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United States · Official source
1,931 records where Rep. Goss, Porter J. [R-FL-14] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Boating Industry Jobs Preservation Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the luxury excise tax on boats.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the luxury excise tax on boats.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Common Sense Budget Act of 1993 - Amends Federal law to require both the President and the Congress to draft a budget based on estimates of current fiscal year spending, proposing increases or decreases based on this level (rather than on an estimated baseline). Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office to use such a current fiscal year baseline in its report to the congressional budget committees, projecting growth for entitlement and discretionary spending based on current fiscal year spending.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Makes the Florida panther an endangered species for purposes of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Amends Federal law to deny annuity benefits to a Member of Congress convicted of a State or Federal felony. Authorizes the restoration of such annuity: (1) if the individual is pardoned by the Governor in the case of a felony under State law; or (2) in the case of a reversal.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Garnishment Equalization Act of 1993 - Provides for the treatment of Federal pay in the same manner as non-Federal pay with respect to garnishment. Allows administrative costs to be included in such garnishment.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to delete provisions requiring an automatic cost-of-living adjustment for Members of Congress. Nullifies such pay adjustments for Members of Congress occurring since December 31, 1992.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Federal Mandate Relief Act of 1993 - Provides that any requirement under a Federal statute or regulation that a State or local government conduct an activity (including a requirement that a government meet national standards in providing a service) shall apply to the government only if all funds necessary to pay the direct costs incurred by the government in conducting the activity are provided by the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Family Health and Wellness Savings Plan Title II: Tax Treatment of Long-Term Care Insurance and Plans Subtitle A: Treatment of Long-Term Care Insurance Subtitle B: Employer Funding of Medical Benefits Subtitle C: Reverse Mortgage Insurance for Older Americans Subtitle D: Income Tax Credits Subtitle E: Treatment of Accelerated Death Benefits Subtitle F: Federal National Long-Term Care Reinsurance Corporation Title III: Malpractice Liability Reform Title IV: Working Americans Access To Health Care Subtitle A: Increase in Small Employer Access to Affordable Health Insurance Subtitle B: Equalization of Tax Benefits for Self-Employed Persons Under Certain Plans Subtitle C: Managed Care Rights Subtitle D: Study and Report Title V: Administrative Cost Savings Subtitle A: Standardization of Claims Processing Subtitle B: Electronic Medical Data Standards Subtitle C: Development and Distribution of Comparative Value Information Subtitle D: Additional Standards and Requirements; Research and Demonstrations Health Care Choice and Access Improvement Act of 1993 - Title I: Family Health and Wellness Savings Plan - (Sec. 101) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a tax deduction for contributions made to a medical care savings account established for the benefit of an eligible individual. Defines an eligible individual as one who: (1) is not covered by an employer-provided group health plan; or (2) is covered by a qualified employer-provided catastrophic coverage health plan but not by any other health plan. Allows such deduction in arriving at adjusted gross income. Includes any non-medical distributions from such an account in gross income and assesses an additional tax. Establishes an excise tax for excess contributions to medical care savings accounts. (Sec. 102) Allows the transfer of unused amounts in flexible spending accounts of cafeteria plans to medical savings accounts. (Sec. 103) Allows the full deduction for medical, dental, etc., expenses for amounts paid for qualified catastrophic coverage health plans. Title II: Tax Treatment of Long-Term Care Insurance and Plans - (Sec. 201) Provides for the treatment of long-term care insurance as: (1) accident and health insurance for life insurance company taxation; and (2) a tax-free fringe benefit. (Sec. 203) Excludes from gross income amounts withdrawn from individual retirement accounts or qualified pension plans for such insurance. (Sec. 204) Permits the non-taxable exchange of life insurance policies for long-term care insurance by individuals over age 59 1/2. (Sec. 211) Revises provisions governing retiree medical benefits. Authorizes employer health benefit account contribution deductions. (Sec. 212) Imposes a medical benefits early distribution penalty and an excise tax on allocated assets not used to provide retiree benefits. (Sec. 221) Amends the National Housing Act to limit insurance of elderly homeowner home equity conversion mortgages. (Sec. 231) Allows credits for: (1) households including relatives or dependents requiring custodial care; and (2) the long-term care expenses of independent persons. (Sec. 241) Allows accelerated death benefits to be: (1) paid to certain individuals; and (2) treated as life insurance. (Sec. 251) Authorizes incorporation of the Federal National Long-Term Care Reinsurance Corporation. Title III: Malpractice Liability Reform - (Sec. 302) Declares that a State meets the requirements of these provisions if it has enacted laws or regulations: (1) regarding health care liability actions, allowing several but not joint liability for noneconomic damages, limiting the dollar amount of noneconomic damages, mandating offsets for collateral source payments, regulating the treatment of payments for future economic losses, limiting attorney's fees, and providing special rules for certain obstetric services; (2) implementing at least one mediation or pretrial screening panel; and (3) taking specified steps regarding quality assurance reform. (Sec. 305) Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to reduce payments to hospitals (regarding Medicare) and States (regarding Medicaid) in States not in compliance. Makes additional hospital payments in States in compliance. (Sec. 306) Amends Federal law relating to tort claims against the United States to set forth special rules similar to the State health care liability reform requirements under this title. Title IV: Working Americans Access to Health Care - (Sec. 401) Provides for model standards regarding requirements of this title. Allows more stringent State standards. (Sec. 402) Preempts certain State laws concerning small employer health benefit plans. (Sec. 403) Requires small employer carriers to offer MedEquity plans, defined as: (1) providing only basic benefits; (2) guaranteeing issue; (3) meeting writing, premium increase, and market reentry standards; and (4) providing for cost containment. Requires each plan to accept every small employer applicant and enroll every full time employee applicant. Provides for cost containment models. (Sec. 404) Sets forth requirements regarding pre-existing conditions, premiums, rating practices, actuarial certification, registration, minimum participation, renewability, premium increases, and market reentry. (Sec. 406) Provides for reinsurance models, requiring establishment of mechanisms in each State. (Sec. 409) Sets forth requirements for being considered a small employer purchasing group. Preempts State laws, with regard to such groups, regarding health plans, premium taxes, and managed care. (Sec. 411) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase and make permanent health insurance deductions for self-employed individuals. (Sec. 421) Preempts State laws relating to reimbursement rates, selective contracting, differential financial incentives, and utilization review methods. Title V: Administrative Cost Savings - (Sec. 501) Provides for standards regarding medical data elements, uniform claims forms and data transmission. (Sec. 512) Requires electronic maintenance or transmittal by: (1) Medicare-participating and veterans' hospitals; and (2) providers required under a Federal program to transmit data. (Sec. 514) Prohibits benefit plans from requiring data elements not in the standards. (Sec. 515) Establishes a standards advisory commission. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 521) Authorizes grants for comparative value information systems covering service prices and quality and outcomes data. Authorizes appropriations. Mandates similar Federal information. (Sec. 524) Mandates model systems for such information. Authorizes standards and appropriations. (Sec. 531) Provides for magnetized Medicare and Medicaid cards. Mandates a system on plans that are primary Medicare and Medicaid payors. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 532) Preempts State laws requiring written records. (Sec. 533) Requires benefit plans to use social security number identifiers. (Sec. 534) Provides for standards regarding coordination of benefits. (Sec. 535) Mandates grants regarding patient care application of information systems. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes grants regarding: (1) communications between plan and provider systems; (2) regional or community-based clinical information systems; and (3) developing data elements. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improved Access to Affordable Health Care Coverage Subtitle A: Increased Affordability and Availability for Employees Subtitle B: Improved Small Employer Purchasing Power of Affordable Health Insurance Subtitle C: Health Deduction Fairness Subtitle D: Improved Access to Community Health Services Subtitle E: Improved Access to Rural Health Services Title II: Health Care Cost Containment and Quality Enhancement Subtitle A: Medical Malpractice Liability Reform Subtitle B: Administrative Cost Savings Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts (Medisave) Subtitle D: Medicaid Program Flexibility Subtitle E: Limitations on Physician Self-Referrals Subtitle F: Removing Restrictions on Managed Care Subtitle G: Medicare Payment Changes Subtitle H: Limitation of Antitrust Recovery for Certain Hospital Joint Ventures Subtitle I: Encouraging Enforcement Activities of Medical Self-Regulatory Entities Action Now Health Care Reform Act of 1993 - Title I: Improved Access to Affordable Health Care Coverage - (Sec. 102) Preempts inconsistent State laws. (Sec. 103) Requires small employer health insurance carriers to offer a MedAccess basic plan (providing only benefits for essential preventive and medical services and having an actuarial value not over 60 percent of a MedAccess standard plan) and a MedAccess standard plan (providing benefits typical of the small employer market). Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to tax the failure of a carrier or plan to comply with related standards. Mandates: (1) acceptance of every small employer and full-time employee; or (2) in States that so provide, allocation of risk. (Sec. 104) Regulates pre-existing condition requirements, premiums, rating practices disclosure, minimum participation requirements, and renewability. (Sec. 108) Mandates development of models for reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms. Requires State (or Federal) establishment of at least one mechanism in each State. Amends the IRC to impose a tax in any such Federal reinsurance State. (Sec. 110) Establishes the Office of Private Health Care Coverage and a related advisory committee. (Sec. 111) Authorizes research and demonstration projects on the impact of these provisions on the availability of affordable small employer coverage. Requires: (1) methods for measuring the relative health risks of eligible individuals; and (2) a model for equitably distributing health risks among small employer carriers. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 121) Preempts State laws: (1) requiring the offering of health plans providing certain services; and (2) prohibiting employer groups from purchasing health insurance. (Sec. 131) Amends the IRC to increase and make permanent deductions for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. (Sec. 141) Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to provide for grants to: (1) migrant and community health centers and to entities providing health services for the homeless to promote primary health services for underserved individuals; and (2) increase access to outpatient primary services in certain geographic areas. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 171) Changes the heading of title XII (Trauma Care) of the PHSA to "Emergency Medical Services" and makes similar changes to references within the title. (Sec. 172) Authorizes grants to States for State offices of emergency medical services. (Sec. 173) Requires projects under existing provisions to include demonstrations on telecommunications between rural medical facilities and other medical facilities with useful expertise or equipment. (Sec. 174) Authorizes appropriations to carry out specified provisions of title XII. (Sec. 181) Mandates grants to States for rural air medical transport systems. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 191) Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend special payments for the inpatient services of small, rural Medicare-dependent hospitals. Title II: Health Care Cost Containment and Quality Enhancement - (Sec. 211) Reforms medical malpractice regarding: (1) a statute of limitations; (2) use of alternative dispute resolution systems (ADRs), including for claims against the United States; (3) settlement offers and conferences; (4) noneconomic and punitive damages; (5) periodic payment for future damages; (6) mandatory offsets for collateral source payments; (7) contingent attorney's fees; (8) several and joint liability; (9) findings of negligence; (10) practice guidelines sanctioned as affirmative defenses; (11) the standard of proof regarding certain labor and delivery circumstances; (12) supersedure of certain State laws; and (13) establishment and certification of State ADRs. (Sec. 241) Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to authorize appropriations for sanctioning guidelines as affirmative defenses. Mandates: (1) research and demonstrations on the use of data on malpractice actions; and (2) development of a standard reporting form for State ADRs in transmitting information on disputes resolved. (Sec. 242) Authorizes State professional disciplinary agencies to make agreements with professional societies to allow the societies to: (1) participate in licensing; and (2) review malpractice allegations or other information on the practice patterns of a practitioner. (Sec. 243) Requires each health professional and provider to participate in a risk management program. (Sec. 244) Mandates grants: (1) for basic research on malpractice prevention and compensation and outcomes research; (2) to States to improve licensing and discipline; and (3) for public education on appropriate health care use and realistic expectations, public education on the resources and role of licensing and disciplinary boards, and development of faculty training and curricula regarding quality assurance, risk management, and medical injury protection. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 245) Mandates a study on factors preventing or discouraging physicians from volunteering in medically underserved areas. (Sec. 251) Regulates: (1) data elements, uniform claims forms, and uniform electronic transmission of data elements; (2) provider claims submission; and (3) hospital and non-hospital electronic medical data. (Sec. 262) Requires hospitals, in order to participate in Medicare, to maintain and electronically transmit clinical data on patients in a set of electronic comprehensive data elements. (Sec. 263) Provides for electronic transmission of data elements to Federal agencies. (Sec. 264) Prohibits plans from requiring that a provider provide any data element not in the set or transmit any data element in a manner inconsistent with standards. (Sec. 265) Establishes an advisory commission. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 271) Provides for a comparative health care value program in each State. Authorizes grants and appropriations. (Sec. 273) Requires each Federal agency concerned with health insurance or care to develop comparative value information. (Sec. 274) Mandates model systems for the gathering and analysis of data on health care cost, quality, and outcome. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 281) Provides for standards regarding Medicare and Medicaid identification cards. Establishes a Medicare and Medicaid system to provide information on primary payors. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 282) Nullifies any State law requiring that medical or health insurance records be maintained in written rather than electronic form. (Sec. 283) Provides for standards regarding: (1) beneficiary and provider identification numbers; and (2) coordination of benefits. (Sec. 285) Mandates grants to demonstrate the application of comprehensive information systems in continuously monitoring patient care and improving patient care. Authorizes appropriations from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Authorizes grants for: (1) communication links between plan and provider information systems; (2) regional or community-based clinical information systems; and (3) developing and testing, for physicians and non-hospital entities, the definition of a comprehensive data set and the specification and presentation of individual data elements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 291) Amends the IRC to exclude from an employee's gross income any amount contributed by the employer to a trust created exclusively to pay an individual's medical expenses (medical savings account). Sets contribution limits. Subjects the employee to taxation as owner of the account. (Sec. 301) Amends Medicaid provisions to modify contracting requirements for coordinated care services. (Sec. 311) Amends Medicare provisions to extend physician self-referral limitations to all payors and certain additional services. Revises exceptions. (Sec. 314) Mandates a study to estimate the changes in aggregate costs that will result from the amendments made by these provisions. (Sec. 321) Preempts managed care restrictions under State law. Mandates a study of managed care benefits and cost effectiveness. (Sec. 331) Amends Medicare provisions to revise the method for determining prospective payment updates to hospitals. (Sec. 332) Lowers the limitation amount and suspends certain annual adjustments regarding clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. (Sec. 343) Limits antitrust recovery to actual damages if certain requirements are met, including the filing and publication of information regarding hospital joint ventures. (Sec. 345) Establishes the Interagency Committee on Competition, Antitrust Policy, and Health Care. (Sec. 351) Prohibits, subject to exception, damages and other recovery under the Clayton Act or similar State laws from a medical self-regulatory entity engaging in standard setting or enforcement activities designed to promote the quality of health care and not conducted for financial gain.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Life Imprisonment for Egregious Recidivists Act of 1993 - Amends the Federal criminal code to require the court, in the case of a conviction for a Federal violent felony, to sentence the defendant to life imprisonment if the defendant has previously been convicted of two other violent felonies. Specifies that this provision shall not be construed to prevent the imposition of the death penalty.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Elevation of the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet Level Title II: Environmental Role of the United States in International Organizations to Which it Belongs Title III: Establishment of the Commission on Improving Environmental Protection Title IV: Effective Date Department of the Environment Act of 1993- Title I: Elevation of the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet Level - Department of the Environment Act - Redesignates the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the Department of the Environment. Encourages the Secretary of the Environment to: (1) assist the Secretary of State in participating in international environmental protection agreements and organizations; (2) conduct research on and develop responses to international environmental problems; and (3) provide assistance to foreign countries and international bodies to improve the environment. Establishes a Bureau of Environmental Statistics and an Advisory Council on Environmental Statistics. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes grants to, and contracts with, State and local governments to assist in data collection. Directs the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences for a report on the adequacy of the Department's data collection procedures and capabilities. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth conflict-of-interest disclosure requirements for persons entering into arrangements for services with the Secretary. Requires public notice when the award of a contract may result in a conflict of interests. Title II: Environmental Role of the United States in International Organizations to Which It Belongs - Urges the Secretary of State to convene international conferences to encourage the exchange of information on energy efficiency and environmentally acceptable renewable energy sources. Requires the President to encourage the establishment of an international office to monitor annual generation of carbon dioxide and trace gases on a country-by-country basis. Title III: Establishment of the Commission on Improving Environmental Protection - Establishes the Commission on Improving Environmental Protection to make recommendations on the implementation of Federal environmental laws to protect human health and the environment. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1993 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army 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 for such qualified service.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Black Bear Protection Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce under the Export Administration Act of 1979 to prohibit the export of American black bear viscera. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to report to the Congress on the American black bear viscera trade. Requires the United States Trade Representative to discuss issues involving such trade with
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1993 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President legislative line item veto rescission authority. Makes such a rescission effective unless the Congress, during a review period of 20 calendar days, enacts a rescission disapproval bill.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 1993 - Grants the President legislative line item veto rescission authority. Authorizes the President to rescind all or part of any budget authority if the President determines that such rescission: (1) would help balance the Federal budget, reduce the Federal budget deficit, or reduce the public debt; (2) will not impair any essential Government functions; (3) will not harm the national interest; and (4) will directly contribute to the purpose of this Act of limiting discretionary spending in FY 1994 or 1995. Requires the President to notify the Congress of such a rescission by special message after enactment of appropriations legislation for FY 1994 or 1995. Makes such a rescission effective unless the Congress enacts a rescission disapproval bill. Describes: (1) information to be included in the President's message; and (2) procedures to govern consideration of rescission disapproval legislation in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Freedom from Government Competition Act of 1992 (sic) - Requires Federal agencies to obtain all goods and services necessary for or beneficial to the accomplishment of their authorized functions by procurement from private sources unless: (1) the goods or services are required by law to be produced or performed, respectively, by the agency; or (2) the head of the agency determines and certifies to the Congress that Government production, manufacture, or provision of a good or service is necessary for national defense, that a good or service is so inherently governmental in nature that it is in the public interest to require production or performance by a Government employee, or that there is no private source capable of providing the good or service. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to study and report to the Congress on: (1) agency activities which are inconsistent with such requirements; and (2) a schedule for transferring such activities to the private sector.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
White House Personnel Reauthorization Act of 1993 - Revises Federal law with respect to the office and compensation of the President and related matters. Requires the President to submit to the Congress reports on: (1) expenditures of executive branch entities made by or on behalf of the President, Vice President, or any component of the Executive Office of the President; (2) how amounts appropriated pursuant to such law were obligated or expended; and (3) the utilization of Government aircraft. Requires such reports to be made available to the public. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1993 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to such retirement pay is based solely on age, length of service, or both. Reduces the retirement pay of individuals receiving both types of pay by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total. Declares that, once the Federal budget deficit has been reduced, the Congress should reexamine and eliminate any offset of retired pay by a veteran's disability compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Superconducting Super Collider Termination Act of 1993 - Prohibits the use or obligation of Federal funds for the Superconducting Super Collider Project, except as necessary for Project termination.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress, prior to each fiscal year, to adopt a statement in which total Federal outlays do not exceed total receipts, unless a three-fifths vote of both Houses authorizes a specific excess. Limits the rate of increase in receipts in the statement to that of the increase in national income in the previous calendar year, unless law is enacted solely to approve specific additional receipts. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget. Authorizes waiver of these provisions in time of war. Sets a permanent limit on the amount of Federal public debt, prohibiting any increase unless legislation enacted by a three-fifths majority of both Houses become law.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits a person who has been elected to: (1) the Senate two times from being eligible for election or appointment to the Senate; and (2) the House of Representatives six times from being eligible for election to the House.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for staggered four-year terms for Members of the House of Representatives. Prohibits persons from being elected to the House more than four times or more than three times to four-year terms. Prohibits persons from being elected to the Senate more than twice.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Grants the President authority to disapprove or reduce any item of appropriation in an appropriation bill. Requires a three-fifths vote of each House to override such a disapproval or reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Limits Members of the Senate to two full consecutive terms and Members of the House of Representatives to three full consecutive terms.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Grants the President line item veto authority with respect to appropriations bills.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Constitutional Amendment - Grants the President line item veto authority with respect to appropriations bills.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Amends rule XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives to make it out of order to put the question upon final passage of any bill or resolution until printed copies of the measure have been available for all Members for at least one day. Provides for the suspension of this Act for a particular bill or resolution in a national emergency upon the joint request of the Speaker and Minority Leader and with an affirmative two-thirds vote.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 1993
Declares that the Congress opposes any attempt to lower the estate tax exemption or raise the effective rate of taxes on estates because such measures contradict the fundamental goal of the United States Government of encouraging long-term private saving through which productive investment that promotes economic growth can be realized.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
International Narcotics Control Act of 1992 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for international narcotics control for FY 1993 and 1994. Exempts maritime law enforcement operations in archipelagic waters from a prohibition on U.S. participation in foreign police actions. Makes a prohibition on the use of narcotics control funds for the procurement of weapons or ammunition inapplicable (subject to congressional notification requirements) to: (1) weapons or ammunition for the defensive arming of aircraft used for narcotics control purposes; or (2) firearms and related ammunition provided to Department of State employees for narcotics control activities. Requires the President (currently, the Secretary of State) to maintain records on aircraft use under this title. Authorizes foreign military financing assistance under the Arms Export Control Act to be made available to finance the leasing of aircraft. Permits the use of narcotics control assistance to acquire land or real property for foreign military or law enforcement forces through leases of up to two years. (Current law prohibits the use of such assistance for such acquisitions by any means.) Prohibits the use of such funds (over a specified amount) for construction of facilities for use by such forces unless the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees. Revises congressional reporting and certification requirements with respect to international narcotics control. Amends the International Narcotics Control Act of 1989 to make certain dollar limitations on law enforcement assistance for Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru inapplicable on this Act's enactment date. Repeals obsolete provisions of specified Acts. Makes prohibitions on the provision of assistance to foreign law enforcement agencies inapplicable, during FY 1993 and 1994, to: (1) transfers of defense articles and services for counternarcotics purposes; and (2) foreign military financing and international military education and training for narcotics-related purposes. Makes provisions of law that restrict assistance to countries inapplicable with respect to narcotics-related assistance, provided that the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees. Authorizes the transfer of excess defense articles to major drug-transit countries. Prohibits the transfer of excess defense articles for conservation and wildlife management purposes or for modernization of military capability to any major illicit drug producing country or drug-transit country in Latin America or the Caribbean. Excludes construction equipment from the definition of "excess defense articles" for purposes of restricting the transfer of such equipment to foreign countries. Authorizes military education and training for civilian personnel from other than ministries of defense if such education and training would contribute to cooperation between military and law enforcement personnel with respect to counternarcotics law enforcement. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit the Bank from guaranteeing, insuring, or participating in an extension of credit in connection with sales of defense articles or services to any country (currently, countries designated under a section of the Internal Revenue Code as economically less developed countries). Exempts from such prohibition articles or services sold before September 30, 1997. Adds to the list of criteria required for approval of such financing that the President determines that the purchasing country has complied with restrictions concerning end use of such articles or services and has not used them to engage in human rights violations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Tax Fairness Restoration and Economic Growth Act - Title I: Tax Reductions - Subtitle A: Capital Gains Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude capital gain from gross income and exempt capital gain from tax. Makes such exemption applicable to computing the alternative minimum tax. Subtitle B: Restoration of Income Averaging - Sets forth provisions to restore income averaging. Subtitle C: Elimination of Double Tax on Dividends - Allows a shareholder credit (for taxpayers other than corporations) for dividends from domestic corporations. Provides for determining such credit based on the corporation's post-1992 Federal income taxes and post-1992 undistributed earnings. Includes such credit in the determination of gross income. Allows corporations a 100 percent deduction for amounts received as dividends from domestic corporations. Revises computations on dividends received by corporations on the preferred stock of a public utility. Subtitle D: Permanent Extension of Research Credit - Makes permanent law the credit for increasing research activities. Subtitle E: Reduction of Individual Tax Rate - Reduces individual income tax rates by eliminating the highest tax bracket. Subtitle F: Retirement Savings Incentives - Part I Restoration of IRA Deduction - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove the limitations on deductions for individual retirement plans and provides a cost-of-living adjustment for deductible amounts. Part II: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs - Establishes special individual retirement accounts that are nondeductible. Makes such accounts nontaxable if earnings on contributions are held for at least five years. Applies the early withdrawal penalty to distributions made before the end of the five year-period. Part III: Penalty-Free Distributions - Provides exemptions from the ten-percent penalty on early withdrawals from individual retirement plans for: (1) first home purchases; (2) higher education expenses; and (3) financially devastating medical expenses. Subtitle G: Repeal of Excise Penalty Taxes on Autos - Repeals the excise tax on luxury items (passenger vehicles, boats, aircraft, jewelry, and furs). Subtitle H: Repeal of Limitation On Itemized Deductions - Repeals the overall limitation on itemized deductions. Subtitle I: Repeal of Passive Loss Limitations - Repeals passive loss limitations. Subtitle J: Restoration of 10-Percent Investment Credit - Restores the ten percent investment tax credit for property placed in service after enactment of this Act. Subtitle K: Restoration of Accelerated Cost Recovery System - Restores the accelerated cost recovery system as in effect on the day after the enactment of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. Subtitle L: Credit for First-Time Homebuyer - Allows a credit for a first-time homebuyer of ten percent of the price of the principal residence. Limits such credit to $2,500. Requires the residence to be acquired on or after February 1, 1992, and before January 1, 1993. Title II: Taxpayer Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Additional Safeguards to Protect Taxpayers' Rights - Part I: Taxpayers' Advocate - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the Office of Taxpayers' Advocate, headed by the Taxpayers' Advocate, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Office to: (1) assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS; (2) identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the IRS; (3) propose changes in the administrative practices of the IRS to mitigate such problems; and (4) identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems. Requires the Taxpayers' Advocate to annually report to specified congressional committees on Office activities. Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to establish procedures requiring a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the Commissioner by the Taxpayers' Advocate. Authorizes the terms of a Taxpayer Assistance Order to require the Secretary of the Treasury to take certain actions (currently, only to cease or refrain from taking such actions). Part II: Modifications to Installment Agreement Provisions - Requires prior notification to taxpayers under an installment agreement to pay tax liability before altering, modifying, or terminating such an agreement. Provides for administrative review of denials of requests for installment agreements. Suspends the failure to pay penalty during any period an installment agreement is in effect. Part III: Interest - Extends from ten days to 21 days the period for which interest will not be imposed after notice and demand for payment, if such payment is less than $100,000. Provides for the abatement of interest in the case of an assessment due to the error or delay of an IRS managerial act. Increases the interest rate for overpayment of tax from two percent to three percent (making such rate equal to the interest rate for underpayment of tax). Waives interest on all overpayments refunded within 45 days after a return is filed. Part IV: Joint Returns - Requires separate deficiency notices in the case of a joint income tax return if the most recent data available to the IRS shows that such spouses did not file a joint return with each other. Allows the disclosure of collection activities to an individual requesting such information in the case of a joint return where such individual is no longer married to or resides in the same household as the other joint filer. Removes limitations on filing a joint return after filing separate returns. Part V: Collection Activities - Authorizes the Secretary, if it is determined to be in the best interest of the taxpayer and the United States, to: (1) withdraw a notice of a lien; (2) return property that has been levied upon; and (3) offer compromises in civil or criminal cases. Requires the Secretary, at the request of the taxpayer, to make reasonable efforts to notify credit reporting agencies and financial institutions of such withdrawal notice. Part VI: Erroneous and Fraudulent Information Returns - Requires payee statements to provide the phone number of the person providing payment. Establishes civil damages for the fraudulent filing of information returns. Requires the Secretary to take reasonable steps to corroborate the accuracy of an information return when making a determination of a deficiency by a third party, when such return is disputed by the taxpayer. Part VII: Modifications to Penalty for Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax - Declares that a person shall not be liable for any penalty for failure to collect and pay over tax if such person: (1) is not a significant owner, or highly compensated employee of the trade or business; (2) notifies the Secretary within ten days after such failure; and (3) such notification was before any notice by the Secretary with respect to such failure. Requires the Secretary to disclose certain information where more than one person is liable for a penalty. Part VIII: Awarding of Costs and Certain Fees - Repeals the "substantially justified" test for determining whether a taxpayer may recover costs and fees incurred as part of an administrative or court proceeding. Provides for the awarding of reasonable litigation or administrative costs to a prevailing party who represents himself in an administrative or court proceeding. Makes IRS employees personally liable in certain cases. Provides that any failure to agree to an extension of time for the assessment of any tax shall not be taken into account in determining whether a prevailing party has exhausted all administrative remedies. Part IX: Other Provisions - Revises provisions on the required content of tax due, deficiency, and other notices. Provides for the treatment of returns prepared for or executed by the Secretary for purposes of certain tax penalties. Provides protection for taxpayers who rely on certain guidance published by the IRS. Subtitle B: Form Modifications - Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that taxpayers are aware of permission to pay tax in installments, extensions of time for payment of tax, and compromises of tax liability; (2) improve procedures for taxpayers to notify the Secretary of changes in names and addresses; (3) include in a specified publication a section on the rights and responsibilities of divorced individuals; (4) ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities under the Federal tax system and that the public is aware of penalties for failure to collect and pay over tax; and (5) notify taxpayers of any payments that cannot be associated with any outstanding tax liability. Subtitle C: Additional Improvements - Requires the Secretary to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a pilot program for appeals of certain enforcement actions (including lien, levy, and seizure actions); (2) a study on ways to assist the elderly, physically impaired, foreign-language speaking, and other taxpayers with special needs to comply with IRS laws; (3) the scope and content of the IRS taxpayer-rights education program for its officers and employees; and (4) cases involving complaints about misconduct of IRS employees and the disposition of such complaints. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a study of notices of deficiency; (2) the accuracy and clarity of 25 of the most commonly used IRS forms, notices, and publications; and (3) a study of IRS employee-suggestion programs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1992
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for increases in the exempt amount for purposes of the retirement test; and (2) require the Secretary of the Treasury to submit annual reports to the Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the net increase in tax liabilities resulting from such increases.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1992
Taxpayer Debt Buy-Down Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals with adjusted income tax liability to designate on their tax returns that a portion of such liability (not to exceed ten percent) be used to reduce the public debt. Establishes a Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund for the deposit of designated amounts. Makes amounts in such Trust Fund available only to pay at maturity, or to redeem or buy before maturity, any obligation of the Federal Government included in the public debt. Prohibits the reissuance of any obligation which is paid, redeemed, or bought with amounts from the Trust Fund. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide for the sequestration of amounts designated to the Trust Fund. Specifies accounts exempt from such sequestration. Includes aggregated amounts designated to the Trust Fund and amounts sequestered to reduce the public debt in sequestration preview and final reports.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Save Florida Bay Act of 1992 - Requires the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to establish and coordinate an interagency committee to develop a program for facilitating the restoration of Florida Bay and to define the roles and responsibilities of each agency in facilitating that restoration. Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that the Chairman should include Florida Bay in the Coastal America program. Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to add Florida Bay, Florida, to the list of areas mandated for priority consideration as an estuary of national significance. Mandates a study of Florida Bay problems, including those from Hurricane Andrew. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
International Narcotics Control Act of 1992 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for international narcotics control for FY 1993 through 1995. Exempts maritime law enforcement operations in archipelagic waters from a prohibition on U.S. participation in foreign police actions. Makes a prohibition on the use of narcotics control funds for the procurement of weapons or ammunition inapplicable (subject to congressional notification requirements) to: (1) weapons or ammunition for the defensive arming of aircraft used for narcotics control purposes; or (2) firearms and related ammunition provided to Department of State employees for narcotics control activities. Requires the President (currently, the Secretary of State) to maintain records on aircraft use under this title. Authorizes foreign military financing assistance under the Arms Export Control Act to be made available to finance the leasing of aircraft. Permits the use of narcotics control assistance to acquire land or real property for foreign military or law enforcement forces through leases of up to three years. (Current law prohibits the use of such assistance for such acquisitions by any means.) Prohibits the use of such funds (over a specified amount) for construction of facilities for use by such forces unless the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees. Revises congressional reporting and certification requirements with respect to international narcotics control. Amends the International Narcotics Control Act of 1989 to make certain dollar limitations on law enforcement assistance for Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru inapplicable on this Act's enactment date. Repeals obsolete provisions of specified Acts. Makes prohibitions on the provision of assistance to foreign law enforcement agencies inapplicable, during FY 1993 through 1995, to: (1) transfers of defense articles and services for counternarcotics purposes; and (2) foreign military financing and international military education and training for narcotics-related purposes. Makes provisions of law that restrict assistance to countries inapplicable with respect to narcotics-related assistance, provided that the President notifies the appropriate congressional committees. Authorizes the transfer of excess defense articles to major drug-transit countries. Prohibits the transfer of excess defense articles for conservation and wildlife management purposes or for modernization of military capability to any major illicit drug producing country or drug-transit country in Latin America or the Caribbean. Excludes construction equipment from the definition of "excess defense articles" for purposes of restricting the transfer of such equipment to foreign countries. Authorizes military education and training for civilian personnel from other than ministries of defense if such education and training would contribute to cooperation between military and law enforcement personnel with respect to counternarcotics law enforcement. Amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit the Bank from guaranteeing, insuring, or participating in an extension of credit in connection with sales of defense articles or services to any country (currently, countries designated under a section of the Internal Revenue Code as economically less developed countries). Exempts from such prohibition articles or services sold before September 30, 1997. Adds to the list of criteria required for approval of such financing that the President determines that the purchasing country has complied with restrictions concerning end use of such articles or services and has not used them to engage in human rights violations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Declares that the leadership of the House of Representatives and of the Senate should work together in a bipartisan manner to pass health care reform initiatives prior to the adjournment of the 102d Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1992
Regulatory Flexibility Amendments Act of 1992 - Amends Federal law to eliminate provisions respecting judicial review of Federal agency compliance with regulatory flexibility analysis requirements. Requires an agency to consider the direct and indirect effects of a rule in determining whether or not it is likely to have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. Sets forth guidelines governing agency transmittal of proposed rules to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. Authorizes such official to transmit to the agency a statement of opposition to the proposed rule. Requires publication of such statement and the agency's response in the Federal Register. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration should be permitted to appear as amicus curiae in any action or case brought in a U.S. court for the purpose of reviewing a rule.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1992
Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1992, for Disaster Assistance to Meet the Present Emergencies Arising from the Consequences of Hurricane Andrew and other Natural Disasters - Makes supplemental appropriations for FY 1992 for emergencies arising from natural disasters such as Hurricane Andrew and Typhoon Omar. Designates such amounts as emergency requirements for all purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Title I: Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies - Makes additional appropriations available to the Department of Agriculture for: (1) the Agricultural Research Service for buildings and facilities; (2) the Commodity Credit Corporation for crop losses and the tree assistance program; (3) the Soil Conservation Service for watershed and flood prevention operations; (4) the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service for the emergency conservation program; (5) the Farmers Home Administration for the agricultural credit insurance fund program account, the rural housing insurance fund program account, the rural development insurance fund program account, the rural development loan fund program account, rural water and waste disposal grants, very-low-income housing repair grants, rural housing for domestic farm labor, emergency community water assistance grants, and salaries and expenses; and (6) the Food and Nutrition Service for the food stamp program. Declares that funds provided by this title are available only to the extent funds are not provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Title II: Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies - Makes additional funds available to: (1) the Department of Commerce for the Economic Development Administration, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; (2) the Department of Justice for general administration, legal activities, the Federal Prison System, and the Office of Justice Programs; (3) the Department of State for the administration of foreign affairs; (4) the Judiciary for Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and other judicial services; and (5) the Small Business Administration for the disaster loans program account. Title III: Department of Defense - Military - Makes additional amounts available for incremental costs of military, reserve, and national guard personnel and for operation and maintenance of military forces. Title IV: Energy and Water Development Department of Defense - Civil - Makes additional funds available to the Army Corps of Engineers-Civil for general construction, flood control and coastal emergencies, operation and maintenance, and flood control for the Mississippi River and tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Title V: Department of the Interior and Related Agencies - Makes additional appropriations available to the Department of the Interior for: (1) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; (2) the National Park Service; (3) the United States Geological Survey; and (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Title VI: Departments of Laobr, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies - Makes additional funds available to: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services for the Public Health Emergency Fund; (2) the Department of Education for educational excellence, impact aid, student financial assistance, and departmental management. Title VII: Department of Defense - Military - Makes supplemental amounts available to cover incremental costs at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, for military construction and family housing. Title VIII: Department of Transportation and Related Agencies - Makes additional funds available to the Department of Transportation for: (1) the Coast Guard; (2) the Federal Aviation Administration; (3) the Federal Transit Administration; and (4) the Research and Special Programs Administration. Title IX: Treasury Department, U.S. Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and Certain Independent Agencies - Makes supplemental funds available to: (1) the Department of the Treasury for the U.S. Customs Service and the Internal Revenue Service; and (2) the General Services Administration (GSA) for the Federal Buildings Fund and the Federal Supply Service. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator of GSA to hire temporary employees as necessary for government operations in areas affected by Hurricane Andrew and Typhoon Omar. Amends the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act, 1992 to repeal restrictions on travel expenses on employees subject to such Act. Authorizes heads of Federal agencies to establish emergency administrative leave as necessary for employees affected by the Hurricane and the Typhoon. Title X: Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies - Makes additional amounts available to: (1) Department of Veterans Affairs for the Veterans Health Administration and departmental administration; (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing programs, housing counseling assistance, guaranteed housing loans, and management administration; and (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster relief, the disaster assistance direct loan program account, the community disaster loan program account, and salaries and expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1992
National Dividend Act of 1992 - Establishes a program for the distribution of certain corporate tax revenues to the registered voters of each State in the form of dividend payments. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to the chief financial officer of each State, in accordance with a prescribed schedule, an amount equal to the National Dividend Payment, as computed under this Act, multiplied by the number of registered voters in the State. Sets forth criteria and procedures to govern: (1) the chief financial officer's selection of an incorporated bank to act as the State's disbursing agent; and (2) payments to qualified voters. Establishes in the Treasury the National Dividend Payment Trust Fund. Authorizes payment into the Fund of specified amounts from revenue received from: (1) corporate income tax; (2) tax on the unrelated business income of certain tax-exempt organizations; (3) capital gains tax; (4) tax on insurance company income; and (5) alternative minimum tax on corporations. Establishes a National Dividend Review Board to review the manner in which payments are made from the Fund and to make investments of Fund amounts. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, all dividend income received by a taxpayer from domestic corporations, including dividends received under this Act. Increases the corporate income tax deduction for dividends received by a corporation on the preferred stock of a public utility. Prohibits corporate income tax rates from exceeding 34 percent. Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to declare it out of order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider budget resolutions for fiscal years 1993 and thereafter that would increase the level of total budget outlays beyond those budgeted for FY 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1992
Supports the President's statement of August 6, 1992, and commends him for taking decisive steps to put pressure on Serbia to stop the conflict in Bosnia-Hercegovina, including through: (1) the diplomatic and political isolation of Serbia; (2) the strict enforcement of sanctions provided for in United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 757; (3) the implementation of the Security Council-endorsed plan to place heavy weapons belonging to all factions in Bosnia-Hercegovina under UN supervision; (4) the resumption of peace talks among all parties to the conflict; and (5) urging the Security Council to authorize measures, including the use of military force, necessary to ensure the provision of humanitarian relief to the people of Bosnia-Hercegovina. Urges the Security Council to consider means by which: (1) UN and International Committee of the Red Cross personnel shall be granted immediate, unimpeded, and continuous access to all refugee camps, prisoners-of-war camps, internment camps, and other places of detention in all of the republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and (2) civilians in Bosnia-Hercegovina shall be protected from the use of force and violations of the laws of war. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that an international tribunal should be convened to: (1) investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed within the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and (2) accumulate evidence against, charge, and otherwise prepare the basis for trying any individual whom the tribunal has probable cause to believe is responsible for or committed such a crime.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1992
Congratulates the citizens of Israel on concluding fair and open democratic elections. Welcomes Prime Minister Rabin to the United States. Applauds his statements and actions encouraging active participation in the search for peace. Calls upon all parties in the region to actively and seriously engage in the peace process.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow all individuals with adjusted income tax liability to designate on their tax returns that a portion of such liability (not to exceed ten percent) be used to reduce the public debt. Establishes a Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund for the deposit of designated amounts. Makes amounts in such Trust Fund available only to pay at maturity, or to redeem or buy before maturity, any obligation of the Federal Government included in the public debt. Prohibits the reissuance of any obligation which is paid, redeemed, or bought with amounts from the Trust Fund. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide for the sequestration of amounts designated to the Trust Fund. Specifies accounts exempt from such sequestration. Includes aggregated amounts designated to the Trust Fund and amounts sequestered to reduce the public debt in sequestration preview and final reports.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1992
Sets limits on the amounts which certain Government entities may obligate or expend over a five-year period for overhead expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1992
Criminal Alien Deportation and Exclusion Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the expedited deportation (and subsequent exclusion) of convicted aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1992
Marine Mammal Capture, Export, and Public Display Protection Act of 1992 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to require, instead of the penalty applicable under the AWA for a violation regarding a marine mammal, that a person be liable for a civil or criminal penalty under specified provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA). Mandates review and, if appropriate, modifications to AWA standards regarding the care and habitat of marine mammals in captivity. Amends the MMPA to direct the Secretaries of Commerce and Agriculture to jointly establish a system for tracking marine mammals that are taken in waters under U.S. jurisdiction or imported into the United States. Makes it unlawful, notwithstanding any other provision of law or permit under the MMPA, to take any marine mammal before establishment of the system. Makes it unlawful to export a marine mammal from the United States without a permit under this Act. Requires that regulations be issued under the MMPA for exporting as well as for taking and importing marine mammals. Authorizes issuance of export permits under the same requirements as taking and importing permits. Allows issuance of an export permit only: (1) to maintain or improve the health and well-being of the mammal; and (2) if the permit prohibits use of the mammal for any other purpose. Limits the effective period of permits for scientific research to a specified number of years. Regulates the release of such research mammals. Requires the permanent marking of any such mammal.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Veterans' Health Care Financing Reform Demonstration Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a demonstration program to test the feasibility and desirability of requiring that, whenever the Department of Veteran Affairs provides hospital care or medical services for a non-service-connected disability to an individual who is also entitled to such care or services from another Federal department or agency, such department or agency shall reimburse the Department for the provision of such care or services. Requires the demonstration project to be conducted at three Department medical centers selected by the Secretary. Outlines health care programs of the Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs as covered programs under which such reimbursement shall take place. Allows the Department to recover the cost of care or services provided to an individual for a non-service-connected disability, reduced by any appropriate unpaid deductible, to the extent that the individual would be eligible to receive such care or services from another department or agency. Directs the Secretary to establish a central electronic billing system for such amounts. Subrogates the Secretary to any right or claim that the veteran may have against another department or agency. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to determine the amount to be recovered for such care or services, taking into account the geographic area involved. Directs the Secretary to establish mechanisms to evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of the demonstration project and the satisfaction of the patients served. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress after one year of the project, describing the findings of the evaluation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1992
Life Imprisonment for Egregious Recidivists Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal criminal code to require the court, in the case of a conviction for a Federal violent felony, to sentence the defendant to life imprisonment if the defendant has previously been convicted of two other violent felonies.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
New England Groundfish Restoration Act - Amends the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act to establish a New England Groundfish Restoration Program. Requires the New England Fishery Management Council to submit to the Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary) an amendment to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (the Plan) that establishes conservation and management measures for New England groundfish designed to reduce fishing mortality to the extent necessary to eliminate overfishing and achieve optimum yield of cod and yellowtail flounder stocks not later than seven years after the effective date of the amendment, and of haddock stocks not later than ten years after that effective date. Requires the Council to recommend to the Secretary a schedule of civil penalties, including fishing permit sanctions. Requires the Secretary, if the Council does not submit an amendment to the Plan within a reasonable period of time, to prepare such an amendment and issue regulations as necessary for its implementation. Requires such amendment to provide for the immediate suspension of fishing, within five days after receipt of a request from the Council, in areas where New England groundfish are spawning and areas where there are high concentrations of undersized New England groundfish. Sets forth notification requirements for affected fishermen if the amendment establishes a moratorium on the issuance of new permits authorizing participation in the New England groundfish fishery. Directs the Secretary, simultaneously with the issuance of regulations implementing a Plan amendment, to issue a schedule of civil penalties for violations of this Act relating to the New England groundfish fishery. Requires the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register a statement explaining why any part of the Council recommendation is not included in such schedule. Requires the Secretary, not later than one year after the effective date of the regulations implementing any Plan amendment, to review the actions taken by each State represented on the Council to implement the Plan amendment. Authorizes the Secretary to regulate fishing within State boundaries only if the Secretary complies with required exceptions to State jurisdiction. Requires all amounts appropriated for FY 1993 through 1997 for use by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for information collection and analysis regarding New England stock depletion to be used to carry out the restoration program and certain fisheries research. Requires all amounts appropriated for FY 1993 through 1997 for use by NOAA for National Marine Fisheries Service conservation and management operations regarding fisheries management programs, management of Georges Bank, to be used to carry out the amendments made by this Act. Declares that: (1) the Council shall not be required to approve under the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act a rebuilding program for New England groundfish; (2) the Secretary of Commerce shall not be required to take any action under such Act to prepare a program for the rebuilding of cod, yellowtail flounder, and haddock stocks in the northwest Atlantic Ocean; and (3) the Council and the Secretary of Commerce shall not be required to perform any other act pursuant to their functions under such Act, based upon any failure, before the enactment of this Act, of them to perform their functions under that Act. Requires the Secretary, not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, if requested by the Governor of a State represented on the Council, to enter into an agreement that authorizes the marine law enforcement of such State to perform duties of the Secretary relating to enforcement of the Plan. Requires such an agreement to provide, subject to appropriations, for reimbursement of the State for expenses incurred in detection and prosecution of violations of any fishery management plan and for sharing in the disposition of fines, penalties, seizures, and forfeitures. Directs the Commander of the First Coast Guard District to establish an informal fisheries enforcement working group to improve the overall compliance with and effectiveness of the regulations issued under the Plan. Requires the Secretary to use amounts under this Act attributable to fines and penalties for violations of the Plan to enforce that Plan. Authorizes the Secretary to establish the Sea Sampler Program, for stationing individuals on fishing vessels engaged in the fishery for New England groundfish to collect for the Secretary and the Council statistically reliable information necessary for the conservation and management of fisheries managed under the Plan. Makes such program voluntary. Prohibits the use of information collected from being used for enforcement of the Magnuson Act. Treats individuals stationed on vessels as observers for purposes of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Authorizes the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, to enter into an international fishery agreement with Canada for the conservation and management of fisheries of mutual concern in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, with particular emphasis on transboundary stocks of groundfish and ensuring the success of New England groundfish restoration efforts. Sets forth required contents of such an agreement. Requires the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, to establish a consultative committee to assist in the development and implementation of a fishery agreement. Subjects such an agreement to congressional oversight of governing international fishery agreements. Requires the Secretary of State to annually report to the Congress describing the activities of the Secretary with respect to such agreement. Directs the Secretary, not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, to establish a program for: (1) promoting development of commercial fisheries and markets for underutilized species of the northwest Atlantic Ocean; (2) developing alternative fishing opportunities for participants in the New England groundfish fishery; and (3) providing technical support and assistance to U.S. fishermen and fish processors to make participation in fisheries for such underutilized species economically viable. Authorizes the Secretary to award contracts, grants, and other financial assistance for activities under the program. Requires owners or operators of fishing vessels permitted to participate in the New England groundfish fishery to temporarily surrender that permit during the duration of the assistance. Provides for funding such program. Directs the Council, in consultation with other appropriate Councils, to develop fishery management plans as soon as possible for any underutilized species of the northwest Atlantic Ocean that is not covered under such a plan, in order to prevent overfishing of that species. Requires the Secretary to include the restoration of New England groundfish stock in developing a strategic plan for fisheries research. Amends the Fishery Conservation Amendments of 1990 (commonly referred to as the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act) to require the Secretary to give priority to projects and activities that promote development of: (1) commercial fisheries for underutilized species; and (2) markets for any species of fish that can promote full utilization of those species. Requires the Secretary to establish a research program at the Northeast Fisheries and Science Center of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Requires the program to include research into conservation gear engineering and technology, groundfish hatcheries and shore-based fish production facilities, and other appropriate activities. Requires the Secretary, acting through the General Counsel of NOAA, to provide a detailed response to any written request from a Council for legal advice regarding whether a management measure or other regulation is consistent with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Makes additional appropriations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for peer review activities and activities to reduce waste and fraud under the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Federal Workforce Efficiency Act - Limits the total number of civilian employees in an executive agency to the number of employees at the end of the fiscal year in which this Act is enacted. Directs the head of each executive agency to establish a program which shall provide for: (1) cash awards for any managerial or supervisory personnel whose personal efforts result in significant savings to the Government that are attributable to personnel reductions or increased personnel efficiency; (2) education or training for managerial or supervisory personnel to promote better awareness and use of the authorities available to them to improve worker efficiency and productivity; and (3) other similar measures. Sets a limit on the amount of such an award. Provides for a reduction in executive agency budgets with respect to employee salaries over a two year period by five percent per fiscal year.