal entity and requires initiation of an administrative enforcement action in the same manner and under the same circumstances as action would be initiated against any other person. Removes provisions for application (and preemption) of State laws concerning removal and remedial action at Federal facilities not on the National Priorities List. Precludes interagency remedial action agreements from impairing or diminishing State authority to enforce requirements of State law, unless such requirements have been addressed or waived without objection from the State.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Rural Environment Tax Credit Act - 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 (as defined by this Act); and (2) the amount allowed as a deduction for soil and water conservation expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that it recognizes: (1) the concern of the railroad industry that the current spousal annuity system is inadequate; and (2) that a process of dialogue must take place among all parties of the railroad community including rail labor, management, and retiree organizations before railroad annuity legislation can be enacted. Urges all parties to find a way to fund an amendment that would improve the survivor benefits component to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1997 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army or Naval Transport Service, during World War II constituted active military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge under such Act to each merchant marine member whose qualified service warrants such a discharge. Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee for any benefit application of a member possessing such qualified service.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Internet Tax Freedom Act - Prohibits a State or local government from imposing, assessing, or attempting to collect any tax or fee on the Internet or interactive computer services (ICs) or on their use. Preserves State and local taxing authority with respect to income, license, and sales taxes. Directs the Secretaries of the Treasury, Commerce, or State to: (1) undertake an examination of U.S. and international taxation of the Internet and ICs, as well as commerce conducted thereon; and (2) jointly submit to the President appropriate policy recommendations concerning such taxation. Directs the President to transmit to the appropriate congressional committees policy recommendations on the taxation of sales and other transactions effected on the Internet or through ICs. Requires all such recommendations to be consistent with policy statements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to state that the Federal Communications Commission or any equivalent State commission shall have no regulatory authority or jurisdiction with respect to charges paid by subscribers for ICs or information services transmitted through the Internet, except for the requirement that such services be provided at affordable rates to rural health care providers, schools, and libraries. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should seek bilateral and multilateral agreements through various international forums to establish that activity on the Internet and ICs be free from tariff and taxation.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Common Cents Stock Pricing Act of 1997 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to instruct the Securities and Exchange Commission to require quotations in dollars and cents (decimals) for equity securities transactions and prescribe an implementation schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1997 - Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund - Establishes in the Treasury the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Specifies that any individual who has a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection shall receive $125,000 from amounts available in the Fund if the individual meets one of the following conditions: (1) has a blood-clotting disorder and was treated with blood-clotting agents between July 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987; (2) is the lawful spouse of such individual or the former lawful spouse and was the lawful spouse of the individual at any time after a date within such period on which the individual was treated; or (3) acquired the HIV infection through perinatal transmission from a parent who is such an individual. Requires that the following conditions be met with respect to such individual: (1) the individual submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services written medical documentation that the individual has an HIV infection; (2) a petition for payment be filed with the Secretary by or on behalf of such individual; and (3) that the Secretary determine that the claim meets the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 105) Specifies that any right under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable. Sets limits regarding the number of claims per victim. (Sec. 106) Prohibits the Secretary from making any payment with respect to any petition filed under this Act unless the petition is filed within three years after the enactment of this Act. Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs - Prohibits a settlement payment from being considered income or resources in determining a class member's eligibility for, or the amount of: (1) medical assistance under the Medicaid program; or (2) benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program. Defines the terms: (1) "class member"; and (2) "settlement payment."
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
Amateur Radio Volunteer Services Act of 1997 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to provide that an individual licensee in the amateur radio service who provides volunteer services to the Federal Communications Commission shall be deemed to be a Federal employee only for purposes of Federal tort claims procedure (the adjudication of claims against Federal employees for damages or injuries caused by the employee while acting within the scope of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Tucker Act Shuffle Relief Act of 1997 - Authorizes a property owner to file a civil action to challenge the validity of any Federal agency action that adversely affects the owner's interest in private property in either the U.S. District Court or the United States Court of Federal Claims (Claims Court). Waives the sovereign immunity of the United States. Grants: (1) each court concurrent jurisdiction over both claims for monetary relief and claims seeking invalidation of any Act of Congress or any agency regulation affecting private property rights; (2) the plaintiff the election of the court in which to file a claim for relief; and (3) persons adversely affected by an agency action taken under this Act standing to challenge and seek judicial review of that action. Amends the Federal judicial code to modify the jurisdiction of the Claims Court, including to grant jurisdiction for invalidation of any Act of Congress or any regulation of an executive department that adversely affects private property rights in violation of the fifth amendment to the Constitution. Grants such Court, in cases within its jurisdiction: (1) the power to grant injunctive and declaratory relief when appropriate; and (2) ancillary jurisdiction to render judgment upon any related tort claim. Specifies provisions that apply in proceedings within such Court's jurisdiction which constitute judicial review of agency action. Repeals provisions regarding pendency of claims in other courts.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Americorps Program Elimination Act - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to repeal the National Service Trust Program (Americorps) under which certain persons who perform national or community service receive stipends and educational awards for such service.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the post-1987 reduction in the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides, beginning in 1999, for cost-of-living adjustments in the State ceiling on such bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the credit for increasing research activities. Removes a restriction on electing the alternative incremental credit.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit performing a partial birth abortion in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, unless it is necessary to save the life of the mother and no other medical procedure would suffice. Defines "partial-birth abortion" as an abortion in which the person performing the procedure partially vaginally delivers a living fetus before killing the infant and completing the delivery. Prescribes penalties. Authorizes the father and, if the mother is under 18 years of age, the maternal grandparents of the fetus to obtain specified relief in a civil action, even if the mother consented to the abortion, unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct or the plaintiff consented to the abortion. Prohibits the prosecution of a woman upon whom a partial-birth abortion is performed for conspiracy to violate this Act or under provisions regarding punishment as a principal or an accessory or for concealment of a felony.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to mandate that disclosure documents accompanying any proxy, consent, or authorization solicited by an issuer of registered securities prior to a shareholder meeting include a disclosure of the issuer's charitable contributions during the preceding fiscal year, including the identity of each recipient and the amount provided.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require each issuer of a registered security to afford its shareholders the opportunity to participate through a proxy, consent, or authorization in the designation of recipients of the issuer's charitable contributions. Authorizes the Securities and Exchange Commission to grant exemptions from this requirement for gifts of tangible personal property, gifts to public or private nonprofit educational institutions, and gifts to local charities.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
International Telecommunications Investment Clarification Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit any broadcast radio station license from being granted to or held by any corporation of which more than one-fifth of the capital stock is owned or voted by aliens or by a foreign corporation, or any corporation directly or indirectly controlled by any other corporation of which more than one-fourth of the capital stock is owned or voted by aliens or by a foreign corporation, if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) finds that the public interest will be served by the refusal or revocation of such license. Provides a similar prohibition with respect to the granting of licenses for a common carrier or aeronautical en route or aeronautical fixed radio station. Prohibits the FCC from denying a license to land or operate submarine cable solely on the grounds that such license will be issued to a corporation owned by aliens or by a foreign corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Family Freedom Home Office Deduction Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the deduction for home office expenses if a portion of a dwelling unit is used as the sole fixed location of business for a taxpayer who has no other fixed location of business, regardless of: (1) the amount of time or type of work performed in such location; or (2) the proportion of the total income from the business attributable to such location.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Sikhs of Khalistan have the right to self-determination in their homeland, Punjab, Khalistan; and (2) an internationally supervised plebiscite should be held in Punjab on the question of independence.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1997
Requires the U.S. Postal Service to establish a discount presort first-class postage rate for specified local governmental mailings that are mandated by Federal or State law, such as property tax statements, summonses, and jury-duty pay, but for which no Federal or State funds are provided to local governments to defray the associated administrative costs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
American Land Sovereignty Protection Act - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from nominating any Federal lands for inclusion on the World Heritage List pursuant to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage unless: (1) the Secretary finds that commercially viable uses of nominated lands (including lands located within ten miles of them) will not be adversely affected by such inclusion, and publishes that finding; (2) the Secretary has reported to the Congress on the lands' natural resources and the impact that the inclusion would have on existing and future uses of such lands; and (3) such nomination is specifically authorized by a law. (Sec. 3) Authorizes the President to submit proposals for legislation authorizing such a nomination. Requires the Secretary to object to the inclusion of any property in the United States on the list of World Heritage in Danger (established under the Convention) unless the Secretary: (1) has reported to the Congress on the necessity for such inclusion, including the natural resources associated with the property, and the impact that such inclusion would have on existing and future uses of such property; and (2) is specifically authorized to assent to the inclusion by a joint resolution of the Congress enacted after the report is submitted. Directs the Secretary to report annually to specified congressional committees certain information on each World Heritage Site within the United States. (Sec. 4) Prohibits Federal officials from nominating lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Provides that any such designation shall not have, and shall not be given, any force or effect, unless the Biosphere Reserve: (1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted before December 31, 2000; (2) consists solely of federally-owned lands; and (3) is subject to a management plan that specifically ensures that the use of intermixed or adjacent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted as a result of that designation. Directs the Secretary of State to report annually to specified congressional committees information on each Biosphere Reserve within the United States. (Sec. 5) Prohibits, under any international agreement (with exceptions under certain wetlands agreements and conventions), the nomination, classification, or designation of: (1) federally-owned lands located within the United States for a special or restricted use unless specifically authorized by law; (2) State or local government lands unless specifically authorized by State or local law; or (3) privately owned lands without the owner's consent.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Biomaterials Access Assurance Act of 1997 - Provides that, in any civil action, a biomaterials supplier (one who supplies components or raw materials used to manufacture implants) may raise any defense provided under this Act. Exempts a biomaterials supplier from liability for harm to a claimant caused by an implant, with exceptions in the case of a supplier who: (1) is a registered manufacturer of the implant; (2) is a seller of the implant and who held title to the implant at the time of sale (or is related by common ownership or control to such a seller); or (3) furnishes raw materials or components that fail to meet applicable contractual requirements or specifications. States that a supplier may be considered a manufacturer of an implant, for purposes of such civil actions, only if the supplier has registered with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and included the implant on a list of devices filed pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Requires claimant payment of attorney's fees if the court finds the claim to be without merit and frivolous.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Commemorative Coins Title II: Circulating Coins Marian Anderson Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Title I: Commemorative Coins - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) mint and issue one-dollar and half-dollar coins in commemoration of the centennial of the birth of Marian Anderson; and (2) allocate sales surcharges to the Smithsonian Institution, the Public Broadcasting Fund, and the National Museum of American History for the support of the National Numismatic Collection. Title II: Circulating Coins - Amends Federal currency law to provide that at the Secretary's discretion, half-dollar coins minted after specified dates may bear the same design as the commemorative coins minted under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1992 to repeal restrictions on certain plumbing products and appliances, including showerheads, faucets, water closets, and urinals.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1997
Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 1995 (sic) - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to include certain service in the organized military forces of the Philippines and service as Philippine Scouts within the definition of active U.S. military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits for former active-duty military personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1997
Patent Term Restoration Act of 1997 - Amends provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act that revise Federal patent law to provide that a patent term shall be the later of 17 years from the date the patent is granted or 20 years from the date the application was filed in the United States. Provides that if the application contains a reference to the earlier application, the term shall be 20 years from the date the earliest application was filed. Requires the term of a patent that is in force or results from an application filed within six months after the Uruguay Round Agreements Act enactment date to be the term provided in this Act. Revises Federal patent law requirements for confidentiality of patent applications to set out: (1) the special circumstances under which such applications can be made public; or (2) in the case of a patent application for an invention for which the applicant intends to file or has filed for a patent in a foreign country, the limited data which the Commissioner of Patents may disclose. Authorizes an applicant to petition the Commissioner of the Patent and Trademark Office to review a determination to publish a patent application. Prohibits the Commissioner from publishing an application prior to the completion of the review.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1997
Fairness in Musical Licensing Act of 1997 - Revises Federal copyright law to provide that communication by electronic device of a transmission embodying a performance or display of a nondramatic musical work by the reception of a broadcast, cable, satellite, or other transmission shall not be a copyright infringement unless: (1) an admission fee is charged to see or hear the transmission at a particular time or on a particular date or dates; or (2) the transmission is not properly licensed. Applies the infringement exemption for the performance of a nondramatic musical work at an annual agricultural or horticultural fair or exhibition to such performance at agricultural or horticultural fairs, exhibitions, conventions, meetings, and events. Excludes as a copyright infringement the performance of a nondramatic musical work: (1) by a commercial establishment at no charge when a purpose of the performance is to promote audio, video, or other devices utilized in such performance; and (2) at an organized children's camp if the children in attendance sing, dance, or participate in all or a portion of such work, or when the performance is of an instructional nature. (Sec. 3) Specifies that if a general music user and a performing rights society are unable to agree on the appropriate fee to be paid for the user's past or future performance of musical works in the society's repertoire, the user shall be entitled to binding arbitration of such disagreement pursuant to the rules of the American Arbitration Association in lieu of any other dispute-resolution mechanism established by any judgment or decree governing the operation of such society. Requires the arbitrator to determine a fair and reasonable fee for the user's past and future performance of works in such society's repertoire and to impose a penalty for infringement if the user's past performance infringed the copyright of such works. Makes an arbitrator's determination binding on both parties. Sets forth provisions regarding civil actions for infringement that may be submitted to arbitration if the license fee for a performance is contested. (Sec. 4) Requires a performing rights society, at the request of any radio broadcaster, to offer the broadcaster a per programming period license to perform nondramatic musical works in its repertoire. Directs that such license be offered on terms and conditions that provide an economically and administratively viable alternative to the society's blanket license for all such broadcasters. Sets forth provisions regarding prices of such licenses. Authorizes radio broadcasters entitled to a per programming period license to bring actions to require compliance with such requirements. (Sec. 5) Directs each performing rights society to make available free online computer access to copyright and licensing information for each work in its repertoire as well as a semiannual printed directory of each title in its repertoire. Requires such society, upon request, to provide to any person who may perform musical works in its repertoire copies of documentation establishing the society's right to license the public performance of such works. Bars a society from instituting or being a party to any action alleging infringement in, or charging a fee under any per programming period license for, any work in the repertoire that is not identified or documented as described above, with exceptions. (Sec. 6) Requires the Attorney General to report annually to the Congress on the activities of the Department of Justice relating to the continuing supervision and enforcement of specified consent decrees of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers and Broadcast Music, Inc. (Sec. 7) Sets forth conditions under which landlords, organizers of conventions, or others making space available to another party are exempt from liability under any theory of vicarious or contributory infringement with respect to an infringing public performance of a copyrighted work by a tenant, lessee, or other user of such space.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1997
Prohibits, if a State has a law prohibiting the sale of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18 or 19, the Food and Drug Administration from taking enforcement action against a cigarette and smokeless tobacco products retailer for the sale of such items in that State if the sale is a face-to-face transaction conducted in accordance with State law.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1997
Security and Freedom Through Encryption (SAFE) Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to permit any person within any State, and any U.S. person in a foreign country, to use any encryption regardless of the encryption algorithm selected, encryption key length chosen, or implementation technique or medium used, with an exception for the unlawful use of encryption in furtherance of a criminal act. Allows any person within any State to sell in interstate commerce any encryption. Specifies that no person in lawful possession of a key to encrypted information may be required by Federal or State law to relinquish to another person control of that key, with an exception for access for law enforcement purposes. Sets penalties for the willful use of encryption in furtherance of the commission of a criminal offense. (Sec. 3) Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to grant the Secretary of Commerce exclusive authority to control exports of all hardware, software, and technology for information security (including encryption), except that which is specifically designed or modified for military use. Prohibits requiring any validated license (with limited exceptions pursuant to the Trading With The Enemy Act or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act) for the export or reexport of any: (1) software, including software with encryption capabilities that is generally available as is and that is designed for installation by the purchaser, or that is in the public domain for which copyright or other protection is not available or is available to the public because it is generally accessible to the public in any form; or (2) computing device solely because it incorporates or employs in any form software (including software with encryption capabilities) exempted from any requirement for a validated license under this section. Directs the Secretary to authorize the export or reexport of: (1) software with encryption capabilities for nonmilitary end-uses in any country to which exports of software of similar capability are permitted for use by financial institutions not controlled in fact by U.S. persons, unless there is substantial evidence that such software will be diverted to a military end-use or an end-use supporting international terrorism, modified for military or authorization that may be required under the Act; and (2) computer hardware with encryption capabilities if the Secretary determines that a product offering comparable security is commercially available outside the United States from a foreign supplier without effective restrictions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt certain small businesses from the required use of the electronic fund transfer system for depository taxes. Revises specified deposit phase-in provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Commemorative Coins Title II: Circulating Coins Thomas Alva Edison Sesquicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Title I: Commemorative Coins - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the inventions of Thomas Alva Edison in commemoration of the sesquicentennial of his birth. Directs the Secretary to conduct an open design competition for the design of the obverse and reverse of the coins. Terminates the authority to mint such coins after December 31, 1997. Requires that certain surcharges received from coin sales be distributed to specified entities. Title II: Circulating Coins - Amends Federal law to declare that half-dollar coins minted between specified dates shall have the same design as the commemorative coins minted under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1997
Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Amendments Act of 1997- Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to distribute to States at least 85 percent of the funds appropriated to EPA from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund each fiscal year for the reasonable costs under cooperative agreements of: (1) State actions under the EPA program for petroleum release responses; (2) necessary administrative expenses directly related to corrective action and compensation programs under State financial responsibility requirements; (3) such programs in any instance, as determined by the State, in which an owner's or operator's financial resources (excluding resources provided by such programs) are inadequate to pay the costs of a corrective action without significantly impairing the ability to continue in business; (4) enforcement of an approved State or local underground storage tank (UST) program or similar provisions; and (5) State and local corrective actions pursuant to regulations regarding corrective action in response to UST releases. Prohibits use of such funds to provide financial assistance to an owner or operator in meeting regulatory requirements for upgrading of existing UST systems. Sets forth requirements for allocation of funds to States. Makes inapplicable to Trust Fund amounts provided to owners or operators under programs described in (2), above, provisions for recovery of petroleum release corrective or enforcement action costs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 1997
Amends the Clean Air Act to delete from the glycol ether category in the list of hazardous air pollutants ethylene glycol monobutyl ether as used or emitted by metal or composite can manufacturing. Amends the toxic chemical release forms provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to delete from the lists of toxic chemicals and extremely hazardous substances employed under such Act any substance that has been deleted or removed from the hazardous air pollutants list unless the Administrator demonstrates on the basis of convincing evidence significant human health or environmental threats posed by the substance's storage, use, or release.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the taxes excluded from a requirement to transfer taxes to the Highway Trust Fund. Increases the rate of transfer to the Mass Transit Account. Requires transfer to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund of aviation fuel taxes (currently, aviation fuel taxes to the extent attributable to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund financing rate).
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Patient Right to Know Act - Prohibits any contract or agreement, or the operation of any contract or agreement, between an entity operating a health plan (including any partnership, association, or other organization that enters into or administers such a contract or agreement) and a health care provider (or group of health care providers) from prohibiting or restricting the provider from engaging in medical communications with his or her patient. Requires that each State shall enforce this Act with respect to health insurance issuers that sell, renew, or offer health plans in the State. Provides for enforcement of this Act by the Secretary of Health and Human Services if the Secretary, after consultation with the chief executive officer of a State and the insurance commissioner or chief insurance regulatory official of the State, determines that the State has failed to substantially enforce the requirements. Mandates a civil money penalty. Allows State requirements equal to or more protective of medical communications than the requirements of this Act. Defines "medical communication" as a communication between a provider and a patient (or the patient's guardian or legal representative) regarding the patient's health status, medical care, or treatment options.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Medicare Hospice Benefit Amendments of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to hospice care to: (1) restructure the hospice care benefit period; (2) cover any other item or service which is specified in the plan and for which payment may otherwise be made under Medicare; (3) permit contracting with independent physicians or physician groups for hospice care services; (4) allow waiver of certain staffing requirements for hospice care programs in non-urbanized areas; (5) define coverage denial, with respect to the limitation on the liability of beneficiaries and providers, to mean a determination that an individual is not terminally ill; and (6) extend the period for physician certification of an individual's terminal illness.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that cost-of-living adjustments for Federal retirees should be paid beginning in January of each year, as current law prescribes, and should not be delayed, whether as part of a budget agreement or otherwise.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Requires the establishment of a budget reserve account to provide for funding in the event of natural disasters and national security emergencies. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to include such funding in the budget process. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to repeal provisions relating to emergency appropriations. Requires annual reports to the Congress on expenditures from such account.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Telemarketing Fraud Prevention Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for civil and criminal forfeiture of the proceeds of telemarketing fraud. Directs that any property forfeited, or the proceeds of such property, be used to the extent needed, as determined by the Attorney General, for the national information hotline established under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and other telemarketing fraud enforcement. Grants the payment of mandatory restitution for telemarketing fraud priority over the payment of restitution in connection with the commission of a Federal health care offense. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to increase: (1) by two levels the vulnerable victim adjustment; and (2) the offense level for any fraud offense by two levels if the defendant conducted activities to further the fraud from a foreign country in order to impede prosecution for the offense. Requires any presentence report required under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to include information about the age of each victim of each fraud offense for which a defendant is convicted.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Marine Resources Revitalization Act of 1997 - Amends the National Sea Grant College Program Act to add or modify various definitions. Modifies the duties of the Program's Director. Sets forth the duties of sea grant institutions (defined as sea grant colleges, sea grant regional consortia, and certain types of entities conducting a sea grant program with amounts under the Act), including merit-reviewing grant and contract applications. Repeals provisions relating to the sea grant international program. Revises requirements for designating sea grant colleges and consortia. Repeals provisions mandating postdoctoral fellowships. Authorizes appropriations for grants, contracts, and fellowships. Removes the separate authorization of appropriations for administration, limiting administration expenditures to a percentage of funds appropriated for grants, contracts, and fellowships. Repeals provisions authorizing appropriations for priority oyster disease research. Modifies the maximum pay for the Program's Director and for voting members of the sea grant review panel.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Subsidy Termination for Overdue Payments Act of 1997 - Prohibits a Federal agency or instrumentality from providing financial assistance, with specified exceptions, without certification that the applicant is: (1) not more than 60 days delinquent in the payment of a child support payment order; or (2) in compliance, if so delinquent, with an agreement regarding support collection with the person to whom payment is to be made or a State providing collection services to that person.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Retirement Savings Incentives Subtitle A: Restoration of IRA Deduction Subtitle B: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs Title II: Penalty-Free Distributions Savings and Investment Incentive Act of 1997 - Title I: Retirement Savings Incentives - Subtitle A: Restoration of IRA Deduction - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the deduction for individual retirement accounts (IRAs), to increase the income limits applicable to active participants. Removes limitations on a spouse's participation. (Sec. 102) Provides an inflation adjustment for the deductible amount. (Sec. 103) Revises provisions concerning the allowance of certain coins and bullion as IRA investments. Subtitle B: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs - Permits individuals to establish IRA Plus accounts which shall be treated similarly to an IRA plan. Prohibits deductions for contributions to such accounts. Sets forth distribution rules (including the exclusion of qualified distributions from gross income). Title II: Penalty-Free Distributions - Permits distributions without penalty for qualified: (1) first home purchases; (2) higher education expenses; and (3) unemployed individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Community Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to exempt qualified current and former law enforcement officers carrying appropriate written identification of such status from State and local laws prohibiting the carrying of a concealed handgun.
![Official portrait of Rep. Gillmor, Paul E. [R-OH-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000210_200.jpg)