United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1991
Department of Defense Lyme Disease Research and Education Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Army Environmental Hygiene Agency, to carry out a research and education (R&E) program regarding Lyme disease. Specifies actions to be taken by the Secretary as part of such R&E program, including: (1) assessing the risk of Lyme disease at military installations; (2) providing lab support for identifying and assaying deer ticks for Lyme disease; (3) providing information regarding Lyme disease to military personnel at installations at which there are sizable populations of deer ticks, as well as to dependents of such personnel; (4) establishing and maintaining a data repository on information collected by the Department of Defense regarding the disease; (5) conducting operational testing; and (6) testing candidate deer tick repellent compounds for effectiveness and toxicity to humans. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for conducting the R&E program. Earmarks specified amounts of such appropriations for each of the R&E activities undertaken. Directs the Secretary to print and distribute to appropriate military personnel wallet-sized cards that identify the ticks that transmit Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, listing symptoms and methods of prevention. Allows the Secretary to make 25 percent of such cards available to Federal health agencies and the public. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research to conduct research to develop a ribosomal RNA probe to detect Borrella burgdorferi in arthropods, animal reservoirs, and laboratory samples. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Defense for such research.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Amends the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act to direct the Secretary of Commerce to certify to the President each nation that is failing to comply with a specified United Nations General Assembly resolution on large-scale driftnet fishing.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Establishes the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, Idaho. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to continue implementation of the comprehensive land use plan for the management and rehabilitation of public lands and resources within the conservation area. Requires the Secretrary to review such plan for the compatibility of the military use of such area with the protection and conservation of the area's raptor (birds of prey) habitat and resources. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a visitors center designed to interpret the history, research, management, geology, ecology, and biology of the raptors and their relationship to man. Declares that the management plan shall provide for the continued use of the conservation area's Orchard Training Area by the Idaho National Guard. Authorizes the grazing of domestic livestock within such area. Provides that private lands acquired within the boundaries of the conservation area shall become a part of such area. Directs the Secretary to appoint a steering committee to review long-range plans and research and management of the conservation area. Releases lands of the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area not designated as wilderness for multiple use and management and requires such lands to be managed as part of the conservation area. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program on a military installation for reducing the amount of solid waste generated at the installation. Requires that the yard waste (leaves and grass trimmings) and cafeteria waste (food waste) at such installation be composted, rather than be disposed of in a landfill or by other conventional means. Requires the compost produced to be used for soil amendment or in another appropriate manner as determined by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the implementation of the pilot program, including a recommendation as to whether similar programs should be carried out at other military installations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Women and Minorities in Science and Mathematics Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to add provisions, under various HEA programs, for education programs for women and minorities who are currently underrepresented in the fields of science and mathematics to receive training for work in those fields. Adds such provisions to: (1) postsecondary programs for nontraditional students (including grants to expand such education programs, off-campus program faculty and staff training to develop such education programs, (adult and continuing education staff development and adult learning); (2) the TRIO programs of Talent Search and Upward Bound; (3) educator recruitment, retention, and development programs (including midcareer teacher training for nontraditional students, school, college, and university partnerships, professional development and leadership programs, and Congressional Teacher Scholarships); (4) cooperative education programs; (5) graduate programs (including general program requirements, Harris Fellowships, and areas of national need); and (6) postsecondary improvement programs (including adding references to minority women under minority science improvement programs and science and engineering access programs).
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Requires the Secretary of Transportation to conduct research on the advantages and disadvantages of: (1) recycling, reprocessing, and composting waste found along Federal aid highways; and (2) applying compost in landscape and roadside development and planting wildflowers along such highways. Directs the Secretary: (1) in conducting such research, to analyze the relative merits of using various types and qualities of compost (including compost made with solid waste, sewage sludge, or both) and to consult with interested parties in Government and in the private sector; and (2) to report to the Congress on such research with recommendations for management of waste along Federal aid highways.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Directs the Secretary of Commerce, through the National Sea Grant College Program, to establish a program for providing grants for composting of solid waste produced by commercial and recreational fishing.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Family Caregiver Support Act of 1991 - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXI entitled "Grants to States for Family Caregiver Support Programs" to establish a program to enable States to furnish services to support informal caregivers of individuals with functional disabilities. Outlines State plan requirements for such caregiver support services, including requirements that: (1) States must support 50 percent of program administration costs; (2) services may not supplant Medicare or Medicaid (titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act) or private insurance otherwise available to eligible recipients of services; and (3) persons with incomes exceeding 200 percent of the Federal poverty level must pay on a sliding fee scale established by the State, up to a maximum annual income of $75,000. Caps total annual Federal expenditures at $2,400 per eligible recipient. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the new title.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Fire Safety Enhancement Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to require the installation of smoke detectors in all residential units financed or assisted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Circle of Poison Prevention Act of 1991 - Title I: Exported Pesticides - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to require pesticide producers operating registered establishments to inform the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency of: (1) the types and quantities of pesticides and active ingredients used in producing pesticides for export to a foreign country; and (2) the date of export and quantity of such materials exported to each foreign country to which the producer has exported during the past 365-day period. Provides that specified information on exported pesticides shall not be entitled to confidential trade secret treatment. Makes it unlawful to export a pesticide or device in violation of FIFRA export requirements. Prohibits the exportation of a pesticide or device unless: (1) such materials are prepared and packaged according to the specifications of the foreign purchaser and the legal requirements of the country of use; and (2) the label of the pesticide is written in the official language of the country of use and contains all information required to be included in the labeling for such pesticide in the United States. Prohibits the exportation of a pesticide to a country of use if: (1) the registrations for pesticides containing an active ingredient that is included in such pesticide that account for nearly all of the uses of such ingredient have been canceled; (2) the tolerances for an active ingredient in such pesticide that account for nearly all the uses of such ingredient have been revoked; or (3) an active ingredient of the pesticide is ineligible for reregistration. Prohibits such exports (including pesticides used for agricultural production) unless: (1) the pesticide is registered; or (2) all of the active ingredients in the pesticide are the subject of a food tolerance. Requires exporters, prior to the shipment of certain pesticides, to provide specified information to the Administrator. Prohibits the exportation of any pesticide to a country of use that: (1) has refused consent; or (2) has given conditional consent unless the conditions on which the consent was given are met. Prohibits refusals to consent unless the country certifies that it is not producing or importing and will not produce or import the pesticide or a similar product with the same active ingredient. Waives certain requirements, upon the request of a country of use and subject to certain determinations by the Administrator, to permit the export of pesticides not meeting FIFRA requirements to: (1) prevent or arrest the spread of a communicable disease; or (2) stop or prevent the spread of a pest that is destroying or will destroy quantities of the country's food supply so as to result in widespread famine. Permits the export of pesticides for experimental use in foreign countries if specified conditions are met. Directs the Administrator to submit information to the Secretary of Health and Human Services concerning inspections for pesticide residues in imported foods conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services. Requires the Administrator to notify foreign countries and the International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals whenever regulatory action is taken with respect to a pesticide. Directs the Administrator to: (1) convene meetings with foreign governments and other interested parties to promote the implementation of improved research and regulatory programs for pest management and strategies for sustainable agriculture and to encourage the adoption of a multilateral convention requiring standard notice and pesticide export control measures; and (2) provide foreign countries with technical assistance to develop pesticide regulatory programs. Permits persons to bring civil actions to secure the imposition of penalties on persons who violate pesticide export requirements. Prohibits civil actions from being initiated on the basis of the same unlawful acts that form the basis of existing proceedings for criminal violations. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress every four years on: (1) the operation and effect of this Act; and (2) how exported pesticides and their containers are used and disposed of and on their impact on the public health and the environment of countries of use. Title II: Pesticide Residue Monitoring - Amends the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 to direct the Food and Drug Administration to summarize the volume of each food product subject to the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act imported into the United States in quantities determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to be commercial quantities (currently, products having an entry value exceeding an amount established by the Secretary). Requires the summary to: (1) be made by food product, country of origin, port of entry, pesticides monitored by the Secretary, pesticide residues detected, and the quantity of each pesticide exported from the United States for agricultural use; and (2) indicate the volume of each type of food tested for pesticide residues, arranged by pesticide, food, and country of origin. Title III: Pesticide Tolerances - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Administrator, if a registration under FIFRA for a pesticide to be used on food is canceled or modified to prohibit its use in connection with food, to revoke any tolerance or exemption that permits the presence of the pesticide on the food. Suspends tolerances or exemptions for pesticides used on food if such use is suspended under FIFRA. Authorizes the Administrator, if a residue of a canceled or suspended pesticide will persist in the environment and be present on a food, to establish a tolerance for the pesticide at a level that permits the residue to remain and will protect public health. Requires the Administrator to reduce the tolerance for any suspended or canceled pesticide annually if any decrease in the pesticide's residual environmental contamination or residues on food has occurred. Prohibits the Administrator from establishing or continuing a tolerance for a pesticide chemical residue unless the best available, practical method for detecting and measuring the levels of the residue on a food exists. Title IV: Pesticide Information - Prohibits the importation of a raw agricultural commodity into U.S. customs territory unless the commodity importer files with the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury a document identifying each pesticide chemical used in connection with the commodity. Requires such importers, if unreported pesticides are detected in such commodities, to submit residue analyses for such pesticides. Waives reporting requirements for unreported pesticides if the presence of such pesticides is attributable to long-term environmental persistence and does not pose a health risk. Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act to apply such requirements to importers of meat, poultry, and eggs. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1954 to add to the list of annual reporting requirements of agricultural attaches a report on the customary use of pesticides in the production of agricultural commodities in foreign countries. Title V: Effective Dates - Sets forth the effective dates for provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 - Imposes civil liability on anyone who, under actual or apparent authority or under color of law of any foreign nation, subjects any individual to torture or extrajudicial killing. Directs a court to decline to hear a claim under this Act if the alleged offender establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the plaintiff has not exhausted adequate and available remedies in the place where the conduct giving rise to the claim occurred. Specifies that no statute of limitations shall apply to a claim under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
National Biological Diversity Conservation Act - Declares that the conservation of biological diversity is a national goal. Establishes the Interagency Working Committee on Biological Diversity to: (1) prepare a coordinated Federal strategy for the conservation of biological diversity; and (2) issue guidance to Federal agencies regarding biodiversity impact assessment. Dissolves the Committee upon its submission of the strategy to the Congress. Sets forth required elements of the strategy. Requires the Council on Environmental Quality to identify the Federal agencies that conduct programs having a significant impact on biological diversity. Directs such agencies to: (1) review its actions and programs biennially for consistency with the Federal strategy; and (2) report the results of such reviews to the Council. Requires the Council to review such reports biennially and report to the Congress on the consistency of Federal programs with the strategy. Directs the President to establish a National Center for Biological Diversity and Conservation Research. Requires the Center to: (1) identify gaps in the understanding of biological diversity and develop a plan for filling such gaps; (2) issue grants to private institutions for projects to contribute to implementation of the plan; (3) provide information to the Interagency Committee in preparation of the Federal strategy; (4) develop a plan for the establishment of a clearinghouse; and (5) identify species and natural communities of special concern. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a biological diversity grant program for purposes of monitoring the status of plants, invertebrate organisms, terrestrial communities, and freshwater aquatic communities and species. Limits the Federal share of grant activities to 75 percent of the total cost. Requires the Secretary to identify: (1) the types of natural communities native to the United States; (2) the types of communities that do not occur in at least three protected areas of sufficient size to maintain populations of the species of plants and animals associated with such communities; (3) the types of communities that are especially rich in terms of the number of native species they contain; and (4) the location on Federal lands of communities identified under (2) and (3). Directs the Secretary to issue regulations establishing requirements for considering areas of lands to be protected areas for purposes of this Act. Prohibits lands from being considered as protected areas unless the lands are: (1) managed primarily for the purpose of maintaining viable populations of native plants and animals and self-sustaining natural communities; and (2) subject to permanent land use restrictions to ensure the protection of such plants, animals, and communities. Requires Federal agency heads to consult with the Secretary regarding the management actions necessary to maintain natural communities on Federal lands identified under this Act and to ensure the long-term sustainability of such communities. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Designates September 20, 1991, as National POW/MIA recognition Day. Requires the display of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag: (1) at all national cemeteries and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 30, 1991 (Memorial Day), September 20, 1991 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day), and November 11, 1991 (Veteran's Day); and (2) on, or on the grounds of, the White House, and the buildings containing the primary offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, and the Director of the Selective Service Commission on September 20, 1991 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day).
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Proclaims Lech Walesa, the leader of the Solidarity trade union and President of Poland, as an honorary citizen of the United States. Commends Solidarity for bringing democracy to Poland and starting the movement toward democracy throughout Eastern Europe.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Amends the Davis-Bacon Act (the Act) to apply it to any contract (relating to public buildings or public works of the United States or the District of Columbia or buildings or works financed in whole or part by Federal loans, grants, or loan guarantees, with specified exceptions) in excess of $100,000 for new construction (including painting and decorating) or in excess of $15,000 for alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction (including painting and decorating). Provides that State, local, or tribal government requirements for wages or fringe benefits applied to such contracts for federally-assisted construction or repair of buildings or works shall not be preempted by the Act unless there is a conflict in compliance with both. Provides that an individual shall be considered a laborer or mechanic if the contractor or subcontractor paid the individual, directly or through a subcontract, for such services performed to carry out the contract. Prohibits the use of multiple contracts to avoid application of the Act. Requires that any two or more contracts shall be treated as a single contract if they: (1) individually do not exceed the minimum amount necessary for the Act to apply; (2) in the aggregate do exceed such amount; and (3) all relate to the same work or related work at the same site. Permits any interested person to seek relief from violations of such provision in U.S. district court. Applies the Act also to contracts for the lease of a facility if construction, alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction is required for a contract's fulfillment. Defines the terms "apprentice," "trainee," and "helper." Prescribes circumstances under which such persons may be paid less than the required wage rate under the Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to promulgate regulations defining such persons and prescribing the conditions under which they will not be subject to the required rate, the rate at which they will be employed, and other appropriate conditions. Requires the contractor or subcontractor to post the scale of wages required to be paid under such contract in a prominent and easily accessible place at the contract worksite. Provides that the wages required to be paid under the Act shall be the wages determined by the Secretary to be prevailing within three years of the date the contract was entered into. Provides that, if the Secretary has not made a prevailing wage determination within such three-year limitation, the prevailing wage shall be the highest wage prevailing in a comparable area in the State in which the contract is performed. Directs the Secretary, in making a prevailing wage determination, to consider the wages paid for all projects of the same character in the area under contracts for amounts not less than the minimum amounts necessary for the Act to apply. Provides that a contractor or subcontractor may only include contributions and costs relating to employee fringe benefits, as part of their prevailing wage payment, in an amount not exceeding the aggregate of such contributions and costs prevailing in the area. Authorizes the Secretary to investigate and secure compliance with requirements of the Act. Allows any interested person to petition the Secretary to review the determination of a Secretary of a department or an agency head that a contract entered into is not subject to the Act. Provides for judicial review of such coverage determinations. Permits any laborer, mechanic, or any interested person to petition the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor to review the wage payments received to determine if they have been made in accordance with the Secretary's prevailing wage determination. Sets forth procedures for such wage review. Provides that the determination of the Administrator, an administrative law judge, or the Secretary on a petition for review of the wage payments may include the award of damages to the petitioner in the amount of twice the amount of wages not paid in accordance with the prevailing wage determination, if it is found that the petitioner was willfully not paid the required wages. Requires the defendant in such cases to pay a reasonable attorney's fee and the cost of the action. Makes any employer who violates the required wage rate provisions of the Act liable to each affected employee in the amount of unpaid wages and, if the violation was willful, in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. Allows an action to recover such liability to be maintained against any employer in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction by any interested party, or by any employee on behalf of affected employees and other employees similarly situated. Prohibits any employee from being a party plaintiff to such an action unless the employee gives consent in writing to become a party and the consent is filed in the court in which the action is brought. Prohibits employees from bringing such a civil action with respect to their wages if they file a petition for review. Directs the court, in addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff or plaintiffs, to allow a reasonable attorney's fee and the cost of the action to be paid by the defendant. Requires the Comptroller General to pay directly to laborers and mechanics from any accrued payments withheld under the contract any wages found by the Secretary to be due. Directs the Secretary to distribute to all departments of the Government a list of the names of persons or firms who: (1) are found to have disregarded their obligations to employees and subcontractors; and (2) are debarred from Federal contracts for a specified time. (Removes the Comptroller General from such debarment process.) Declares that employees may bring an action against contractors and their sureties for the payment of unpaid wages. Specifies that the Secretary or the contracting officer may order accrued payments in amounts necessary to cover unpaid wages to be withheld from contractors found to have violated the Act. Requires that contracts subject to the Act contain a provision allowing the Government to terminate the contract if less than the required wage rate has been or is being paid. Makes the contractor and its sureties liable for any excess costs incurred by the Government because of such termination. Directs the Secretary to: (1) enforce the Act; and (2) promulgate standards and procedures to be observed by contracting officers. Amends the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act (which provides for the Secretary of Labor to make reasonable regulations for contractors and subcontractors in the construction or repair of public buildings or public works or buildings or works financed in whole or part by Federal loans or grants) to require such employers to report certain payroll information on a monthly (rather than a weekly) basis. Requires such information to include specified items (including rates of contributions or costs anticipated for bona fide fringe benefits). Requires such employers to maintain payroll and other related basic records for three years after completion of such work. Permits any interested person to obtain from any Federal department or agency a copy of any such payroll statement which has been filed by the contractor or subcontractor with the department or agency under such Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) study the feasibility of employers using electronic methods to comply with reporting requirements under such Act; and (2) report to the Congress within one year on actions taken by the Secretary and employers to facilitate electronic reporting of payroll information.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Title I: General Provisions - Operation Coastal Shield of 1991 - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes with respect to coastal and Great Lakes water quality. Title II: Coastal Water Quality - Amends the Clean Water Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) issue guidance to States for implementing water quality criteria, developing water and sediment quality-based effluent limitations, and implementing water quality related controls on nonpoint sources; (2) submit a workplan to specified congressional committees on a five-year schedule for developing and revising criteria for pollutants found in coastal waters; (3) issue or revise at least five new criteria and revise at least five existing criteria biennially for pollutants which pose the greatest risk to coastal waters; and (4) publish biological criteria for assessing and protecting coastal water quality and habitat to complement pollutant-specific criteria. Requires a coastal State, whenever the State reviews water quality standards, to adopt coastal water quality standards for pollutants for which water quality criteria and information have been issued. Requires criteria issued by the Administrator to take effect immediately as interim coastal water quality standards for States that fail to adopt approvable standards. Directs the Administrator to publish information on methods for measuring water quality criteria for pollutants that may pose risks to coastal and Great Lakes water quality on bases other than pollutant-by-pollutant criteria. Requires applicants for Federal permits to conduct activities which may result in discharges into navigable waters to obtain a certification from the State in which the discharge will originate that such activities will not contribute to a failure to achieve water quality standards. Directs coastal States to develop coastal water quality protection programs for restoring and protecting coastal water quality. Requires such programs to: (1) incorporate requirements of specified Acts; (2) identify coastal waters for which standards cannot be expected to be maintained and waters that currently meet standards but are threatened by increases in pollution; (3) establish a priority ranking for such waters and implement schedules for developing water quality restoration plans for those waters; (4) provide for a system of allocating and exchanging discharge reduction credits and pollution offsets among sources of conventional pollutants and nutrients into coastal waters; (5) establish a system through which a State authority certifies that the issuance or renewal of a discharge permit or the undertaking of any activity subject to the requirements of a coastal water quality restoration plan complies with such requirements; and (6) ensure public participation in the program and include procedures to ensure compliance with the program. Sets forth: (1) requirements for coastal water quality restoration plans; and (2) approval procedures for such plans and for coastal water quality protection programs. Directs the Administrator to develop water quality restoration plans for States that fail to do so. Requires the Administrator to issue orders to, or commence civil actions against, persons failing to comply with coastal water quality protection program requirements. Authorizes citizen suits against the United States and other governmental authorities for violations of such requirements. Prohibits the issuance or renewal of permits for discharges into estuaries nominated for the National Estuary Program, except in compliance with specified guidelines. Directs the Administrator to review and revise guidelines to prevent the degradation of coastal water quality and to reflect changes made by this Act. Authorizes State Governors to request the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to enter into a cooperative agreement to permit a State and its political subdivisions to enforce requirements for marine sanitation devices. Requires such agreements to authorize States or political subdivisions to assess and retain required penalties. Directs the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Administrator to notify the fish and game and water pollution control authorities of each coastal State of the funds available under the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act to finance shoreside pumpout stations for marine sanitation devices. Requires the Administrator to review and revise standards for marine sanitation devices to prevent discharges from vessels equipped with Type III marine aviation devices. Directs the Administrator to: (1) identify pollution control measures for controlling the introduction of pollutants into coastal waters from nonpoint sources; (2) develop techniques for evaluating the effectiveness of such measures; and (3) make available to State and local authorities technical guidance for implementing and monitoring such measures. Requires the Administrator, with respect to best management practices for industry, to identify releases of pollutants that may cause risks to human health or the environment and to prohibit or restrict the production of such pollutants to eliminate such risks. Revises provisions concerning the purposes of management conferences under the National Estuary Program. Requires such conferences to be convened for periods of at least five years (currently, up to five years). Permits the extension of a conference for an additional five years if the affected Governors concur in the extension and the extension is necessary to meet requirements. Revises approval and implementation procedures for conservation and management plans under the Program. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants for the implementation of such plans. Extends the authorization of appropriations for Program activities. Authorizes appropriations to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Director to participate in the development and implementation of such plans. Requires the Administrator to issue orders to, or commence civil actions against, persons failing to comply with requirements concerning national estuaries. Title III: Coastal and Great Lakes Contaminated Sediments Remediation Program - Directs the Administrator to conduct a survey and report to the Congress on bottom sediment contamination in the Great Lakes and U.S. coastal waters. Declares that the purpose of such survey is to assess the severity of such contamination, identify areas for which additional pollution reduction requirements may be required, and determine the order of priority for undertaking remedial actions. Requires the Administrator to publish: (1) criteria for sediment quality; and (2) information on the factors necessary to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of aquatic ecosystems. Authorizes persons to petition for the development of criteria for pollutants. Requires the Administrator to approve a petition if the pollutant, when present in sediments, is preventing: (1) the attainment of a balanced, indigenous population of fish, shellfish, or wildlife; or (2) recreation in and on the Great Lakes or coastal waters. Directs the Administrator to: (1) issue national sediment remediation standards to govern remediation projects involving contaminated sediments; and (2) issue standards to establish temporary maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants or contaminants during the duration of projects for sediment contamination. Requires the Administrator, when publishing sediment quality criteria for a pollutant, to issue guidance on the imposition by the appropriate permitting authority of sediment-based effluent limits that will prevent the violation of such criteria. Directs the Administrator to publish guidelines to govern projects to clean up contaminated sediments. Provides for the review and revision of such guidelines at least once every five years. Requires the Administrator, with the approval of a State Governor, to implement sediment remediation projects for locations posing the greatest risks to human health and the environment. Prohibits the Administrator, in selecting such sites, from selecting any site listed as a priority under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and for which there is reasonable likelihood of remediation under such Act. Authorizes approprations. Title IV: Monitoring Coastal Waters - Establishes the National Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Task Force. Requires the Task Force to: (1) implement a national strategy for conducting coastal water quality monitoring programs; (2) identify all Federal water quality monitoring programs and incorporate those programs into the national strategy; (3) develop a memorandum of understanding among appropriate Federal agencies to implement such strategy; (4) develop coastal water quality monitoring guidelines; and (5) select high priority coastal waters and approve, implement, or disapprove coastal water quality monitoring programs for such waters. Directs the Task Force to issue quidelines to assist in the development and implementation of such programs. Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to require Regional Marine Research Boards to establish monitoring committees comprised of individuals with technical expertise in coastal water quality monitoring programs. Requires the Boards, acting through such committees, to: (1) recommend areas for individual monitoring; (2) submit recommendations to the Task Force; (3) develop coastal water quality monitoring programs for high priority coastal waters selected by the Task Force; (4) provide for public participation in such programs; (5) provide technical guidance for the implementation of such programs; and (6) review the effectiveness of such programs and make necessary modifications. Sets forth requirements for coastal water quality monitoring programs and approval procedures for programs submitted by the committees to the Task Force. Requires the Under Secretary, the Administrator, and State Governors to ensure compliance with such programs. Deems requirements of approved programs to be requirements of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 and requires such programs to be submitted for approval as part of coastal zone management programs under the coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. Directs the Administrator or a State permitting authority to incorporate monitoring requirements into discharge permits. Title V: Compliance and Enforcement - Amends the Clean Water Act to authorize the use of specified civil and administrative penalties for beneficial mitigation projects. Increases the maximum on class II civil penalties authorized to be assessed under such Act. Prohibits Federal agencies from entering into any contract for the procurement of goods or services if the contract is to be performed at any facility owned or operated by a person who has: (1) repeatedly violated a discharge permit or the requirements of a nonpoint source management program or categorical standard with respect to the treatment of pollutants; or (2) been in repeated noncompliance with an estuary conservation and management plan. Authorizes the Administrator to commence administrative enforcement actions against Federal agencies to enforce this Act. Permits partial program withdrawal of State discharge permit programs if the Administrator determines that a State is not administering part of a program in accordance with applicable requirements. Requires permits to take effect upon issuance unless the permittee demonstrates that: (1) he will be irreparably harmed; and (2) there is a likelihood that he will succeed on the merits in an administrative hearing or civil action to review the permit's conditions. Prohibits Federal agencies from undertaking any development project or awarding any grant for an activity that may adversely affect the quality of navigable waters in any State with a pattern of: (1) continuing and chronic violations of coastal water quality standards; or (2) continuing and chronic failure to maintain a designated use under such standards. Requires Federal agencies which own or operate facilities that discharge pollutants into navigable waters (and that would qualify as major dischargers if industrial facilities) to develop and submit to the Administrator environmental auditing plans for such facilities. Directs industrial dischargers and publicly owned treatment works that discharge pollutants into navigable waters and that have repeatedly violated discharge permits or consent decrees to conduct biannual environmental audits of such facilities until they are no longer in violation of applicable requirements. Requires major dischargers, prior to the renewal of a permit, to provide to the Administrator an environmental audit conducted during the six-month period preceding the renewal. Sets forth requirements for audits and auditors. Requires the Administrator to: (1) issue regulations establishing eligibility requirements for certification of environmental auditors and continuing education requirements for maintaining the certification; and (2) issue guidance to States on the development of State programs for certification of environmental auditors. Directs States having navigable waters that do not meet applicable water quality standards to post and maintain signs at each place of public access to such waters indicating the standards such waters fail to meet and the health and environmental effects which may occur as a result of such failure. Title VI: Financing - Subtitle A: Discharge Fees - Establishes the Coastal Defense Fund. Provides for the deposit of specified fines, penalties, and payments collected under the Clean Water Act and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 into the Fund. Requires the Administrator to use Fund revenues to supplement funding for activities associated with administering the discharge permit program. Directs the Administrator to establish a National Coastal Discharge Permit Fee System to collect fees from coastal dischargers. Declares that the objectives of the System are to: (1) recoup the costs to Federal, State, and local governments of administering coastal discharge permit programs; (2) provide economic incentives to dischargers to eliminate or reduce the volume of toxicities of their effluents; and (3) supplement funding for discharge permitting programs under the Clean Water Act. Provides for the deposit of fees and penalties collected under the System into the Fund. Makes persons failing to pay fees liable for civil penalties. Provides for a hardship exemption to fees under certain conditions. Requires the Administrator, upon the petition of a coastal State, to waive the application of the System to such State if the amount of discharge fees collected under a State system is equivalent to the amount that would be collected by the System. Prohibits such waiver if the State uses fees solely to support State water quality programs. Makes industrial users of publicly owned treatment works liable for fees and requires users to pay fees to the authority responsible for controlling the treatment works. Directs the authority to retain such fees and use them to enforce water quality programs. Requires the Administrator to establish a fee schedule under the System that provides for the assessment of fees at least once a year and for the triennial adjustment of fees. Subtitle B: General Authorizations - Extends through FY 1999 the authorization of appropriations under the Clean Water Act for: (1) specified research, investigations, training, and information; (2) grants to States for pollution control programs; (3) nonpoint source pollution control in rural areas; (4) interagency agreements to maintain water quality; (5) the clean lakes program; and (6) nonpoint source pollution management programs. Extends the general authorization under such Act through FY 1999. Subtitle C: State and Local Financing - Authorizes States to use up to 15 percent of monies available in water pollution control revolving funds under the Clean Water Act to provide financial assistance to financially restricted communities. Permits loans to be made to such communities on terms of up to 40 years. Authorizes a fund to be used to reduce the principal of a debt obligation of a municipality or intermunicipal or interstate agency incurred after April 1, 1991, by up to 34 percent. Adds to the list of projects eligible for revolving fund assistance: (1) approved combined stormwater and sanitary sewer control programs; and (2) Great Lakes protection programs. Provides that: (1) annual principal and interest payments for loans made with revolving fund monies will commence no later than three years (currently, one year) after the completion of the project; and (2) amounts used for administering a fund shall not exceed four percent of amounts allotted to a State, or $400,000, whichever is greater (currently, four percent of all grant awards to such fund). Extends the allotment formula with respect to such funds. Raises the ceiling on the dollar amount to be reserved for planning purposes. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such funds through FY 1999.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Substance Abuse Treatment Corps Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Public Health Service the Substance Abuse Treatment Corps to increase the availability of treatment for alcohol and drug abuse in geographic areas with a significant incidence of abuse and an inadequate availability of services. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out such purpose only through assigning Corps members to provide services for such areas. Allows the Secretary to assign a Corps member to an entity only if the entity, among other requirements, enters into an agreement with the Secretary regarding the allocation, between the Secretary and the entity, of costs relating to the assignment. Directs the Secretary to establish a program of entering into contracts with students in specified fields under which the students agree to serve in the Corps upon obtaining their degree in consideration of the Federal Government agreeing to pay tuition, other expenses, and a stipend. Applies, except as inconsistent, provisions relating to the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program to this program. Directs the Secretary to establish a program of entering into contracts with individuals who have been licensed or certified in certain fields, or who are students in such fields, under which the individuals agree to serve in the Corps in consideration of the Federal Government agreeing to repay up to a specified sum of educational loans of the individuals. Applies, except as inconsistent, provisions relating to the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program to this program. Authorizes appropriations for the scholarship and loan repayment programs established by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to enter into arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive study regarding the use of electronic and microprocessor systems in automobiles and the safety risks associated with such use. Directs the Secretary to ask the Academy to report to the Secretary and the Congress by one year after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Amends Federal provisions relating to the National Guard to add a new chapter concerning the formation of State defense forces. Defines a "State defense force" as a military force organized by a State to become operational when the State National Guard forces are federalized or otherwise unavailable or inadequate for the defense needs of such State. Provides that, as general policy, State defense forces are in the national interest as a reserve force of the States, for specified reasons. Provides that membership in a State defense force shall be determined by the individual States, but that a member of the U.S. armed forces shall not also be a member of a State defense force. Provides further that membership in a State defense force does not exempt a person from any required duty under the Military Selective Service Act, nor does such membership limit a person from enlistment or appointment in an armed force. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to issue or loan military equipment, supplies, or uniforms to a State for use in connection with its State defense force. Directs the Secretary of Defense to prescribe policies and procedures to be followed in the issuing and loaning of such equipment. Authorizes the sale (by the Secretary of the military department concerned) and the wearing of military uniforms by members of a State defense force, as long as such uniforms have been approved by such Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to provide a member of a State defense force and States with defense forces training and training assistance for such forces. Authorizes such training, in the alternative, to be provided by an executive department and an independent agency of the Federal Government in the interest of national security and when not detrimental to the primary operational requirements of the department or agency concerned. Provides that the Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall serve as the means of communication between a State and the Federal Government on matters involving the State defense forces. Provides that a member of a State defense force is not to be considered a member of the U.S. armed forces for any reason, including eligibility for federally-sponsored health care or disability benefits. Authorizes the Secretary of a military department to conduct such background investigations for potential members of State defense forces as considered necessary and appropriate by such Secretary for the granting of appropriate security clearances for such personnel. Authorizes a State sponsoring a State defense force to conduct necessary and appropriate background investigations as a condition for allowing access to classified information by a member of the defense force.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Designates May 22, 1991, as National Desert Storm Reservists Day to commemorate the accomplishments of the men and women of the reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces who proudly served the United States during Operation Desert Storm.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that it should be U.S. policy to reduce national emissions of carbon dioxide in the next ten years by 20 percent from the 1988 baseline level and to assume a leadership position in negotiating an international climate protection treaty that includes establishing: (1) agreements by industrialized nations to reduce their current carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent over 1988 levels in the next ten years, by developing nations to reduce their growth in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion, and by all countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases; (2) an international fund and other financial mechanisms to help developing countries achieve such objectives; (3) mechanisms for continuing international cooperation for the development of policies for future emissions reductions; and (4) commitments to cease the destruction of primary forests.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 1991
Defense Environmental Activities Act - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 for the armed forces and other agencies and activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) for environmental restoration, defense. Earmarks a specified amount of FY 1992 DOD appropriations for other environmental activities. Requires information pertaining to amounts obligated in the past fiscal year and estimated to be allocated for the current fiscal year for DOD compliance with applicable environmental law and for certain DOD waste minimization programs to be included in an annual report of the Secretary of Defense on DOD environmental restoration.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1991
Federal Employees Retirement Incentive Act - Allows certain Federal employees serving in entities undergoing a major reorganization, reduction in force, or transfer of functions to elect to have four years added to their age upon separation, their total creditable service, or a combination thereof (not to exceed four years) for purposes of determining retirement eligibility and benefits under the Civil Service and Federal Employees' Retirement Systems. Amends provisions governing early or immediate retirement for Government employees to consider certain requirements for entitlement to annuities to have been met (with respect to agency reorganization, reduction in force, or transfer of functions conditions) if: (1) at least five percent of the employees within the agency and geographic area involved will be separated; or (2) at least 20 percent of such employees will be subject to an immediate reduction in the rate of basic pay. Waives such minimum percentages under certain circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1991
Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to extend the medical waste tracking demonstration program until June 30, 1993. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such program through FY 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1991
Federal Employees Health Benefits Reform Act of 1991 - Revises the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (the Program) to: (1) establish the Federal Employees Health Benefits Board (the Board); (2) replace current service and indemnity health benefit plans with a new Government-wide health insurance plan that offers both a standard and a high option for either self or family coverage; (3) require group- and individual-practice prepayment plans and mixed model prepayment plans to offer the same types of benefits offered under the standard option; (4) allow employee organization sponsored health plans to offer supplementary benefits; (5) establish flexible spending plans to allow employees to set aside a portion of their salary on a pretax basis to pay out-of-pocket health care expenses; and (6) allow annuitants whose annuities are insufficient to cover the full amount of required withholdings to elect to be covered under health benefits plans if they pay an amount equal to such withholdings to the Employees Health Benefits Fund (the Fund) through the retirement system that administers their health benefits enrollment. Directs the Board to: (1) prescribe regulations governing the provision of health insurance benefits to Federal employees, their families, and retirees under the Government-wide plan in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM); and (2) establish procedures for reviewing the utilization of health care services under such plan and controlling service costs. Declares that the service providers shall not be eligible for payments under the plan unless they comply with such procedures. Specifies the benefits required to be provided under each option of the plan and the extent to which they are covered. Requires such individuals to meet specified annual deductions under each option of the plan before any benefits will be paid, except in the case of a family enrollment when the deduction will be waived once it is met by any two family members. Establishes maximum out-of-pocket expense limitations for self and family coverage under each option. Requires the plan to pay all covered expenses after out-of-pocket expenses have exceeded their appropriate maximum limitation. Revises provisions for computing Government contributions. Establishes different requirements for each respective basic health benefits plan. Provides for the following with respect to the Government-wide plan: (1) establishment of specified biweekly employee contributions for the first administrative year to be increased for later years by the lesser of the increase in the medical care component of the consumer price index or the increase in the average enrollment charges; (2) procedures for determining average annual enrollment charges (the costs for providing benefits and administering the plan and any amounts necessary to maintain an adequate contingency reserve) in consultation with the Board for the first administrative year and for adjusting such charges for later years; (3) allocation of such costs to each option in a manner which is reasonable and equitable; (4) publication of new enrollment charges in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations; and (5) continued individual and family coverage for employees who are placed in a leave without pay status. Revises provisions regarding contracting authority to establish separate authority for awarding competitive three-year contracts to nongovernmental organizations to administer the Government-wide plan on a regional basis in areas established by OPM. Requires plan administrators to review the utilization of health care services and implement the cost-control procedures established by the Board. Permits certain employee organizations which currently self-insure to serve as the plan administrators for employees within their bargaining unit. Repeals provisions regarding payment or reimbursement for services by: (1) psychologists or optometrists; and (2) any person licensed under State law in a State where a specified percentage of the population is located in primary medical care manpower shortage areas. Revises provisions concerning election of coverage to: (1) provide automatic coverage under the Government-wide plan's standard option for self alone to an employee becoming eligible for Federal health insurance coverage unless the employee elects alternative coverage or to be excluded from coverage; (2) revise criteria for continuation of coverage for annuitants; and (3) extend coverage to unmarried dependent natural or adopted children of the former spouse and the employee who are students over age 22 but under age 23. Allows temporary employees to enroll in the Government-wide plan provided they pay both employee and Government contributions. Provides that if an individual eligible to enroll in a basic health benefits plan has a spouse who is also eligible, either may enroll for self and family or each may enroll as an individual, but no individual may be covered both as an enrollee and as a family member. Sets forth rules to apply in administering provisions regarding: (1) election of coverage: (2) continued coverage; (3) coverage of restored employees and survivor or disability annuitants; (4) double coverage; and (5) changes in family status. Requires any amounts forfeited under flexible spending plans to be transferred to a separate account which shall be within the Fund. Allows such amounts to be used for wellness programs for Federal employees. Revises provisions regarding contribution set-asides in the Fund to establish new set-aside requirements for contributions to the basic health benefits plans. Directs OPM to: (1) prescribe regulations to provide eligible individuals with an opportunity to elect coverage under the health benefits plans, to terminate their enrollment, to transfer to another such plan, or to make any other allowable changes in the terms or conditions of their enrollment; (2) on an annual basis compile statistics and submit to the Board a report on the use of the different benefits of the basic and supplemental plans and their costs to the Government as part of a continuing study of the operation and administration of the Program; (3) prescribe Program regulations providing for the establishment of wellness programs for Federal employees; and (4) prescribe regulations to ensure that, for any annuitant eligible to receive Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) and Federal health insurance benefits, deductibles and coinsurance or copayment amounts under the Program shall be waived to the same extent as before the enactment of this Act and that when an individual is eligible for Federal health insurance benefits which would be duplicative of Medicare benefits, the primary payer shall be the same as it would have been before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1991
Inter-American Partners in Democracy Resolution - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States should seek to strengthen the democratic legislatures in Central America and Panama by using foreign assistance funds to provide equipment and training for such legislatures; and (2) efforts to support such legislatures should be coordinated with and otherwise involve appropriately qualified private and public sector experts.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1991
Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1989 - Amends the Federal criminal code to make it unlawful for any person to manufacture, assemble, transfer, or possess any handgun which the Secretary of the Treasury determines to be unsuitable for lawful sporting purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1991
Pornography Victims Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code with respect to the prohibition against the sexual exploitation of children to add as a condition triggering Federal penalties that the person concerned knows that a minor was transported in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of producing pornography. Makes it a criminal offense for any person to coerce, intimidate, or fraudulently induce an individual 18 years or older to engage in any sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of producing any visual depiction of such conduct. Grants the U.S. district courts jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General or any person threatened with loss or damage by such conduct to institute a civil suit. Provides for treble damages for a victim who suffers physical injury, emotional distress, or property damage. Imposes civil penalties for violation of the prohibition against sexual exploitation of children.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code and title II of the Social Security Act (Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) with respect to the social security exemption for election officials and election workers employed by State and local governments to increase the allowed remuneration paid to such workers.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Omnibus Adoption Act of 1991 - Title I: National Advisory Council on Adoption - Establishes the National Advisory Council on Adoption (the Council), to be appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Terminates such Council after four years. Title II: Adoption Data Collection System - Directs the Secretary of HHS to: (1) report to the Congress, within 30 days, on the status of the implementation of the adoption data collection system required under specified provisions of the Social Security Act, including specific assurances relating to such system; (2) report monthly to the Congress on the progress made in implementing such system; and (3) consult with the Council in developing regulations to carry out such reporting requirements and assurances. Title III: Adoption Education Programs - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish a program of fellowships for graduate study in social work, in innovative programs concerning the effects of adoption on the adopted children, their adoptive families, and their biological parents who make an adoption plan. Directs the Secretary of Education to award up to 50 such fellowships. Sets forth provisions for student selection procedures, stipends, payments to institutions, fellowship conditions, consultation with the Council, and an authorization of appropriations for FY 1992 through 1996. Directs the Secretary of Education, within one year after enactment of this Act, to make grants to States to carry out adoption education programs. Sets forth provisions for grants amounts, applications and agreements, program guidelines, consultation with the Council, and an authorization of appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994. Title IV: Adoption Benefits for Federal Employees and Military Personnel - Amends Federal law relating to Federal employees to allow their sick leave (including advance sick leave) to be used for purposes relating to the adoption of a child. Includes prenatal and maternal benefits (other than those relating to a surrogate parenting arrangement) for the biological mother of an adoptive child among the types of benefits which may be provided under Federal employee benefits plans. Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish minimum standards for this type of benefits, in accordance with specified guidelines. Amends Federal law relating to members of the uniformed services to require establishment of a program to reimburse them for expenses they incur for prenatal and maternal care provided to the biological mother of a child they legally adopt. Limits such reimbursement to care provided on or after the date on which the member notifies the appropriate administering Secretary. Prohibits such reimbursement for expenses incurred in carrying out a surrogate parenting arrangement. Includes prenatal care among types of authorized care for military dependents. Includes care for preexisting conditions among the types of authorized care for adopted children of uniformed service members. Defines adopted child, for purposes of Federal law relating to members of the uniformed services, as a child with respect to whom a written plan of adoption has been entered into pursuant to the laws of the State in which the child resides. Directs OPM and the Secretary of Defense to coordinate their development of regulations and guidelines to carry out their responsibilities under this title, and to consult with the Council in such development. Title V: Adoption Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to establish a refundable tax credit for certain amounts of adoption expenses, for taxpayers at certain income levels. Title VI: Maternal Health Certificates Program - Directs the Secretary of HHS, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, to establish a program to provide maternal health certificates for eligible pregnant women to use to cover expenses incurred in receiving services at a maternal and housing services facility. Bases eligibility on an individual's having an annual individual income of not greater than 175 percent of the applicable official poverty line income. Determines such income without taking account of: (1) the income of any parent or guardian of the individual; or (2) the income of an estranged spouse who has been living apart from the woman for at least six months. Prohibits finding an individual ineligible for such program solely on the grounds that they do not receive aid under the State plan for aid for families with dependent children (AFDC) under the Social Security Act. Sets limits on the amount of expenses which such program certificates may cover. Directs the Secretary of HHS to consult with the Council in developing regulations for such program. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1994 for such maternal health certificates program. Title VII: Rehabilitation Grants for Maternity Housing and Services Facilities - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out a program to make grants to eligible nonprofit entities for rehabilitation of existing structures for use as facilities to provide housing and services to pregnant women. Sets forth provisions for such grant program authority, applications, limitations on numbers and amounts of grants, and reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary of HUD to consult with the Council in issuing such program regulations. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY 1992 through 1994. Title VIII: Sense of Congress Regarding Changes in State Adoption Laws - Expresses the sense of the Congress that each State should adopt and enforce specified types of adoption laws, rules, or regulations, which include provisions for: (1) disclosure of all relevant information, including background information (except actual identification of the child or biological parents), to the prospective adoptive parent, with criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure, (2) pre-placement investigations of the prospective adoptive parent; (3) disclosure to the court of all costs incurred by or on behalf of each party to the adoption; (4) guaranteed adequate legal representation for the biological mother; (5) filing of a petition for adoption with the appropriate court within one year after placement; and (6) coverage by the health plan of the adoptive parent of pregnancy and childbirth expenses (excluding surrogate parenting arrangements) for the child and the biological mother, or for any dependent child of the plan enrollee, and plan coverage of pre-existing conditions of adopted children.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Amends the Federal criminal code to require a minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment, without an opportunity for parole, for the unlawful possession of a firearm by any person: (1) who has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year's imprisonment; (2) who is a fugitive from justice; (3) who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance; (4) who has transported in interstate commerce any stolen firearm; or (5) who has received any stolen firearm. Increases from $5,000 to $10,000 and from five years to ten years the fine and term of imprisonment, respectively, for violation of Federal firearm laws. Increases the penalties for possession of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence or drug trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover colon cancer preventive screening examinations and an annual physical examination performed by a physician or nurse practitioner if a demonstration project to be conducted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services proves such examinations to be cost-effective or of moderate cost but measurably health-enhancing.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to change from discretionary to mandatory the Secretary of the Interior's authority to cancel a lease or permit within such lands in specified circumstances. Revises the condition that the Secretary must determine that continued activity would probably cause serious harm or damage. States that lease or permit cancellation shall occur if the activity has resulted in or poses a threat of serious harm or damage to life, property, and other specified things, and that the environmental or other resources harmed or placed at risk are of substantial value. Prohibits the cancellation of a lease or permit unless its operation has been suspended or temporarily prohibited by the Secretary or pursuant to an Act of the Congress. (Present law provides for suspension by the Secretary alone.) Decreases the due extension of such suspended lease term from five years to one. Allows the compensation for a cancelled lease to be made in the form of currency, forgiveness of the lessee's obligation to pay rents or royalties on another issued lease, or against bonus payments for future lease purchases. Changes the administrative procedure of the Secretary for processing comments received from a Governor modifying a proposed Outer Continental Shelf leasing program that affects his or her State. Requires the national interest of lands within the Outer Continental Shelf to be determined by application of a balancing process that gives equal weight to obtaining oil and gas supplies and protection of the environment, while permitting the consideration of other factors. Directs the Secretary to accept a Governor's recommendation providing a reasonable balance between the national interest and the well-being of the citizens of such affected State, unless found to be based on a material error of fact or arbitrary or capricious. Requires completion (subject to peer review) and publication within 180 days before an oil and gas lease sale of any environmental impact study of any area or region included in the lease sale.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Toy Safety and Child Protection Act - Directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a regulation requiring cautionary labeling warning of any dangers to children of specific ages for any children's toy which: (1) is manufactured for sale, offered for sale, distributed in commerce, or imported into the United States; and (2) includes a small part, as defined by the Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Missing Service Personnel Act of 1991 - Requires the responsible armed forces commander, after receiving notice that a person under his command is missing, to conduct an informal investigation to determine such person's whereabouts and, if appropriate, to place such person in a missing status. Requires the commander, if a person has been placed in such status, to notify the officer holding general court-martial authority over such person (or, in the case of a missing civilian, the Secretary concerned), who shall convene a board of initial inquiry within 45 days. Requires such board to: (1) investigate evidence relating to the disappearance of such person; (2) recommend whether to continue such person in a missing status or make a finding that such person has deserted, is absent without leave, or is dead; and (3) report its recommendations and findings. Provides for the convening of a board of further inquiry, if a board of initial inquiry recommends that such person be continued in a missing status, within one year of such recommendation. Requires such board to analyze any information which has become available since the board of initial inquiry issued its report, to determine whether such person should be continued in a missing status or declared dead, and to report its findings. Directs the Secretary concerned, upon the written request of a member of the immediate family of a missing person who, before the date of the enactment of this Act, was determined by the Secretary to be dead, to: (1) convene a board of further inquiry to determine whether such finding of death should be upheld or such person should be placed in a missing status; and (2) report its findings. Requires the Secretary, within three years after a board of further inquiry recommends a missing status for any person, to reconvene such board to review such status. Specifies the composition of such boards. Directs the Secretary to invite each member of the immediate family of the missing person to the meetings of a board of initial inquiry unless attendance would place such member in danger. Requires the Secretary to: (1) invite family members of missing persons to meetings of boards of further inquiry; (2) schedule such meetings at convenient locations and times; (3) provide such family members with reasonable notice of such meetings; and (4) open such meetings to the general public. Authorizes each board to hold meetings, take testimony, receive evidence, and secure directly from any U.S. department or agency any information necessary to carry out its duties. Provides for the appointment of counsel by the officer or Secretary concerned to represent the missing person. Requires that, if a board determines that a missing person is dead, it shall include in its report a detailed description of the location and date of death, whether the body has been recovered, and whether a licensed practitioner of forensic medicine determined that the body recovered is that of the missing person. Prohibits any such board from declaring a missing person dead unless: (1) evidence other than the passage of a period of less than 50 years suggests that such person is dead; (2) no evidence which reasonably suggests that such person is alive is in the possession of the Government; (3) representatives of the Government have made a complete search of the area where such person was last seen (unless the United States is not granted access to such area); and (4) Government representatives have checked the records of the government or entity having control over the area where such person was last seen (unless the Government is not granted access to such records). Provides for judicial review of determinations of death upon the filing of a written petition by any member of the missing person's immediate family. Directs the Secretary concerned to make certain that such person's personnel file contains all information in the possession of Federal departments and agencies pertaining to the disappearance or whereabouts of such person. Requires the Secretary to make certain that, if classified information is withheld, such file contains: (1) a notice that the information exists; and (2) a notice of the date of the most recent review of the classification status of the information. Sets forth penalties for knowingly withholding information pertaining to the disappearance or whereabouts of a missing person from that person's personnel file. Requires the Secretary concerned to make the contents of such file available to a member of the immediate family of such person upon written request.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow a deduction for certain costs incurred in connection with any oil discharge or hazardous substance release. Provides an exception to such rule for any taxpayer who has a complete liability defense or qualifies for a liability limitation with respect to such discharge or release. Provides a limitation on the use of the net operating loss deduction to offset deductions disallowed by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 25, 1991, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Declares that the Arab League should terminate its boycotts against Israel and that the President should encourage U.S. allies and trading partners to enact laws prohibiting businesses from complying with such boycott and penalizing businesses that do comply.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1991
American Employees Equity Act of 1991 - Amends title VII (Equal Employment Opportunities) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include U.S. citizens employed in a foreign country in the definition of "employee." Declares that it is not unlawful to take an action, with respect to an employee in a foreign country, which would otherwise be prohibited by certain unlawful employment practice provisions of such title, if compliance with those provisions would violate the law of the foreign country. Declares that: (1) any practice prohibited by such provisions engaged in by an employer who controls a corporation incorporated in a foreign country is presumed to be engaged in by the employer; and (2) those provisions do not apply to the foreign operations of a foreign employer which is not controlled by an American employee.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1991
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to exclude from OASDI coverage any service performed on an election day by State and local election officials and workers.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hochbrueckner, George J. [D-NY-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000670_200.jpg)