United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1998
Amends Federal aviation law to set a minimum $2,000 per passenger liability limit on certain air carriers for damages resulting from the disappearance of, damage to, or delay in delivery of a passenger's personal property, including baggage, that was in the custody or control of the air carrier immediately prior to such disappearance, damage, or delay. Requires air carriers to include on or with any flight ticket notice of its monetary limitation on baggage liability to passengers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1998
New American Citizenship Act - Directs the Attorney General to submit a plan (with monthly reporting requirements through a specified date) for ensuring backlog reduction at each Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) district and regional office. (Sec. 4) Provides that INS standardized naturalization examinations shall: (1) have INS-certified proctors; and (2) not be administered by for-profit entities that also provide citizenship courses. Provides for: (1) an initial 24-month pilot testing program; and (2) dissemination of study materials. (Sec. 5) Directs the Attorney General to: (1) develop a plan to ensure the efficiency and integrity of the naturalization process, including a six-month maximum time for completion of such process; and (2) ensure that the naturalization fingerprint submission process deters naturalization fraud by requiring fingerprint cards to be sent directly to INS or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and by procuring the technology to institute INS electronic fingerprint checks. (Sec. 7) Directs INS to ensure that a FBI criminal history background check is completed prior to an applicant's naturalization interview. Requires naturalization applicants to demonstrate basic English language speaking and comprehension abilities at the time of the standardized naturalization examination or interview. Requires INS to ensure that certificates of citizenship are not distributed prior to an applicant's taking the oath of allegiance. (Sec. 8) Obligates specified INS appropriations for backlog reduction and technological and infrastructure changes.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1998
Public School Modernization Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise current incentives for education zones into incentives for qualified public school modernization bonds, including (currently existing) qualified zone academy bonds and (newly established) qualified school construction bonds. Allows a limited tax credit, computed according to a specified formula, to taxpayers holding such public school modernization bonds. Raises the national zone academy bond limitation from $400 million to $1.4 billion for calendar 1999 (and 2000), and eliminates the limitation after 2000. Prescribes requirements for national qualified school construction bonds, with a national limitation of $9.7 billion each for calendar 1999 and 2000 and no limit after 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1998
Calls upon the Government of Japan to: (1) live up to the standards it has set for open competitive markets; and (2) fully implement the representations that it made to a dispute settlement panel of the World Trade Organization regarding deregulation, transparency, nondiscrimination, open distribution systems, and vigorous enforcement of competition laws with respect to consumer photographic film and paper as well as other sectors, such as autos and auto parts, glass, and telecommunications, that face similar market access barriers there. Urges the President, the United States Trade Representative, and other appropriate officers of the executive branch to exercise fully existing authority to achieve these objectives. Requests the President to report periodically to the Congress on progress in eliminating market restrictions in Japan for consumer photographic film and paper.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1998
Investment in Children Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to increase the credit for dependent care services necessary for gainful employment. Provides for an "increased dependent care credit equivalent amount" (as defined) if the taxpayer has a child under the age of four, but only if the taxpayer elects not to use the credit for dependent care services necessary for gainful employment. (Sec. 3) Allows for an employer-provided child care credit of up to 25 percent of qualified child care expenditures (not to exceed $150,000), which can include the costs of acquiring or expanding property to be used as a qualified day care facility. (Sec. 4) Amends part A ( Block Grants to States for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) of title IV of the Social Security Act to provide for grants to States: (1) to improve the quality and safety of child care; (2) for the provision of child care assistance for low-income working families; and (3) for the provision of child care services before and after regular school hours. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations through FY 2003 for part I (21st Century Community Learning Centers Act) of title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Sets forth provisions concerning the distribution of assistance under part I. (Sec. 6) Revises IRC provisions concerning the aggregate amount of nonrefundable personal credits allowed to provide that the aggregate amount of such credits allowed shall not exceed the sum of: (1) the taxpayer's regular tax liability; plus (2) the alternative minimum tax.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1998
Affordable Housing Improvement Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase, and link to the cost-of-living adjustment, the State low-income housing credit ceiling. Modifies provisions concerning: (1) the criteria for allocating housing credits among projects; (2) the responsibilities of housing credit agencies; and (3) the basis of a credit-eligible building.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1998
Calls for the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee to recommend and the Postal Service to issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring the U.S. Submarine Force on its 100th anniversary.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should not take military action against Iraq unless that action is specifically authorized by a law enacted after the date of the adoption of this resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Remedy Title II: Community Participation and Human Health Subtitle A: Community Participation Subtitle B: Human Health Subtitle C: General Provisions Title III: Right to Know Title IV: Environmental Justice Title V: Children's Environmental Health Title VI: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup Subtitle A: Brownfields Subtitle B: Innocent Landowners and Prospective Purchaser Liability Subtitle C: Department of Housing and Urban Development Brownfield Grants Title VII: Natural Resource Damages Title VIII: Federal Facilities Title IX: Liability Title X: Funding Title XI: Miscellaneous Children's Protection and Community Cleanup Act of 1998 - Title I: Remedy - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to revise general rules for the selection of remedial cleanup actions. Removes a provision requiring the President to specifically address the long-term effectiveness of various alternative treatment or resource recovery technologies. Requires remedial actions to: (1) make contaminated property available for beneficial use to the maximum extent practicable; and (2) protect uncontaminated groundwater and surface water, wherever technically feasible, and restore such water to beneficial uses in a reasonable time period given the circumstances of the release of the hazardous substance concerned. Lists minimum factors to be taken into account by the President in assessing alternative remedial actions and selecting remedial actions. Requires selected remedial actions, unless the President determines that a risk-based standard for a contaminant is based on data and assumptions adequate to assure protection of children's health, to reduce contamination to background levels (where more stringent) with respect to such contaminant, to the maximum extent technically feasible. Prohibits the selection of an action that allows hazardous substances to remain on site above levels that would be protective for unrestricted use unless institutional controls are incorporated into the action to achieve protection of human health and the environment during and after completion of the action. Requires remedial actions for hazardous substances that remain on site to comply with any more stringent and legally applicable tribal standard. Directs the President to ensure that a remedial action attains standards of control protective of human health in the environment in cases where: (1) no Federal, State, or tribal standard has been established for the specific hazardous substance present at the facility where the action is being undertaken; or (2) there are multiple hazardous substances present and the remedial action is not protective even though applicable requirements would be attained. Removes a provision which requires the President to conform a remedial action to a State standard in cases where a State has initiated a law suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prior to May 1, 1986. Eliminates a provision which allows the President to select a remedial action that does not attain a standard equivalent to a legally applicable standard if compliance with requirements is technically impracticable from an engineering perspective. Sets forth minimum requirements for remedies for contaminated groundwater or surface water in cases where a legally applicable standard for a hazardous substance is waived. Authorizes the President to use institutional controls as a supplement to, but not as a substitute for, other response measures under CERCLA. Lists requirements for actions that rely on institutional controls. Provides for funds to be established for facilities for which the selected remedy is containment or at which hazardous substances remain on site above levels that would allow for unrestricted use of the facility. Requires such funds to be sufficient to guarantee successful performance of a remedy and, to the extent technically feasible, future beneficial reuse. Directs the EPA Administrator (Administrator) to report annually to the Congress, for each record of decision signed during the previous fiscal year, on the type of institutional controls and media affected and the institution designated to monitor, enforce, and ensure compliance with such controls. Makes procedural requirements of State laws inapplicable to the portion of any removal or remedial action conducted entirely on site, except for recordkeeping and reporting. (Sec. 102) Sets forth criteria for institutional control instruments. Requires the President, if such an instrument is adopted, to record a notice of property use restriction in the public land records for the jurisdiction in which the affected property is located. Makes such instruments enforceable in perpetuity (unless terminated and released) against holders of interest in an affected property and all persons who subsequently acquire such interest. Directs the President to maintain a registry of all property at which institutional controls have been established in connection with response actions. Describes types of institutional control instruments, including easements. Authorizes the President, in order to respond to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, to acquire an easement to limit or control the use of land or other natural resources. Permits easements to be used whenever institutional controls have been selected as a component of a response action. Sets forth provisions regarding the President's authority to assign easements to other parties, issue orders imposing restrictions on land or natural resources, and include State institutional controls in response actions. (Sec. 103) Requires the President to ensure that a removal action is not undertaken in lieu of a long-term remedial action. Title II: Community Participation and Human Health - Subtitle A: Community Participation - Revises provisions regarding grants for technical assistance to make such grants available to Community Advisory Groups or affected communities (defined as two or more individuals affected by the release or threatened release of a hazardous substance at a covered facility. Defines a "covered facility" as a facility: (1) that has been listed or proposed for listing on the National Priorities List (NPL); (2) at which the Administrator is undertaking an action anticipated to exceed one year or a specified funding limit; or (3) with respect to which the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Administrator has accepted a petition requesting a health assessment or related health activity. Expands the list of authorized grant activities and increases the maximum amount of such grants. Requires the President to take specified actions to provide for meaningful public participation in every significant phase of response activities under CERCLA. Permits Community Advisory Groups, affected Indian tribes and communities, and local government and health officials to propose remedial alternatives to the President. Requires the President to make records relating to response actions at a covered facility available to the public throughout all phases of an action. Sets forth additional requirements with respect to public notice of certain removal actions. (Sec. 203) Requires States or Indian tribes with covered facilities to establish Community Information and Access Offices. Provides funding for such Offices. Directs the Administrator to establish Offices for States or tribes that fail to do so. (Sec. 204) Requires the President to provide the opportunity for the establishment of a Community Advisory Group, a representative public forum, to achieve direct, regular, and meaningful consultation with all interested parties throughout all stages of a response action whenever: (1) the President determines such a group will be helpful; or (2) ten individuals residing in the area in which the covered facility is located, or ten percent of the population of a locality in which the covered facility is located, whichever is fewer, petition for a Group to be established. Directs the President to adopt any consensus recommendation of a Group on land use as part of the remedy selected for the facility, with exceptions. Authorizes the President to provide administrative support for such Groups. Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress a community study that includes an analysis of: (1) the speed of listing; (2) the speed and nature of response actions; (3) the degree to which public views are reflected in response actions; (3) use of institutional controls; and (4) the population, race, ethnicity, and income characteristics of communities affected by facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL. Requires periodic updates of such study. Directs the Administrator to institute necessary improvements or modifications to address any deficiencies identified by the study. (Sec. 205) Requires the Administrator to conduct a program to assist in the recruitment and training of individuals in affected communities for employment in response activities. Subtitle B: Human Health - Directs the President to notify State and local public health authorities and tribal health officials whenever there is reason to believe that a release (or threat of release) of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to perform a health assessment for each facility listed, or proposed for listing, on the NPL, including Federal facilities. Permits related health activities to be performed in lieu of assessments for facilities that are so listed or proposed for ecological reasons only. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to develop and distribute educational materials on human health effects of hazardous substances to the public. (Sec. 213) Provides for research on exposure or tolerance limits for hazardous substances found commonly at NPL facilities in cases where adequate information on health effects of a substance is not available. Expands the duties of the ATSDR Administrator to require the Administrator to establish an inventory of exposure or tolerance limits for such substances. (Sec. 215) Directs the President, in any case in which a person is relocated in order to reduce exposure and eliminate health risks from hazardous substances, to provide to the individual the replacement value of the individual's residence. (Sec. 216) Authorizes and directs the ATSDR Administrator, pursuant to specified grants and contracts, to provide health services to communities affected by the release of hazardous substances. Makes funds available for such services for FY 2000 through 2004. (Sec. 217) Provides for cooperation with Indian tribes with respect to certain ATSDR activities. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to include in a biennial report on ATSDR activities the health impacts on Indian tribes of hazardous substances from covered facilities. Subtitle C: General Provisions - Sets forth effective dates for provisions of this title. Title III: Right to Know - Requires the annual disclosure of certain information by potentially responsible parties at NPL facilities and owners or operators of facilities subject to toxic chemical release reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). Includes within such required disclosures information on quantities of certain hazardous substances and potential exposure of facility employees. Directs the Administrator to consolidate all annual reporting pursuant to title I of CERCLA and other Federal environmental laws to the extent not prohibited by such laws. Prescribes penalties for noncompliance with disclosure requirements. Amends EPCRA to permit the withholding of portions of information required to be disclosed under CERCLA for purposes of protecting trade secrets. (Sec. 302) Requires owners or operators of facilities subject to EPCRA reporting requirements to submit to the Administrator and State officials annual unstudied chemical release forms for each chemical subject to this section that was manufactured, processed, or used in quantities exceeding thresholds during the preceding year at the facility. Permits the Administrator to: (1) apply such requirements to other facilities that use unstudied chemicals, as appropriate; and (2) exclude a class of facilities in a Standard Industrial Classification Code that is required to report under EPCRA if unstudied chemicals will not cause certain adverse human health or environmental effects. Makes subject to the requirements of this section an unstudied chemical: (1) for which the information needed to complete a preliminary assessment of potential toxicity is not available; and (2) that is a compound containing at least carbon, hydrogen, and one or more of the elements chlorine, fluorine, or bromine or is a compound included on the 1990 High Production Volume List issued pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act. Authorizes the addition of chemicals subject to such requirements based on health or environmental effects or presence in human tissues, food stuffs, or drinking water. Excludes from reporting requirements chemicals: (1) that are listed under EPCRA; (2) that are high molecular weight polymers; or (3) for which information is publicly available. Sets forth provisions regarding information needed for preliminary assessment of potential toxicity of unstudied chemicals. Establishes threshold amounts of unstudied chemicals which trigger reporting requirements. Makes release form information publicly available. Authorizes petitions to the Administrator to compel certain actions under this title, including the exemption from reporting, addition of chemicals subject to reporting, and revision of thresholds. Requires the Administrator to establish a national unstudied chemicals inventory based on submitted data. Makes violations of this title subject to civil and administrative penalties under EPCRA. Provides trade secret protection for information disclosed under this title in the same manner as provided under EPCRA. Title IV: Environmental Justice - Directs the President, acting through the Secretary of Commerce, to publish a list of special priority areas which shall be geographic areas in which residents face a high degree of economic distress or social disenfranchisement. Provides for updates to such list no later than two years after each official census count on social and economic characteristics. Describes areas to be included on such list. Requires the President to advertise the right of petition for assessment of a hazardous substance release in such areas. Directs the President to publish a list of special priority facilities which shall be those facilities located in special priority areas that are: (1) listed in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System; (2) the subject of a petition; or (3) those the President considers appropriate. Establishes deadlines for completing preliminary assessments, site inspections, and hazard ranking of such facilities and for listing them on the NPL. Requires the President to ensure that a remedial action for any such facility on the NPL is completed within three years of placement on the NPL. Provides exceptions from placing such facilities on the NPL. Title V: Children's Environmental Health - Requires the ATSDR Administrator and the Administrator to create a scientifically peer-reviewed list of environmental pollutants commonly found at facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL with known or suspected health risks to which fetuses and children are especially susceptible. Provides for a toxicological profile for each listed substance. each listed substance. Directs the Administrator or the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as appropriate, to review and revise, where necessary, environmental and public health regulations, risk assessment policies and procedures, and guidance documents issued under CERCLA to determine whether they consider and fully protect fetal and children's health. Incorporates fetal and children's health concerns into all health research initiatives under CERCLA. Requires the ATSDR Administrator to develop: (1) guidelines for addressing fetal and children's health issues in health studies and research programs; and (2) criteria for determining when and what type of child-specific health study shall be conducted based on the results of a health assessment. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the costs of such research programs should be borne by the manufacturers and processors of the hazardous substance in question. Directs the ATSDR Administrator to: (1) establish an exposure registry for all children exposed to hazardous substances as the result of a release at an NPL facility where levels of exposure are significant for children's health; and (2) implement specified children's environmental health education and training programs. Requires all lists, profiles, studies, and research results conducted under this title to be reported or adopted only after appropriate peer review. Sets forth requirements for peer reviews. Title VI: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup - Subtitle A: Brownfields - Directs the Administrator to establish a program to award grants to local governments to inventory and conduct site assessments of brownfield sites and provide training in the cleanup of such sites. Defines a "brownfield site" as land that contains or contained abandoned or under-used commercial or industrial facilities, the expansion or redevelopment of which may be complicated by the presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. Sets forth grant application requirements and grant conditions. Requires States to submit information to the Administrator on brownfield sites. Directs the Administrator to compile a National Brownfields Registry. Directs the Administrator to establish a program to award grants to be used by local governments to capitalize revolving loan funds for the cleanup of brownfield sites, including associated rivers and streams. Authorizes local governments to provide such loans to finance cleanups by such governments or by owners or prospective purchasers of affected brownfield sites. Sets forth grant application and agreement requirements. Requires grant recipients to report to the Administrator on the extent of local citizen involvement in funded projects. Authorizes the Administrator to award a grant to a State if necessary to facilitate the receipt of funds by local governments that do not have the capabilities to manage grants. Makes certain facilities ineligible for the grant program, including facilities that are the subject of response actions and Federal facilities. Authorizes the President to make exceptions for excluded facilities and allow grants on a facility-by-facility basis. Makes amounts available from the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) to carry out the grant programs. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. (Sec. 602) Authorizes the Administrator to award grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, States, Indian tribes, municipalities, and other specified agencies and organizations for training, technology transfer, and information dissemination programs to strengthen environmental response activities. (Sec. 603) Requires the Administrator to provide grants and other forms of assistance for brownfields workforce training programs in communities that contain brownfield sites. Subtitle B: Innocent Landowners and Prospective Purchaser Liability - Amends CERCLA, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to deem a person to have made (under current law, "undertaken") appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person establishes that an environmental site assessment was conducted which meets specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the President) and the person fulfills certain responsibilities concerning information compilation, exercise of appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances at the facility, and cooperation with those conducting response actions. (Sec. 622) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of this section and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed 180 days before the action was taken. (Sec. 623) Exempts certain contiguous property owners from liability. Subtitle C: Department of Housing and Urban Development Brownfield Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants, in connection with the authority to guarantee obligations to finance certain community development activities, to eligible public entities for projects and activities for economic redevelopment of brownfield sites. Title VII: Natural Resource Damages - Adds the reasonable costs of recovering natural resource damages to the list of recoverable damages for which liable parties are responsible under CERCLA. (Sec. 703) Eliminates the damage assessment rebuttable presumption and prescribes revised procedures for natural resource damage assessments. (Sec. 704) Authorizes a trustee for natural resources to establish an administrative record on which the trustee will base the selection of a plan for restoration of the resource. Provides for participation of interested persons in the development of an administrative record. (Sec. 705) Provides that the presence of hazardous substances in sediments of U.S. waters above background or reference levels shall be sufficient to establish injury to natural resources for purposes of determining liability. Directs the Administrator and the appropriate natural resource trustees to report to the Congress on how response, remedial, and restoration actions are restoring and protecting natural resources affected by the facilities of: (1) Hudson River, New York; (2) Newark and New York Bays, New York and New Jersey; (3) Housatonic River, Connecticut and Massachusetts; (4) New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts; (5) Clark Fork River, Montana; (6) Lavaca Bay, Texas; (7) Palos Verdes, California; (8) Fox River, Wisconsin; (9) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and (10) Hanford, Washington. (Sec. 706) Requires natural resource trustees to conduct a program to assist in the recruitment and training of individuals in affected communities for employment in restoration activities. (Sec. 707) Revises provisions regarding the statute of limitations on natural resource damage actions. (Sec. 708) Adds archaeological resources to the definition of "natural resources" under CERCLA. (Sec. 709) Authorizes citizen suits to recover natural resources damages. Title VIII: Federal Facilities - Revises provisions regarding the applicability of CERCLA to the U.S. Government. Makes Federal agencies subject to all Federal, State, interstate, and local requirements regarding response actions and damages related to, or management of, hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants in the same manner as any nongovernmental entity. Waives immunity of the United States with respect to the enforcement of injunctive relief. Makes Federal employees subject to criminal sanctions under State or Federal response laws. Authorizes the Administrator to issue an abatement order to a Federal agency and requires initiation of an administrative enforcement action in the same manner as action would be initiated against any other person. Requires all funds collected by a State from the Federal Government from penalties imposed under this section to be used only for projects to improve or protect the environment or to defray costs of environmental protection or enforcement unless a State law requires such funds to be used differently. Requires Federal agencies to notify States and the Administrator of removal actions. Sets forth additional conditions under which a Federal property may be transferred to any other person without a covenant warranting that all remedial action has been taken on the property. Establishes additional assurances to be contained in deeds governing such transfers with regard to hazardous substances releases for which a Federal agency is potentially responsible. Title IX: Liability - Provides exemptions to liability (including liability for contribution) for response costs for pre-July 1997 acts if liability is based solely on arranging for disposal, treatment, or transport of, or accepting, a specified limited amount of hazardous substances. Absolves certain small parties of liability based on arrangement or acceptance provisions if the substance involved was municipal solid waste or sewage sludge. Removes a provision which excludes petroleum from the definition of "hazardous substance" under CERCLA. Provides that persons liable for willful releases of hazardous substances or threats thereof may be liable to the United States for punitive damages in an amount of up to two times the costs incurred by Superfund as a result of such a release. Title X: Funding - Extends the authorization of appropriations to carry out specified Superfund authorities through FY 2003. (Sec. 1007) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the environmental income tax to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1998, and before January 1, 2004. Extends specified provisions regarding: (1) Superfund's financing rate; (2) limits on tax if the unobligated balance in Superfund exceeds a specified amount; and (3) the repayment deadline for advances made to Superfund. Title XI: Miscellaneous - Increases the ceiling on certain penalties under CERCLA. Prescribes penalties for specified additional violations. (Sec. 1103) Considers a remedial action that attains applicable requirements to be protective of human health and the environment unless the President determines otherwise. Directs the President to establish additional requirements to ensure such protection, as necessary. Provides that the decontamination regulations for site termination issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on July 21, 1997, shall not be considered sufficiently protective. Revises the definition of "federally permitted release" under CERCLA with respect to releases of source, special nuclear, or byproduct material in compliance with licenses, permits, regulations, or orders pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to apply such definition only if such licenses, permits, regulations, or orders adequately protect groundwater. Applies requirements of this Act pertaining to Federal facilities to facilities subject to licenses or decontamination regulations for license termination issued by the NRC. Amends environmental excise tax provisions to treat uranium dioxide as a taxable chemical only if it is used as a fuel in a nuclear reactor.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1998
Credit Union Membership Protection Act - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to permit any person who is a Federal credit union member as of February 25, 1998, to retain member status if such status would be lost as a result of a certain Supreme Court decision construing membership criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1998
Cable Consumer Protection Act of 1998 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to extend permanently (currently terminates on March 31, 1999) the authority of the Federal Communications Commission to: (1) determine the reasonableness of cable television programming rates; and (2) in appropriate cases, reduce such rates.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1998
Privacy Protection Act of 1997 (sic) - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit any Federal, State, or local government agency or instrumentality from using a social security account number or any derivative as the means of identifying any individual, except for specified social security and tax purposes. Amends the Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit any Federal, State, or local government agency or instrumentality from requesting an individual to disclose his social security account number on either a mandatory or a voluntary basis. Prohibits any two Federal agencies or instrumentalities from implementing the same identifying number with respect to any individual, except as authorized under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1998
Community Safety Act of 1998 - Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to exempt from certain (anti-kickback) criminal penalties any hospital remunerations to an ambulance provider owned or operated by a State or local government or tax-exempt charitable organization that are in kind replenishments of certain ambulance drugs and supplies used during the transport of a patient to the hospital. Prohibits the determination of such remuneration in a manner that takes into account the volume or value of any referrals or business otherwise generated between the parties for which payment may be made in whole or part under a Federal health care program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1998
Federal Pay Fairness Act of 1998 - Amends Federal law concerning Government organization and employees to modify the conditions that must be met before the President may provide for an alternative pay plan or an alternative level of comparability payments. Applies the new standards starting with any alternative pay adjustments and any alternative level of comparability payments scheduled to take effect after 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1998
Allows the remains of the following persons to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery: (1) any member of the armed forces who dies while on active duty; (2) any retired member; (3) any former member who was separated for physical disability before October 1, 1949, who served on active duty, and who would have been eligible for disability retirement if such provisions had been in effect on such date; (4) any former member whose last active military service was terminated honorably and who has been awarded one of a number of specified military decorations; (5) any former prisoner of war who served honorably while such a prisoner, whose last active military service terminated honorably, and who died on or after November 30, 1993; (6) the President or any former President; (7) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, and, in the discretion of the Cemetery's Superintendent, unmarried adult child of an interred member (but only if buried in the same gravesite); (8) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, and unmarried adult child (again, discretionary) of a member buried as part of a group burial (but cannot be buried in the group gravesite); (9) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult child of any person already buried in the Cemetery; (10) the widow or widower of a member who was lost or buried at sea or officially determined to be permanently absent in a missing or missing in action status; and (11) the parents of a minor child or unmarried adult child whose remains, based on the parent's eligibility, are already buried in the Cemetery. Makes such burial eligibility the exclusive eligibility for Cemetery burial. Prohibits the Secretary of the Army or any other responsible official from considering a request for Cemetery burial made before the death of the individual. Allows gravesite markers to be provided by the Secretary or at private expense, as long as certain marker and marker maintenance conditions are met. Directs the Secretary to maintain for the public a register of each individual buried in the Cemetery which shall include, for each individual buried there on or after January 1, 1998, a brief description of his or her eligibility for such burial. Requires the Secretary to publish an updated pamphlet describing Cemetery burial eligibility. Authorizes the cremated remains of the following persons to be placed in the Cemetery columbarium: (1) a person eligible for burial under this Act; (2) a veteran whose last period of active duty ended honorably; and (3) the spouse, surviving spouse, minor child, or unmarried adult child (discretionary) of such a veteran. Prohibits a memorial or marker: (1) from being placed in the Cemetery unless it commemorates the service of the individual or group whose memory is to be honored by such memorial or marker; or (2) that refers to a particular military event from being placed in the Cemetery until 25 years after such event.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1998
Farm Sustainability and Animal Feedlot Enforcement Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to make it unlawful, except in compliance with a permit issued under this Act, to discharge pollutants from concentrated animal feeding operations. Requires permits, at a minimum, to specify the surface water and groundwater monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements necessary to ensure that no discharge of pollutants is occurring from such operations. Provides that permits shall require operation in conformance with: (1) applicable effluent limitations and standards of performance under the Act; and (2) an approved waste management plan. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to publish guidance on the preparation and implementation of waste management plans for concentrated animal feeding operations. Lists minimum required elements of such plans. Provides for submission of plans by operators to the Administrator for approval. Requires revision of guidance at least every five years. Directs the Administrator to revise regulations to ensure that concentrated animal feeding operations employ the best available technology economically achievable or, in the case of new or expanded operations, the best available demonstrated technology necessary to achieve no pollutant discharge. Requires effluent limitations and pretreatment standards for new and existing operations and standards of performance for new operations to, at a minimum and within specified time frames: (1) require that new containment structures and waste application systems be sited and constructed to minimize the risk of pollutant discharges to water; (2) prohibit the use of unlined containment structures or those that pose a significant risk of water pollution; (3) eliminate open-air lagoons for the storage of animal waste; (4) eliminate discharges of pollutants to surface water and groundwater; (5) eliminate the atmospheric deposition of nutrients derived from such operations to water; (6) significantly reduce the liquid content of wastes; and (7) promote technologies and production practices that minimize the need for large-scale storage of animal waste. Sets forth provisions regarding joint liability of owners of animals confined at operations in violation of the Act. Sets forth conditions under which the application of animal waste to land shall be considered to be a discharge of pollutants for purposes of this Act. Requires the Administrator to establish minimum distances from residences and environmentally sensitive locations within which animal waste shall not be applied by aerial spraying. Requires containment structures for animal waste to retain all waste produced by the operation between applications, including runoff that runs through or into any area or structure in which such waste is present. Sets forth requirements for containment systems for wet waste operations. Directs animal owners and operators, before applying waste from an operation on land other than their own, to execute an agreement that includes terms necessary to ensure that the waste is applied in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1998
Women's Rights National Historic Trail Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study and report to specified congressional committees on alternatives for establishing a national historic trail commemorating and interpreting the history of women's rights in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1998
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to establish in the Treasury the Save Social Security First Reserve Fund to save any surpluses in the Federal budget pending social security reform. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) pay into the Fund at the end of each fiscal year an amount equal to any such surplus; and (2) invest all such amounts in public debt securities with suitable maturities and bearing interest at rates determined by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1998
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Attorney General should enforce the law and protect from violent attack persons seeking to provide or obtain, or assist in providing or obtaining, reproductive health services; and (2) the Congress should allocate the resources needed to accomplish the Department of Justice's mission, including reproductive health services clinic protection.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1998
Designates the United States Post Office located at 297 Larkfield Road in East Northport, New York, as the Jerome Anthony Ambro, Jr. Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1998
Airline Competition and Lower Fares Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to determine whether the demand among air carriers for slots at LaGuardia Airport, O'Hare International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Metropolitan Washington Airport (commonly known as Washington National Airport) can be met with the slots available to the Secretary. Requires the Secretary, if the demand among dominant air carriers for slots at such an airport cannot be met with the slots available to the Secretary, to withdraw from such carriers up to ten percent of such slots at that airport for redistribution to new entrants and limited incumbents through auction on a competitive bidding basis, as long as the redistribution of the additional slots significantly increases competition between air carriers. Prohibits withdrawal of any slots used for international flights or for direct flights to a low-competition airport. (Sec. 4) Prohibits slots obtained under this Act from being considered an asset (including for collateral) for any agreement which would require its forfeiture, or in any bankruptcy proceeding. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to complete action on all complaints alleging predatory practices by air carriers that were filed with the Secretary on or before December 31, 1997, and after such date, but before the enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, to enjoin any action that is found to be a predatory practice. Directs the Secretary to report biannually to the Congress about such complaints. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary to initiate a rulemaking to determine whether the application of the 80-percent rule with respect to the allocation of airport slots promotes, hinders, or has no effect on airline competition. Directs the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on barriers to entry, predatory pricing, and other limits on competition in the aviation industry. (Sec. 9) Prohibits the Secretary from issuing or approving any regulation or exemption in carrying out this Act which would increase airplane noise in communities surrounding an airport. (Sec. 10) Amends Federal aviation law provisions prohibiting State regulation of air prices, routes, and services to declare that such provisions shall not bar a cause of action brought against an air carrier by one or more private parties seeking to enforce any right under the common law of any State or State statute, other than a statute purporting to directly prescribe fares, routes, or levels of air transportation service.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1998
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela in recognition of his life-long dedication to the abolition of apartheid and the promotion of reconciliation among the people of the Republic of South Africa. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike a gold medal and sell duplicates in bronze at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals. Declares such medals to be national medals. Authorizes a maximum charge against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund to pay for the costs of the medals. Mandates that proceeds from sales of duplicate bronze medals be deposited in such Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress that national goals should include providing access to affordable housing and expanding home ownership opportunities pursued through policies of tax incentives and private and public sector activities.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1998
Medicare Managed Care Notification Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) prohibit a Medicare+Choice organization from changing the terms of benefits in a manner adverse to an enrollee; and (2) require such an organization that intends to change its benefits from those previously offered to provide to enrollees 120-day advance notice in comparative form of the changes intended.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1998
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the provision of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 that permits private contracting between physicians and Medicare beneficiaries for medical services otherwise covered by the Medicare program. Declares invalid and unenforceable any provision of any contract, agreement, or other arrangement that provides for waiver of the claims submission requirement, the billing limitation, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1998
Terminates, effective on October 1, 2003, a military retiree's required contributions to the military Survivor Benefit Plan after such retiree has made such contributions for 30 years and has attained age 70.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: International Monetary Fund Title II: New Arrangements to Borrow Title III: Policy Provisions International Monetary Fund Reform and Authorization Act of 1998 - Title I: International Monetary Fund - Amends the Bretton Woods Agreement Act to authorize the U.S. Governor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to consent, subject to appropriations, to a specified increase in the U.S. IMF quota of Special Drawing Rights. Title II: New Arrangements to Borrow - Sets forth conforming amendments for Federal participation in new arrangements to borrow. Title III: Policy Provisions - Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director of the IMF to advocate specified policies whose goal, among other things, is to: (1) make the IMF a more effective mechanism for implementation of specified international banking and trade principles; (2) ensure by specified activities that it does not become a lender of last resort for private investors and commercial banks; (3) promote worker rights; (4) adopt appropriate environmental policies supporting macroeconomic stability; and (5) facilitate IMF transparency and accountability.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1998
American Family Fair Minimum Wage Act of 1998 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the Federal minimum wage per hour, beginning on September 1 of the years specified, to: (1) $5.65 in 1998; (2) $6.15 in 1999; (3) $6.65 in 2000; and (4) in 2001 and subsequent fiscal years, $6.65 adjusted to reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1998
Amends Federal law to require the head of a Federal agency to honor a written statement by the recipient of Federal compensation or retirement payments that the recipient does not wish to receive such payments by electronic funds transfer.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1998
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that any budget surplus that is achieved between now and the end of FY 2002 should not be spent, but rather saved for investment in the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program under title II of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1998
Requests that the U.S. Postal Service issue a commemorative postage stamp in 1999 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1997
Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to set penalties for persons who, whether or not acting under color of law, willfully cause bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, firearm, or explosive device, attempt to cause such injury, because of the actual or perceived: (1) race, color, religion, or national origin of any person; and (2) religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of any person, where in connection with the offense, the defendant or the victim travels in interstate or foreign commerce, uses a facility or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce, or engages in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or where the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce. (Sec. 5) Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to study the issue of adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes and, if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements for adult defendants who recruit juveniles to assist in the commission of hate crimes. (Sec. 6) Requires the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make grants to State and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 7) Authorizes appropriations to the Department of the Treasury and to DOJ to increase the number of personnel to prevent and respond to alleged violations of provisions regarding interference with specified federally protected activities, such as voting.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1997
Rent-To-Own Reform Act of 1997 - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to designate a new title X as the Rent-To-Own Protection Act to prohibit a seller in a rent-to-own transaction from taking, receiving, or assessing any interest, finance charge, or other fee for the transaction in excess of that which may be charged under State law which establishes in connection with a credit or retail installment sale for the same or a similar item: (1) a maximum rate or amount of interest, finance charge, or time-price differential that may be charged; (2) the types and maximum amount of fees that a seller may charge; or (3) the types of credit insurance and the maximum amount of premiums that can be charged for credit insurance. Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) termination, recovery, and other fees; (2) the effect of termination; and (3) guarantees and warranties. Makes the following Federal laws applicable to rent-to-own transactions: (1) the Truth in Lending Act; (2) the Equal Credit Opportunity Act; (3) the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; and (4) the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Requires a seller to include the following information on each item in the seller's place of business that is available for purchase pursuant to a rent-to-own transaction: (1) the cash price; (2) an itemization of services offered and the price of each service; (3) the annual percentage rate; (4) any applicable periodic payment and the number of payments; (5) the total number of payments required to acquire ownership; and (6) whether the item is new or used. Requires a seller to provide such information to a consumer in writing at the time the parties enter into the contract. Prohibits a seller under a rent-to-own contract with a consumer from taking specified actions, such as using threats or coercion to collect amounts alleged due, or unreasonably disclosing information to third parties regarding amounts owed by the consumer. Makes compliance with the requirements of this Act enforceable by the Federal Trade Commission. Deems a violation of this Act to be an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act. Subjects sellers who violate the requirements of this Act to civil liability.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1997
HIV Treatment Improvement Act of 1997 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require State Medicaid plans to make medical assistance available for HIV-infection-related drug treatment for certain HIV-infected individuals. Amends the Public Health Service Act to modify the program for treatments for HIV disease, including providing for the inclusion of laboratory services in such program. Requires, as a condition for receiving Federal treatment drug program funding, that States allocated more than $1 million in HIV-related care grants for a fiscal year provide non-Federal contributions toward at least 20 percent of the costs the State will incur in carrying out such program. Revises the formula for determining the minimum grant allotment under such program to eliminate the distinction between States with less than 90 living acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases and States with more than that number.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1997
Food Safety Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require a person, other than a household consumer, who has reason to believe that any food item introduced into commerce or held for sale is adulterated or misbranded to so notify the Secretary of Agriculture. Requires the Secretary to then: (1) cease distribution of such item; (2) provide appropriate producer and consumer notification; (3) recall such item; or (4) take any combination of such actions. Empowers the Secretary to impose a pre-hearing order to cease distribution of such item. Outlines hearing procedures for the recall of such item. Provides with respect to this Act: (1) civil penalties for violations; and (2) whistleblower protections for employees exercising rights provided.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1997
Construction Subcontractors Payment Protection Enhancement Act of 1998 - Amends the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act to provide for the establishment of policies assuring the timely payment of contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. Amends the Miller Act to revise provisions concerning payment bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1997
Fairness in the Workplace Commission Act - Establishes the National Commission on Fairness in the Workplace, which shall examine and report to the Congress on: (1) the growing corporate practice of providing wages and benefit levels for part-time and temporary employees which are lower than the wage and benefit levels provided to full-time employees who perform essentially identical work; (2) how the use of part-time and temporary employees has affected wage and benefit levels, employee job insecurity, and employee productivity; (3) the reasons that workers' wages have not kept pace with corporate profits and economic growth; (4) the reasons for the widening median wage gap between working men and working women; and (5) the reasons for the consistent discrepancy in the average wage of minority populations in comparison to the average wage of white Americans. Requires the Commission to develop policy options for the Congress to address the problems identified in the examination.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1997
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to: (1) repeal a provision which prohibits a State or local government from regulating the placement, construction, or modification of personal wireless service facilities (communications towers) on the basis of the environmental effects of frequency emissions from such facilities when such facilities comply with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations; (2) require that, in any action in which a person seeking to place, construct, or modify such a facility is a party, such person bear the burden of proof of its necessity; and (3) prohibit the FCC from adopting as a final rule a certain proposed rule which would preempt State and local zoning and land use restrictions on the siting, placement, and construction of broadcast station transmission facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the low-income State housing credit ceiling amount; and (2) provide for a cost-of-living adjustment for such amount.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1997
Border Improvement and Immigration Act of 1997 - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 with respect to the automated entry-exit control system to exempt from required recordkeeping: (1) land border crossings; and (2) permanent resident and certain other aliens. Requires the Attorney General to report on the feasibility of implementing an automated entry-exit control system that would include land border arrivals and departures. Provides for increased numbers of full-time Immigration and Naturalization and Customs inspectors at U.S. land borders, with at least half of such inspectors to be assigned to the northern border.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1997
Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act of 1997 - Directs the President to report periodically to specified congressional committees on foreign persons who, on or after August 8, 1995, have transferred, or attempted to transfer, controlled goods or technology, or provided, or attempted to provide, technical assistance or facilities that contributed, or would have contributed, to Iran's efforts to acquire, develop, or produce ballistic missiles. Excludes from identification in such reports any such persons who were previously identified or sanctioned, who are subject to a waiver, or who have acted on behalf of, or in concert with, the United States. Requires imposition on such persons of minimum two-year sanctions prohibiting: (1) sales to such persons of items on the United States Munitions List (and terminating sales of any controlled U.S. arms); (2) the export to such persons of dual use goods and technology; and (3) the provision of U.S. financial assistance. Authorizes the President to waive such sanctions on the basis of U.S. national security or additional information demonstrating that the sanctioned person did not commit the acts alleged. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should exercise the authority granted to him under the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Support Act of 1992 to prevent: (1) the transfer through purchase, barter, or other acquisition of weapons-related material and delivery systems to Iran; and (2) the transfer to Iran of scientific and technical expertise with respect to such material and systems. Authorizes the use of certain assistance, otherwise available for the independent states of the former Soviet Union under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, to prevent such transfers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Multichannel Video Competition and Consumer Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to: (1) initiate, and report to specified congressional committees on, an inquiry on the extent to which a certain differential fee decision (relating to the per subscriber per month royalty fee for the retransmission of superstation and distant network signals by direct-to-home satellite service providers) constitutes an impediment to the development of effective market competition for multichannel video programming distribution; and (2) based on such inquiry, make necessary regulatory changes. Includes direct-to-home satellite services under provisions protecting telecommunications services from piracy. Prohibits any U.S. officer or employee from taking any action to implement or enforce the differential fee decision until 120 days after FCC submission of its report.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal a specified restriction imposed by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 on Medicare payment for certain hospital discharges to post-acute care.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Early Hearing Loss Detection, Diagnosis, and Intervention Act of 1997 - Mandates grants or cooperative agreements to: (1) develop statewide hearing loss early detection, diagnosis, and intervention networks; and (2) provide technical assistance to State agencies to complement an intramural program and to conduct applied research related to infant hearing detection, diagnosis, and treatment or intervention. Requires the National Institutes of Health to carry out research on the efficacy of new screening techniques and technology. Mandates coordination and collaboration. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Sound Science for the Environment Act - Authorizes and directs the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a National Institute for the Environment to: (1) initiate, facilitate, and perform comprehensive assessments of the current state of knowledge of environmental issues and their implications; (2) establish a Center for Environmental Assessment; (3) award competitively grants and contracts for extramural scientific research; (4) establish an Office of Research and a universally accessible National Library for the Environment; and (5) sponsor education and training of environmental scientists and professionals and improve public environmental literacy. Establishes a Board of Governors for the Institute. Requires the Institute to be operated by a nonprofit organization under contract with the NSF. Provides for interagency acquisition of information and requires the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council or an equivalent body to serve as an Interagency Advisory Committee to ensure that the scientific efforts of the Institute and Federal agencies are complementary. Makes scientists, engineers, and other researchers eligible to receive funding from the Institute. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Insurance Disclosure Act of 1997 - Requires insurers, if a medical exam (procured by the insurer) is required for initial or continued enrollment, to: (1) provide the individual involved with all medical information obtained from the exam; and (2) encourage the individual to make the information available to the individual's physician. Deems the above requirements to be provisions of the Public Health Service Act for purposes of provisions relating to enforcement, preemption, State flexibility, and construction. Provides for a private cause of action, including applying certain civil enforcement provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Supersedes any State law providing less protection to individuals. (Sec. 7) Amends ERISA to require a group insurance plan, and any insurer offering a policy in connection with such plan, if a medical exam (procured by the insurer) is required for initial or continued eligibility for benefits, to: (1) provide the individual involved with all medical information obtained from the exam; and (2) encourage the individual to make the information available to the individual's physician. Supersedes any State law providing less protection to individuals. Makes an administrator who fails or refuses to comply liable to the individual for up to $100 per day. Allows other relief.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Recognizes the historic significance of the fiftieth anniversary of the reestablishment of the State of Israel. Commends the Israeli people for their achievements in building a new state and a pluralistic democratic society in the Middle East. Reaffirms the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel. Extends congratulations and best wishes to the State of Israel and her people for a peaceful, prosperous, and successful future.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Reaffirms the U.S. commitment to the rights enunciated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Expresses the determination of the Congress to work for the implementation and observance of international human rights and rights agreements. Urges government leaders of all nations, representatives of private international human rights organizations, business and labor leaders, local government officials, and all Americans to use the Declaration as an instrument to promote tolerance, understanding, and greater respect for human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 1997
Assets for Independence Act - Provides for the establishment of four-year demonstration projects designed for the stated purpose of determining: (1) the social, civic, psychological, and economic effects of providing to individuals and families with limited means an incentive to accumulate assets by saving a portion of their earned income in an individual development account; (2) the extent to which an asset-based policy that promotes saving for education, home ownership, and microenterprise development may be used to enable individuals and families with limited means to increase their economic self-sufficiency; and (3) the extent to which an asset-based policy stabilizes and improves families and the community in which they live. Authorizes not-for-profit organizations and qualified State or local government agencies to participate in the grant program. Requires each qualified not-for-profit organization receiving a grant to establish a Reserve Fund for deposit of private and public funds provided for the demonstration project, as well as proceeds from investments. Provides for individual development accounts (IDAs), held by federally insured financial institutions, into which qualified individuals may make contributions, which shall be matched by the qualified entity conducting a demonstration project under a grant, according to a certain formula, in an amount up to $2,000 per individual ($4,000 per household). Limits the use of IDA distributions to specified postsecondary educational, first-home purchase, and business capitalization expenses, as well as transfers to IDAs of family members. Makes an individual eligible for assistance under a demonstration project if the individual is a member of a household that: (1) is eligible for assistance under part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) of title IV of the Social Security Act; or (2) meets certain income and net worth tests. Authorizes appropriations. Disregards funds in the IDA of a demonstration project participant for purposes of all means-tested Federal programs.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hinchey, Maurice D. [D-NY-22]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000627_200.jpg)