United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1992
Native American Veterans' Home Loan Equity Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and implement a pilot program under which the Secretary may make direct housing loans to aid Native American (Indian, Alaska or Hawaii native, or Pacific Islander) veterans in purchasing, constructing, or improving dwellings on trust land. Requires such loans to be made in a variety of geographic areas and in areas experiencing a variety of economic circumstances. Prohibits any such loans from being made after the end of FY 1997. Authorizes the Secretary to make such a direct housing loan to a Native American if: (1) the Secretary has entered into a memorandum of understanding with respect to such loans with the tribal organization having jurisdiction over such veteran; and (2) the memorandum is in effect when the loan is made. Outlines provisions to be included in each such memorandum. Prohibits entering into any such memorandum unless the Secretary determines that it provides standards and procedures necessary for the reasonable protection of the financial interests of the United States. Limits to $80,000 the principal amount of any such loan, but authorizes the Secretary to exceed such amount in a geographic area in which housing costs are significantly higher than average housing costs nationwide. Sets forth provisions concerning loan interest rates and credit underwriting standards. Directs the Secretary to determine the reasonable value of the interest in property that will serve as security for a loan made under this Act and to establish procedures for appraisals upon which to base such determinations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish minimum requirements for planning, construction or improvement, and general acceptability relating to any direct loan; and (2) establish credit underwriting standards to be used in evaluating such loans. Requires loans to be repaid in monthly installments. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make advances to provide for repairs, alterations, and improvements and to meet incidental expenses of the loan transaction; and (2) take any other actions and make any necessary determinations with respect to expenses, rules and regulations, and the use of persons, organizations, or departments or agencies to carry out his functions. Directs the Secretary to carry out an outreach program to inform tribal organizations and Native American veterans of the pilot program and the availability of direct housing loans for Native American veterans residing on trust lands. Establishes in the Treasury the Native American Veteran Housing Loan Program Account to carry out financial activities relating to the making of loans under this Act. Directs the Secretary, in carrying out the pilot program, to consider the views and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Native-American Veterans established under the Veteran's Health-Care Amendments of 1986. Directs the Secretary to report annually in 1994 through 1998 to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on: (1) the pilot program and recommendations for legislation regarding the program; (2) the exercise of authority to exceed the maximum loan limit; and (3) the real property appraisals performed for the Secretary during such year. Allows new direct loan obligations for Native American veteran housing loans under this Act to be incurred only to the extent that appropriations to cover their anticipated cost are made in advance. Authorizes appropriations for such loans for FY 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide that the minimum wage rate under such Act will be indexed to the cost of living in the same manner as benefits are indexed under specified provisions of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Interstate Transportation of Municipal Waste Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize a State Governor, if requested by an affected local government or local solid waste planning unit, to prohibit the disposal of out-of-State municipal waste in the following landfills or incinerators subject to the jurisdiction of the Governor or the affected local government: (1) landfills that begin operations after this Act's enactment date; (2) existing landfills that did not receive out-of-State municipal waste in 1991 or are not in compliance with State laws relating to design and locational standards, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, and financial assurance for closure and post-closure and corrective action; and (3) existing incinerators that did not receive such waste during 1991, are not in compliance with standards and monitoring requirements under the Clean Air Act, or are not in compliance with State laws relating to facility design and operations. Authorizes State Governors, if requested by an affected local government or local solid waste planning unit, to limit the amount of out-of-State municipal waste received at landfills or incinerators that received shipments of such waste during 1991 or the first six months of 1992. Permits State Governors, effective in 1993, to limit the disposal of such waste at any landfill or incinerator that receives, on an annual basis, shipments totaling more than 100,000 tons of such waste (that represents more than 30 percent of all municipal waste received during such period) by prohibiting the disposal of out-of-State waste in an annual amount greater than 30 percent of all municipal waste received during the later of 1993 or the first year in which more than 100,000 tons of out-of-State waste was received. Authorizes Governors, if requested by an affected local government or local solid waste planning unit, to further limit the disposal of such waste by reducing the 30 percent annual volume limitation to 20 percent in 1998 and 1999 and to ten percent in succeeding years. Authorizes a State to impose a fee on the combustion or disposal of out-of-State waste. Prohibits Governors from exercising authority under this Act if such action would result in the violation of a legally binding contract, with exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Workplace Democracy Act of 1992 - Applies the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to U.S. companies and their subsidiaries operating in any country signatory to a Free Trade Agreement. Gives workers of such companies and subsidiaries the right to file unfair labor practice complaints against the U.S. parent company under this Act and under the laws of the signatory country. Title I: General Provisions Regarding Rights of Employees and Enforcement Authority of the National Labor Relations Board - Amends the NLRA to give a union the option of sending a contract dispute to compulsory and binding arbitration, if by 45 days after certification a collective bargaining agreement has not been reached. Repeals specified prohibitions against strikes, boycotts, and hot cargo agreements. Repeals specified provisions relating to determinations of bargaining units by the National Labor Relations Board (the Board), including conditions relating to professional and non-professional employees, craft units, and guards. Directs the Board to promulgate rules which plainly define the characteristics of employee units appropriate for collective bargaining groups, including employee groups who have a community of interests. Requires the Board, upon receipt of a majority of signed union recognition cards of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit (as determined by the workers within such Board guidelines), to certify the labor organizations designated as the exclusive representatives of all employees in such unit. Revises provisions relating to enforcement and the authority of the Board in the prevention of unfair labor practices, including provisions relating to taking of testimony and to Board findings and orders. Adds to remedies for unfair labor practices making employees whole for the loss of economic benefits resulting from specified violations, as well as providing other remedial relief. Requires the Board to: (1) use its injunctive power upon determining that an employer has willfully violated unfair labor practice prohibitions; and (2) assess minimum civil penalties against employers for each willful violation of the NLRA. Requires an employer upon issuance of a complaint alleging an unfair labor practice, to reinstate a discharged employee pending adjudication and final review of such complaint. Allows any person who suffers financial injury by reason of a violation of a specified unfair labor practice prohibition to bring a civil action for treble damages. Makes a final judgment or decree of the Board to the effect that a defendant has committed such a violation prima facie evidence in any such action. Repeals provisions which allow a State or Territory to prohibit union security agreements (which require union membership as a condition of employment). Title II: General Provisions Regarding Rights of Employees and Enforcement Authority for the National Labor Relations Board - Sets forth provisions relating to the rights and obligations of public employees, and establishes procedures governing employer-employee relations in the special context of public employment. Creates the National Public Employment Relations Commission (the Commission). Sets forth the rights of public employees, including the rights to form, join, or assist employee organizations and to bargain collectively with employers. Sets forth the rights of public employee organizations. Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) public employee representatives and collective bargaining units; (2) impasses in collective bargaining over terms and conditions of employment and other related matters; (3) disputes over the interpretation or application of agreements; (4) public employees' and their unions' right to strike, and conditions under which a restraining order or temporary or permanent injunction may be granted in a case involving such a strike; (5) impasse procedures for firefighters and public safety officers; (6) a prohibition against strikes, work stoppages, slowdowns, or withholding of service by firefighters or public safety officers or their unions; (7) unlawful acts by employers or employee organizations and exclusive representatives of public employees; (8) Commission prevention of such unlawful acts; and (9) State authority to adopt rules that give public employees additional rights. Title III: General Provisions Regarding Pension Plans - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require joint trusteeship of single-employer pension plans, with equal representation of the interests of the employer or employers maintaining the plan and of the interests of the participants and their beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations relating to such requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1992
Medicare Respite Care Coverage Act of 1992 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of respite care services for a chronically dependent individual under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance).
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Authorizes the Coalition for a National Memorial to Mahatma Gandhi to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor Mahatma Gandhi. Prohibits the United States from paying any expense of establishing the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1992
Family Investment Act of 1992 - Title I: Family and Medical Leave - Subtitle A: Short Title; Findings and Purposes - Family and Medical Leave Act of 1992 - Sets forth the short title of this title I, along with findings and purposes. Subtitle B: General Requirements for Leave - Establishes certain requirements for family and medical leave for permanent employees. Makes employees eligible for such leave if they have been employed, by the employer from whom leave is sought, for at least: (1) a total of 12 months; and (2) 1,250 hours of service during the previous 12-month period. (Excludes from such coverage: (1) employees at worksites at which the employer employs less than 50 persons, if the total number of employees of that employer within 75 miles of that worksite is less than 50; and (2) Federal officers and employees covered under subtitle C of this title.) Entitles employees to 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period because of: (1) the birth and care of their child; (2) the placement of a child for their adoption or foster care; (3) their care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition; or (4) their own serious health condition which makes them unable to perform the functions of their position. Conditions such leave for the birth or placement of a child as follows: (1) the entitlement ends 12 months after the birth or placement; (2) such leave may not be taken intermittently unless employee and employer agree otherwise. Allows intermittent leave for necessary medical treatment of an employee or family member. Allows the employer to require a temporary transfer to an equivalent alternative position that better accommodates such intermittent leave. Allows all leave to which an employee is entitled under this subtitle: (1) to be taken on a reduced leave schedule, upon agreement with the employer; and (2) to consist of unpaid leave, except under specified conditions when substitution of certain types of paid leave may be elected or required. Declares that nothing in this Act shall require an employer to provide paid sick or medical leave in any situation in which the employer would not normally provide any such paid leave. Requires employees to: (1) give at least 30 days' notice of the need for leave to which they are entitled under this Act, when foreseeable; and (2) make a reasonable effort to schedule medical treatment or supervision so as not to disrupt unduly the employer's operations, subject to approval of the health care provider. Allows limitation of the dual aggregate leave entitlement to 12 weeks in any 12-month period, in the case of spouses employed by the same employer, if such leave is for the birth or placement of a child or for the care of a sick parent. Sets forth conditions of certification for leave entitlements under this title, including provisions relating to: (1) sufficient certification; (2) explanation of inability to perform job functions; (3) dates and duration of planned medical treatment in the case of intermittent leave; (4) second opinion; (5) resolution of conflicting opinions; and (6) subsequent recertification. Sets forth employment and benefits protections relating to leave entitlements under this title. Requires restoration of the employee to his or her position or an equivalent position upon return from such leave. Allows an employer to deny such restoration to certain highly compensated employees (i.e. those among the highest paid ten percent of the employer's employees within 75 miles of the facility at which the employee works), under specified conditions, if necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the employer's operations. Requires maintenance of employee health benefits during such leave. Allows the employer to recover premiums paid for such coverage if the employee fails to return to work after the leave period has expired for reasons other than a certified serious health condition or other circumstances beyond the employee's control. Prohibits employers or other persons from: (1) interfering with employee rights under this title; or (2) from discriminating against any individual because of participation in proceedings or inquiries under this subtitle, or because the individual opposes any practice made unlawful by this subtitle. Sets forth the investigative authority of the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) under this subtitle. Provides for enforcement of this title. Provides for administrative action by the Secretary to resolve complaints of violations under this subtitle in the same manner as under specified provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Provides for civil actions by employees, and by the Secretary on their behalf. Makes an employer who violates this subtitle's prohibitions against interfering with employee exercise of rights or discriminating against employees liable for damages in the amount of: (1) any wages, salary, employment benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to the employee by reason of the violation; (2) (in any case where such compensation has not been denied or lost) any actual monetary losses sustained by the employee as a direct result of the violation, such as the cost of providing care, up to the amount of 12 weeks' wages or salary; (3) interest on such losses; and (4) an additional amount of liquidated damages equal to the sum of such losses and the interest (except that the court may reduce or eliminate such additional liquidated damages in cases where the employer can show good faith and reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation). Makes such employers also liable for appropriate equitable relief, including, without limitation, employment, reinstatement, and promotion. Requires the court to allow attorney's fees and other costs of the action to be paid by the defendant in addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff. Sets forth provisions for limitations of such civil actions. Sets forth provisions for action for injunction by the Secretary. Sets forth special rules concerning employees of local educational agencies and of private elementary and secondary schools, including provisions relating to intermittent leave for instructional employees, periods near the completion of an academic term, and reduction of liability. Requires employers to post notice of the pertinent provisions of this subtitle. Requires fines for willful violations of such requirement. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this subtitle. Subtitle C: Leave for Civil Service Employees - Amends specified Federal law to entitle civil service employees to family and temporary medical leave for specified periods. Makes such employees eligible for such leave if they have been employed by an employing agency for at least 12 months on other than a temporary or intermittent basis. Allows such employees up to 12 administrative workweeks in any 12-month period for: (1) family leave (i.e., leave because of the birth or placement of a child or care of a sick spouse, child, or parent), but such leave may not be used at a time more than 12 months after such birth or placement; or (2) temporary medical leave for a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of their position. Provides that such leave shall be without pay. Allows employees to substitute other types of paid leave for any part of such leave. Sets forth requirements for employees to give prior notice of the need for such leave, when foreseeable, and to schedule medical treatments, if possible, so as to not unduly disrupt the employing agency's operations. Sets forth certification provisions. Provides for protection for job position and health insurance benefits of employees using such leave. Sets forth prohibitions against coercion. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to prescribe regulations for administration of this title which are consistent with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor under subtitle B of this title. Subtitle D: Commission on Leave - Establishes the Commission on Leave. Requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of: (1) existing and proposed policies relating to leave; (2) the potential costs, benefits, and impact on productivity of such policies on employers; and (3) alternative and equivalent State enforcement of this title with respect to employees of local educational agencies and private schools. Requires the Commission to report on such study to the Congress within two years after the Commission first meets. Terminates the Commission within 30 days after its report to the Congress. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous Provisions - Sets forth the effect of this title on other laws and existing employment benefits. Provides that nothing in this title shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting more generous leave policies. Directs the Secretary of Labor to prescribe regulations to carry out this subtitle within 60 days. Subtitle F: Coverage of Congressional Employees - Applies the rights and protections established under specified provisions of subtitle B of this title to Senate employees and any employing office of the Senate. Makes specified provisions of the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 applicable, with certain exceptions including limitations on the period for requests for counseling. Provides that allegations shall be considered by the Office of Senate Fair Employment Practices or another entity designated by the Senate. Requires such Office to ensure that Senate employees are informed of their rights under this title. Applies the rights and protections under subtitle B of this title to employees of the House of Representatives, except for the exemption concerning highly compensated employees. Requires that the remedies and procedures under the Fair Employment Practices Resolution be applied in administering such coverage. Title II: Head Start, Child Immunization, and WIC Programs as Emergency Funding for Budget Purposes - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to treat as emergency funding requirements not subject to discretionary spending limits the costs of carrying out Head Start programs under the Head Start Act, child immunizations under the Public Health Service Act, and the special supplemental food program (WIC) under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Title III: Parents as Teachers - Parents as Teachers: the Family Involvement in Education Act of 1992 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Parents as Teachers program. Authorizes the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to States for parents as teachers programs, with special consideration for hard-to-serve populations. Makes eligible for such a grant any State which operates a parents as teachers program associated with the Parents as Teachers National Center in Missouri. Sets forth program requirements, limiting services to families during the period from the last three months of a mother's pregnancy to the child's attaining age three. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Parents as Teachers National Center for information dissemination and technical and training assistance for States with such programs; and (2) evaluate such programs within four years. Provides for a declining Federal share in such program from 100 percent in the first year to 25 percent in the fifth year. Authorizes appropriations. Title IV: Family Preservation - Subtitle A: References to Social Security Act - States that, except as otherwise expressly provided, all amendments in this title are to the Social Security Act. Subtitle B: Child Welfare Services - Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to create an entitlement program for specialized child welfare services designed to keep together or reunify families in crises due to substance abuse, and prevent the need for placement in foster care. Repeals provisions for incentive payments to States which maintain a foster care inventory, information system, and case review system; but requires States to provide such protections and other services designed to keep families together or reunify them, or to place children for adoption, with a legal guardian, or in some other planned, permanent living arrangement. Requires States to submit the following types of reports on child welfare services and expenditures: (1) pre-expenditure reports; (2) post-expenditure reports; and (3) comparative financial contributions reports. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transmit annually to specified congressional committees a summary of the information in such contributions reports. Reserves funds for entitlement grants to State court systems to assess and improve procedures in child welfare cases, in carrying out SSA title IV parts B and E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance). Sets forth application requirements and formulas for determining the amount of such grants for FY 1994 through 1998. Directs the Secretary to submit interim and final reports to the Congress on the information obtained from assessments conducted with such grants and the impact of such grant program on State court procedures and functions. Requires each State to compile biennially a detailed directory of programs designed to keep families together or reunify them or place children permanenty, identifying which of such programs provides specialized child welfare services to families in crisis due to substance abuse. Requires State part B plans to contain a description of the measures taken by the State to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act. Subtitle C: Foster Care and Adoption Assistance - Amends SSA title IV to add a new part C, Comprehensive Service Projects to grant States the flexibility and resources to develop comprehensive and coordinated services designed to: (1) preserve and strengthen families with children at risk of placement outside their homes; (2) reunite children with their families expeditiously if an out-of-home placement is found to be necessary; and (3) place children in adoptive homes or other permanent arrangements in a timely fashion if reunification with their families is not appropriate. Permits any State to apply to the Secretary for permission to: (1) conduct a comprehensive service project in a selected area or areas; and (2) suspend certain child welfare services and foster care and adoption assistance requirements with respect to State activities in such area or areas during the project. Sets forth: (1) application requirements and administrative provisions for such projects; (2) requirements with which such a project must comply; (3) provisions for determining project grant amounts; and (4) requirements for notification to States of such amounts, and for grant payments in equal quarterly installments. Places restrictions on the manner in which a State may carry out such projects. Requires States to report annually on funds expended under such projects to the Secretary and the Advisory Commission on Children and Families. Provides for project termination. Permits foster care and adoption assistance payments to be made in certain cases involving abandoned children and children whose adoption has been set aside by a court. Makes technical changes in the foster care maintenance and adoption assistance programs with respect to the removal from home requirement. Gives States the option of providing for respite care for foster parents with children who have special needs. Expands the definition of children with special needs for purposes of the adoption assistance program. Requires each States to submit to the Secretary the factors and conditions it uses to identify children with special needs, for purpsoes of such program, and any modifications to such factors and conditions. Directs the Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee on Foster Care Placement to study and report to the Secretary and the Congress on reasonable efforts requirements under State part E plan provisions. Covers specified percentages of State costs in developing, installing, and operating statewide mechanized data collection and information retrieval systems which: (1) the Secretary determines are likely to enhance the administrations of programs under parts B and E; and (2) meet other specified requirements. Requires State part E plans to provide for: (1) a triennial review of the amounts paid as foster care maintenance payments and adoption assistance to assure their continuing appropriateness; and (2) a report to the Secretary on the results. Requires that the dispositional hearing to determine the final status of a foster child occur within 12 months of his or her original placement, rather than the current 18 months. Revises: (1) the definition of "case review system"; and (2) the time frame for judicial determinations on voluntary placements. Sets forth case plan requirements for placement of children in out-of-State foster care. Requires annual review of the status of children in out-of-State foster care placements with the child present, except under certain circumstances. Requires States to collect data on the numbers of children in out-of-State foster care placements. Requires a State, in order to receive payments for expenditures after FY 1994 for foster care maintenance payments with respect to children placed in foster care outside the State, to conduct and submit to the Secretary a study identifying the number and common characteristics of such children and the reason why they were not placed in foster care in the State. Permits States to allow foster children making the transition from foster care to independent living to accumulate assets for the purpose of establishing a household. Eliminates: (1) the ceilings on Federal foster care payments to States; and (2) the States' authority to transfer unused foster care funds to the Child Welfare Services program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish an advisory committee; and (2) after consultation with it, issue final regulations for training of staff of agencies responsible for administering foster care and adoption assistance programs and for training of foster and adoptive parents. Directs the Secretary to publish annually information, on a State-by-State basis, on expenditures for, and the operations of, the Child Welfare Services program, the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program, and Comprehensive Service Projects. Amends SSA title IV to add a new part G, Child Welfare Review System, under which the Secretary is required to: (1) establish a new system for reviewing State child welfare program compliance with SSA requirements; and (2) take certain actions in cases of noncompliance, which include imposing financial penalties. Subtitle D: Social Services Block Grant - Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to authorize increased appropriations under such grant program. Provides for the allocation of funds to Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Subtitle E: Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Activities - Amends part A (General Provisions) of SSA title XI to require the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to establish an Advisory Commission on Children and Families. Requires the Commission to collect and assess specified types of information in order to identify cost-effective approaches to protect and enhance the physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being of children and their families. Directs OTA to report annually to the Congress on the Commission and its assessment. Requires the Commission to conduct, directly or through contracts with independent research organizations, the following research and evaluation projects: (1) an evaluation of child welfare service programs, including intensive family preservation programs; (2) foster care evaluations; (3) longitudinal child welfare data bases, and studies of child welfare population dynamics; and (4) comprehensive service projects evaluations. Requires the Commission to study child separation guidelines. Directs the Secretary to contract with independent organizations to conduct the following research and evaluations: (1) a study to assess the prevalence and nature of risks to the safety of employees of child welfare systems; and (2) a three-year study to examine methodologies for measuring the workloads of providers of child welfare services and community mental health services. Directs the Secretary to authorize the following types of child welfare demonstration projects: (1) expeditious permanent placement of children; (2) child welfare worker training to deliver culturally sensitive and special needs services in U.S. areas that border on Mexico; (3) child welfare worker recruitment and retention strategies; and (4) joint training of child welfare workers and staff of mental health and juvenile justice agencies. Permits the Secretary to authorize foster care and adoption assistance demonstration projects to test the feasibility of eliminating certain SSA income and resources requirements, and allowing States to receive reimbursement for foster care and adoption assistance payments made with respect to children without regard to such income and resources. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to States for: (1) implementing child welfare services, comprehensive service projects, and foster care and adoption assistance programs; (2) disseminating information on innovative child welfare agencies; (3) correcting problems identified through Federal audits and reviews and carrying out corrective action plans under foster care and adoption assistance programs; (4) implementing the foster care and adoption data collection system; and (5) addressing other matters identified by the Secretary. Subtitle F: Miscellaneous Human Resources Amendments - Amend SSA title IV part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Chidren) (AFDC) to: (1) give States the option to use retrospective budgeting without monthly reporting under the AFDC program; and (2) increase the stepparent income disregarded under the AFDC program. Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to provide for an extension of the period for demonstration projects for evaluating model procedures for reviewing child support awards. Title V: Safe Children and Communities - Safe Children and Communities Act of 1992 - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for projects to improve the safety of families with children in low-income, violent communities. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1992
Declares that it is U.S. policy to seek international agreements prohibiting the sale, transfer, or export, limiting the use, and terminating the production, possession, or deployment, of antipersonnel landmines. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should seek to negotiate an international agreement or a modification of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or To Have Indiscriminate Effects to prohibit the sale, transfer, or export of antipersonnel landmines. Prohibits, for a period of one year from this Act's enactment date: (1) sales, financing, transfers, and the issuance of licenses under the Arms Export Control with respect to antipersonnel landmines; and (2) assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 with respect to the provision of such landmines.
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
States that the criminal act of stalking other persons is of deep concern. Directs the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Justice, to: (1) evaluate anti-stalking legislation and proposed legislation in the States; (2) develop model anti-stalking legislation that is constitutional and enforceable; (3) prepare and disseminate to State authorities the findings made as a result of the evaluation; and (4) report to the Congress on the need for further Federal action.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie in recognition of his accomplishments as a musician. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Filipino Veterans' Equity Act of 1992 - Amends the Immigration Act of 1990 to extend the naturalization application deadline for certain Filipino veterans of World War II. States that military service records authenticated by the Government of the Philippines shall be accepted to certify qualifying military service. Permits the naturalization examination and oath to be given in the Philippines. Grants special immigrant status for spouses and sons and daughters of such veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Women Veterans Health Programs Act of 1992 - Title I: Sexual Trauma Services - Requires that a veteran who is diagnosed by a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) health professional designated by the Chief Medical Director (following an examination of the veteran by such professional) to be in need of counseling or treatment for sexual trauma resulting from events that occurred during the period of the veteran's service on active duty be furnished such care and services, even though such trauma has not been determined to be service-connected. Authorizes the Secretary of the DVA to enter into contracts with appropriate non-DVA facilities to furnish veterans with such care and services. Sets forth reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to provide information and referrals concerning care and services related to sexual trauma that are available to veterans in the communities in which such veterans reside, including care and services available under programs of the DVA and from non-DVA agencies or organizations, by means of a telephone information system using a toll-free number. Requires the Secretary to ensure that such system: (1) is operated by DVA personnel who are trained in the provision of information and referrals to persons who have experienced sexual trauma; (2) is operated in a manner that protects the confidentiality of persons who place telephone calls to the system; (3) operates at all times; and (4) is visibly posted in DVA medical facilities and advertised through public service announcements, pamphlets, and other means. Directs the Secretary to commence a study of the needs of veterans for counseling, medical care, and other services for sexual trauma, including: (1) the extent to which women service members have experienced rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or other acts of sexual violence while on active military, naval, or air service; (2) the extent of any under-reporting of incidents of sexual violence among women members of the armed forces and the extent to which the rate of such under-reporting differs from the rate of under-reporting of such incidents among the general population of women in the United States; (3) the extent to which women members of the armed forces and women veterans who have experienced sexual trauma have used counseling, medical care, and other services furnished by the Department of Defense and the DVA in order to respond to such experiences; and (4) the same types of information with respect to men who are members of the armed forces and men who are veterans. Sets forth reporting requirements with respect to such study and the care and services furnished by DVA to veterans who have experienced sexual trauma. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense to jointly carry out a program to ensure that persons who are being separated from active military, naval, or air service are provided information on: (1) the counseling, medical care, and other services and assistance relating to sexual trauma that are available to veterans under programs carried out by the DVA; and (2) the requirements of eligibility for or entitlement to, and the procedures for applying for, such counseling, medical care, and other services and assistance. Requires the Secretaries to ensure that such information is provided in both a written and oral form through an in-person interview conducted by trained personnel with each person being separated. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs a report relating to determinations of service connection for sexual trauma. Title II: Health Care for Women Veterans - Includes the term "well-women care services" within the definition of medical services for purposes of Federal veterans' provisions. Defines such term to mean health care services provided to women, including counseling and services relating to: (1) papanicolaou tests (pap smear); (2) breast examinations and mammography; (3) general reproductive health care and contraceptives; (4) the management of infertility and sexually transmitted diseases; (5) menopause; and (6) physical or psychological conditions arising out of acts of sexual violence. Authorizes contracts for hospital care and medical services with non-DVA facilities to furnish well-women care services for veterans on an ambulatory or outpatient basis, but only under contracts that expire not later than December 31, 1994. Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit to the Congress a report on the provision of health care services to women veterans; and (2) foster and encourage the initiation and expansion of research into matters relating to women's health. Requires the Comptroller General to carry out a study to determine: (1) the percentage of all admissions of women veterans to DVA facilities that are based on a diagnosis of psychotic illness; (2) the percentage of all admissions of men veterans to such facilities that are based on such diagnosis; and (3) an explanation of the difference, if any, in such percentages. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary, to the extent that the quantity and nature of information available to DVA personnel with respect to issues relating to health care for women veterans permit such personnel to carry out research relevant to the health care needs of women veterans, to take actions to ensure that medical research carried out by the Secretary gives consideration to issues relating to the health of the general population of adult women in the United States. Directs the Secretary to conduct an ongoing study to determine the needs of women veterans for health-care services. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Senate and House Committees on Veterans' Affairs a report on research relating to women veterans. Directs the Secretary to take appropriate actions to ensure that: (1) sufficient funding is provided to each DVA facility to permit the women veterans coordinator to carry out the functions of the coordinator at the facility; (2) sufficient clerical and communications support is provided to each such coordinator for that purpose; and (3) each such coordinator has direct access to the Director or Chief of Staff of the facility to which the coordinator is assigned. Directs the Secretary to appoint a full-time regional women veterans coordinator to serve in each regional office of the Veterans Health Administration. Sets forth responsibilities of such coordinators. Requires the Secretary to provide funds to be used for the members of the Advisory Committee on Women Veterans for: (1) travel in connection with a reasonable number of visits to DVA facilities to permit such members to carry out the responsibilities of the Advisory Committee; and (2) the conduct of meetings of the Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Persian Gulf War Health Registry Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to maintain a Persian Gulf War Health Registry for purposes of compiling information on Persian Gulf War veterans to assist in identifying possible disabilities which may result from service in the U.S. armed forces in southwest Asia during such war. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) information to be included in the Registry, including a description of activities in which the veteran participated during the war that may have long-term health effects, locations in which the veteran served, and any investigation drugs administered to such veterans by the Department of Defense (DOD); and (2) steps that the Secretary may (and Secretary of Defense, upon request, shall) take, including a comprehensive mental and physical examination and follow-up consultation, to determine the current health status of such veterans. Directs the Secretary and Secretary of Defense to: (1) inform Gulf War veterans who are no longer members of the armed forces of the provisions of this Act and encourage such veterans to participate in the Registry; and (2) annually furnish to such veterans updated information on health risks of service in southwest Asia during the war. Requires DOD to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs each fiscal year, from funds appropriated for health care, for the cost of administering the Registry for Gulf War veterans who are members of the armed forces. Specifies that: (1) nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the Secretary to provide Gulf War veterans in the Registry with hospital care, nursing home care, or outpatient medical services for the treatment of diseases or disabilities identified in an examination authorized pursuant to this Act; and (2) application for an examination shall not be construed as an application for any other benefit. Directs the Secretary to conduct a longitudinal study, over a 50-year period, to assess the short- and long-term health consequences of service in southwest Asia during the Gulf War, including an ongoing examination of the health consequences of petrochemical exposure, investigation drugs administered during the Gulf War, the fumes of burning trash, and diseases indigenous to the Middle East. Requires the Secretary and Secretary of Defense to submit to the Congress a joint annual report on the Registry. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish the Registry (and have access to the registry established by the Secretary of Defense); and (2) submit to the Congress a research protocol for the 50-year study.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1992
Amends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-164) to increase the number of weeks for which emergency unemployment compensation is payable.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1992
Native American Veterans' Home Loan Equity Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and implement a pilot program under which the Secretary may make direct housing loans to aid Native American (Indian, Alaska or Hawaii native, or Pacific Islander) veterans in purchasing, constructing, or improving dwellings on trust land. Requires such loans to be made in a variety of geographic areas and in areas experiencing a variety of economic circumstances. Prohibits any such loans from being made after the end of FY 1997. Authorizes the Secretary to make such a direct housing loan to a Native American if: (1) the Secretary has entered into a memorandum of understanding with respect to such loans with the tribal organization having jurisdiction over such veteran; and (2) the memorandum is in effect when the loan is made. Outlines provisions to be included in each such memorandum. Prohibits entering into any such memorandum unless the Secretary determines that it provides standards and procedures necessary for the reasonable protection of the financial interests of the United States. Limits to $80,000 the principal amount of any such loan. Sets forth provisions governing loan interest rates. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish minimum requirements for planning, construction or improvement, and general acceptability relating to any direct loan; and (2) establish credit underwriting standards to be used in evaluating such loans. Requires loans to be repaid in monthly installments. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make advances to provide for repairs, alterations, and improvements and to meet incidental expenses of the loan transaction; and (2) take any other actions and make any necessary determinations with respect to expenses, rules and regulations, and the use of persons, organizations, or departments or agencies to carry out his functions. Establishes in the Treasury a revolving fund to be known as the Native American Veterans Housing Loan Fund to carry out financial activities relating to the making of loans under this Act. Directs the Secretary, in carrying out the pilot program, to consider the views and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Native-American Veterans established under the Veterans' Health-Care Amendments of 1986. Directs the Secretary to report annually in 1994 through 1998 to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on the pilot program and recommendations for legislation regarding the program. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1992
Vaccine Access and Registry Act - Title I: Universal Vaccine Grant Program - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the establishment and operation of programs to purchase vaccines from manufacturers at the federally negotiated bulk rate and distribute them free of charge to health care providers for the immunization of children. Sets forth application requirements for such program. Allocates funding based on the five-year birth average of a State. Requires the Secretary to annually review the compliance of a State and to establish sanctions for noncompliance. Authorizes two-year renewals of such grants. Requires the Secretary to include a description of activities under this title in annual status reports to the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1995. Title II: Amendment to Public Health Service Act Concerning Federally Negotiated Bulk Rate - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary from procuring a vaccine that may be used to immunize children under the age of 13 from any person who does not agree as a condition to the procurement to sell the vaccine to a State at the same price as the person offers the Secretary. Title III: Immunization Registry Grant Program - Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States for the establishment and operation of State immunization registries by State agencies with legal responsibility for disease control under State law. Allows the Secretary to make such grants to two or more cooperating States for regional immunization registries. Requires the Secretary to annually review the compliance of a State and to establish sanctions for noncompliance. Requires the Secretary to include a description of activities under this title in annual status reports to the President and the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
Sanctions Against South Africa Act of 1992 - Prohibits: (1) the ownership of a share or interest in a business, commercial enterprise, or economic resource in South Africa by a U.S. person; (2) any commitment or transfer of financial or economic resources by a U.S. person to the Government of South Africa or any person in South Africa; and (3) the performance by a U.S. person of any contract in support of an industrial, commercial, public utility, or governmental project in South Africa. Bars the import into the United States of any: (1) goods or services of South African origin, other than publications and informational materials; and (2) South African krugerrand or other gold coin minted in South Africa or offered for sale by the South African Government. Prohibits the export to South Africa, with certain exceptions, of goods, technology, or services from the United States. Bars: (1) transactions by a U.S. person relating to transportation to or from South Africa; (2) the provision of transportation to or from the United States by any South African person or any vessel or aircraft of South African registration; and (3) the sale in the United States by any person holding authority under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 of any transportation by air which includes a stop in South Africa. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny foreign tax credits with respect to taxes paid to South Africa beginning on January 1, 1993, and ending on the date the Secretary of State certifies to the Secretary of the Treasury that sanctions under the Sanctions Against South Africa Act of 1992 have been terminated. Prohibits assistance (other than humanitarian assistance) to South Africa under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act. Makes prohibitions under this Act inapplicable with respect to victims of apartheid. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes the President to modify or waive the prohibitions of this Act if he certifies to the Congress that such action is in the national interest and the Congress enacts legislation approving the action. Terminates the prohibitions of this Act if: (1) the President certifies to the Congress that a democratically-elected nonracial national government is established in South Africa; and (2) the Congress enacts legislation approving such certification. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should provide specified assistance to South Africa upon the establishment of a democratically-elected nonracial government in such country.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
American Jobs Fairness Act of 1992 - Prohibits expenditure of Federal funds to purchase components for the Superconducting Super Collider that are manufactured outside the United States, except under a contract that was open to competitive bidding (with specified exceptions for certain components).
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1992
Emergency Community Development Loan Guarantee Act - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to enter into additional annual housing loan guarantee commitments under section 108 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1992
Amends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991 (Public Law 102-164) to increase the number of weeks for which emergency unemployment compensation is payable. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce a tax deduction for certain expenses for meals and entertainment.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1992
Downed Animal Protection Act of 1992 - Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to make it unlawful for any stockyard owner, market agency, or dealer to market, transfer, or hold nonambulatory livestock that has not been humanely euthanized.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should release to Leona Benten the dosage of the drug RU-486 that was seized from her on July 1, 1992, for her personal use under the supervision of a physician of her choice.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Children's Initiative - Family Preservation Act of 1992 - States that titles I through V of this Act may be cited as the Family Preservation Act of 1992 - Title I: Child Welfare Services - Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to create a capped entitlement program to provide child welfare services designed to strengthen and preserve families. Provides for allotments, reallotments, and payments to States of entitlement funds. Requires use of part of such funds to develop or expand specialized child welfare service programs for families in crisis due to substance abuse. Requires uses of remaining funds to develop or expand certain family and child service programs. Repeals provisions for incentive payments to States which maintain a foster care inventory, information system, and case review system; but requires States to provide such protections and other services designed to keep families together or reunify them, or to place children for adoption, with a legal guardian, or in some other planned, permanent living arrangement. Requires States to submit the following types of reports on child welfare services and expenditures: (1) pre-expenditure reports; (2) post-expenditure reports; and (3) comparative financial contributions reports. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transmit to specified congressional committees annual summaries of the information in such comparative financial contributions reports. Requires such information to be made available to the public. Reserves entitlement funds for grants to State court systems to assess and improve procedures in child welfare cases in carrying out parts B and E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of SSA title IV. Sets forth application requirements and formulas for determining the amount of such grants for FY 1994 through 1998. Directs the HHS Secretary to submit interim and final reports to the Congress on the information obtained from assessments conducted with such grants and the impact of such grant program on State court procedures and functions. Requires each State to compile periodically a detailed directory of programs designed to keep families together or reunify them or place children permanently, identifying which of such programs provides specialized child welfare services to families in crisis due to substance abuse. Requires States to report on measures taken to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act. Title II: Foster Care And Adoption Assistance - Amends SSA title IV to add a new part C, Comprehensive Service Projects to grant States flexibility and resources to develop comprehensive and coordinated services designed to: (1) preserve and strengthen families with children at risk of placement outside their homes; (2) reunite children with their families expeditiously if an out-of-home placement is found to be necessary; and (3) place children in adoptive homes or other permanent arrangements in a timely fashion if reunification with their families is not appropriate. Permits any State to apply to the HHS Secretary for permission to: (1) conduct a comprehensive service project in a selected area or areas; and (2) suspend certain child welfare services and foster care and adoption assistance requirements with respect to State activities in such area or areas during the project. Sets forth application requirements and administrative provisions for such projects. Prohibits the HHS Secretary from requiring as a condition of approval of a project application: (1) the State to select any area or areas in which to conduct the project; or (2) the project to comply with any requirements not specified in the project authorization. Sets forth those requirements with which such a project must comply. Provides for determining the expenses for which a State might properly seek reimbursement, for purposes of calculating such grant amount. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to increase such grant amount, to the extent appropriate, by taking specified factors into account. Sets forth requirements for notification to States of grant amounts, and for grant payments in equal quarterly installments. Prohibits a State from carrying out such a project in a manner that impairs the entitlement of any child to: (1) the foster care benefits he or she would have receive if the HHS Secretary had approved the State plan and had not authorized the State to conduct such a project; or (2) any other benefit to which the child is legally entitled. Deems a State to have in effect an approved foster care and adoption assistance plan during the period in which it conducts such a project for purposes of State plan requirements under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of SSA title IV. Requires States to report annually on project funds expended to the HHS Secretary and the Advisory Commission on Children and Families. Provides for administrative remedies for unsuccessful projects. Provides for project termination. Makes abandoned children entering foster care eligible for foster care maintenance payments. Makes the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made eligible for adoption assistance payments. Makes technical revisions to the foster care maintenance payments program and the adoption assistance program to expand the removal from home requirement to include removal from legal custody. Provides for retroactive application of such new requirement under the adoption assistance program. Makes children whose adoption has been set aside by a court eligible for foster care maintenance payments. Makes the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made eligible for adoption assistance payments. Establishes a respite care program for foster parents with children who have special needs. Limits the expenses eligible for reimbursement under such program. Expands the definition of children with special needs, for purposes of the adoption assistance program, to include: (1) those children for whom information is known and available about their genetic or social history indicating a high risk of medical conditions or physical, mental, or emotional handicaps which makes it reasonable to conclude that they cannot be placed for adoption without providing part E adoption assistance or Medicaid (SSA title XIX) medical assistance; and (2) those children that have been adopted, that were under the care and responsibility of the State agency responsible for administering the State's part E programs immediately before adoption, and that have a mental, physical, or emotional handicap that either existed before the adoption but was not diagnosed until afterwards, or first manifests itself after the adoption but is congenital or was caused beforehand. Extends to relatives (as well as foster parents) who are prospective adoptive parents, and with whom the child has significant emotional ties while in their care, the exception to the requirement that an effort be made to place special needs children with appropriate adoptive parents without providing adoption or Medicaid assistance. Requires each State to submit to the HHS Secretary the factors and conditions it uses to identify children with special needs for purposes of the adoption assistance program, and any modifications to such factors and conditions. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee on Foster Care Placement to study and report to the Secretary and the Congress on the implementation of specified requirements, under State plans for foster care and adoption assistance, that reasonable efforts be made: (1) before placement of a child in a foster home, to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child's home; and (2) to make it possible for the child to return to the child's home. Provides Federal coverage of 90 percent of State costs in developing and installing certain statewide mechanized data collection and information retrieval systems. Covers 50 percent of State costs for operation of such systems. Provides that all State expenditures for development, installation, and operation of such systems shall be treated as necessary for proper and efficient administration of the State plan, without regard to whether the systems may be used with respect to foster or adoptive children other than those on behalf of whom payments may be made for foster care maintenance or adoption assistance. Reduces, after three years, from 90 to 50 percent the Federal matching payment for development and installation of such systems. Defers a deadline for implementation of automated systems until one year after certain regulations are promulgated. Directs the Secretary to establish a work group to advise on planning and implementation of the system to be used for collection of data relating to adoption and foster care in the United States. Requires the State plan to provide for: (1) a triennial review of the amounts paid as foster care maintenance payments and adoption assistance to assure their continuing appropriateness; and (2) a report to the HHS Secretary on the results. Sets forth requirements concerning dispositional hearings to determine the final status of a foster child. Revises the time frame for judicial determinations on voluntary placements. Sets forth case plan requirements for placement of children in out-of-State foster care. Requires annual review, with the child present, of the status of children in out-of-State foster care placements. Requires States to collect data on the numbers of children in out-of-State foster care placements. Requires a State, in order to receive payments for expenditures after FY 1994 for foster care maintenance payments made with respect to children placed in foster care outside the State, to conduct and submit a study to the HHS Secretary, by the end of such fiscal year, identifying the number and common characteristics of such children and the reasons why they were not placed in foster care in the State. Provides for the treatment of assets of youth participating in the independent living program. Eliminates the ceilings on Federal foster care payments to States and the State's authority to transfer unused foster care funds to child welfare services programs. Directs the HHS Secretary to: (1) establish an advisory committee; and (2) issue final regulations for training of staff of agencies responsible for administering foster care and adoption assistance programs, and for training of foster care and adoptive parents. Directs the Secretary annually to publish information, on a State-by-State basis, on expenditures for, and the operation of, the Child Welfare Services program, the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program, and Comprehensive Service Projects. Amends SSA title IV to add a new part G, Child Welfare Review System. Directs the HHS Secretary to establish such system to: (1) review each State child welfare program to assess whether the requirements of the Act are being carried out; (2) impose financial penalties in cases of substantial failure to comply; and (3) provide technical assistance to any such program. Sets forth provisions relating to effects of noncompliance, suspension and rescission of financial penalties, and administrative and judicial review. Requires that all State child welfare programs be reviewed at least once by the end of FY 1997. Prohibits the Secretary from reducing or withholding any payment, or seeking any repayment from any State under part B or E, by reason of a determination made in connection with specified reviews or audits for certain periods. Prohibits suspension of payments with respect to any claim for reimbursement 30 days after the HHS Secretary receives the quarterly statement of expenditures that contains the report of the claim. Provides that within ten months after the Secretary takes any action to suspend payment with respect to such a claim, the Secretary shall: (1) determine the allowability of the claim; or (2) if unable to make such a determination, make payment with respect to the claim, subject to a later determination of allowability. Title III: Social Services Block Grant - Amends SSA title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) to authorize increased appropriations for title XX programs. Provides for the allocation to tribal organizations of program funds otherwise allotted to the State in which the Indians represented by such an organization reside. Title IV: Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Activities - Amends part A (General Provisions) of SSA title XI to require the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to establish an Advisory Commission on Children and Families. Requires the Commission to collect and assess specified types of information in order to identify cost-effective approaches to protect and enhance the physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being of children and their families. Directs OTA to report annually to the Congress on the Commission and its assessment. Requires the Commission to conduct, through contracts with independent research organizations, the following research and evaluation projects: (1) the evaluation of child welfare service programs, including intensive family preservation programs; (2) foster care evaluations; (3) longitudinal child welfare data bases, and studies of child welfare population dynamics; and (4) comprehensive service projects evaluations. Requires the Commission to study child separation guidelines. Directs the HHS Secretary to conduct the following research and evaluations: (1) a study (under contract with an independent research organization) to assess the prevalence and nature of risks to the safety of employees of child welfare systems; and (2) a three-year study (under contract with an organization with demonstrated appropriate experience) to examine methodologies for measuring the workloads of providers of child welfare services and community mental health services. Directs the HHS Secretary to make grants to States or localities for child welfare demonstration projects concerning abandoned child permanent placement. Directs the HHS Secretary to authorize eligible institutions to conduct demonstration projects to train eligible individuals to deliver culturally sensitive and bilingual child welfare services in U.S. areas that border on Mexico. Directs the HHS Secretary to make grants to eligible institutions to conduct projects to train eligible institutions to deliver culturally sensitive and bilingual welfare services in urban centers which have a high proportion of historically unserved or underserved populations. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to make grants to State or local government agencies to conduct demonstration projects designed to: (1) develop and implement innovative recruitment or retention strategies for trained staff in public and private nonprofit agencies working with children and adolescents at risk of being placed in foster care; and (2) test the effect of joint training programs for the staff of child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice agencies, and for judicial personnel and judges. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to conduct demonstration projects designed to test the feasibility of eliminating income and resource requirements respecting foster care and adoption assistance payments. Directs the HHS Secretary to provide technical assistance to States for: (1) interpreting and implementing parts B, C, and E; (2) disseminating information on innovative child welfare agencies; (3) correcting problems identified through Federal audits and reviews and carrying out corrective action plans under part E; (4) implementing the foster care and adoption data collection system; and (5) addressing other matters identified by the HHS Secretary. Title V: Miscellaneous Human Resources Amendments - Amends the AFDC program to give States the option of using retrospective budgeting without monthly reporting under AFDC. Increases the amount of stepparent income disregarded under AFDC. Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to extend demonstration projects for evaluating model procedures for reviewing child support awards. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to make technical corrections relating to human resource and income security provisions. Title VI: Childhood Hunger Relief - Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act - Subtitle A: Ensuring Adequate Food Assistance - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to remove the excess shelter deduction cap for purposes of food stamp program eligibility. (Sets forth transitional caps through 1996.) Eliminates food stamp reductions for households reapplying for program reinstatement within 30 days. Excludes 100 percent (currently only a specified portion) of third party payments for transitional housing for the homeless from consideration as program income. Increases funding for the nutrition assistance program in Puerto Rico. Excludes general assistance vendor payments from consideration as program income. Excludes the income of high school students from consideration as program income. (Current law excludes income until a student's eighteenth birthday.) Subtitle B: Promoting Self-Sufficiency - Excludes from consideration as program income: (1) the first $50 a month received as child support; and (2) child support payments to non-household members. Increases annually the fair market value limit of vehicles that program recipients may own. Subtitle C: Simplifying the Provision of Food Assistance - Permits related adults living in the same household to apply for separate program benefits under specified conditions. Repeals provisions authorizing benefit reductions due to insufficient funding. Subtitle D: Commodity Distribution to Needy Families - Amends the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 to provide for increased allotments in FY 1993 for commodity purchases under the emergency food assistance program. Subtitle E: Implementation and Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this title. Title VII: Funding - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a surtax on individuals with incomes over $1,000,000.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Infrastructure Reinvestment and Economic Revitalization Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose gasoline and diesel taxes at a rate that is equal to certain fund financing rates, including the Infrastructure Reinvestment Fund financing rate. Decreases, for purposes of imposition of such taxes, the Highway Trust Fund and Airport and Airway Trust Fund financing rates. Sets the Infrastructure Reinvestment Fund financing rate at five cents. Establishes the Infrastructure Reinvestment Fund, composed of revenues derived from infrastructure reinvestment taxes. Makes the Fund off-budget. Authorizes appropriations from such Fund for surface transportation programs.
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 · 9 July 1992
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should seek the consent of the Senate to the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the United Nations on November 20, 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Financial Institution Restitution Collection Improvement Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to permit prejudgment attachment of certain property where there is probable cause to believe banking laws have been violated. Provides that an order of restitution issued in connection with a conviction for a banking law violation shall: (1) be due in full as of the date of the order; (2) remain enforceable until the total amount of restitution has been paid; and (3) constitute a lien against all of the defendant's property. Authorizes the court to appoint a temporary receiver to administer the defendant's assets to ensure payment of restitution. Requires the court, after the sentencing of the defendant, to make available to any recipient of a court-ordered restitution any financial information contained in the defendant's presentencing investigation report. Mandates that the defendant pay directly to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) any court-ordered restitution which accrues to its benefit. Prohibits the court from taking into consideration the defendant's ability to pay when determining the amount of restitution ordered. Requires the United States Parole Commission (or the probation officer of Federal district court) to notify each recipient of court-ordered restitution if the full amount of such an order has not been fully paid before the end of the defendant's period of supervised release. Prescribes guidelines under which any private person may file a court action to recover, on behalf of the FDIC, any asset of any person liable for the satisfaction of a restitution order. Grants such person a prescribed percentage of recovered assets.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 1992
Denounces the sexual misconduct that occurred at the annual Navy Tailhook Association symposium in September 1991. Calls on the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the ongoing Department of Defense investigation of such misconduct is full and uncompromising. Urges the Secretary of the Navy to recommend and initiate full disciplinary procedures against any culpable individuals. Recognizes the importance of equality of opportunity for women and men in the armed forces to achieving mutual respect between the sexes. Urges the Secretary of Defense to make available to female military personnel the same opportunities available to male personnel, to the extent consistent with the protection and security of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 1 July 1992
Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1992 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish birth defects prevention and research programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to award grants to, enter into cooperative agreements with, or provide direct technical assistance in lieu of cash to, States, State health authorities, or health agencies of political subdivisions of a State for collection, analysis, and reporting of birth defects statistics from birth certificates, infant death certificates, hospital records, or other sources and to collect and disaggregate such statistics by gender and racial and ethnic group. Directs the Secretary to establish at least five regional birth defects monitoring and research programs to collect and analyze information on the number, incidence, correlation, and causes of birth defects, to include information regarding gender and different racial and ethnic groups, including Hispanics, non-Hispanic whites, African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to award grants or enter into cooperative agreements with specified entities to serve as Centers of Excellence for Birth Defects Prevention Research. Requires one of the Centers to focus on birth defects among ethnic minorities. Requires the CDC to establish a clearinghouse for the collection and storage of data and generated from birth defects monitoring programs developed under this Act. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to award grants to or enter into cooperative agreements with State departments of health, universities, or other private, or nonprofit entities to develop, evaluate, and implement prevention strategies designed to reduce the incidence and effects or (sic) birth defects. Directs the Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee for Birth Defects Prevention to provide advice and recommendations on prevention and amelioration of birth defects to the Secretary and the Director of the CDC. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources regarding the incidence of birth defects, the contribution of birth defects to infant mortality, the outcome of implementation of prevention strategies, and identified needs for research and policy development to include information regarding the various racial and ethnic groups, including Hispanic, non-Hispanic whites, African Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1992
Amends the Robert J. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to make contributions to a State or local government for the costs of operating a transit system during a major disaster. Authorizes the President to make loans to local governments suffering losses associated with the operation of such systems as a result of a major disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 1992
International Woman and Child Health Act of 1992 - Requires U.S. contributions to international organizations and nongovernmental organizations for programs to immunize people in high-mortality countries for diseases such as measles or polio to be at least $100,000,000 greater in each of FY 1993 through 1995 than the amount of such contributions for FY 1992. Provides additional funding for vitamin A supplementation and fortification programs and iodine and iron supplementation and fortification programs for pregnant women. Directs the Agency for International Development, during FY 1993 through 1995, to ensure that a specified amount in local currencies made available under foreign assistance programs is used to provide training, compensation, and other support for maternal and child health workers in developing countries. Authorizes appropriations. Reduces funding for military assistance programs during such fiscal years in order to provide funding for this Act without increasing the foreign assistance budget.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Drinking Water Regulatory Relief Act of 1992 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the Congress on the ability of small public water systems to comply with such Act's requirements. Requires such report to include an analysis of the: (1) extent to which access to technical expertise to operate public water systems is limited in the case of small systems; (2) barriers which inhibit the financing of capital improvements in such systems to bring them into compliance with regulations; and (3) difficulties experienced by such systems in financing water monitoring and testing. Requires the report to include the Administrator's recommendations for actions to insure that such systems can come into compliance with regulations as expeditiously as other systems but in a manner which recognizes differences in geographic locations, drinking water sources, and in levels of exposure and risk. Directs the Administrator to propose regulations to implement such actions. Suspends all compliance deadlines (for a period of 24 months after this Act's enactment date) under the Safe Drinking Water Act with respect to public water systems serving fewer than 5,000 persons.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Small Community Environmental Infrastructure Grants Act of 1992 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to States for the establishment of small community environmental infrastructure funds. Makes such funds available to small communities for the construction of wastewater treatment works, public water systems, and solid waste management facilities and for assuring that underground storage tanks are in compliance with the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Sets forth provisions concerning grant payment schedules and allotment and reallotment requirements. Requires States to establish funds to receive such grants. Sets forth specific requirements for the use of such funds and for the grants to be provided to small communities. Permits States to provide assistance only to community wastewater treatment and solid waste management facilities and public water systems that are in compliance with plans under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as appropriate. Requires States to submit plans to the Administrator that identify the intended use of the funds. Directs States to reserve the greater of one percent of fund sums or $100,000 to carry out planning. Provides for the withholding of grant payments if a State is not in compliance with this Act's requirements. Requires the Administrator to establish an Office of Small Community Environmental Infrastructure Assistance to: (1) oversee and manage the grants and funds made under this Act; and (2) provide specified environmental and financial information to small communities. Authorizes the Office to provide grants to States, Indian tribes, and not-for-profit organizations to assist small communities in assessing issues related to the financing of environmental facilities, compliance with environmental laws, and the construction, operation, and rehabilitation of environmental infrastructure facilities. Requires such grants to be matched by non-Federal funds. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish a program and plan to provide financial assistance to Indian tribes for carrying out the same environmental infrastructure projects on Federal Indian reservations; and (2) administer an environmental infrastructure fund for providing such assistance. Sets forth a matching requirement for such assistance. Authorizes and allocates appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1992
Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to give rental assistance priority to persons who are unable to return to their homes upon discharge from a hospital or nursing home because of physical or mental impairment.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1992
Designates August 1, 1992, as Helsinki Human Rights Day. Authorizes and requests the President to: (1) reassert American commitment to the Helsinki Accords; (2) raise the issue of noncompliance with such Accords with any signatory nation which may be in violation; (3) convey to all signatories of such Accords that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is vital to progress in the ongoing Helsinki process; and (4) develop new proposals to advance the human rights objectives of the Helsinki process.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1992
International Refugee Protection Act of 1992 - States that: (1) the Congress affirms that U.S. obligations under certain international refugee agreements have applied to U.S. actions with respect to persons outside U.S. territorial boundaries; and (2) the United States shall refrain from the involuntary return of refugees to their home country from boundaries outside the United States or from the territorial waters of such home country, with specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1992
Grants free mailing privileges to civilians authorized to use postal services at armed forces installations in an overseas area designated by the President and who the military theater commander designates as in support of military operations. Restricts such privileges to personal letters and video- and sound-recorded communications.
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.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hayes, Charles A. [D-IL-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000388_200.jpg)