United States · United States Congress · 23 September 1992
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to extend to October 1, 1994, the deadline by which: (1) a permit for stormwater discharges is required; and (2) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall issue regulations which designate stormwater discharges to be regulated to protect water quality and to establish a program to regulate designated sources.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1992
Sexual Assault Prevention Act of 1992 - Title I: Sexual Violence - Subtitle A: Penalties and Remedies - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for pretrial detention in sex offense cases. Makes murder a Class A felony, mandating the death sentence, when done in the course of certain sex offenses, sexual assault, or child molestation, or when the defendant has previously been convicted of sexual assault or child molestation, subject to specified mitigating factors. Requires instructing the jury not to: (1) be influenced by prejudice or bias relating to the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of the defendant or any victim; and (2) recommend a death sentence unless it concludes that it would recommend such sentence regardless of such factors. Requires each juror to sign a certification to that effect. Prohibits: (1) carrying out a death sentence on a woman while she is pregnant; and (2) requiring any employee of, or any person under contract to provide services to, a State corrections department, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or the U.S. Marshals Service, to attend or participate in any execution. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the appointment of counsel for indigent capital defendants; (2) representation after finality of judgment; (3) standards for competence of counsel; (4) claims of ineffectiveness of counsel in collateral proceedings; (5) time limits for collateral attack on a death sentence; (6) stays of execution; and (7) finality of the decision on review. Increases penalties for: (1) recidivist sex offenders; and (2) sex offenses against victims under age 16. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission: (1) to amend the sentencing guidelines to increase by at least four levels the base level for offenses relating to sexual, and aggravated sexual, abuse; (2) to consider whether any other changes applicable to such offenses are warranted; (3) in amending the guidelines in conformity with this provision, to review the appropriateness and adequacy of existing offense characteristics and adjustments applicable to such offenses; and (4) in any subsequent amendment to the guidelines, to maintain minimum guideline sentences for such offenses which are at least equal to those required by this provision. Amends the Federal criminal code to require that a person charged with an offense under provisions relating to sexual abuse be tested for the human immunodeficiency virus: (1) before release pending trial; and (2) six months and twelve months after the initial test. Requires results to be provided to the judicial officer or court and disclosed only to the victim, the attorney for the Government, and the person tested. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to enhance the sentence of an offender who had reason to know that he was infected, except where the offender did not engage or attempt to engage in conduct creating a risk of transmission. Amends: (1) the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 to require a governmental department or agency to pay for up to two tests for a sexual assault victim in the twelve months following the assault and a counseling session regarding the tests and the risk of transmission as the result of the assault; and (2) the Controlled Substances Act to provide for increased penalties for distribution of a controlled substance to a woman while she is pregnant. Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the restitution of victims of sex offenses, including reimbursement for lost income and necessary child care, transportation, and other expenses related to participation in the investigation or prosecution of, or attendance at proceedings related to, the offense. Requires the court to issue an order requiring restitution of the full amount of the victims's losses and expenses for which restitution is authorized in imposing sentence, unless the Government and the victim do not request such restitution. Provides for the enforcement of restitution orders through the suspension of Federal benefits. Provides that whoever, in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, engages in sexual violence against another, shall be liable to the injured party in a civil action. Includes among the relief available compensatory and punitive damages and any appropriate equitable or declaratory relief. Amends the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976 to include such provision with respect to payment of attorney fees. Subtitle B: Rules of Evidence, Practice, and Procedure - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to allow evidence of similar offenses in criminal or civil sexual assault and child molestation cases. Revises Federal Rule of Evidence 412 (rape victim shield law), including: (1) making inadmissible reputation or opinion evidence of the past sexual behavior of an alleged victim of a sex offense, and evidence of a victim's past sexual behavior other than reputation or opinion evidence (with exceptions), in a civil case (current law applies only to criminal cases); and (2) requiring any order admitting such evidence to explain the reasoning leading to the finding of relevance and the basis of the finding that its probative value outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice notwithstanding the potential of the evidence to humiliate and embarass the alleged victim and to result in unfair or biased inferences. Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that an appeal by the United States before trial shall lie to a court of appeals from an order of a district court admitting evidence of an alleged victim's past sexual behavior in a criminal case in which the defendant is charged with a sex offense, whether or not the conduct occurred in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a Federal prison. Adds a Federal Rule of evidence that, in a criminal case in which a person is accused of a sex offense, evidence is not admissible to show that the alleged victim invited or provoked the commission of the offense. Enacts rules to be known as the Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers in Federal Practice and includes them as an appendix to provisions of the U.S. Code relating to the judiciary and judicial procedure. Applies the rules to proceedings before a U.S. court or a Federal agency that carries out adjudicatory or quasi-adjudicatory functions. Includes rules relating to: (1) litigation abuse (including conduct to increase litigation expenses or with no substantial purpose other than to distress another person); (2) a duty of enquiry in relation to the client (including attempting to elicit from the client a materially complete account of the alleged criminal activity or civil wrong if the client acknowledges involvement in such activity or wrong), and to elicit the material facts relevant to a defense of alibi if the client denies such involvement; (3) a duty to expedite litigation (including not attempting to delay or prolong proceedings for specified reasons); and (4) a duty to prevent the commission of a crime (including allowing or requiring disclosure of information). Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to provide that: (1) if the offense charged is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, each side is entitled to six peremptory challenges (currently, six for the Government and ten for the defendant or defendants jointly); and (2) if sentence is to be imposed for a crime of violence or sexual abuse, the court shall (before imposing sentence) address the victim personally if the victim is present at the sentencing hearing, and determine if the victim wishes to make a statement and present any information in relation to the sentence (which statement may be made in camera under specified circumstances). Expresses the sense of the Congress that news media, law enforcement personnel, and other persons should exercise restraint and respect a rape victim's privacy by not disclosing the victim's identity to the general public or facilitating such disclosure without the victim's consent. Subtitle C: Safe Campuses - Requires the Attorney General to: (1) provide for a national baseline study to examine the scope of the problem of campus sexual assaults and the effectiveness of institutional and legal policies in addressing such crimes and protecting victims; and (2) submit a report to the Congress by September 1, 1995. Authorizes appropriations. Amends: (1) the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the disclosure of arrest records by campus police; and (2) the Higher Education Act of 1965 to add sexual assault to the list of offenses regarding which certain institutions are required to collect and disclose statistics. Subtitle D: Assistance to States and Localities - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to support projects and programs relating to sexual violence. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) formula and discretionary grant allotments; (2) application requirements for formula grants; (3) conditions on grants; (4) program evaluation (by the National Institute of Justice); (5) coordination of grant administration; and (6) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Attorney General to make supplementary grants to States adopting laws that exceed or are reasonably comparable to Federal provisions relating to sexual violence in certain respects. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Domestic Violence and Offenses Against the Family - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties (including mandatory penalties if the offense involves the infliction of bodily injury on, or the commission of sexual abuse against, the victim) for interstate travel to commit spouse abuse or to violate a protective order, subject to specified requirements. Provides for mandatory restitution and pretrial detention for victims of such offense. Includes as an aggravating factor, for purposes of death penalty provisions under this Act, that a killing occurred in the course of such offense. Establishes penalties (including restitution) for noncompliance with child support obligations in interstate cases. Makes compliance with any court or administrative order under State law requiring payments for the support of a child, or of a child and the parent with whom the child is living, a condition of probation. Provides for full faith and credit of protective orders among the States. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, for purposes of determining child custody, evidence establishing that a parent engages in physical abuse of a spouse should create a statutory presumption that it is detrimental to the child to be placed in the custody of the abusive spouse. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) prepare a report on the status of battered women's syndrome as a medical and psychological condition and on its effect in criminal trials; (2) conduct a study of the means by which abusive spouses may obtain information concerning the addresses or locations of estranged or former spouses; (3) complete a study of problems of recordkeeping of criminal complaints involving domestic violence; and (4) evaluate, develop, prepare and disseminate to State authorities, and make recommendations concerning anti-stalking legislation. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to support projects and programs relating to domestic violence and other criminal and unlawful acts that particularly affect women. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) formula and discretionary grant allotments; (2) application requirements for formula grants; (3) conditions on grants; (4) program evaluation; (5) coordination of grant administration; and (6) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: National Task Force on Violence Against Women - Establishes the National Task Force on Violence Against Women to develop a uniform Federal, State, and local law enforcement strategy aimed at protecting women against violent crimes, punishing persons who commit such crimes, and enhancing the rights of the victims. Sets forth administrative and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1992
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to treat semimanufactured and manufactured glass products as import sensitive and as such ineligible for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Persian Gulf War Veterans Registry Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a Persian Gulf War Veterans Registry for maintaining information concerning the health status of veterans who served in the Persian Gulf area during the Persian Gulf War (War). Describes information to be included in the Registry, including the circumstances of each veteran's service during the War. Directs the Secretary, in establishing such Registry, to: (1) provide each War veteran with a complete mental and physical examination, as well as a follow-up consultation to explain examination results; and (2) obtain from the Secretary of Defense any information relevant to such service. Authorizes the Secretary to undertake outreach efforts to further Registry purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Women in the Armed Forces Commemorative Coins Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) mint and issue coins to commemorate the women who have served in the armed forces of the United States; and (2) transfer the surcharges received from coin sales to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation and endow and dedicate the Women in the Armed Forces Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Directs the Secretary of Transportation, States, and metropolitan planning organizations to expedite use of obligation authority restored by Public Law 102-334 for construction of highway projects under actual construction by October 30, 1992, in order to increase the number of quality jobs for construction and improvement of transportation facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1992
Water Resources Development Act of 1992 - Title I: Water Resources Projects - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army (the Secretary) to carry out public works projects in the following locations for improvements to navigation, flood control, ecosystem restoration, and beach erosion control and hurricane protection: (1) Southeast Alaska Harbors of Refuge, Alaska; (2) Whiteman's Creek, Arkansas; (3) American River Watershed, California; (4) Morro Bay Harbor, California; (5) Sacramento Metro Area, California; (6) Rio Grande Alamosa, Colorado; (7) Delaware River Mainstem and Channel Deepening, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; (8) Canaveral Harbor, Florida; (9) Kissimmee River, Florida; (10) Port Everglades Harbor, Florida; (11) Savannah Harbor, Georgia and South Carolina; (12) Kentucky Lock Addition, Kentucky; (13) Amite River and Tributaries, Louisiana; (14) Saugus River and Tributaries, Massachusetts; (15) Las Vegas Wash and Tributaries, Nevada; (16) Morehead City Harbor, North Carolina; (17) West Onslow and New River Inlet, North Carolina; (18) Lackawanna River at Olyphant and at Scranton, Pennsylvania; (19) Locks and Dams 2 and 3, Monongahela River, Pennsylvania; (20) Rio Grande De Loiza, Puerto Rico; (21) Sargent Beach, Texas; (22) Shoal Creek, Austin, Texas; and (23) Sandbridge Beach, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Modifies projects at the following locations with respect to flood control, beach erosion control and hurricane protection, navigation, and other improvements: (1) Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Alabama and Mississippi; (2) Goleta and vicinity, California; (3) San Leandro Marina, California; (4) Savannah Harbor, Georgia; (5) O'Hare system of the Chicagoland underflow plan, Illinois; (6) Locks and Dam 26, Mississippi River, Alton, Illinois and Missouri; (7) Fort Wayne, Indiana; (8) Calcasieu Ship Channel, Louisiana; (9) Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana; (10) Parish Creek, Shady Side, Maryland; (11) South Fork Zumbro River, Minnesota; (12) Sowashee Creek, Meridian, Mississippi; (13) New Madrid Harbor, Missouri; (14) Ste. Genevieve, Missouri; (15) Papillion Creek and Tributaries Lake, Nebraska; (16) Green Brook Sub-basin, Raritan River Basin, New Jersey; (17) Passaic River Main Stem, New Jersey and New York; (18) Ramapo River at Oakland, New Jersey; (19) Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook Bay, New Jersey; (20) Reno Beach-Howard Farms, Ohio; (21) Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania; (22) Wister Lake, Oklahoma; (23) Chetco River, Oregon; (24) Port Orford, Oregon; (25) Cliff Walk, Newport, Rhode Island; (26) Clear Creek, Texas; (27) Corpus Christi Ship Channel, Texas; (28) Dallas Floodway Extension, Dallas Texas; (29) Ray Roberts Lake, Elm Fork of the Trinity River, Texas; (30) Ray Roberts Lake Greenbelt, Texas; (31) Sims Bayou, Texas; (32) Southern Branch of Elizabeth River, Norfolk Harbor, Virginia; (33) Virginia Beach, Virginia; (34) Lower Granite Lock and Dam, Washington; (35) Bonneville Lock and Dam, Washington; (36) Beech Fork Lake, West Virginia; (37) Bluestone Lake, Ohio River Basin, West Virginia; and (38) La Crosse and Shelby, Wisconsin. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) construct visitor centers at Melvin Price Lock and Dam, Alton, Illinois, and at Mt. Morris Dam, New York; and (2) establish and operate the Lower Mississippi River Museum and Riverfront Interpretive Site, Vicksburg, Mississippi. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct studies and carry out small navigation projects at: (1) Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts; (2) Aunt Lydia's Cove, Chatham, Massachusetts; (3) Agate Bay, Minnesota; (4) East Island, Minnesota; (5) Grand Marais, Minnesota; (6) Grand Portage, Minnesota; (7) Horseshoe Bay, Minnesota; (8) Knife River, Minnesota; (9) Sugar Loaf Cove, Minnesota; (10) Temperance River, Minnesota; (11) Thompson Beach, Minnesota; (12) Seaway Pier, Buffalo, New York; and (13) Tangier Island, Virginia. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct studies and carry out small flood control projects at: (1) Walnut Canyon Creek, Anaheim, California; (2) Blue River and Brock Creek, Salem, Indiana; (3) White River, Elnora, Indiana; (4) White River, Gibson County, Indiana; (5) White River, Petersburg, Indiana; (6) Wabash River, Knox County, Indiana; (7) Red River at Grand Marais Outlet, Minnesota; and (8) Sullivan Run Creek, Butler, Pennsylvania. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to provide that the benefits of the project at Krout's Creek, West Virginia, shall be treated as exceeding the cost of the project. Modifies projects at the following locations with respect to the maximum allotment and cost-sharing: (1) Lake Elsinore, California; (2) Telegraph Canyon, Chula Vista, California; and (3) St. Peters, St. Charles County, Missouri. Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a Sonoma Baylands wetland demonstration project in the San Francisco Bay-Delta estuary, California. Sets forth project purposes and requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth limitations on amounts transferred and obligated pursuant to the Upper Mississippi River Management Program. Specifies that the costs of operation and maintenance of projects located on Federal lands or lands owned or operated by a State or local government shall be borne by the Federal, State, or local agency that is responsible for management activities for fish and wildlife on such lands. Directs the Secretary to construct a research and quarantine facility in Broward County, Florida, to be used in connection with efforts to control Melaleuca and other exotic plant species that threaten native ecosystems in Florida. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to maintain navigation access to, and berthing areas at, all currently operating public and private commercial dock facilities associated with or having access to the Federal navigation project on the Columbia, Snake, and Clearwater Rivers from Bonneville Dam to and incuding Lewiston, Idaho, at a depth commensurate with the Federal navigation project. Exempts the Federal Government from liability resulting from such project. Authorizes the Secretary to construct such bulkheads along the Outer Harbor, Buffalo, New York, as may be necessary to protect the shoreline and reduce the flow of pollutants into Lake Erie. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study for a streambank and shoreline protection project for St. Croix River, Stillwater, Minnesota, subject to specified maximum allotment and cost-sharing requirements; and (2) proceed expeditiously with design, land acquisition, and construction of the Montgomery Point Lock and Dam on the White River, Arkansas. Authorizes the Secretary to participate in the preservation, renovation, and rehabilitation of the Delaware Canal in Pennsylvania. Sets forth provisions with respect to the costs of major rehabilitation from specified projects. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study of the water supply, distribution, and transmission needs and water quality problems of Jackson and DeKalb Counties, Alabama. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study for the purpose of evaluating methods and means, and recommending a project, for the containment and remediation of contaminated ground water flowing downstream from the San Gabriel Valley Ground Water Basin to the Central Ground Water Basin in California through existing Federal facilities at Whittier Narrows Dam, Los Angeles County, California; and (2) participate in the engineering and design of the project recommended. Provides for a Federal share of the project of up to 75 percent, with the local sponsor being the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. Directs the Secretary: (1) to complete and transmit to the Congress a feasibility study for enlargement of the flood control project for the Success Reservoir, Tule River, California; and (2) as part of the ongoing review of the Anacostia River Watershed in the District of Columbia and Maryland, to carry out a comprehensive assessment of adverse impacts to such watershed from Federal facilities, review current plans for reducing such adverse impacts, and carry out a feasibility study to identify and recommend for implementation measures to eliminate such adverse impacts. Requires the Secretary, in carrying out the feasibility study on Federal improvements to the St. John's River Channel, Florida, to examine the commercial and military uses of the channel in those areas traversed by both military and commercial vessels, and coordinate the activities of the Secretary with those of the Secretary of the Navy in order to utilize available studies and resources projecting future military dredging needs in the channel. Directs the Secretary to: (1) expeditiously complete the general design memorandum for the sand transfer portion of the navigation project for Canaveral Harbor, Florida; (2) expeditiously complete that portion of the navigation study for Tampa Harbor, Alafia River and Big Bend, Florida, relating to the Alafia River; (3) complete the feasibility study for Cedar River and tributaries, Blackhawk, Iowa; (4) complete the study for Federal maintenance of the Port Fourchon Navigation Channel, Louisiana; (5) conduct a study on proposed uses of the seawall located in Haverhill, Massachusetts (and provide technical assistance to non-Federal interests in developing plans for such seawall); (6) conduct an economic reevaluation of proposed improvements at Grand Marais Harbor, Michigan; (7) conduct a review and evaluation of the recreational master plan for Sardis Lake, Mississippi; (8) study the feasibility of rehabilitating and otherwise ensuring the integrity of the dams and impoundments that created and enlarged Lake Lefferts and Lake Matawan, New Jersey, as a means of maintaining the high quality of the environmental ecosystems therein; (9) complete the feasibility study for Little River, Niagara Falls, New York; (10) complete the feasibility study for the water quality project for Shinnecock Inlet, Suffolk County, New York; (11) complete the feasibility study of shoreline protection for Strawberry Island, New York (and take such interim emergency measures as necessary); (12) enter into a cooperative agreement with Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio, to conduct a study of the water and related land resources of the Mahoning River, Ohio; and (13) conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing a Tug Valley Greenway, West Virginia, for utilizing the river environment for public recreation opportunities. Authorizes appropriations. Sets the Federal share (100 percent) of the cost of completion of the study for mitigation of shoreline damage attributable to the Federal navigation project at Salmon Harbor, Oregon. Sets forth reporting requirements. Continues the authorization for projects and studies (for flood control and other purposes) at the following locations: (1) Santa Cruz Harbor, California; (2) Albert Lea Lake, Freeborn County, Minnesota; (3) St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway, Missouri; (4) Tyrone, Pennsylvania; and (5) Big Pine Lake, Texas. Sets forth limitations with respect to such projects and studies. Deauthorizes navigation projects at the following locations: (1) Boston Inner Harbor Channel, Massachusetts; (2) Newburyport, Massachusetts; (3) Greilickville, Michigan; (4) South Haven Harbor, Michigan; and (5) Sag Harbor, New York. Deauthorizes a portion of the Canaveral Harbor project, Florida. Designates: (1) lock and dam 3, Arkansas River, Arkansas, as the "Joe Hardin Lock and Dam"; and (2) the Mill Creek Reservoir, Washington, as the "Virgil B. Bennington Lake." Title II: Generally Applicable Provisions - Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to: (1) set the non-Federal share of environmental protection and restoration at 25 percent; and (2) prohibit modifications of projects for improvement of the environment from being carried out without specified authorization by the Congress if the estimated cost exceeds $5,000,000. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) accept contributions for environmental and recreation projects, with funds received to be deposited into a specified account in the Treasury; and (2) carry out projects for the protection, restoration, and creation of aquatic and ecologically related habitats in connection with dredging of an authorized navigation project. Sets forth provisions, in connection with the latter, regarding cooperative agreements, the Federal share, and authorization of appropriations. Directs the Secretary to reconstruct lands adversely affected by water resources projects. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the definition of rehabilitation for inland waterway projects; (2) construction of shoreline protection projects by non-Federal interests; (3) cost-sharing for disposal of dredged material on beaches; and (4) fees for development of State water plans. Authorizes the Secretary to provide appropriate protections against the dissemination of certain information developed as a result of research and development activities conducted by the Corps of Engineers (Corps) that is likely to be subject to a cooperative research and development agreement within two years of its development. Extends specified State safety and training, research, and dam inventory programs. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to non-Federal interests for the repair, reconstruction, or other modification of Mussers Dam, Middle Creek, Snyder County, Pennsylvania. Specifies that all costs incurred in carrying out the project to correct seepage problems at Beaver Lake, Arkansas, shall be treated as costs incurred for a dam safety project, subject to cost-sharing requirements of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. Authorizes the Secretary to procure materials necessary to promote the Corps safety program, for distribution to Corps employees, and to recognize outstanding safety performance by such employees. Authorizes appropriations. Provides for the recovery of cleanup costs of hazardous of toxic substances. Authorizes the Secretary, in carrying out in FY 1993 through 1995 maintenance, rehabilitation, or modernization of a hydroelectric power generating facility at a water resources project under the Secretary's jurisdiction, to increase the efficiency of energy production or the capacity of the facility, subject to specified requirements. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary: (1) to the maximum extent practicable, to make use of private sector resources in carrying out surveying and mapping activities in the Corps' Civil Works Program; (2) to complete and submit to the Congress a report on a minimum dredge fleet for the Corps, and implement the recommendations of such report; and (3) to take specified steps with respect to competitive dredging of hopper dredges. Sets forth rules regarding comparability payments for Senior Executive Service positions for Corps employees. Directs the Secretary to conduct a comparative analysis with respect to the compensation of Corps and other similarly-situated Federal employees. Sets forth reporting requirements. Sets forth provisions regarding eligible operations and maintenance for harbor development and navigation projects. Directs the Secretary to conduct a study for the purpose of developing recommendations for expediting the study, planning, and construction of civil works projects of the Corps. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires the Secretary to establish a goal of five percent of the total amount of Civil Works funds obligated for contracts and subcontracts entered into by the Department of the Army for FY 1993 for award to small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, the majority of the earnings of which directly accrue to such individuals, and to historically Black colleges and universities or minority institutions, with exceptions. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to non-Federal interests for carrying out projects for the reclamation of waste water for beneficial uses. Sets the non-Federal share of the cost of projects for which assistance (other than loans) is provided at not less than 25 percent, with exceptions. Specifies that no such assistance may be provided by the Secretary to carry out a project unless such project and assistance are specifically authorized by law. Authorizes the Secretary to make such grants and loans to the Santa Clara Water District and to the city of San Jose, California, to demonstrate and field test for public use innovative processes which advance the technology of waste water reuse and reclamation and which promote the use of reclaimed waste water for critical water supply purposes and for the protection of fish and wildlife in the San Francisco Bay. Sets the Federal share for specified grants at 75 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) participate in the study, engineering, design, and construction of a regional water reuse system for Southern California; (2) study, engineer, design, and construct water reuse demonstration facilities to develop advanced technology for economically and environmentally sound alternative water supplies for the San Diego metropolitan area; (3) participate, with the city of Santa Rosa, California, in the design, planning, and construction of water reuse projects; (4) participate, with the County of Napa, California, in the design, planning and construction of expansion of the Soscol Wastewater Treatment Plant in such county; and (5) provide assistance to non-Federal interests for carrying out environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects. Sets forth the Federal (or non-Federal) share of such projects, and reporting requirements. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Extends the jurisdiction of the Mississippi River Commission. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop a prevention monitoring program for zebra mussels throughout the New York City water supply system; (2) develop appropriate zebra mussel prevention and removal technologies for such system; and (3) provide technical assistance to the State and city of New York on alternative design and maintenance practices for such system in the event of zebra mussel infestation. Sets forth cost-sharing provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to: (1) direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to provide that regulations issued under such Act apply to vessels that carry ballast water and that, after operating on the waters beyond the exclusive economic zone, enter a U.S. port on the Hudson river where water is characterized as having a salinity less than 18 percent; (2) authorize such Secretary to provide that such regulations apply to vessels operating in other rivers, canals, lakes, and waterways where discharge of ballast water could result in the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes; and (3) include the Great Lakes in the study to determine the need for controls on vessels entering U.S. waters. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Earth Conservancy to develop, and carry out along the Susquehanna River between Wilkes-Barre and Sunbury, Pennsylvania, a wetlands demonstration project for the purposes of: (1) enhancing municipal waste water treatment in the region; (2) restoring and maintaining the physical, chemical, and biological integrity of the Susquehanna River and its tributaries as well as nearby lands; and (3) developing cleanup technologies which can be utilized for various environmental restoration initiatives. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with non-Federal interests to develop and carry out along the Juniata River and its tributaries, Pennsylvania, a watershed reclamation and protection and wetlands creation and restoration project. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes: (1) the construction of boat ramps and docks at Clarks Hill Reservoir, Georgia, subject to specified requirements; and (2) the Secretary to construct trailhead facilities at specified projects in West Virginia. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to jointly: (1) conduct a one-year review to select removal, pretreatment, and decontamination technologies for contaminated sediments; (2) implement a five-year demonstration program in the New York/New Jersey Harbor to assess the removal, pretreatment, and decontamination technologies selected under the review in rendering sediments safe for unrestricted ocean disposal and beneficial reuse; (3) transmit to the Congress recommendations for additional sites on the Gulf of Mexico and on the west coast; (4) establish a scientific advisory panel and a citizen advisory panel; and (5) report to the Congress. (Under current law, the Secretary shall implement a demonstration project for disposing on an annual basis of up to ten percent of the material dredged from the New York/New Jersey Harbor region in an environmentally sound manner other than by ocean disposal.) Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to conduct: (1) studies of Baltimore Harbor, Maryland, for the purpose of developing analytical procedures and criteria for contaminated dredged material in order to distinguish those materials which should be placed in containment sites from those which could be used in beneficial projects or placed in open waters without being chemically altered, and for the purpose of determining the feasibility and necessity of decontaminating dredged materials and of dewatering and recycling such materials for use as marketable products; and (2) a demonstration project to assess the extent of sediment contamination in such harbor, inventory the types of sediments, assess the need for remedial action, and prioritize contaminated areas in terms of need for remediation. Sets forth reporting requirements. Requires the Secretary to develop a comprehensive five- and 20-year sediment management strategy for Toledo Harbor, Ohio, and to transmit a copy of the strategy to the Congress. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to conduct technology transfer of innovative sediment management techniques developed through engineering and design technical assistance to other Great Lakes States and local sponsors for use at federally authorized harbors and navigation channels. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to amend the contract between the State of Illinois and the United States for use of storage space for water supply in Rend Lake on the Big Muddy River, Illinois, to relieve the State of the requirement to make annual payments for unused water supply storage under specified circumstances. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1988 to authorize the Secretary to pay tuition expenses of suitable, English-taught primary and secondary education in Puerto Rico for the children of a Federal employee who is employed (currently, temporarily residing and employed) in Puerto Rico for the construction of the Portuguese and Bucana Rivers, subject to specified requirements. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary to complete the project for removal of silt and aquatic weeds, Sauk Lake, Minnesota, including acquisition, operation, and maintenance (currently, acquisition) of weed harvesting equipment, using funds appropriated by the Congress for such purpose. Directs the Secretary to undertake such measures as necessary to compensate for damages caused to public and private property by the drawdown undertaken in March 1992 by the Corps at the Little Goose and Lower Granite projects in Washington, at a total cost of $10,000,000. Specifies that the costs of such measures shall be considered project costs and allocated in accordance with existing cost allocations for such projects. Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with: (1) the Alliance for Coastal Engineering at the Davidson Laboratory, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey, for expansion of the educational facilities for the graduate program in coastal engineering, expansion of such program, development of a demonstration component, and conducting research at such facilities; (2) the Arkansas Water Resources Center at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, for expansion of facilities and efforts of its Water Quality Laboratory and the Soil Test Diagnostic Laboratory; and (3) the University of Pittsburgh for acquisition and analysis of a 36-acre area within the Linesville Creek, Pennsylvania, watershed for purposes of ecosystem protection, flood control, and related objectives. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to establish a pilot program for providing environmental restoration infrastructure and resource protection development projects to non-Federal interests in south central Pennsylvania, subject to specified (including reporting) requirements. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1990 to repeal a limitation on the authorization of appropriations for fiscal years beginning after 1991. Directs the Secretary to carry out a project to establish a transfer facility at the Leonard Ranch property adjacent to Port Sonoma-Marin, California, for the drying and rehandling of dredged material from San Francisco Bay for transport to an upland site for beneficial uses. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) plan development; (2) cooperative agreements; (3) quality of dredged material; (4) monitoring and reporting; and (5) authorization of appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a plan for modifying the channel bypass element of the Levisa Fork, Kentucky, project for water quality improvement in and restoration of Pikeville Lake, Kentucky; and (2) undertake a revision of the master plan for the Raystown Lake, Pennsylvania, project and submit to the Congress for approval any proposed changes that significantly change uses of the Lake, surrounding land resources, or any facilities located thereon. Authorizes the Secretary to participate: (1) with the Sonoma County Vernal Pool Task Force in developing a plan for the development and preservation of seasonal wetlands on the Santa Rosa plain, California; and (2) in the study and construction of a water resources project in the vicinity of Phoenix, Arizona, for the purpose of providing flood control and improving water quality in the Tres Rios wetlands, Arizona, at a total cost of $7,500,000. Directs the Secretary to: (1) correct the design deficiency at the Klamath Glen levee, California; and (2) cooperate with State and local officials in reviewing the water supply needs of the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, Ohio. Redesignates a parcel of land to be conveyed by the Secretary to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the building located thereon, for use as a clubhouse for the local American Legion Post of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. Authorizes the Secretary to provide assistance to the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission of the State of New Jersey for the development of the Phase I Environmental Improvement Program of the Special Area Management Plan for the Hackensack Meadowlands area, New Jersey, to serve as a national model and to provide guidance on the integration of comprehensive environmental planning into Federal laws and regulations which affect the quality of the environment. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) initiate a program to exchange certain lands at Allatoona Lake, Georgia; and (2) study a hydro-environmental monitoring and information system in the New York Bight and Harbor, subject to specified (including reporting) requirements. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a national study on information that is currently available on contaminated sediments; and (2) compile information obtained in such study for identifying the location and nature of contaminated sediments in the nation. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to cooperate with non-Federal interests in the completion of a study on contaminated sediments in Milwaukee Harbor, Wisconsin, and surrounding areas. Authorizes appropriations. Directs: (1) the Secretary to complete planning, design, and construction of a project for navigation, Arthur Kill, New York and New Jersey; and (2) the President to transmit to specified congressional committees a report on expenditures from and deposits into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) conduct investigations and surveys of the watersheds of the rivers in the Conemaugh River Basin, Pennsylvania; and (2) develop and implement restoration projects for abatement and mitigation of water quality degradation caused by abandoned mines and mining activity in such basin. Directs the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with the University at Buffalo under which the Secretary will assist the Great Lakes Program and the National Center for Geographic Information Analysis of such university in establishing an information clearinghouse and repository for spatial and attribute data concerning the Great Lakes watershed. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary to transfer to the State of Wisconsin the locks and appurtenant features of the navigation portion of the Fox River System, Wisconsin. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 to provide that costs incurred after the date of enactment of such Act (November 17, 1986) for specified fish and wildlife mitigation purposes shall be allocated and subject to cost-sharing or reimbursement as specified in such Act (as under current law), including costs for lands, easements, rights-of-way, and relocations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a study on environmentally beneficial ways to expand or supplement existing placement options and sites serving channel dredging operations of the Port of Baltimore. Specifies that such study shall enhance an ongoing long-term management study for the Chesapeake Bay area being conducted by the State of Maryland and the Secretary. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Declares portions of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to be non-navigable waters of the United States, subject to specified limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1992
Intermodal Surface Transporation Technical Corrections Act - Title I: Title 23 Programs - Amends title 23 of the United States Code and the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to revise and make technical corrections to provisions regarding: (1) changing the name of the Interstate and Defense Highway System to the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways; (2) Federal-aid highway systems; (3) State highway apportionments; (3) rights-of-way; (5) contracts for engineering and design services; (6) Federal share of costs for transportation planning; (7) payment to States for bond retirement; (8) waiver of axle weight limitations for buses using the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways and certain State highways; (9) toll roads and rail-highway crossings; (10) allocation of Federal highway fund apportionments to specified State highway projects for construction of sound barriers; (11) redesignation of metropolitan planning organizations; (12) seismic retrofitting of bridges; (13) air quality improvement programs; (14) penalties for non-use of safety belts and motorcycle helmets; (15) national maximum speed limit requirements with respect to highway fund apportionments; (16) a national minimum drinking age; (17) revocation of drivers' licenses of individuals convicted of drug offenses; (18) State transportation revolving funds; (19) Federal lands highway program; (20) bicycle transportation and pedestrian walkways; (21) the highway research and technology program (22) the highway safety promotion program; (23) alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures; (24) the recycled glass and plastic demonstration program; (25) roadside barrier technology; (26) certain high cost bridge, congestion relief, high priority corridor, rural access, urban access and mobility, innovative, and intermodal projects; (27) the infrastructure awareness program; (28) the disadvantaged business enterprise program; (29) freeway service patrols; (30) traffic control standards; (31) the center for trauma and motor vehicle safety studies; (32) signs designating location of Department of Veterans Affairs facilities; (33) the Pan American highway; and (34) specified Alabama highway projects. Title II: Federal Transit Programs - Amends the Federal Transit Act with respect to various Federal transit programs, including: (1) commuter rail service; (2) the entrepreneurial transportation services program; (3) metropolitan planning; (4) transit security systems; (5) grants for university transportation centers; (6) planning and research programs; (7) the National Transit Institute; (8) increased Federal share of costs for transportation construction projects in States with large areas of Indian and public domain lands and national forests; (9) completion of MOS-1 projects; and (10) operating assistance with respect to the World University Games. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Miscellaneous Surface Transportation Programs - Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to authorize appropriations through FY 1997 for grants for participation in the International Registration Plan and the International Fuel Tax Agreement. Directs the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to develop and evaluate radio and microwave technology for furtherance of safety in motor vehicles. Amends the National Driver Register Act of 1982 to authorize the chief driver licensing official of a State to request the Secretary to refer any request for information regarding an individual's motor vehicle driving record to such State official. Amends the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 to direct the Secretary to issue regulations applying relevant commercial motor carrier safety regulations to private motor carriers of commercial motor vehicles. Requires the Secretary to develop an education program to inform such carriers of the applicability of such regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 1992
John F. Kennedy Center Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the John F. Kennedy Center Act (the Act) to extend the authorization of appropriations for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (the Center). Revises provisions for the Center's Board of Trustees (the Board). Provides for the appointment (as ex officio members of the Board) of: (1) the Secretary of State (to replace the Secretary of Health and Human Services); (2) the Superintendent of Schools of the District of Columbia (to replace the Chairman of the District of Columbia Recreation Board); and (3) additional members of the Congress. Shortens the length of terms of general trustees (who are appointed by the President) from ten to six years. Revises Board duties to include: (1) a leadership role in national performing arts policies and programs; (2) a comprehensive and broad program for national and community outreach; (3) joint initiatives with the affiliated Very Special Arts for model programs in the arts for disabled individuals; (4) ensuring excellence and cultural diversity in the Center's education and outreach programs and policies; and (5) annual comprehensive Center building needs planning. Revises Board powers to provide for appointment of a Center chairperson (rather than a director and assistant director). Authorizes the Board to negotiate any contract for any capital improvement to the Center with selected contractors, and to award the contract on the basis of contractor qualifications as well as price. Requires the Board to transmit annually to specified congressional committees a five-year comprehensive building needs plan for the Center. Requires the Board to designate the maintenance, repair, alteration, and other services to be performed for the Center in order to ensure that such services will meet Board requirements for high quality operations. Requires the Board and the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service, to provide for such services under a cooperative agreement. (Currently the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service, provides such services without the Board's designation or cooperation.) Directs the Board to develop a Center capital projects implementation plan. Requires the Board to submit such plan and quarterly progress reports to the Secretary of the Interior. Authorizes the Board to make whatever plan modifications it determines necessary and appropriate after considering the Secretary's comments and recommendations. Prohibits use of funds under such plan for any capital projects to expand the Center's existing facilities. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Center for: (1) maintenance, repair, alteration, and other services, and for capital projects (these funds go to the Secretary of the Interior to cover the Board expenses, and their use is prohibited for performing arts related production expenses; and (2) education and outreach programs (these funds go to the Secretary of Education to cover Board expenses).
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1992
Undercharge Claim Reconciliation Act of 1992 - Amends Federal transportation law to authorize persons against whom a claim is made by a motor carrier of property (other than household goods carrier) or by a nonhousehold goods freight forwarder for the collection of rates or charges in addition to the rates originally collected by such carrier or freight forwarder to elect to satisfy such claim pursuant to a specified formula upon showing that: (1) the carrier or forwarder is no longer transporting property or is transporting property for the purpose of avoiding application of this Act; and (2) with respect to such claim, the person was offered a rate other than the one legally on file with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), the person tendered freight to the carrier or forwarder in reasonable reliance upon the offered transportation rate, the carrier or forwarder did not properly or timely file with the ICC a tariff providing for such rate or failed to execute a valid contract for transportation services, such rate was collected by the carrier or forwarder, and the carrier or forwarder demands additional payment of a higher rate filed in a tariff. Requires disputes regarding the aforementioned to be resolved by the court in which such claim is filed or by the ICC. Requires the additional rate or charge for shipments to be adjusted by reducing it by specified percentages in calendar years 1985 through 1991. Shortens the statute of limitations for the filing of claims: (1) by a motor common carrier for recovery of transportation or service charges; and (2) by a person to recover overcharges by a motor carrier. Permits motor carriers and shippers to resolve by mutual consent, subject to ICC review and approval, any overcharge and undercharge claims resulting from billing errors or incorrect tariff provisions arising from the inadvertent failure to properly and timely file and maintain agreed upon rates, rules, or classifications.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1992
Administration of Veterans Education Benefits Technical Reorganization Act - Reorganizes and recodifies Federal provisions relating to veterans' educational benefits as currently provided under the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program. Repeals Federal provisions made unnecessary by such recodification. Makes technical and conforming amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Supports the planting of 500 redwood trees from California on the northwest coast of Spain in commemoration of the quincentenary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World. Designates such trees as a gift to the people of Spain made in the name of the people of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1992
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Marlin, Texas, as the Thomas T. Connally Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1992
Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise State plan provisions to mandate State programs that provide AFDC recipients with education, training, and work experience needed to prepare them to do without AFDC assistance after four years of program participation. Outlines the administrative framework for such programs, along with conditions for program participation and penalties for violations of such conditions. Requires parental initiatives in ensuring that children of families on AFDC receive proper immunizations and well-child care and attend school in order for such families to continue receiving AFDC assistance. Provides for mitigation of the marriage penalty in certain cases where the parent of a family receiving AFDC assistance (original parent) marries an individual who, at the time of the marriage, is not the biological parent of any child of the original parent. Revises SSA title IV part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program), with changes that allow States to reserve food stamp benefit funds and use them instead to provide subsidized jobs under work supplementation programs (work programs). Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 with respect to employment cashout of food stamp benefits under part F work programs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1992
Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (the Act) to authorize Federal departments and agencies to procure from the Secretary of Transportation insurance to cover risks (especially war risks) from: (1) the operation of an aircraft in domestic (interstate) or overseas air commerce; and (2) the provision of goods or services related to the operation of such aircraft (ground support) if it is in the performance of a contract for such a department or agency or is for the purpose of transporting U.S. military forces pursuant to an agreement between the United States and a foreign government. Extends the aviation insurance (war risk insurance) program under title XIII of the Act through September 30, 1997. Directs the Comptroller General to review and report to the Congress on the administration of such program during the Persian Gulf conflict in order to determine methods of improving its administration by reducing the paperwork and time period required for provision of insurance under such program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1992
Airline Competition Enhancement Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (the Act) to prohibit a vendor, in the operation of its air carrier computer reservations system, from discriminating against participants in such system in specified ways, including: (1) making available to subscribers an integrated display which orders information on air carrier identity; (2) supplying information to a person creating or attempting to create such an integrated display; (3) making available, after September 30, 1994, to a subscriber or participant any subscriber or participant transaction capability which is more functional, timely, complete, accurate, reliable, secure, or efficient with respect to one subscriber, or participant, than to another; (4) charging a participant fee for, or require terms or conditions with, the provision of any computer reservation system feature, function, or service unless they are reasonable; or (5) prohibiting a subscriber from obtaining or using another computer reservation system. Prohibits a vendor or air carrier from requiring, or providing incentives to induce, a subscriber to use information from a computer reservation system to create an integrated display which orders information on air carrier identity. Prohibits a vendor, except on grounds of demonstrated technological incompatibility, from prohibiting or unreasonably restricting the: (1) interconnection to its computer reservation system equipment of computer hardware or software supplied by a person other than such vendor; or (2) use by a subscriber, to access any other computer reservation system or data base, or hardware and communications lines supplied by another vendor. Sets forth other specified prohibitions. Prohibits a vendor from: (1) requiring, as a condition for providing a subscriber additional computer reservation system components (including software and enhancements), that the term of the subscriber's contract be extended; (2) requiring use of its computer reservation system by such subscriber in any sale by the subscriber of the vendor's air transportation services; (3) requiring use of its computer reservation system as a condition of compensation for the sale of air transportation services by the subscriber; and (4) charging prices to subscribers conditioned on the identity of air carriers whose air transportation services are sold by such subscribers. Prohibits the enforcement of subscriber contract provisions for a contract term of more than three years. Sets forth other specified contract provisions which are not enforceable. Prohibits a subscriber from using computer software or hardware to modify information in a computer reservation system so as to produce: (1) integrated displays of such information based on air carrier identity, unless specified conditions are met; or (2) displays of such information based on subscriber or participant transaction capability. Requires vendors to submit quarterly reports to the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) describing the manner in which they propose to comply with this Act. Requires the Secretary to transmit to specified congressional committees a compliance progress report based on the vendors' reports. Requires the Secretary to report annually to specified congressional committees on the participant fees charged by vendors during the preceding calendar year, including whether such fees represent an increase or decrease over the fees charged previously, and whether they are reasonable. Sets forth specified administrative provisions with respect to violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary not to give consideration to the availability of landing slots at high density airports in: (1) determining the provision of basic essential air service to small communities; and (2) selecting an air carrier to provide such service. Requires the Secretary to ensure that a sufficient number of such slots are available to the air carrier providing such service at such airports. Provides for the transfer of slots at such airports. Declares that nothing in such Act shall require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to issue regulations requiring that air carrier and airport security personnel employment investigations include criminal history record checks if the Administrator determines that such record checks are not necessary to ensure air transportation security. Requires the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to consider whether there should be a reduction in the annualized rate of random testing for prohibited drugs for personnel engaged in aviation activities. Declares that nothing under the Act authorizes the Secretary to grant a public agency authority to impose a fee for a passenger enplaning at an airport if the passenger did not pay for the air transportation, including in cases in which the passenger obtained the airline ticket with a frequent flier award coupon without monetary payment. Requires the Secretary to amend a specified section of the Code of Federal Regulations to require commuter air carriers to comply with the provisions governing on-time performance in such regulations. Directs the Secretary to publish a monthly report containing the percentage of flights of each commuter air carrier which were canceled during such calendar month. Requires the Secretary, in selecting an air carrier to provide foreign air transportation, to consider, among other specified factors, the strengthening of competition among air carriers operating in the United States in order to prevent undue concentration in the air carrier industry.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1992
Urban Entrepreneurial Opportunities Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for equity contributions made by a corporation to an urban entrepreneurial opportunity financing subsidiary of such corporation. Requires the subsidiary to use such contribution in making qualified enterprise zone business loans to qualified small business concerns. Establishes an overall program limitation among the contributing corporations to be allocated by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Comprehensive Community Bank Burden Reduction Act of 1992 - Title I: Purposes - Sets forth the purposes of this Act. Title II: Supervisory Reforms - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to extend from 18 months to twenty-four months the annual on-site examination cycle for certain small-sized insured depository institutions. Authorizes the appropriate Federal banking agency to exempt small-sized institutions within a depository institution holding company from statutory examination requirements if the agency is satisfied that adequate internal controls and examination procedures exist within the holding company structure. Modifies statutory auditing and reporting requirements in order to reduce the regulatory costs incurred by insured depository institutions, including Federal Credit Unions. Repeals regulatory standards for safety and soundness. Exempts from bank branch closure notice requirements specified branches and automated teller machines. Directs the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council to review risk-based capital rules and compliance requirements with respect to their cost burden upon community banks. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to modify the aggregate statutory limits on insider lending. Repeals the statutory mandate with respect to the regulation of interbank risks. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to modify the approval process with respect to the activities of insured state banks. Directs Federal banking regulatory agencies to coordinate their regulations and interpretation with one another to achieve uniformity. Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to: (1) authorize Federal financial institution regulatory agencies and the Resolution Trust Corporation to establish levels below which a certified or licensed appraiser shall not be required in connection with Federal real estate-related transactions; and (2) prohibit States from requiring State-certified or State-licensed appraisers for such transactions. Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to set forth self-certification guidelines for regulated financial institutions. Requires the appropriate Federal financial supervisory agency to investigate any allegation filed against a regulated financial institution regarding whether it is helping to meet the credit needs of its community. Modifies the regulatory guidelines for such institutions. Exempts from the jurisdictional purview of such Act certain wholesale financial institutions and credit card banks. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to modify the statutory standards for attachment of assets and other injunctive relief regarding depository institutions. Requires each appropriate Federal banking agency to conduct a paperwork reduction review with respect to the extent to which regulations require insured depository institutions to produce unnecessary internal written polices, and eliminate such requirements, if appropriate. Modifies the guidelines for the assessment base for deposit insurance premiums. Requires an appropriate Federal banking agency to include a detailed corroborating statement with its certification that a rule will not have a significant economic impact upon a substantial number of small depository institutions. Requires each appropriate Federal banking agency to establish a separate Office of Regulatory Quality to determine and monitor the quality of its regulatory activities. Title III: Non-Supervisory Reforms - Subtitle A: Expedited Funds Availability and Electronic Transfers - Amends the Expedited Funds Availability Act to modify the funds availability schedules for certain checks deposited at automated teller machines. Makes the availability schedule for new accounts applicable during the 90-day (currently 30-day) period beginning on the date the account is established. Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Board) to establish rules regarding losses and liability among depository institutions and other entities participating in the payments system, including States and political subdivisions on which checks are drawn. Subtitle B: Amendments to the Truth in Lending Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to: (1) exempt from its purview credit transactions involving consumers whose income or net worth exceeds specified thresholds; and (2) declare that unintentional errors which do not materially understate the cost to the obligor of certain credit transactions will not negate the effective delivery of certain disclosure requirements concerning the debtor's right of rescission. Subtitle C: Truth-In-Savings Amendments - Establishes a temporary regulatory compliance moratorium for certain small-sized depository institutions. Requires the Board to conduct a cost benefit analysis and report to the Congress on the impact of regulatory compliance upon small-sized depository institutions and their customers. Subtitle D: Homeownership Amendments - Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to require lenders who finance the purchase of residential real estate to provide certain information booklets to borrowers within three business days after the application is received unless the lender denies application within such time period. Amends the Home Mortgage Disclosurer Act of 1974 to repeal the exemption granted certain small-sized depository institutions with respect to certain home mortgage disclosure requirements. Amends the Competitive Equality Banking Act of 1987 to apply the definition of "adjustable rate mortgage loan" to certain consumer loans. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to repeal the notification requirement regarding the availability of homeownership counseling for eligible homeowners who fail to make timely payments.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Directs the National World War II Memorial Fund, Inc., to construct a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to: (1) honor members of the armed forces who served in World War II; and (2) commemorate U.S. participation in that conflict. Directs the fund to plan, design, and oversee the construction of the Memorial. Establishes the World War II Memorial Advisory Board to: (1) promote and encourage the donation of private funds for the construction of the Memorial; and (2) recommend the site for and assist in the selection of the design of the Memorial. Terminates the Board within 30 days after completion of the Memorial or on the lapse of the authority provided by this Act. Authorizes the Fund to solicit and accept private contributions for construction of the Memorial. States that the requirements and authority of this Act shall lapse if: (1) construction of the Memorial is not commenced within seven years of its enactment; or (2) before such construction, the Secretary of the Interior certifies that funds are not available in an amount sufficient to ensure its completion.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1992
Comprehensive Service Programs for Homeless Veterans Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and operate, through September 30, 1995, a pilot program to expand and improve the benefits and services to homeless veterans. Includes within such program: (1) the establishment of up to four additional demonstration programs to be centers for such veterans; and (2) the placement of veterans benefits counselors at a specified number of sites at which the Secretary furnishes services to homeless mentally ill veterans and domiciliary care to homeless veterans and at centers which provide readjustment counseling. Requires the Secretary to make grants to assist eligible entities in establishing new programs to furnish outreach, rehabilitative services, vocational counseling and training, and transitional housing assistance to homeless veterans. Sets forth grant award and application criteria. Prohibits grants from being used to support operational costs of a grantee, except as provided by this Act. Prohibits the making of a grant unless the applicant agrees to: (1) provide services for which the grant is furnished at locations accessible to homeless veterans; (2) maintain referral networks for, and aid such veterans in, establishing eligibility for assistance and obtaining services under available entitlement and assistance programs; (3) ensure the confidentiality of records maintained on homeless veterans receiving services under the grant; (4) establish procedures for accounting with respect to the grant; and (5) with respect to service centers, meet specified requirements concerning service hours, space for Federal agencies and other organizations, and necessary services. Requires the Secretary to provide per diem payments to a grant recipient for services furnished to any homeless veteran: (1) whom the Secretary has referred to the recipient; or (2) for whom the Secretary, within three working days, has authorized the provision of services. Authorizes the Secretary, in lieu of per diem payments, to provide a recipient with in-kind assistance. Permits the Secretary to inspect the facilities of any entity eligible for payments. Directs the Secretary to require the director of each medical center and regional benefits office of the Department of Veterans Affairs to: (1) assess the needs of homeless veterans living within the area served by the center or regional office; and (2) catalogue programs of the Department, agencies of the Federal, State, and local governments, and nongovernmental organizations which provide services to homeless persons in such area. Requires the Secretary to compile assessment information for use in program planning and to carry out laws relating to assistance to homeless veterans. Directs the Secretary to assign employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration to conduct outreach programs and services for homeless veterans. Amends the Veterans' Benefits and Services Act of 1988 to extend community-based residential care for homeless chronically mentally ill veterans through September 30, 1995. Extends through December 31, 1995, the authority of the Secretary to enter into agreements to make real properties acquired as a result of loan defaults available for housing assistance for homeless veterans. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1992
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 23, 1992, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1992
Action Now Health Care Reform Act of 1992 - Title I: Improved Access to Affordable Health Care Coverage - Subtitle A: Increased Affordability and Availability for Employees - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to request the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (the NAIC) to develop model regulations requiring each carrier that makes available in a State any small employer health benefit plan to make available to each small employer in the State a MedAccess basic plan and a MedAccess standard. Directs the Secretary to develop such regulations, if the NAIC does not. Defines MedAccess plan as a health benefits plan that: (1) provides benefits typical of the benefits offered in the small employer health coverage market or provides only benefits for essential preventive and medical services and has an average actuarial value not exceeding 60 percent of the average actuarial value of the typical benefits offered in the small employer health coverage market; (2) accepts every small employer in the State applying for coverage and accepts for enrollment every eligible individual (defined as an individual who is a full-time employee and, if family coverage is offered, covers the employee's spouse and dependents under age 19 or under age 25 for students); and (3) meets consumer protection standards established by this Act relating to limitation of pre-existing condition clauses, continuity of coverage, renewability, and premium limitations. Prohibits the imposition, by a carrier, of a limitation of benefits based on the fact a condition pre-existed the effectiveness of the policy if: (1) the condition relates to a condition not diagnosed within three months before coverage under the plan; (2) the limitation extends beyond six months after coverage under the plan; (3) the limitation applies to an individual who, as of date of birth, was covered under the plan; and (4) the limitation relates to pregnancy. Requires continuous coverage. Prohibits cancellation of a plan or denial of coverage unless there is: (1) nonpayment of premiums; (2) fraud; (3) noncompliance with plan provisions; (4) failure to maintain the required number of enrollees; (5) misuse of a provider network provision; or (6) a cessation by the carrier of the provision of any plan in a State. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax which shall be paid by the carrier on the failure of a carrier or an employer health benefit plan to comply with the provisions of the Act. Directs the Secretary to request the NAIC to develop models for reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms for individuals and small employers who are enrolled under a small employer health benefit plan that meets the consumer protection standards and for whom a carrier is at risk of incurring high costs under the plan. Requires each State to establish and fund one or more reinsurance or allocation or allocation of risk mechanisms that are consistent with a model. Directs the Secretary to develop models, if the NAIC does not. Permits a State, in order to insure the financial solvency of the mechanism, to impose charges on any entity providing employee-related health benefits, so long as such charges do not discriminate with respect to entities that would not be subject to such charges. Directs the Secretary to establish a reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanism, if a State does not. Imposes an excise tax which shall be paid by the carrier on the providing of any health benefit plan which covers any employee in a Federal reinsurance State. Permits either a State or the Secretary (in a Federal reinsurance State) to require each employer health benefit plan to: (1) be registered; and (2) provide such information as is necessary for the reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish an Office of Private Health Coverage to be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary; and (2) provide for the appointment of an advisory committee to advise the Director. Permits the Director to research the impact of this subtitle and conduct related demonstration projects. Requires the Director to develop: (1) methods of measuring, in terms of the expected costs of providing benefits under small employer health benefit plans and, in particular, MedAccess plans, the relative health risks of eligible individuals; and (2) a model for equitably distributing health risks among carriers in the small employer health care coverage market. Authorizes appropriations for the purposes of this paragraph. Subtitle B: Improved Small Employer Purchasing Power of Affordable Health Insurance - Preempts from insurance mandates a qualified small employer purchasing group, if the group consists of employers with not more than 100 employees, the group consists of not fewer than 100 employers, and the health benefit plans with respect to the employer members are in compliance with applicable State laws relating to health benefit plans. Subtitle C: Health Deduction Fairness - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent and increase from 25 to 100 percent the health insurance tax deduction for the self-employed. Subtitle D: Improved Access to Community Health Services - Directs the Secretary to provide for a program of grants to migrant and community health centers receiving grants or contracts under provisions of the Public Health Service Act in order to promote the provision of primary health care services for underserved individuals. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem as an employee of the Public Health Service, for purposes of civil actions against commissioned officers or employees, any officer, employee, or contractor who is a physician or other licensed health care practitioner while performing functions for an entity receiving Federal funds under provisions of the Public Health Service Act. Requires an entity, in order to receive a grant under such provisions, to implement certain policies to assure against malpractice. Requires: (1) the Attorney General to estimate the amount of all claims expected, during each year, to arise against such an entity from acts of officers or employees; (2) the Secretary to withhold from grants to such entities the amount estimated; and (3) the withheld amount to be transferred to the Treasury to pay judgments against the United States arising from such claims. Directs the Secretary to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities to carry out demonstration projects for the purpose of increasing access to outpatient primary health services in geographic areas with a: (1) population of not more than 500,000 individuals; (2) shortage of personal health services; and (3) significant number of low-income or underinsured individuals. Sets forth requirements for receiving such grants. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle E: Improved Access to Rural Health Services - Retitles title XII of the Public Health Service Act "Emergency Medical Services" (formerly, "Trauma Care") and directs the Secretary to establish the Office of Emergency Medical Services which shall, with respect to emergency medical services (including trauma care): (1) conduct research; (2) sponsor workshops; (3) assist States; and (4) coordinate activities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for the purposes of improving the availability and quality of emergency medical services through the operation of State offices of emergency medical services. Sets forth matching fund requirements. Provides for demonstration projects to establish telecommunications between rural medical facilities and other medical facilities that have equipment that can be utilized through telecommunications. Authorizes appropriations for purposes of the programs of this paragraph. Directs the Secretary to make grants to States to assist in the creation or enhancement of air medical transport systems that provide victims of medical emergencies in rural areas access to treatments for the injuries or other conditions arising from such emergencies. Sets forth requirements for grant applications. Authorizes appropriations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend for one year special treatment rules for Medicare-dependent small rural hospitals. Title II: Health Care Cost Containment and Quality Enhancement - Subtitle A: Medical Malpractice Liability Reform - Prohibits bringing a medical malpractice claim: (1) more than two years after the alleged injury should reasonably have been discovered and in no event more than four years after the alleged injury occurred; and (2) in any State court unless there has been an initial resolution through a certified alternative dispute resolution system (ADR). Requires the use of ADR in a Federal medical malpractice liability claim. Requires a pre-trial settlement conference in any medical malpractice liability action. Sets limits on: (1) noneconomic damages; (2) punitive damages; and (3) attorney's fees. Requires offsets for damages paid by a collateral source. Requires liability in a medical malpractice action to be several and not joint. Provides a complete defense to any allegation of negligence in a medical malpractice liability action to any defendant who followed the appropriate practice guideline. Prohibits finding a defendant guilty in a medical malpractice liability action relating to services provided during labor or delivery of a baby if the defendant did not previously treat the plaintiff during the pregnancy, unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Directs the Secretary to determine whether a States' ADR meets ADR system requirements established by this Act. Establishes such requirements. Amends title XI (General Provisions and Professional Standards Review) of the Social Security Act to earmark funds for sanctioning practice guidelines for purposes of an affirmative defense in medical malpractice liability actions. Permits a State agency responsible for the conduct of disciplinary actions for a type of health care practitioner to enter into agreements with State or county professional societies for such type of health care practitioner to permit such societies to participate in the licensing of such health care practitioner and to review health care malpractice allegations. Requires each State to require each health care professional and provider to participate in a risk management program to prevent and provide early warning of practices which may result in injuries to patients or which otherwise endanger patient safety. Directs the Secretary to make grants for the conduct of basic research in the prevention of and compensation for injuries resulting from health care professional or health care provider malpractice, and research of the outcomes of health care procedures. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to study the factors discouraging physicians from volunteering to provide health care services in medically underserved areas. Subtitle B: Administrative Cost Savings - Directs the Secretary to adopt standards relating to each of the following: (1) data elements for use in claims processing under health benefits plans; (2) uniform claim forms; and (3) uniform electronic transmission of the data elements. Authorizes the Secretary to require providers to submit claims to health benefit plans in accordance with such standards. Provides for periodic review of the standards. States that the term "health benefit plan," in this subtitle, includes the Medicare and Medicaid programs (titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act). Requires the Secretary to promulgate standards for hospitals concerning electronic medical data. Permits the Secretary to promulgate standards concerning electronic medical data for providers that are not hospitals. Requires hospitals, in order to participate in Medicare, to: (1) maintain clinical data in a set of comprehensive data elements in electronic form on all patients; and (2) upon the Secretary's request, transmit electronically the data set and any data from such set. Provides for electronic transmission to Federal agencies. Prohibits a health benefit plan, if standards with respect to data elements are promulgated with respect to a class of provider, from requiring for the purpose of utilization review or as a condition of providing benefits under the plan that a provider in the class: (1) provide any data element not in the set of comprehensive data elements; or (2) transmit or present any such data element in a manner inconsistent with applicable standards. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory commission of hospital executive and data base managers, physicians, health services researchers, and technical experts in the collection and use of data and operation of data systems. Authorizes appropriations for such commission. Requires the Secretary, in order to assure the availability of comparative value information to purchasers of health care in each State, to determine whether each State is developing and implementing a health care value information program that meets stated criteria. Permits grants to a State for the development of its health care value information program. Authorizes appropriations for such grants. Requires the head of each Federal agency with responsibility for the provision of health insurance or health care services to individuals to promptly develop health care value information relating to each program that such head administers. Directs the Secretary to develop model systems to facilitate: (1) the gathering of data on health care cost, quality, and outcome; and (2) analyzing such data to permit the valid comparison of such data. Authorizes appropriations for the development of such model systems. Directs the Secretary to adopt standards relating to the design and use of magnetized Medicare identification cards for the purpose of assisting health care providers in determining eligibility and billing. Authorizes appropriations. Nullifies any State law requiring that medical or health insurance records be maintained in written rather than electronic form. Requires each health benefit plan: (1) for each of its beneficiaries that has a social security number, to use that number as an identification number for claims processing; and (2) for each provider that has a unique identifier for Medicare purposes, to use that identifier for claims processing. Requires the Secretary to determine whether problems relating to the rules for determining liability when benefits are payable under two or more plans or the availability of information among such plans causes significant administrative problems, and if so, directs the Secretary to promulgate standards concerning liability and the transfer of information among plans. Directs the Secretary to provide grants to qualified entities to demonstrate the application of comprehensive information systems in continuously monitoring patient care and in improving patient care. Authorizes appropriations from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund. Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts (Medisave) - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee any amount contributed by the employer to a medical savings account pursuant to a qualified medical savings account plan. Sets contribution limits. Defines a "medical savings account" as a trust created exclusively for purpose of paying an individual's medical expenses. Permits expenses from such account only to the extent such amounts are not compensated for by insurance. Subjects the employee to taxation as owner of the account. Subtitle D: Medicaid Program Flexibility - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to modify Medicaid contracting requirements for coordinated care services. Authorizes the Secretary to waive specified Medicaid requirements with respect to nursing facilities located in a State if the State provides assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that the waiver of such requirements will not adversely affect the quality of life of the residents in such facilities. Subtitle E: Limitations on Physician Self-Referrals - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend physician self-referral limitations to all payors as well as to certain additional services. Revises exceptions. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study in order to estimate the changes in aggregate costs for designated health services, under the Medicare program and other health plans, which will result from the implementation of the amendments made by this subtitle. Subtitle F: Removing Restrictions on Managed Care - Preempts managed care restrictions under State law. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the benefits and cost effectiveness of the use of managed care in the delivery of health services. Subtitle G: Medicare Payment Changes - Amends the Medicare program to make revisions in the methodology for determining updates to Medicare hospital payments. Provides for a reduction in Medicare payment for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. Subtitle H: Modification of the Operation of the Antitrust Laws to Hospitals - Permits two or more hospitals, without violating the antitrust laws, to share expensive medical services or high technology equipment. Directs the Secretary to grant waivers to exempt hospitals from the antitrust laws in order to carry out agreements permitting such sharing. Sets forth reporting requirements. Subtitle I: Encouraging Enforcement Activities of Medical Self-Regulatory Entities - Prohibits damages, interest on damages, costs, or attorney's fees from being recovered under the Clayton Act or any similar State law from any medical self-regulatory entity as a result of engaging in standard setting or enforcement activities designed to promote the quality of health care provided to patients.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Used Oil Recycling Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the listing or identification of used oil destined for recycling, used oil to be burned for energy recovery, recycled oil, or affiliated material as hazardous wastes. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) promulgate regulations for the management of used oil and to encourage recycling of such oil; and (2) take into account the effect of such regulatons on small businesses. Exempts from such regulations used oil generated, collected, or stored by an individual who removes oil from the engine of a motor vehicle, aircraft, household appliance, or item of domestic equipment if owned by such individual and used only for personal purposes. Sets forth regulation requirements for used oil generators, including to: (1) prohibit the storage of used oil in an underground tank unless it meets specified requirements of the Solid Waste Disposal Act; (2) prohibit the storage of used oil for more than 12 months; (3) make used oil in above ground tanks subject to the Spill Prevention and Countermeasure Control Plan requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; and (4) require owners or operators of such tanks or other used oil containers to notify the Administrator of releases of used oil in excess of 25 gallons and to clean up such releases and comply with closure or disposal requirements. Authorizes the transfer of used oil by generators only to: (1) a permitted used oil recycling facility or a burner of used oil for energy recovery that complies with specifed regulations; (2) a permitted hazardous waste management facility; or (3) a used oil transporter obligated by contract to deliver used oil to another such transporter or to one of the aforementioned facilities. Sets forth recordkeeping requirements for generators, transporters, and recyclers and requires records to be maintained for at least three years. Applies used oil storage and transfer requirements for generators to transporters, except permits transporters to store such oil for only 60 days before transferring it to another transporter or authorized facility. Requires transporters to: (1) comply with all requirements of the Secretary of Transportation for the shipping of used oil; (2) comply with financial responsibility requirements of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act; and (3) have identification numbers provided by the Administrator. Sets forth regulation requirements for recyclers of used oil. Exempts from regulations used oil generated by: (1) petroleum refining or exploration, production or transportation facilities, or bulk terminals which is to be refined or processed along with normal process streams at a refining facility; and (2) a manufacturer or processor or by an electric or gas utility that is processed, reclaimed, or refined by such generator or its parent, subsidiary, or corporate affiliate, provided that the oil is reused by such entities and such activities meet certain storage, shipping, financial responsibility, contingency, and release detection requirements under this Act. Applies storage requirements similar to those for generators and transporters to recyclers, as well as requiring: (1) aboveground storage tanks and containers of used oil recyclers to comply with hazardous waste storage standards; (2) recyclers to maintain contingency plans to minimize unanticipated damage from used oil; (3) recyclers to comply with requirements for maintenance and operation of used oil recycling facilities and training of personnel; (4) detection of releases of used oil at recycling facilities and cleanup; (5) testing by recyclers, prior to processing, of all used oil received for levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, halogens, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other materials, as appropriate, and for the testing of fuel for such materials before it leaves the facility; (6) the separate storage of used oil contaminated with any hazardous waste for a specified time period; (7) financial responsibility equivalent to that required for hazardous waste facilities; and (8) class permits for recycling facilities. Requires the Administrator to conduct annual inspections of used oil recycling facilities to determine compliance with permit requirements. Makes a facility ineligible to apply for a permit if: (1) the facility has utilized any pit, pond, lagoon, or other surface impoundment for containing used oil; and (2) there has been a release from such impoundments which requires corrective action or is otherwise subject to post closure care requirements. Permits States to be authorized by the Administrator to carry out permit programs. Prohibits: (1) the placement of used oil in such impoundments or in any uncovered tank; (2) the mixing of used oil with a hazardous waste unless the mixture is managed as a hazardous waste; and (3) the use of used oil as a dust suppressant. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations for the closure of such impoundments and tanks containing used oil, to include requirements for: (1) corrective action or postclosure care; (2) allowable fuel specification levels for lead and halogens for the burning of used oil for energy recovery; and (3) lead levels for the burning of industrial specification used oil. Requires oil fuels failing to meet lead limitations to be burned in specified facilities. Directs the Administrator to implement education activities to inform the public about the hazards associated with the improper handling and disposal of used oil and the benefits derived from legitimate used oil recycling. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Administrator to publish guidelines to assist State and local governments and other public service organizations in the development of used oil collection programs. Makes used oil generators who comply with this Act eligible for an exclusion from cost recovery authorities of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Directs the Administrator to propose regulations establishing guidelines for the procurement of used oil by Federal agencies and other governmental entities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1992
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, through September 30, 1995, to carry out at three to seven health-care facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs a demonstration project to test the capability of the Department to provide cost-effective health care to persons who: (1) are eligible for health care under both title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act and a health-care program of either the Department or the Department of Defense (DOD); and (2) are generally not able to gain access for needed Department or DOD health care due to the relatively low priority of treatment of non-service connected diseases or disabilities. Requires as part of the criteria in the selection of participating facilities that each facility be in the same geographic region as a DOD medical facility scheduled for closure pursuant to the base closure laws. Directs the Secretary, in carrying out the project, to consult with veterans' organizations and the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees (veterans' committees). Deems any medical facility chosen for participation under this Act to be a Medicare participating provider entitled to reimbursement under Medicare for covered hospital care or medical services provided. States that: (1) a person receiving care under the project shall not be liable for the payment of any coinsurance or deductible under Medicare with respect to the care and services provided; and (2) the Secretary may waive in whole or in part any financial liability a veteran would otherwise incur for participation in the project. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to establish mechanisms to evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of the project and the satisfaction of the patients served. Directs: (1) the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees; and (2) both Secretaries to report jointly to the Congress the findings of the evaluation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Fundamental Competitiveness Act of 1992 - Title I: Public Debt Reduction - Allows individual taxpayers to designate a portion of tax liability (not to exceed ten percent) on their tax returns to reduce the public debt. Establishes the Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund consisting of amounts so designated. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide for a sequestration of revenues equivalent to the estimated aggregate amount so designated. Specifies accounts exempted from such sequestration and establishes reporting requirements with respect to budget procedures. Title II: Capital Formation - Establishes a method of computing the credit for increasing research activities based on aggregate research expenses, as an alternative to the method based on qualified research expenses. Establishes a variable capital gains deduction whose formulas on a sliding scale range from ten percent for assets held for one year up to 100 percent for assets held for ten years. Allows a deduction of 50 percent of the capital gain from stock investments by non-corporate taxpayers in start-up companies where initial stock offerings are held for two years. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangle property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other disposition, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Permits an income tax deduction in the amount of dividends paid by domestic corporations, except S corporations, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, and personal holding companies. Repeals the income tax deductions currently permitted in connection with: (1) dividends received by a corporation; (2) dividends received by a corporation on the preferred stock of a public utility; and (3) dividends paid by a public utility on its preferred stock. Increases the deductible percentage of amounts received by a corporation from a qualified ten-percent owned foreign corporation. Allows a charitable deduction for corporate contributions of employee volunteer services to an educational organization. Establishes an investment tax credit for manufacturing and other productive equipment. Provides for determining the applicable percentage of such credit, which includes an efficiency improvement percentage. Increases the limitation based on the amount of tax for purposes of the general business credit. Provides for the treatment of losses on stock in manufacturing companies as ordinary (as opposed to capital) losses. Allows a partial exclusion of dividends or interest received by an individual. Provides for ordinary-loss treatment for losses on investments in a qualified startup company. Describes such company as one which: (1) manufacture tangible personal property in the United States; (2) does not involve a business acquired from another person; and (3) has not been in existence for more than one taxable year at the time it issued stock. Title III: Antitrust - Amends the Clayton Act to bar the acquisition by one corporation of stock of another, subject to specified conditions, where there is a significant probability that such acquisition will substantially increase the ability to exercise market power (currently, where the effect of such acquisition may be to substantially lessen competition or to tend to create a monopoly). Defines the ability to exercise market power for purposes of such provision as the ability of one or more firms profitably to maintain prices above competitive levels for a significant period of time. Directs the court, in determining whether there is a significant probability that any acquisition will substantially increase the ability to exercise market power, to consider all economic factors relevant to the effect of the acquisition in the affected markets, including: (1) the number and size distribution of firms and the effect of the acquisition thereon; (2) the ease or difficulty of entry by foreign or domestic firms; (3) the ability of smaller firms in the market to increase production in response to an attempt to exercise market power; (4) the nature of the product and terms of sale; (5) conduct of firms in the market; (6) efficiencies deriving from the acquisition; and (7) any other evidence indicating whether the acquisition will or will not substantially increase the ability, unilaterally or collectively, to exercise market power. Amends the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 to include a joint production venture within the scope of such Act as an activity that shall not be deemed illegal per se under the antitrust laws. Changes the short title of such Act to the National Cooperative Research, Development, and Production Act. Title IV: Business Liability - Subtitle A: Findings - Makes findings with respect to the increasing amount of litigation in our society and the desirability of encouraging alternative dispute mechanisms and providing uniform legal standards in the areas of professional and product liability. Subtitle B: Professionals' Liability Reform - Professionals' Liability Reform Act of 1992 - Establishes certain limitations and procedures regarding professional liability actions. Preempts certain State laws. Provides that nothing in this Act shall prohibit any State from developing or implementing alternative procedures for: (1) expediting the adjudication of professional liability claims; (2) resolving professional liability disputes; or (3) compensating for harm caused by professional services. Requires professional liability actions to be brought within three years after the claimant discovered, or should have discovered, the harm. Requires the claimant, in any professional liability action, to establish: (1) that the professional negligently rendered professional services and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the harm; or (2) in a claim for economic injury, that the professional negligently rendered professional services to and for the direct and intended benefit of the claimant, and such services were the proximate cause of the harm. Requires the claimant to establish that, at the time such services were provided, knowledge of the circumstances that caused the harm and a practical means to eliminate such circumstances were reasonably available. States that a professional shall not be liable in a professional liability action in which: (1) the professional's services were rendered to an agency of the Federal or State government; (2) Federal or State contract specifications existed which were material to the claim; and (3) the services rendered conformed to such specifications. Permits future damage awards exceeding $100,000 to be made by periodic payments. Requires that damage awards be offset by any amount received as compensation for the same injury. Establishes a contingency fee schedule for plaintiffs' attorneys. States that the principles of comparative liability shall apply unless persons engaged in concerted action which proximately caused the harm. Permits the awarding of punitive damages only where the conduct of the defendant: (1) manifested a malicious and reckless disregard for safety; and (2) constituted an extreme departure from accepted standards of safety. States that punitive damages may not be awarded in the absence of a compensatory award, or for the negligent provision of professional services. Requires the trier of fact, at the request of the professional, to consider in a separate proceeding whether punitive damages are to be awarded. Limits the claimant's actual recovery of punitive damages to three times the amount of compensatory damages. States that excess punitive damages shall be paid to the State or Federal government. Makes any attorney who files a frivolous claim subject to pecuniary sanctions by the court. Requires each State to encourage professional organizations to form risk management programs. Subtitle C: Product Liability Fairness - Part I: General Provisions - Product Liability Fairness Act - Declares that this Act governs any product liability action brought against a manufacturer or product seller, on any theory, for harm caused by a product. States that a civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for loss or damage to a product itself or commercial loss shall be governed by applicable commercial or contract law. Supersedes any inconsistent State law regarding recovery in such actions. Lists specific laws not superseded, including: (1) defense of sovereign immunity asserted by any State or by the United States; (2) any Federal law (except the Federal Employees Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act); (3) the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976; (4) State choice-of-law rules; (5) the right of any court to transfer venue or to apply the law of a foreign nation or to dismiss a claim of a foreign nation or citizen on the ground of inconvenient forum; and (6) any statutory or common law cause of action, including an action to abate a nuisance, that authorizes a State or person to institute an action for civil damages or civil penalties, clean up costs, injunctions, restitution, cost recovery, punitive damages, or any other form of relief from contamination or pollution of the environment or the threat of it. Declares that U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over any civil action under this Act, based on specified provisions of Federal law relating to district court jurisdiction. Declares that, if any provision of this Act would shorten the period during which a manufacturer or seller would otherwise be exposed to liability, the claimant may, notwithstanding that period, bring any civil action under this Act within one year after the effective date of this Act. Part II: Out of Court Procedures - Allows any claimant to bring a civil action for damages against a person for harm caused by a product under applicable State law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Sets forth expedited settlement measures, including: (1) an option to include an offer of settlement, for a specific dollar amount, by the plaintiff in the complaint and by the defendant in a responsive pleading; and (2) awarding attorney's fees and costs, in certain circumstances, to the prevailing party if the other party does not accept the settlement offer. Sets forth alternative dispute resolution procedures, including: (1) an option, in lieu of or in addition to a settlement offer, for a claimant or a defendant to offer to proceed under any voluntary alternative dispute resolution procedure established or recognized under the law of the State in which the action is brought or maintained; and (2) awarding of attorney's fees and costs to the offering party if the court determines that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable or not in good faith. Creates a rebuttable presumption that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable, or not in good faith, if a verdict is rendered in favor of the offeror. Part III: Court Procedures - Allows a person seeking to recover for harm caused by a product to bring a civil action against the manufacturer or seller under applicable State or Federal law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this Act. Establishes a standard of product seller liability for proximate causes of harm, established by a preponderance of the evidence, which fall under the categories of negligence or express warranty. Allows the trier of fact, in a negligence action, to consider the conduct of the seller with respect to: (1) the construction, inspection, or condition of the product; and (2) failure to pass on warnings or instructions from the manufacturer. Deems the seller not liable for failure to provide warnings or instructions unless the claimant establishes that the seller failed to: (1) provide warnings or instructions received while the product was in the seller's possession and control; or (2) make reasonable efforts to provide users with warnings and instructions which it received after the product left its possession and control. Deems a seller not liable except for breach of warranty where there was no opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which would or should, in the exercise of reasonable care, have revealed the aspect which allegedly caused the harm. Declares that the seller shall be treated as the manufacturer and be liable for harm caused by a product as if it were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process in any State in which the action might have been brought; or (2) the court determines that the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows punitive damages, if otherwise permitted by applicable law, to be awarded in any civil action under this title to any claimant who establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the result of conduct manifesting a manufacturer's or product seller's conscious, flagrant indifference to the safety of those persons who might be harmed by a product. Declares that a failure to exercise reasonable care in choosing among alternative product designs, formulations, instructions, or warnings is not of itself such conduct. Prohibits awarding punitive damages in the absence of a compensatory award, subject to exception. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller of a drug or medical device where: (1) the drug or device was subject to pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (2) the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective under conditions established by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer of an aircraft where: (1) the aircraft was subject to pre-market certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and (2) the manufacturer complied, after delivery, with FAA requirements and obligations with respect to continuing airworthiness. Provides for separate proceedings, if requested by the manufacturer or seller, with regard to punitive damages. Lists factors the trier of fact is allowed to consider in determining the amount of punitive damages. Bars any civil action under this title: (1) unless filed within two years after the claimant discovered or should have discovered the harm and its cause, subject to exception; and (2) if the product involved is a capital good that is alleged to have caused harm which is not a toxic harm unless filed within twenty-five years after delivery of the product, provided the claimant has received or would be eligible for State or Federal workers' compensation. Excludes a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or railroad used primarily to transport passengers for hire from these time limitations. States that nothing in these provisions affects the right of any person who is subject to liability under this Act to obtain contribution or indemnity from any other person who is responsible for the harm. Requires reduction in the damages awarded by the sum of all State or Federal workers' compensation benefits to which the employee is or would be entitled. Requires a claimant in a civil action under this title who is or may be eligible to receive State or Federal workers' compensation to notify the claimant's employer of the civil action. Requires an action to be stayed, at the sole discretion of the claimant, until a final determination is made on the amount payable as workers' compensation benefits. Declares that, unless the manufacturer or seller has expressly agreed to indemnify or hold an employer harmless, neither the employer nor the workers' compensation insurance carrier shall have a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery, except if the claimant's harm was not in any way caused by the fault of the claimant's employer or co-employees. Allows the employer or workers' compensation insurer to intervene in the action to prove that fact. Prohibits a third party tortfeasor, where workers' compensation is involved, from maintaining any action for implied indemnity or contribution against the employer, any coemployee, or the exclusive representative of the injured person. Prohibits, for a person who is or would have been entitled to receive workers' compensation, any other action, unless a State or Federal workers' compensation law permits recovery based on a claim of an intentional tort. Makes these provisions inapplicable and declares that applicable State law shall control if the employer or the workers' compensation insurer asserts a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Declares that, in any product liability action, the liability of each defendant for noneconomic damages shall be several and not joint. Requires the trier of fact to determine the proportion of responsibility of each party for the claimant's harm. Establishes a complete defense, in any civil action under this Act in which all defendants are manufacturers or sellers, that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol or any drug and that, as a result, the claimant was more than 50 percent responsible for the event which resulted in the harm. Defines "drug" to mean any non-over-the-counter drug which has not been prescribed by a physician. Title V: Long-Term Investment - Long-Term Investment Promotion Act of 1992 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to eliminate the requirement that publicly-held corporations report their financial status on a quarterly basis. Title VI: Competitiveness Risk Assessment - Declares that no agency shall propose or promulgate a regulation without first analyzing its direct and indirect effects on the health and safety of consumers and workers, including effects due to wage and job losses, price increases, product restrictions, technological delays, and substitution effects. Title VII: Department of Manufacturing And Commerce - Department of Manufacturing and Commerce Act of 1992 - Renames the Department of Commerce as the Department of Manufacturing and Commerce. Requires the President to establish a Manufacturing Advisory Commission to examine Federal agencies, programs, and offices responsible for manufacturing-related research and development, technology transfer, education, and trade in order to prepare a report for the Congress on the feasibility of consolidating such agencies, programs, and offices into a single Office of Manufacturing within the Department of Manufacturing and Commerce. Title VIII: Amendments to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to change from discretionary to mandatory a Federal agency's authority to permit the director of any of its laboratories to enter into cooperative research and development agreements on its behalf. Authorizes each Federal agency to copyright on behalf of the United States any computer software prepared in whole or in part by Government employees involved in cooperative research and development agreements. Includes software royalties in the current distribution format (agency, laboratory, author, and Treasury) under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Medical Cost Containment Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income medical care savings benefits. Describes such benefits as a health plan which provides that all or part of the premium differential realized by instituting a qualified higher deductible health plan is credited to participating employees to pay for medical care for a plan year. Requires amounts remaining at the end of such plan year to be deposited into a tax-exempt medical care savings account (subject to rules similar to those for retirement plans) for use by the participant for medical expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Tax Extension Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend from August 1, 1992, until August 1, 1993, the provisions governing the allocation of research and experimental expenditures for purposes of determining sources of income. Extends the following provisions from June 30, 1992, until December 31, 1993: (1) the tax credit for increasing research activities; (2) the targeted jobs credit; (3) the authority to issue qualified mortgage bonds and qualified mortgage credit certificates; (4) the authority to issue qualified small issue bonds to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property; (5) employer-provided educational assistance; (6) the tax exclusion for employer-provided group legal services plans; (7) the energy investment credit for solar and geothermal property; (8) the credit for clinical testing expenses for certain drugs for rare diseases or conditions; and (9) health insurance costs of self-employed individuals. Extends the low-income housing credit until December 31, 1993 with modifications. Expands the ten-year anti-churning rule waiver to certain projects substantially assisted, financed, or operated under the National Housing Act. Allows units occupied by certain full-time students to qualify for such credit. Authorizes the Treasury Department to waive penalties for certain de minimis errors and recertifications. Provides that certain community service facilities in projects in qualified census tracts are included in eligible basis as functionally related and subordinate facilities. Allows certain building owners to elect to use apartment size or family size in determining the credit's gross rent limitation. Provides for the tax treatment of resale price control and subsidy lien programs under mortgage revenue bond provisions. Repeals the tax preference for the appreciated property charitable deduction during 1992 and 1993. Requires a report by the Secretary of the Treasury to certain congressional committees on an advance valuation procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Designates February 21 through 27, 1993, as American Wine Appreciation Week. Commends the winegrape and fruit growers and vintners of the United States for the production of high quality agricultural products.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1992
National Triad Program Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Justice to conduct a national assessment of: (1) the nature and extent of crimes against the elderly; (2) the needs of law enforcement, health, and social service organziations, in working to prevent, identify, investigate, and provide assistance to victims of such crimes; and (3) promising strategies to respond effectively to those challenges. Specifies that such assessment shall address: (1) the analysis and synthesis of data from a range of sources; (2) the problems of elderly who are living alone or in high crime areas and who are abused and neglected, and the fear of victimization; (3) the identification of strategies and techniques tht have been shown to be effective or which show promise; (4) the analysis of the factors that enhance or inhibit development of a coordinated response by law enforcement, health care, and social service providers; and (5) the research agenda needed to develop a comprehensive understanding of the problems of crimes against the elderly. Requires the Director to disseminate the results of such assessment. Authorizes the Director to make awards to coalitions of local law enforcement agencies, victim service providers, and organizations representing the elderly for pilot programs and field tests of promising strategies and models for forging partnerships for crime prevention and service provision. Specifies that pilot programs funded under this Act may include existing general service coalitions of law enforcement, victim service, and elder advocate organizations that wish to use additional funds to work at a particular problem in their community or to target a particular geographic area in need of intensive services. Authorizes the Director to make awards to: (1) coalitions of national law enforcement, victim service, and elder advocate organizations for training and technical assistance in implementing pilot programs; (2) research organizations to investigate the types of elder victimization shown by the assessment to present particularly critical problems or to be emerging crimes about which little is known, to evaluate the effectiveness of selected pilot programs, and to conduct research and development identified as being critical; and (3) public service advertising coalitions to increase public awareness of, and promote ideas or programs to prevent, crimes against the elderly. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1992
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Defense to expand the availability of health-care sharing arrangements with the Department of Defense (DOD) during the period before October 1, 1996. Specifies that under such agreement: (1) the head of a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility (the facility) may enter into agreements with the head of a DOD medical facility, with any other DOD official responsible for the provision of care to persons who are covered beneficiaries in the region of the facility, or with a DOD contractor responsible for the provision of care to persons who are covered beneficiaries in the region of the facility; and (2) the term "primary beneficiary" shall be treated as including persons described under statutory provisions concerning medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans and medical and dental care of members of the armed forces. Bars a proposed agreement authorized under this Act that is entered into by the head of a facility from taking effect unless the Chief Medical Director certifies to the Secretary that implementation of the agreement will: (1) result in the improvement of services to eligible veterans at that facility; and (2) not result in the denial of, or a delay in providing, access to care for any veteran at that facility. Specifies that, under such an agreement, statutory guidelines for the sharing of health-care resources may be modified to provide that any person who is a covered beneficiary and who is furnished care or services by a facility, or who meets other specified criteria, and who is furnished care or services by a DOD medical facility, may be authorized to receive such care or services: (1) without regard to any otherwise applicable requirement for the payment of a copayment or deductible; or (2) subject to a requirement to pay only part of any such otherwise applicable copayment or deductible, as specified in the guidelines. Sets forth reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1992
Veterans Health-Care Amendments of 1992 - Extends permanently (currently expires September 30, 1992) the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to furnish respite care to veterans eligible for hospital, nursing home, and domiciliary care. Extends through: (1) FY 1996 the authorization of appropriations for the construction of State home facilities; and (2) FY 1994 the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professional Scholarship Program. Expands the list of matters which may not be considered by the Secretary as a basis for the denial or discontinuance of a rating of total disability for purposes of compensation or pension received by a veteran and based on such veteran's inability to secure or follow substantially gainful employment to include a veteran's participation in activities, or receipt of a distribution of funds, related to therapeutic and rehabilitative services and programs. Includes a veteran's eligible survivor or dependent as a person for whom the United States has the right to recover from a third party (the person's insurer) the cost of care provided to such person by the Department that otherwise would have been provided or paid by the third party. Provides that, in the case of a health-plan contract that is a Medicare supplemental insurance policy: (1) Department facilities and personnel shall be deemed to be Medicare-participating providers; (2) medical services covered by such policy and furnished by the Department shall be deemed to be Medicare-covered services; and (3) the person to whom the services were provided shall be deemed to have a legal obligation to the United States to pay for the services. Allows funds recovered for the furnishing of such sevices to be used for the procurement of needed medical equipment for Department medical facilities, earmarking 20 percent of such procurement directly to the medical facilities that provided such care. Provides a September 30, 1996, delimiting date for the recovery of the cost of furnishing general care and services from veterans and eligible beneficiaries and a September 30, 1993, delimiting date for the recovery of cost of services provided under the medical suplemental insurance policy. Directs the Assistant Chief Medical Director of the Department in charge of geriatrics to estabish a panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals submitted to the Secretary for the establishment of new geriatric research, education, and clinical centers in the United States. Provides a new Assistant Director grade in the nurse pay grade schedule in the Department. Authorizes the Secretary to increase up to a specified limit the rate of basic pay for a nurse serving in a chief nurse position at a Department facility. Authorizes the Secretary to pay a nurse transferred to another facility at the request of the Secretary up to the applicable rate paid to such employee before such transfer for one year if necessary to fill the position. Directs the Secretary to conduct a review of the qualification standards applicable to nursing personnel at Department health-care facilities and the relationship between such standards and the pay compression of nursing personnel in the intermediate and senior pay grades. Requires a revision of such qualification standards after such review by either April 1, 1993, or six months after enactment of this Act, whichever is later. Directs the Secretary to submit a report on the review's findings to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees (veterans' committees). Directs the Secretary to conduct a review of the process used for determining the rate of basic pay applicable to the Chief Nurse position at Department facilities and to report to the veterans' committees the results of such review. Requires the Secretary to include in a certain report to the veterans' committees: (1) the number of nurses per facility who are on pay retention or in the top step of any grade; and (2) whether extensions of such pay grades were sought and granted.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1992
Civil War Battlefield Commemorative Coin Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Civil War battlefield preservation. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Requires that all sales include a surcharge of $35 per coin for the five-dollar coins, $7 per coin for the one-dollar coins, and $1 per coin for the half-dollar coins. Requires that all surcharges be paid to the Civil War Battlefield Foundation for the preservation of historically significant Civil War battlefields.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hammerschmidt, John P. [R-AR-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000124_200.jpg)