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United States · Official source
1,876 records where Rep. Houghton, Amo [R-NY-31] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 18 August 1994
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to restore the business meal expense deduction to 80 percent (currently 50 percent) for individuals subject to the hours of service limitations of the Department of Transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 August 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress with respect to its recognition of El Salvador's President Cristiani for his contributions to the cause of peace and democracy in that country.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1994
Designates the months of March 1995 and March 1996 as Irish-American Heritage Month.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
Designates February 2, 1995, and February 1, 1996, as National Women and Girls in Sports Day.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1994
Provides for a settlement of the railroad labor-management disputes between the Long Island Rail Road Company and certain of its employees represented by the United Transportation Union. Directs the President to appoint a Special Board, taking into account recommendations of the parties. Requires the Special Board to act as mediators for a 28-day period and then issue a binding determination on any remaining issues in dispute.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1994
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) June 21, 1994, is designated as Freedom Summer Remembrance Day; and (2) it reaffirms the goal of removing remaining barriers to full voter participation in this Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 1994
African Conflict Resolution Act - Authorizes the President to provide assistance to: (1) strengthen the conflict resolution capabilities of the Organization of African Unity and subregional organizations established by countries in Subsaharan Africa; (2) provide for demobilizations of armed forces in Subsaharan African countries and for the retraining for civilian occupations of demobilized military personnel; and (3) nongovernmental organizations engaged in mediation and reconciliation efforts in Africa. Earmarks funds for such purposes from foreign assistance funds allocated for Subsaharan Africa. Authorizes the President to establish a program to provide education and training in conflict resolution and peacekeeping for civilian and military personnel of countries in Subsaharan Africa. Makes foreign assistance funds for military education and training available for such program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1994
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, to the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a gold medal in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions toward world education, morality, and acts of charity. States that no appropriations are authorized to implement this Act. Declares that the medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1994
Designates September 16, 1994, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Requires the display of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag at: (1) all national cemeteries and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 30, 1994 (Memorial Day), September 16, 1994 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day), and November 11, 1994 (Veterans Day); and (2) 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 System on September 16, 1994 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day).
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act Title II: Amendments to the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act Marine Fish Conservation Amendments of 1994 - Title I: Amendments to Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act - Amends the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act to declare that it is the policy of the Congress to: (1) assure that the national fishery conservation and management program encourages development of practical measures that reduce bycatch (the incidental catch, take, or harvest of certain fish, marine mammals, and other specified animals) to insignificant levels approaching zero; and (2) ensure that all State and Federal actions are consistent with the conservation and management of fisheries under such Act. (Sec. 105) Revises national standards for fishery conservation and management to require conservation and management measures to: (1) provide an adequate margin of safety to act as a buffer against overfishing; and (2) reduce bycatch to the lowest level practicable and avoid unnecessary waste of fish. (Sec. 106) Revises requirements for Regional Fishery Management Councils to direct the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that at least 25 percent of the appointed members of each Council are persons selected for their fisheries expertise, as demonstrated by university, environmental organization, or other non-user group affiliation and by past actions and accomplishments. Provides for removal of a Council member for cause upon the Secretary's determination of a conflict of interest. Requires that each Council decision be recorded by roll call vote registered and forwarded to the Secretary for review. Authorizes each Council to request the Secretary to initiate consultation with a Federal agency about certain agency activity which may affect the essential fishery habitat of a fishery under its jurisdiction designated in a fishery management plan. Revises financial disclosure requirements for Council members to include financial interests held by children, grandchildren, parents, or siblings. Requires any Council member holding a financial interest requiring disclosure to recuse him or herself from voting on or participating in all Council actions that would affect such interest. Authorizes Council members and the public to challenge, in writing to the Secretary, any vote of a Council member alleged to have been made in violation of such recusal requirement. (Sec. 107) Requires any fishery management plan to: (1) specify an objective definition of overfishing for each fish species or population involved in the fishery; (2) contain a recovery plan for any overfished fishery; (3) specify allowable gear types for the fishery, requiring the use of types which minimize bycatch and associated mortality; (4) provide for the stationing on U.S. fishing vessels of observers to gather reliable data; (5) establish a system of fees to pay for plan implementation; (6) assess the bycatch of all gear types used in the fishery; and (7) contain conservation and management measures to minimize or eliminate the adverse impacts of fishing gear and practices on habitat for fish. Requires the Secretary to review each existing fishery management plan for compliance with the definition of overfishing in this Act. (Sec. 108) Specifies plan review, plan preparation, and overfishing determination duties of the Secretary. Mandates the contents of regulations establishing a system to collect fees to pay for fishing vessel observers. Establishes a National Fishery Observer Fund. Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register a list of fish species, populations, and population complexes that are overfished and the objective definition of overfishing used to make that determination. Requires the Secretary to develop a research plan to identify and gather needed data on fish species, populations, and population complexes for which information is insufficient. Revises the approval voting requirements for a management plan for any fishery under the authority of more than one Council. Declares that any Secretary-prepared fishery management plan or amendment addressing a highly migratory species fishery, which was in effect on July 1, 1993, shall remain in effect until superseded by a plan or amendment prepared by the appropriate Councils and approved by the Secretary. Sets forth procedures for adoption of a recovery plan addressing overfishing with respect to fish species, populations, or population complexes subject to a fishery management plan. Directs the Secretary to provide for the elimination of bycatch through fees and incentive programs, including cooperative efforts with the Federal Government on research and development of selective fishing gear and other technological devices for the reduction of bycatch. Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register and submit to the Congress a report on the cumulative impacts on fishery habitats of the actions authorized, funded, or carried out by Federal agencies, including an assessment of how fishery habitats identified in approved fishery management plans are affected. Directs the Secretary to review: (1) the feasibility of establishing a risk sharing pool through a reasonable fee to provide coverage for vessels and vessel owners against liability from civil suits by observers; and (2) the availability of comprehensive commercial insurance for vessel and owner liability against such suits. Requires the Secretary to establish such a pool unless such insurance is available to all fishing vessels and U.S fish processors required to have observers, and it will provide a greater measure of coverage at a lower cost. Requires the Secretary to establish an alternative observation program for vessels on which facilities for quartering of an observer, or for carrying out observer functions, are inadequate to ensure the health or safety of the observer or the safe operation of the vessel. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the Secretary or the appropriate Council (subject to the Secretary's approval) to adopt regulations as an interim measure in the absence of a fishery management plan. Prescribes general requirements for such regulations. Requires the Secretary to comment on and make recommendations concerning any actual or proposed action authorized, funded, or carried out by a State or Federal agency that may result in the destruction or adverse modification of the essential habitat designated in a fishery management plan. Prescribes guidelines for Federal agency response to such comments or recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to prohibit any such Federal agency actions. Provides for: (1) citizen suits to enforce such Act; and (2) citizen petitions to compel the Secretary to make a finding or determination or take any other action authorized by such Act. Title II: Amendments to the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act - Amends the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 to require the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service (or his or her designee) to be one of the three U.S. Commissioners on the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. (Sec. 201) Prohibits any U.S. Commissioner from having a financial interest or from serving as an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee with an organization with a financial interest in any catching, harvesting, processing, or marketing activity undertaken within any fishery over which the Commission has jurisdiction. Repeals certain knowledge and experience requirements, with respect to commercial and recreational fishing, for non-governmental Commissioners. Allows regulations to carry out Commission recommendations which may have the effect of decreasing any allocation or quota of fish to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1994
Designates June as African-American Music Month.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1994
Restricted Explosives Control Act of 1994 - Prohibits the distribution or receipt of restricted explosives without a Federal permit. Defines "restricted explosives" to mean high explosives, blasting agents, detonators, and more than 50 pounds of black powder. Requires applications for such permits to include the applicant's photograph and fingerprints, which shall be taken and transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury by the chief law enforcement officer of the applicant's place of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1994
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a special rule for persons with a deceased parent for purposes of the generation-skipping transfer tax.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1994
Social Security Act Amendments of 1994 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to raise from $50 to $1,250 the minimum amount of cash remuneration payable to a domestic employee in any year which is subject to social security employment taxes. Provides for annual adjustments of such threshold. Amends the IRC to: (1) provide for the coordination of the collection of domestic service employment taxes with the collection of income taxes; (2) subject domestic service employment taxes to estimated tax provisions; (3) exempt certain employers from the payment of such taxes; and (4) authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into agreements to collect State unemployment taxes imposed on such remuneration. Directs the Secretary to prepare and make available to employers information on their tax obligations under Federal and State law with regard to domestic employees. Absolves employers from liability for certain underpaid taxes and associated penalty and interest payments owed before this Act becomes effective. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress on the reasons for rising costs payable from such Fund. Amends SSA title II to: (1) increase the portion of wages and self-employment income subject to social security taxation that is allocated to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Fund); and (2) modify restrictions on social security benefit payments to incarcerated felons, with changes converting such restrictions into an outright prohibition applicable to all individuals convicted of an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year (currently only convicted felons), regardless of the actual sentence imposed, as well as to individuals confined pursuant to a court order based on verdicts of insanity or similar mental disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration as an Independent Agency Title II: Miscellaneous Improvements to the Old-Age Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program Social Security Administrative Reform Act of 1994 - Title I: Establishment of the Social Security Administration as an Independent Agency - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish as an independent executive agency the Social Security Administration, governed by a Social Security Board, to administer the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program under SSA titles II and XVI. (Sec. 102) Establishes in the Administration an Office of the Beneficiary Ombudsman. (Sec. 104) Transfers to the Board all functions carried out by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) pertaining to such programs. (Sec. 107) Requires the Board to report to the Congress within 120 days after the beginning of each regular session of its administration under SSA. Requires the Secretary to study and make recommendations on the most effective methods of providing economic security and on the administrative policy for SSA programs administered by the Secretary. Title II: Improvements (sic) to the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program - Amends SSA titles II and XVI with respect to the payment of disability benefits to substance abusers. (Sec. 202) Amends SSA titles II and related provisions of Federal law with respect to: (1) OASDI trust fund administration, including the creation of a Continuing Disability Review Account in the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund; (2) telephone access to local Social Security Administration offices; (3) OASDI coverage of State election personnel, police officers, and fire fighters; (4) use of social security numbers for jury selection and in administration of Federal workers' compensation laws; (5) totalization benefits, military reservists, and application of windfall elimination and Government pension offset provisions; (6) facility-of-payment provisions; (7) maximum family benefits in guarantee cases; (8) annual earnings filing; (9) disability insurance program demonstration project authority; (10) cross-matching of social security number information and employer ID number information maintained by the Department of Agriculture; (11) retirement eligibility for Federal employees transferred to International Organizations; (12) treatment of certain visas; and (13) rounding when calculating OASDI contribution and benefit base and earnings test exempt amounts. (Sec. 208) Provides a limited exemption from certain self-employment tax liability for individuals performing religious services in Canada. (Sec. 213) Amends SSA title XI with regard to: (1) disclosure of mortality information for research purposes; (2) misuse of HHS and Treasury symbols, emblems, or names in reference to social security programs and agencies, and associated penalties; and (3) penalties for unauthorized disclosure of social security information. (Sec. 219) Amends the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 concerning certain transfers to the Railroad Retirement Account. (Sec. 223) Directs the Secretary to appoint a Commission on the Evaluation of Disability in Children to study and report to the Congress on SSI's definition of "disability" and how it applies with respect to children.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 1994
Designates 1995 as the Year of the Grandparent.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Insurance Reform Subtitle A: Insurance Provisions Subtitle B: Promoting Development of Voluntary Health Plan Purchasing Cooperatives Subtitle C: Federal Preemption Subtitle D: Rules of Construction Regarding Abortion Services; Inseverability Title II: Amendments of Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Subtitle A: Limitations on Employer Deduction for Health Care Coverage for Employees and on Employee Exclusion for Employer-Provided Health Care Coverage Subtitle B: Credits for Contributions to Medical Savings Accounts, for Purchase of High Deductible Umbrella Insurance, and for Routine Preventive Care Subtitle C: Repeal of Medical Expense Deduction Subtitle D: Veterans Medical Benefits and Services Unaffected Title III: Savings In Medicare and Medicaid Programs Subtitle A: Medicare Program Subtitle B: Medicaid Program Title IV: Containing Health Care Costs Subtitle A: Medical Malpractice Liability Reform Subtitle B: Treatment of Certain Activities Under the Antitrust Laws Title V: Special Assistance for Frontier, Rural, and Urban Underserved Areas Subtitle A: Frontier, Rural, and Urban Underserved Areas Subtitle B: Primary Care Provider Education Subtitle C: Programs Relating to Primary and Preventive Care Services Subtitle D: Limitation on Funding for Abortions Title VI: Administrative Cost Savings Subtitle A: Standardization of Claims Processing Subtitle B: Electronic Medical Data Standards Subtitle C: Development and Distribution of Comparative Value Information Subtitle D: Preemption of State Quill Pen Laws Title VII: Anti-Fraud and Anti-Rationing Subtitle A: Criminal Prosecution of Health Care Fraud Subtitle B: Coordination of Health Care Anti-Fraud and Abuse Activities Subtitle C: Protection Against Rationing of Treatment Health Savings and Security Act of 1994 - Title I: Insurance Reform - Subtitle A: Insurance Provisions - Part 1: Requirements for Tax-Favored Health Plans - Authorizes a State to establish or operate a managed health care plan. (Sec. 102) Requires such a plan to provide for all medically necessary acute medical care (including physician services; inpatient, outpatient, and emergency hospital services and appropriate alternatives to hospitalization; and inpatient and outpatient prescription drugs), to not exclude coverage for selected illnesses or selected treatments if consistent with medically accepted practices, and to meet applicable cost-sharing requirements of this Act. Requires that such plan, in the case of a high deductible umbrella insurance plan, provide a deductible amount for benefits provided in any plan year which is at least $1,500 (but not to exceed $3,000) for items and services furnished to a family (composed of one or more individuals) enrolled under the plan in a year. Specifies that a health insurance plan may not require the payment of any copayment or coinsurance for an item or service for which coverage is required after an individual or a family has incurred out-of-pocket expenses equal to a specified limit for a plan year. (Sec. 103) Requires that such a plan provide: (1) for a variation in premium rates only on the basis of age, sex, geography, and family enrollment, individual and group coverage, and in the case of group coverage, on the basis of the number of individuals covered within the group; (2) for a charge of the same premium rates to new applicants and existing policyholders with the same age, sex, geographic characteristics, and family enrollment; and (3) that the highest premium for the plan for a particular class of family enrollment and geographic characteristics may not exceed four times the lowest premium for such plan for the same enrollment and geographic characteristics. Permits incentive discounts of not more than ten percent for participating in an approved program to promote healthy behavior, prevent or delay the onset of illness, or provide for screening or early detection of illness. (Sec. 104) Requires that such plan: (1) provide guaranteed issue at standard rates to all applicants; and (2) not exclude from coverage, or limit coverage for, any preexisting condition, with exceptions. (Sec. 105) Requires that such plan provide the policyholder with a contractual right to renew the coverage which stipulates that the insurer cannot cancel or refuse to renew the coverage except for cases of nonpayment of premiums, or fraud or misrepresentation, by the policyholder. (Sec. 106) Sets forth restrictions on agent compensation and broker activities. Part 2: Certification of High Deductible Umbrella Insurance Plans and Managed Care Health Plans - Requires each State to submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services a report on steps the State is taking to implement and enforce a regulatory program with respect to high deductible umbrella insurance plans and managed care health plans by a specified deadline. Directs the Secretary, upon determining that a State has failed to submit a report by the deadline or that the State has not implemented and provided adequate enforcement of the regulatory program, to give the State 60 days to submit such report or implement and enforce such program. Sets forth procedures for Federal enforcement if such failure has not been corrected. (Sec. 112) Directs the Secretary to develop State regulatory program standards, in the form of model Acts and model regulations, which include: (1) procedures for certifying that the requirements of part 1 of this subtitle have been met by a health insurance plan applying for certification as a high deductible umbrella insurance plan or a managed care health plan; (2) specified requirements regarding marketing practices and reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms with respect to such a plan; (3) requirements regarding solvency standards and guaranty funds for carriers of such plans; and (4) reporting requirements under which carriers report to the Internal Revenue Service regarding the acquisition and termination by individuals of coverage under such plans. Directs the Secretary to: (1) request the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to develop models for reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms for high deductible umbrella insurance plans and managed care health plans made available to individuals for whom an insurer is at risk of incurring high costs under the plan; and (2) review such models to determine if they provide for an effective reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanism. Requires each State to establish one or more reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanisms consistent with such a model. Permits a State to establish and maintain such a mechanism jointly with other States. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a reinsurance or allocation of risk mechanism if a State has failed to establish or maintain such a mechanism. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the providing of any high deductible umbrella insurance plan or managed care health plan which covers any individual in a Federal reinsurance State. Directs that the tax imposed equal the applicable percentage of the amount received by the insurer for providing such plan in such Federal reinsurance State. Makes the insurer liable for payment of the tax. Subtitle B: Promoting Development of Voluntary Health Plan Purchasing Cooperatives - Directs the Secretary to establish standards relating to the establishment of health plan purchasing cooperatives (HPPCs), qualifications for qualified health carriers, and the roles of States under this subtitle. Sets forth provisions regarding deadlines, revision of standards, application of standards through States, the Federal role, and implementation of the standards. (Sec. 122) Requires each State to establish boundaries for HPPC areas in the State. (Sec. 123) Authorizes the establishment of one or more State-chartered, nonprofit private corporations to serve as an HPPC for each HPPC area for the benefit of small employers and eligible individuals in the area. Specifies that a carrier may not form, underwrite, or possess a majority vote of an HPPC, but may administer an HPPC. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the establishment by each HPPC of bylaws; (2) the election of members of its board of directors; (3) limitation of liability for good faith actions taken by any member of the board, its employees, or agent in the performance of duties of HPPCs; (4) appointment of officers and an executive director; (5) reporting, recordkeeping, and audit requirements; and (6) general authorities and limits on the authority of HPPCs. (Sec. 124) Requires each HPPC to: (1) enter into contracts and hold policies with qualified health carriers which elect to offer HPPC plans to members; (2) provide for the enrollment of eligible employees of small employers and eligible individuals in HPPC plans of qualified health carriers offered by the HPPC; (3) provide to its members and eligible employees of small employer members comparison sheets with clear standardized information on each qualified health carrier and each HPPC plan offered by a qualified health carrier; (4) establish requirements for participation of small employers and eligible individuals as HPPC members consistent with any standards established by the Secretary and to maintain eligibility records; and (5) establish dispute resolution procedures to resolve disputes between the HPPC and its members or qualified health carriers. Sets forth requirements concerning: (1) contracts with members; (2) contracts with plans; (3) overhead allowance; (4) uniform administrative and accounting procedures; and (5) contracts for administrative services. (Sec. 125) Requires each State to establish a process whereby a carrier that demonstrates to the satisfaction of the State insurance commissioner that it has the capability to fulfill specified requirements (with regard to licensure, administrative capacity, access, grievance procedures, utilization management procedures, quality, information, and data elements) is designated as a qualified health carrier. Sets forth the functions of qualified health carriers. Requires that coverage under an HPPC plan offered by a qualified health carrier be available to any member of the HPPC at the anniversary date of each member's coverage under an HPPC plan, with exceptions and subject to specified conditions. (Sec. 126) Requires each: (1) HPPC to use efficient and standardized means to notify small employers of the availability of plans through the HPPC and to notify the State insurance commissioner of any marketing practices or materials that it finds contrary to the fair marketing of qualified health carriers and HPPC plans; and (2) State insurance commissioner to monitor compliance with marketing requirements. (Sec. 127) Requires: (1) each HPPC to submit specified data to the State on a quarterly basis; and (2) the Secretary to establish uniform standards for data that an HPPC collects from qualified health carriers and providers and disseminates. (Sec. 128) Requires each State to: (1) assure compliance of HPPCs, small employers, and eligible employees and individuals with the requirements of this subtitle and to conduct reviews at least annually on the performance of each HPPC in assuring access to health coverage to small employers and eligible individuals in the HPPC area; (2) receive, review, and act on appeals of unresolved disputes between an HPPC and a member; (3) analyze information collected from qualified health carriers and other sources and report findings that assist consumers, HPPCs, qualified health carriers, or health care providers in improving the delivery or purchase of cost-effective health care; (4) prepare and make available to HPPCs and employers located in the State (and to eligible individuals upon request) information, in comparative form, concerning the HPPC plans in the State and HPPCs operating in the State; (5) report to the Secretary annually on the impact of the reform under this subtitle in expanding the availability and affordability of health coverage to eligible employees and individuals; and (6) supervise HPPCs to ensure that actions that affect market competition accomplish the objectives of this title, so as to provide State and Federal protection to HPPCs and HPPC boards of directors against Federal and State antitrust laws. Subtitle C: Federal Preemption - Bars applicability of any provision of State or local law that: (1) in the case of a group health plan, requires the coverage of one or more specific benefits, services, or categories of health care, or services of any class or type of provider of health care; and (2) prohibits two or more employers from obtaining coverage under an insured multiple employer health plan. (Sec. 143) Preempts and makes unenforceable specified State law restrictions with respect to reimbursement rates or selective contracting, differential financial incentives, and utilization review methods. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the benefits and cost effectiveness of the use of managed care in the delivery of health services. (Sec. 144) Specifies that nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to invalidate any State law that has the effect of preventing the denial of lifesaving medical treatment pending transfer to another health care provider. Subtitle D: Rules of Construction Regarding Abortion Services; Inseverability - Specifies that: (1) nothing in this title or title II may be construed to require any health plan to include any abortion services or to condition tax deductibility on the inclusion of such services; and (2) if such provision is judicially determined to be invalid all the provisions of this title and title II shall be deemed to be invalid. Title II: Amendments of Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Subtitle A: Limitations on Employer Deduction for Health Care Coverage for Employees and on Employee Exclusion for Employer-Provided Health Care Coverage - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an employer a deduction: (1) for health care coverage for employees under a high deductible umbrella insurance plan or a managed health care plan; (2) for contribution to a medical savings account for an employee; or (3) for payment of permitted coverage. Prohibits such deduction from exceeding the health care tax benefit limitation imposed on individuals receiving coverage under a tax-qualified health care plan. (Sec. 202) Excludes from the gross income of an employee only coverage under a tax-qualified health care plan, contributions to a medical savings account, or permitted coverage payments. (Sec. 203) Prohibits the provision of health benefits under cafeteria plans. Subtitle B: Credits for Contributions to Medical Savings Accounts, for Purchase of High Deduction Umbrella Insurance, and for Routine Preventive Care - Allows individuals a tax credit (with limitation) for a percentage of contributions to a medical savings account. Makes such account tax-exempt and excludes other employer payments from the individual's tax base. (Sec. 212) Allows individuals a tax credit for a percentage of the amount paid for coverage under a tax-qualified health care plan. Requires the establishment of a program to provide health insurance certificates for low-income individuals eligible for such credit. (Sec. 213) Allows certain individuals a tax credit for a percentage of the amount paid for routine preventive care for the taxpayer, spouse, and dependents. Subtitle C: Repeal of Medical Expense Deduction - Repeals the deduction for medical, dental, etc., expenses. Subtitle D: Veterans Medical Benefits and Services Unaffected - Declares that nothing in this title affects veterans' medical benefits and services. Title III: Savings in Medicare and Medicaid Programs - Subtitle A: Medicare Program - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an annual tax on the Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) premiums of high-income and certain other individuals covered by such part. (Sec. 302) Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) impose a co-payment for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests; (2) eliminate mandatory assignment for test payment and billing; and (3) provide for annual indexing of the part B deductible. Subtitle B: Medicaid Program - Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to: (1) cap Federal payments for acute medical services; (2) discontinue reimbursement standards for inpatient hospital services; (3) provide for optional enrollment of low-income individuals under high deductible umbrella insurance plans and managed care plans (with reduced payment adjustments for States providing such enrollment); (4) allow States more flexibility in contracting for coordinated care services; and (5) prohibit Medicaid funding of abortions not necessary to prevent the death of the mother. Title IV: Containing Health Care Costs - Subtitle A: Medical Malpractice Liablity Reform - Part 1: General Provisions - Makes this subtitle applicable with respect to any medical malpractice liability claim and action brought in any State or Federal court, with exceptions (such as a claim or action for damages arising from a vaccine-related injury or death). Sets forth provisions regarding preemption, effect on sovereign immunity and choice of law or venue, and Federal court jurisdiction. Part 2: Medical Malpractice and Product Liability Reform - Prohibits a medical malpractice liability action from being brought in any: (1) State court during a calendar year unless the medical malpractice liability claim that is the subject of the action has been initially resolved under a State's alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system certified for the year by the Secretary or under the alternative Federal system established by this Act; and (2) Federal court during a calendar year unless such claim that is the subject of the action has been initially resolved under such ADR system in the State whose law applies. Directs the Attorney General to establish an ADR process for the resolution of medical malpractice liability claims brought against the United States, which shall occur after the completion of the administrative claim process. Prohibits a medical malpractice liability action based on such a claim from being brought in any Federal court unless the claim has been initially resolved under the ADR process established by the Attorney General. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) procedures for filing actions; and (2) the legal effect of uncontested ADR decisions. (Sec. 412) Sets a $250,000 limit on noneconomic damages that may be awarded to a claimant and the members of the claimant's family for losses resulting from the injury which is the subject of a medical malpractice liability action. Prohibits the award of punitive or exemplary damages in such an action: (1) unless the claimant establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the injury suffered was the direct result of conduct manifesting a malicious, wanton, willful, or excessively reckless disregard of the safety of others; and (2) against the manufacturer of a medical product. Requires that: (1) any punitive or exemplary damages awarded in a medical malpractice liability action be paid to the State in which the action is brought or, in a case brought in Federal court, in the State in which the health care services that caused the injury that is the subject of the action were provided; and (2) such State use such amounts to carry out activities to assure the safety and quality of health care services provided in the State. Prohibits a defendant, in any medical malpractice liability action in which the damages awarded for future economic loss exceed $100,000, from being required to pay such damages in a single, lump-sum payment, but permits periodic payments based on when the damages are found likely to occur, as determined by the court. Authorizes a court to waive the application of such provision if it is not in the best interests of the plaintiff to receive periodic payments. (Sec. 413) Directs the court in a medical malpractice liability action to require the party that contested an ADR ruling with respect to the medical malpractice liability claim that is the subject of the action to: (1) pay attorney fees and other costs, with exceptions; and (2) post a performance bond, subject to waiver by the court upon determining that the posting of such a bond is not necessary to ensure that the party pay the costs incurred by the opposing party under the action. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) limits on attorney's fees paid; and (2) recordkeeping requirements. (Sec. 414) Allows a defendant to be held severally but not jointly liable in a medical malpractice action for noneconomic damages, and only for those damages directly attributable to the person's proportionate share of fault or responsibility for the injury. (Sec. 415) Establishes a seven-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice liability claims beginning on the date the alleged injury occurred. (Sec. 416) Prohibits a defendant in a medical malpractice liability action from being found to have acted negligently unless the defendant's conduct at the time of providing the health care services was not reasonable. (Sec. 417) Prohibits the trier of fact, in the case of a medical malpractice liability claim relating to services provided during labor or the delivery of a baby where the health care professional against whom the claim is brought did not previously treat the individual alleged to have been injured for the pregnancy, from finding that the defendant committed malpractice and assessing damages unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Specifies that a health care professional shall be considered to have previously treated an individual for a pregnancy if the professional is a member of a group practice whose members previously treated the individual for the pregnancy or is providing services to the individual during labor or the delivery pursuant to an agreement with another health care professional. Part 3: Requirements for State Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems - Sets requirements for a State's ADR system, including that the system: (1) apply to all medical malpractice liability claims under the jurisdiction of the courts of that State; (2) require that a written opinion resolving the dispute be issued within six months of receipt of notice of the claim by each party against whom the claim is filed; (3) require that individuals who hear and resolve claims under the system meet specified qualifications; (4) be approved by the State or local governments; (5) with respect to a State system consisting of multiple dispute resolution procedures, permit the parties to a dispute to select the procedure to be used (and, if they do not agree, assign a particular procedure); (6) transmit to the State agency responsible for monitoring or disciplining health care professionals and providers any findings that such professional or provider committed malpractice, with exceptions; and (7) transmit to the Administrator for Health Care Policy and Research information on disputes resolved in a manner that assures that the identity of the parties to a dispute shall not be revealed. Makes the provisions of part 2 (malpractice liability standards) applicable with respect to claims brought under a State or alternative Federal ADR system in the same manner as such provisions apply to medical malpractice liability actions brought in the State. (Sec. 422) Directs the Secretary to: (1) determine, by October 1 of each year (beginning with 1995), whether a State's ADR system meets the requirements of this part for the following calendar year, and certify such system if it does; and (2) establish an alternative Federal ADR system for the resolution of medical malpractice liability claims during a calendar year in States that do not have in effect an alternative ADR system certified for the year. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) requirements for the alternative Federal ADR system; and (2) the treatment of States with the alternative system in effect. (Sec. 423) Directs the Secretary to submit to the Congress a report describing and evaluating State ADR systems operated pursuant to this part and the alternative Federal system. Part 4: Other Provisions Relating to Medical Malpractice Liability - Permits a State agency responsible for the conduct of disciplinary actions for a type of health care practitioner to enter into agreements to permit State or county professional societies to participate in the licensing of such practitioner and to review any health care malpractice action, claim, allegation, or other information concerning the practice patterns of any such practitioner. (Sec. 432) Requires the Secretary to conduct a study analyzing the existence and effectiveness of incentives adopted by State and local governments, insurers, medical societies, and other entities to encourage physicians (whether practicing or retired) to volunteer to provide health care services in medically underserved areas. (Sec. 433) Directs each State to require each: (1) health care professional and provider in the State to participate in a risk management program to prevent, and provide early warning of, practices which may injure or otherwise endanger a patient; and (2) entity which provides health care professional or provider liability insurance in the State to establish risk management programs based on available data or sanction such programs provided by other entities and to require each such professional or provider, as a condition of maintaining insurance, to participate in at least one such program every three years. (Sec. 434) Requires the Secretary to make grants: (1) for basic research in the prevention of, and compensation for, injuries resulting from health care professional or provider malpractice and for research of the outcomes of health care procedures; (2) to assist States in improving their ability to license and discipline health care professionals; and (3) to States and local governments, private nonprofit organizations, and health professional schools for educating the public about the appropriate use of health care and realistic expectations of medical intervention and about the resources and role of health care professional licensing and disciplinary boards in investigating claims of incompetence or malpractice, and for developing programs of faculty training and curricula for educating health are professionals in quality assurance, risk management, and medical injury prevention. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Treatment of Certain Activities Under the Antitrust Laws - Exempts from the antitrust laws specified "safe harbor" activities listed in, or designated by the Attorney General pursuant to, this subtitle. Sets forth provisions regarding the award of attorney's fees and costs of suit to the prevailing party in an action based on a claim involving activity found to be exempt. (Sec. 452) Lists as safe harbors specified: (1) activities relating to health care services of combinations of health care providers with market share below a specified threshold; (2) activities of medical self-regulatory entities relating to standard setting or enforcement activities not conducted for purposes of financial gain; (3) participation of a health care provider in a written survey of the prices of services, reimbursement levels, or the compensation and benefits of employees and personnel; (4) activities relating to health care joint ventures for high technology and costly equipment and services; (5) activities relating to hospital mergers; (6) joint purchasing arrangements; and (7) negotiations. (Sec. 453) Directs the Attorney General to publish a notice in the Federal Register soliciting proposals for additional safe harbors and to review and report on proposed safe harbors. Sets forth criteria in establishing safe harbors, including: (1) the extent to which a competitive or collaborative activity will accomplish an increase in health care access and quality, the establishment of cost efficiencies, and increased ability of health care facilities to provide services in medically underserved areas or to underserved populations; and (2) whether designation as a safe harbor will result in specified desirable outcomes. (Sec. 454) Directs the Attorney General to issue certificates of review for providers of health care services and to assist persons in applying for such certificates. Sets forth procedures regarding applications for, revocation of, and review of determinations regarding, such certificates. Limits the disclosure of information. (Sec. 455) Sets forth provisions regarding notifications providing for a reduction in certain penalties under the antitrust laws for health care cooperative ventures. (Sec. 456) Directs the Attorney General to periodically review the safe harbors and certificates of review. (Sec. 458) Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services an Office of Health Care Competition Policy. Title V: Special Assistance for Frontier, Rural, and Urban Underserved Areas - Subtitle A: Frontier, Rural, and Urban Underserved Areas - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to establish and administer a program to provide allotments to enable States to provide grants for the creation or enhancement of community-based primary health care entities that provide services to low-income or medically underserved populations. Directs the Secretary to award grants to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other entities and organizations for the purpose of providing access to services for medically underserved populations or in high impact areas not currently being served by an FQHC. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary to provide for a study to examine the relationship and interaction between community health centers and hospitals in providing services to individuals residing in medically underserved areas, ensuring that the National Rural Research Centers participate in such study. (Sec. 502) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a qualified primary health services provider (physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who provides full time primary health services in a health professional shortage area, subject to specified requirements) a credit against tax for a period of 60 consecutive calendar months from the time the taxpayer becomes a qualified provider. Sets forth rules regarding the recapture of credit and the expensing of medical equipment. Excludes National Health Service Corps loan repayments from gross income. Provides a deduction for student loan payments by medical professionals practicing in rural areas. (Sec. 503) Amends the SSA to include rural emergency access care hospital services among the benefits provided under the Supplementary Medical Insurance Program for the Aged and Disabled. (Sec. 504) Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to make grants to assist States in the creation or enhancement of air medical transport systems that provide victims of medical emergencies in rural areas with access to treatments. (Sec. 505) Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) conduct a demonstration project under which public and private entities may apply for waivers of provisions of the SSA in order to operate rural health networks which improve the access of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to, and the quality and outcomes of, health care services; and (2) grant waivers to operate rural health networks under the demonstration project to a number of public and private entities. Directs the Secretary to award grants to public and private entities which have received a waiver for planning, developing, and operation of rural health networks. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Primary Care Provider Education - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to provide for the establishment of demonstration projects: (1) in up to seven States for the purpose of testing and evaluating mechanisms to increase the number and percentage of medical students entering primary care practice through the use of funds otherwise available for direct graduate medical education costs under the SSA; and (2) for up to seven health care training consortia for such purpose. Directs the Secretary to award grants to such consortia for developing and evaluating such projects. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 512) Amends the SSA to count residency training time in nonhospital-owned facilities in determining full-time equivalent residents for direct graduate medical education payments, and for certain indirect medical education payments, under Medicare. (Sec. 513) Amends the Public Health Service Act to increase: (1) National Health Service Corps funding; and (2) health professions funding for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to enable public and nonprofit private entities to meet the cost of providing traineeships for individuals in baccalaureate and advanced-degree programs to educate such individuals to serve in and prepare for practice as physician assistants. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 516) Directs the Secretary to award grants to States or nonprofit entities to fund not less than ten demonstration projects to enable such States or entities to evaluate: (1) State mechanisms, including changes in the scope of practice laws, to enhance the delivery of primary care by nurse practitioners or physician assistants; (2) the feasibility of and most effective means of training subspecialists to deliver primary care as primary care providers; and (3) State mechanisms to increase the supply or improve the distribution of primary care providers. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Programs Relating to Primary and Preventive Care Services - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to enable States to plan and implement coordinated, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive primary health care and social service programs targeted to pregnant women and infants. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 522) Authorizes frontier States (including Alaska, Wyoming, and Montana) to: (1) implement proposals to offer preventive services, including mobile preventive health centers, which may be located on aircraft, watercraft, or other forms of transportation; and (2) participate in demonstration projects to improve recruitment, retention, and training of rural providers, including nurse partitioners and physician assistants. Subtitle D: Limitation on Funding for Abortions - Specifies that: (1) nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize funding for any abortion, except to prevent the death of the mother; and (2) the provision of abortion services by a State or other entity shall not be regarded as a condition for participation in any grant or benefit authorized in this title. Title VI: Administrative Cost Savings - Subtitle A: Standardization of Claims Processing - Directs the Secretary to adopt standards relating to: (1) data elements for use in paper and electronic claims processing under health insurance plans, as well as for use in utilization review and management of care; (2) uniform claims forms; and (3) uniform electronic transmission of the data elements. Directs the Secretary, in adopting such standards, to take into account the recommendations of current task forces, consult with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and seek to make the standards consistent with any uniform clinical data sets which have been adopted and are widely recognized. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) deadlines for promulgation; and (2) application of the standards. (Sec. 603) Directs the Secretary to provide for the periodic review and revision of such standards. Subtitle B: Electronic Medical Data Standards - Directs the Secretary to promulgate standards for hospitals concerning electronic medical data, including confidentiality standards. Authorizes the Secretary to periodically revise the standards and to promulgate (and periodically revise) standards for providers that are not hospitals. (Sec. 612) Requires each hospital, as of January 1, 1996 to: (1) maintain clinical data included in the set of comprehensive data elements in electronic form on all inpatients; (2) upon request of the Secretary or a utilization and quality control peer review organization, transmit electronically the data set; and (3) upon request of the Secretary or a fiscal intermediary or carrier, transmit electronically any data with respect to a claim from such data set in accordance with specified standards. Grants the Secretary waiver authority under specified circumstances. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide that each hospital of the Department of Veterans Affairs shall comply with requirements of this subtitle as if it were participating in the Medicare program. Grants such Secretary waiver authority under specified circumstances. (Sec. 613) Authorizes, effective January 1, 2000, a Federal agency to require a provider to transmit required data elements electronically in accordance with applicable presentation or transmission standards. (Sec. 614) Prohibits a health insurance plan, if standards for data elements are promulgated with respect to a class of provider, from requiring for the purpose of utilization review or as a condition of providing benefits under the plan that a provider in the class: (1) provide any data element not in the set of comprehensive data elements specified under such standards; or (2) transmit or present any such data element in a manner inconsistent with the applicable transmission or presentation standards. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a civil monetary penalty on any health insurance plan (with exceptions) that fails to comply with such provision. (Sec. 615) Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory commission in collection and use of data and operation of data systems to monitor and advise the Secretary concerning the standards established under this subtitle and operational concerns about the implementation of such standards. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Development and Distribution of Comparative Value Information - Directs the Secretary to determine whether each State is developing and implementing a health care value information program (to assure the availability of comparative value information to purchasers of health care in each State) that meets specified criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to enable each State to plan the development of, and initiate the implementation of its health care value information program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 622) Directs the Secretary, if a State has failed to develop or implement such program, to implement a comparable program in the State. (Sec. 623) Requires the head of each Federal agency with responsibility for the provision of health insurance or health care services to promptly develop and make available to States and to providers and consumers of health care services relevant to health care value information. Subtitle D: Preemption of State Quill Pen Laws - Provides that, effective January 1, 1996, no effect shall be given to any State law provision that requires medical or health insurance records (including billing information) to be maintained in written rather than electronic form. Title VII: Anti-Fraud and Anti-Rationing - Subtitle A: Criminal Prosecution of Health Care Fraud - Amends the Federal criminal code to set penalties for health care fraud. (Sec. 702) Authorizes the Attorney General, in special circumstances, to make payments of up to $10,000 to a person who furnishes information unknown to the Government relating to a possible prosecution for health care fraud, subject to specified limitations. Subtitle B: Coordination of Health Care Anti-Fraud and Abuse Activities - Amends the SSA to apply Federal health anti-fraud and abuse sanctions to all fraud and abuse against any health insurance plan. Directs the Secretary to: (1) identify opportunities for the satisfaction of community service obligations that a court may impose upon the conviction of a criminal ofense involving Medicare or State health care programs; and (2) make information concerning such opportunities available to Federal and State law enforcement officers and State and local health care officials. Subtitle C: Protection Against Rationing of Treatment - Prohibits a health care provider or health insurance plan from denying medical treatment or insurance coverage that a patient is otherwise qualified to receive against the wishes of a patient (or if the patient is incompetent, against the wishes of the patient's guardian) on the basis of the patient's present or predicted age, disability, degree of medical need, or quality of life. (Sec. 722) Makes specified remedies and procedures under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applicable to any person who is denied medical treatment or insurance coverage, or who has reasonable grounds for believing that such person is about to be subjected to such denial, in violation of this subtitle. Permits an individual subjected to such denial (or a person who would be entitled to bring a cause of action for the individual's wrongful death) to obtain damages.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1994
Social Security Act Amendments of 1994 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to raise from $50 to $1,250 the minimum amount of cash remuneration payable to a domestic employee in any year which is subject to social security employment taxes. Provides for annual adjustments of such threshold. Amends IRC to: (1) provide for the coordination of the collection of domestic service employment taxes with the collection of income taxes; (2) subject domestic service employment taxes to estimated tax provisions; (3) exempt certain employers from the payment of such taxes; and (4) authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into agreements to collect State unemployment taxes imposed on such remuneration. Directs the Secretary to prepare and make available to employers information on their tax obligations under Federal and State law with regard to domestic employees. Absolves employers from liability for certain underpaid taxes and associated penalty and interest payments owed before this Act becomes effective. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress on the reasons for rising costs payable from such Fund. Amends SSA title II to: (1) increase the portion of wages and self-employment income subject to social security taxation that is allocated to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Fund); and (2) modify restrictions on social security benefit payments to incarcerated felons, with changes converting such restrictions into an outright prohibition applicable to all individuals sentenced to imprisonment for more than one year (currently only convicted felons), as well as to individuals confined pursuant to a court order based on verdicts of insanity or similar mental disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1994
Tax Fairness for Agriculture Act of 1994 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit agricultural or horticultural organizations from treating member dues (limited to a specified amount) as unrelated business taxable income.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1994
Designates March 23, 1994, the 92d birthday of the Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (leader of the worldwide Lubavitch movement), as Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1994
Honors James Norman Hall for his outstanding contributions to the United States, France, Tahiti, and the South Pacific. Requests the President to provide for the presentation of a copy of this concurrent resolution to the President of Tahiti Nui (French Polynesia) to be publicly displayed at the James Norman Hall Museum in Tahiti.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 1994
Social Security Continuing Disability Review Account Act of 1994 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to create in the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund a Continuing Disability Review Account as a mechanism for funding continuing disability reviews (CDRs) out of a portion of the savings derived from conducting such reviews. Requires Account operations to be reflected in the Secretary of Health and Human Services' annual report to the Congress on CDRs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1994
Explosives Control Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the receipt in interstate or foreign commerce of explosive materials (other than black powder or smokeless powder in amounts less than 50 pounds) without a Federal permit. Makes provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act applicable with respect to the transfer of explosive materials (i.e., requiring a Federal explosives licensee to conduct a criminal background check before the transfer of explosive materials to a non-licensee). Authorizes a person denied explosive materials pursuant to this Act due to the provision of erroneous information relating to the person by any State or political subdivision thereof or by the national instant criminal background check system, or who was not prohibited from receipt of explosive materials under this Act, to bring an action against the State or political subdivision responsible for providing the information or denying the transfer, or against the United States (as the case may be) for an order directing that the erroneous information be corrected or that the transfer be approved. Grants the court discretion to allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1994
Private Property Owners Bill of Rights - Requires Federal agency heads to: (1) comply with applicable State and tribal government laws in implementing and enforcing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) and the permitting program for dredged or filled material under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA); (2) administer and implement the Acts in a manner that least affects the private property owners' constitutional and other legal rights; (3) develop and implement rules and regulations for ensuring that such rights are protected when making any final decision that restricts the use of private property; (4) obtain the consent of the property owner and provide appropriate notice before entering privately-owned property in order to collect information on it; and (5) give the property owner an opportunity to review and dispute the data collected before using it to implement or enforce any of the Acts. Amends ESA and FWPCA to provide for administrative appeals of certain actions, including those related to the denial of permits and the imposition of administrative penalties. Entitles a private property owner deprived of 50 percent or more of the fair market value or the economically viable use of a portion of property as a consequence of a final qualified agency action to receive compensation upon request in accordance with specified guidelines. Amends ESA to require the Secretary of the Interior to notify all private property owners or lessees of property subject to a management agreement and provide an appropriate opportunity for their participation in such an agreement when the Secretary enters into it with any non-Federal person establishing restrictions on property use.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1994
Violence With Firearms Prevention Act of 1994 - Prohibits and sets penalties for transporting or receiving a firearm in interstate or foreign commerce with knowledge or intent that it will be used to kill, injure, or intimidate any individual. Increases penalties where personal injury results and in the case of a second, third, or subsequent conviction. Subjects violators to the death penalty where death results. Prohibits: (1) the court from imposing a probationary sentence upon, or suspending the sentence of, any person convicted of a violation of this Act; and (2) the term of imprisonment imposed under this Act from running concurrently with any other term of imprisonment, including that imposed for any offense in which the firearm was used.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1994
Designates January 16, 1995, as National Good Teen Day.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1994
World War II Peace Accords Commemorative Coin Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the 50th anniversary of the signing of the World War II peace accords on the U.S.S. Missouri should not go unrecognized at the national level; and (2) the United States should recognize such anniversary by minting and issuing a commemorative coin. Sets forth specifications for half dollar clad coins. Mandates that the surcharges received from the sale of such coins be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury to the Admiral Nimitz Foundation for the purpose of preserving the Pacific War heritage of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1994
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to the Congress on the factors threatening the solvency of the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund and proposing possible solutions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1994
Condemns: (1) the speech given by Khalid Abdul Muhammad as outrageous hate mongering of the most vicious and vile kind; and (2) all manifestations and expressions of racism, anti-Catholicism, anti-Semitism, and ethnic or religious intolerance.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1994
Prohibits the Department of Transportation or any other Federal department, agency, or instrumentality from requiring any State or political subdivision to convert highway signs to metric units.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 1994
Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that any federally-mandated health care reform should be on-budget.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 1994
Capital Formation and Jobs Creation Act of 1994 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a 50 percent income tax deduction for the net capital gain of both corporate and noncorporate taxpayers. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangible property that is a capital asset or property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other transfer, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Allows an itemized deduction for losses arising from the sale or exchange of a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress that a postage stamp should be issued to honor the 100th anniversary of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States and that the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service should make such recommendation to the Postmaster General.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1993
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President shall not enter into any trade agreement requiring changes in U.S. antidumping laws which would reduce their effectiveness as a remedy against injurious dumped imports; (2) the U.S. Government shall not condone distorting subsidies by foreign governments, including development subsidies, that cause material injury to U.S. industries; and (3) the United States not enter into any trade agreement on dispute settlement contained in the Draft Final Act embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations (Negotiations) of December 21, 1991, unless, with respect to the review of countervailing duty and antidumping duty actions taken by General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) members, the settlement mechanisms and procedures shall not allow specified review actions. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the principal U.S. negotiating objective regarding situations of global structural excess capacity is to negotiate multilateral rules to permit rapid realignment of capacity to demand. Urges the President to review antidumping duty provisions contained in the Negotiations and to seek changes in such provisions that are necessary to maintain the effectiveness of U.S. antidumping laws, including, but not limited to, changes proposed by the United States in December 1992, any changes needed to clarify the right to cumulate and cross-cumulate imports under investigation, and the prohibition of procedures to sunset dumping and countervailing duty orders.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: AFDC Transition and Work Program Title II: Paternity Establishment Title III: Expansion of Statutory Flexibility of States Title IV: Expansion of State and Local Flexibility Title V: Child Support Enforcement Title VI: Welfare Restrictions for Aliens Title VII: Controlling Welfare Costs Title VIII: Consolidated Block Grant to States for Food Assistance Title IX: Miscellaneous Responsibility and Empowerment Support Program Providing Employment, Child Care, and Training Act - Title I: AFDC Transition and Work Program - Amends part F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give the JOBS program the new purpose of assuring that needy families with children obtain not only the education and training needed to prepare them for a life without welfare, but the work experience as well. (Sec. 101) Requires State JOBS programs to include a transition component and a work supplementation component that: (1) are each allowed to include any State work experience program approved by the Secretary; and (2) with respect to the first component, must include the State's job search program, and, with respect to the second component, may include the State's work supplementation or community work experience program. Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of SSA title IV to revise State AFDC plan participation requirements to incorporate participation in the two JOBS program components above under specified guidelines as a requirement for qualified individuals to receive AFDC. Imposes sanctions for a qualified individual's failure to participate in the JOBS program as required under such guidelines, which include a reduction in AFDC benefits and eventual benefit termination for repeated failures. Revises the exemptions from JOBS program participation requirements. Extends to all States the option to limit AFDC-UP. Increases State JOBS program and work program participation rates with regard to, respectively, AFDC-eligible individuals and unemployed parents. Provides for additional payments to States for JOBS programs. (Sec. 102) Amends community work experience and work supplementation program provisions. Title II: Paternity Establishment - Amends SSA title IV part A to: (1) provide for denial or reduction of AFDC for children whose paternity is not established; and (2) require unmarried individuals under 19 who are eligible for AFDC and are pregnant or with dependent children under their care to reside at home in order to receive AFDC. (Sec. 203) Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to require earlier specified paternity establishment efforts by States. Expresses the encouragement of the Congress for States to develop procedures in public hospitals and clinics to facilitate the acknowledgment of paternity. (Sec. 204) Increases the paternity establishment percentage. Title III: Expansion of Statutory Flexibility of States - Amends SSA title IV part A to give States the option to: (1) convert AFDC into a block grant program; (2) exempt themselves from otherwise mandatory denial of AFDC where either parent is a minor; (3) treat families moving interstate who apply for AFDC in their new State of residence (where they have resided for less than on year) under the AFDC rules of their former State of residence; (4) reduce AFDC for parents under 21 who have dropped out of school and dependent children who, without good cause, do not maintain minimum school attendance; (5) exempt themselves from otherwise mandatory denial of AFDC for additional children; (6) modify certain AFDC income disregard rules; (7) provide for a married couple transitional benefit in cases where an AFDC recipient marries an individual who is not a parent of the recipient's child, and the resulting family would become ineligible for AFDC by reason of the marriage; (8) disregard certain savings and income of a family on AFDC designated for education, training, employability, home purchase, or residence change in determining eligibility for AFDC; and (9) condition the receipt of AFDC on the recipient's attendance at parenting and money management classes and prior approval of any action requiring a change in the educational institution attended by the recipient's dependent child. Title IV: Expansion of State and Local Flexibility -Establishes an Interagency Waiver Request Board in order to provide a focal point within the Federal Government for the development and coordination of waiver requests to improve opportunities for low-income individuals and families. (Sec. 402) Prescribes contents of applications to implement Federal assistance plans, as well as the review, approval, implementation, and evaluation processes. (Sec. 405) Requires any entity applying for plan approval to establish a Public Private Partnership Committee to advise it on plan development and implementation. Title V: Child Support Enforcement - Provides for a national system for employee reporting of any child support owed, the obligee involved, and other specified related information on W-4 forms for employer withholding and distribution of support owed, and reporting of related information to the State involved for availability to other States through the Interstate Locate Network established under this title. (Sec. 502) Makes various changes with regard to State child support order registries, the Parent Locater Service, regulations for sharing child support information, withholding orders, and noncustodial parents with child support arrearages who are receiving certain public welfare assistance. Title VI: Welfare Restrictions for Aliens - Makes aliens (except refugees, permanent residents, and certain current residents) ineligible for various specified types of public welfare assistance, including non-emergency related assistance under Medicaid, food stamps, and job training assistance. (Sec. 602) Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require State AFDC agencies to provide information on illegal aliens to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Title VII: Controlling Welfare Costs - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), and other Federal law to establish various specified measures for controlling welfare costs, including Federal spending caps. Title VIII: Consolidated Block Grant to States for Food Assistance - Repeals the Food Stamp Act of 1977, National School Lunch Act, Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987, and other specified Federal laws and replaces them with a: (1) State food assistance block grant program to provide food assistance to economically disadvantaged individuals and families (eligible populations); and (2) new food coupon program. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 803) Grants the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commodity Credit Corporation the authority to sell surplus commodities and foodstuffs to the States to provide food assistance to eligible populations. Title IX: Miscellaneous - Amends SSA title IV part A to require AFDC applicants and recipients to undergo any necessary substance abuse treatment as a condition of receiving AFDC. (Sec. 902) Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) to: (1) make ineligible for SSI benefits individuals receiving SSI on the basis of a disability resulting from illegal drug addiction who continue to use illegal drugs or refuse to be tested for them; and (2) make representative payee changes. (Sec. 903) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct research projects to evaluate the impact of education and training programs on the ability of individuals to end participation in the AFDC program; (2) conduct demonstration projects and report to the Congress on whether providing benefits based on need through the use of electronic cards and automatic teller machines would reduce administrative costs and fraud; and (3) establish a commission to determine the cost and feasibility of creating an interstate system to compare the social security numbers of all AFDC recipients in order to identify those recipients receiving AFDC from multiple States. (Sec. 904) Amends SSA to require State AFDC applicants to participate in job search activities while the application is pending, unless a State by law exempts itself from this requirement. (Sec. 906) Public Housing Rent Reform and Empowerment Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 with regard to the determination of income and rent charges. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to allow, upon request, under certain circumstances, a public housing agency or resident management corporation to carry out a demonstration program to determine the feasibility and desirability of providing such entities with the authority to establish policies for agency-administered public housing projects, without regard to the public housing requirements of the United States Housing Act of 1937. (Sec. 907) Amends SSA title IV part A to deny AFDC for certain children who have not received appropriate medical examinations and immunizations. Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act with regard to childhood immunizations. Requires the Surgeon General to issue and periodically revise recommendations for the immunization of children under age six.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
United States Military Academy Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1993 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half dollar clad coins emblematic of the U.S. Military Academy. Mandates that surcharges collected from coin sales be paid to the Association of Graduates, U.S. Military Academy, to assist its efforts to provide direct support to the Corps of Cadets, U.S. Military Academy.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 1993
Designates March 20 through 26, 1994, as Small Family Farm Week.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1993
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to: (1) prohibit Federal election activities by political action committees (PACs); (2) limit House of Representatives election contributions from persons other than local individual residents; (3) limit soft money contributions; (4) permit political party contributions to challengers that match any campaign funds carried forward by the incumbent from an earlier election; (5) eliminate, in specified circumstances, limitations on contributions to candidates whose opponents use more than $100,000 from personal funds; (6) permit expenditures by labor organizations only if the organization meets specified requirements; (7) set forth a transition rule relating to excess funds for House of Representative candidates; (8) require disclosure of election related activity by corporations, labor organizations, and nonprofit organizations; (9) prohibit bundling of contributions to candidates by PACs and lobbyists; (10) prohibit transfers among noncandidate, nonparty political committees; (11) prohibit a candidate from establishing a leadership committee; and (12) prohibit contributions between principal campaign committees.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Pension Plan Funding Subtitle A: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Subtitle B: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Title II: Amendments Related to Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Title III: Participant Services Title IV: Miscellaneous Amendments Title V: Effective Dates Retirement Protection Act of 1993 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to revise provisions for pension plan funding, compliance, premiums, and participant protection and services. Title I: Pension Plan Funding - Subtitle A: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends IRC requirements for pension plan funding, including: (1) minimum funding, revising additional funding requirements for single-employer plans; (2) limitation on changes in current liability assumptions; (3) recognition of already bargained changes in liability; (4) modification of the quarterly contribution requirement; and (5) exceptions to the excise tax on nondeductible contributions. Subtitle B: Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends ERISA requirements for pension plan funding, including: (1) minimum funding, revising additional funding requirements for single-employer plans; (2) limitation on changes in current liability assumptions; (3) recognition of already bargained changes in liability; and (4) modification of the quarterly contribution requirement. Title II: Amends Relating to Title IV of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Amends title IV (Plan Termination Insurance) of ERISA to revise requirements relating to reportable events. Authorizes the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to apply for judicial review other than involuntary termination. Requires that specified additional information be furnished to the PBGC. Adds provisions relating to liability upon liquidation of a contributing sponsor or controlled group member where a single-employer plan remains ongoing. Revises provisions for: (1) enforcement of minimum funding requirements; and (2) remedies for noncompliance with requirements for standard termination. Prohibits benefit increases or other changes which increase plan liabilities where a plan sponsor is in bankruptcy. Revises provisions relating to substantial owner benefits to modify the phase-in of guarantee and the allocation of assets. Phases out the variable rate premium cap. Title III: Participant Services - Amends ERISA to require the plan administrator of a plan subject to a specified additional premium to notify plan participants and beneficiaries of the plan's funding status and the limits on the PBGC's guaranty should the plan terminate while underfunded. Adds provisions relating to missing participants. Revises provisions relating to modification of the maximum guarantee for disability benefits. Title IV: Miscellaneous Amendments - Amends IRC and ERISA with respect to: (1) citation of this Act; (2) definition of contributing sponsor; (3) recovery ratio; (4) distress termination criteria for banking institutions; (5) single sum distributions; (6) adjustments to the lien for missed minimum funding contributions; (7) rounding rules for cost of living adjustments; (8) limitation on cross-testing in defined contribution plans; and (9) funding of restored plans. Title V: Effective Dates - Sets forth effective dates for this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 1993
Home Office Deduction Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide qualifications for a home office as a principal place of business for purposes of the deductibility of expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 1993
Ballast Water Control Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to study ballast water technologies that prevent aquatic nonindigenous species from being introduced and spread through ballast water in the Great Lakes and other U.S. waters. Requires the Secretary, based on such study, to identify technologies and practices for a ballast water management demonstration program to prevent such introduction and spread of aquatic nonindigenous species. Requires the retrofitting of vessels with such technologies to be performed in U.S. shipyards. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 1993
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of Justice should repudiate its reinterpretation of Federal child pornography laws, defend the conviction won in lower courts in Knox v. United States, and vigorously prosecute sexual exploitation of children.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 1993
Prohibits the imposition of additional charges or fees for attendance at the U.S. Military, Naval, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine Academies, unless such charge or fee is specifically authorized by law.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 1993
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the United States from granting asylum to an alien who prior to U.S. arrival passes through another country which provides asylum or safe haven.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1993
Social Security Court of Appeals Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide for the establishment of a United States Court of Appeals for the Social Security Circuit. Grants exclusive jurisdiction to such court over specified interlocutory orders or decrees and over appeals from final decisions of a U.S. district court, or the district courts of Guam, the Virgin Islands, or the Northern Mariana Islands, or determinations of the Secretary of Health and Human Services under titles II or XVI of the Social Security Act that are subject to judicial review. Makes conforming amendments to the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 1993
Reduces discretionary spending limits for FY 1994 by the amount of rescissions under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 1993
Designates May 1 through 7, 1994, as National Walking Week.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Managed Competition in Employer-Based Health Plans: Incentives to Control Costs Subtitle A: Use of Tax Incentives to Purchase Cost-Effective Plans Subtitle B: Health Plan Purchasing Cooperatives (HPPCs) Subtitle C: Accountable Health Plans (AHPs) Subtitle D: Health Care Standards Commission Subtitle E: Managed Competition in Rural and Urban Underserved Areas Subtitle F: Treatment of Chronically Underserved Areas Subtitle G: Repeal of COBRA Continuation Requirements Subtitle H: Definitions Title II: Low-Income Assistance for Health Coverage Subtitle A: Low-Income Assistance Subtitle B: Long-Term Care Phase-Down Assistance to States Subtitle C: Financing Subtitle D: Repeal of Medicaid Program Title III: Training and Education of Health Care Professionals Subtitle A: Reform of Federal Funding for Medical Residency Training Subtitle B: Other Medical Education Grants and Programs Title IV: Preventive Health and Individual Responsibility Subtitle A: Expansion of Public Health Programs Subtitle B: Medicare Title V: Malpractice Reform Subtitle A: Findings; Purpose; Definitions Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims Subtitle C: Requirements for State Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems (ADR) Subtitle D: Grants to States for Development of Practice Guidelines Title VI: Paperwork Reduction and Administrative Simplification Title VII: Additional Benefits On a Pay-As-You-Go Basis Managed Competition Act of 1993 - Title I: Managed Competition in Employer-Based Health Plans: Incentives to Control Costs - Subtitle A: Use of Tax Incentives to Purchase Cost-Effective Plans - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the excess health plan expenses of any employer which are health plan expenses exceeding specific limits under an accountable health plan for a defined geographical area. (Sec. 1002) Increases to 100 percent and makes permanent the deduction for health plan premium expenses of self-employed individuals. (Sec. 1003) Permits the deduction for medical, dental, etc. expenses without regard to the limitation on such deduction with respect to amounts paid for premiums under an accountable health plan. (Sec. 1004) Provides for the exclusion from gross income of contributions by a partnership or S corporation to a health plan covering partners or shareholders. (Sec. 1006) Eliminates the commonality of interest and geographic location requirements with respect to group purchasing by large tax-exempt organizations. Subtitle B: Health Plan Purchasing Cooperatives (HPPCs) - Provides for the establishment of Health Plan Purchasing Cooperatives (HPPCs). Considers each State to be a HPPC, except that a State may subdivide into HPPC areas, and that there may be interstate HPPCs, as specified. Requires HPPCs to enter into agreements with accountable health plans and small employers, offer enrollment in accountable health plans, and charge premiums. Subtitle C: Accountable Health Plans (AHPs) - Directs the Health Care Standards Commission to provide a process whereby a health plan may be registered with the Commission by its sponsor as an accountable health plan. Sets forth requirements for a plan to be registered, including: (1) coverage for a specified uniform set of benefits, including cost-sharing for low-income individuals; (2) standard premiums for the uniform benefits; (3) grievance procedures; (4) collecting and providing specified information; (5) prohibiting discrimination in enrollment or benefits; and (6) financial solvency. (Sec. 1208) Sets forth additional requirements for open AHPs, which is any plan which is not closed. Defines a closed plan as one limited by structure or law to one or more large employers. (Sec. 1211) Requires each AHP to provide for payment of one percent of gross premium receipts to the National Medical Education Fund. (Sec. 1221) Sets forth provisions concerning the preemption of State laws for AHPs. (Sec. 1231) Directs the President to provide for the development and publication of guidelines on the application of Federal antitrust laws to AHPs. (Sec. 1232) Provides for the issuance of certificates of public advantage by the Attorney General to eligible health care joint ventures which, if followed, exempt such ventures from antitrust liability. Subtitle D: Health Care Standards Commission - Establishes, as an independent agency in the Executive Branch, a Health Care Standards Commission. Requires the Commission to transmit annually to the Congress recommendations for the uniform set of effective benefits. States that such recommendations shall apply unless the Congress passes a joint resolution of disapproval. (Sec. 1303) Directs the Commission to provide for the initial organization, as a nonprofit corporation, of the Benefits, Evaluations, and Data Standards Board in order to make recommendations to the Commission concerning the uniform set of effective benefits and matters related to the evaluation of health care services. (Sec. 1304) Directs the Commission to provide for the initial organization, as a nonprofit organization of the Health Plan Standards Board in order to make recommendations to the Commission concerning the standards for AHPs and concerning its assessment of risk-adjustment factors. (Sec. 1305) Sets forth provisions concerning the registration of AHPs. (Sec. 1306) Directs the Commission to establish rules for the process of risk-adjustment of premiums among AHPs by HPPCs. (Sec. 1307) Directs the Commission to publish information concerning procedures, their prices, and their quality. (Sec. 1309) Establishes, within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agency for Clinical Evaluations which shall assume the responsibilities of the Director of the Office of Medical Applications of Research at the National Institutes of Health, the Director of the Office of Research and Demonstrations of the Health Care Financing Administration (insofar as such responsibilities relate to clinical evaluations), the Administrator for Health Care Policy and Research under title IX of the Public Health Service Act, as well as other specified responsibilities. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 1311) Prohibits the Commission from establishing or enforcing any controls on health care spending. (Sec. 1313) Authorizes appropriations for the Commission through FY 2000. Terminates the Commission on December 31, 1999. Subtitle E: Managed Competition in Rural and Urban Underserved Areas - Authorizes the Governor of any State to designate rural and urban areas of a State as underserved areas. Permits a HPPC serving such an area to require AHPs offered by the HPPC and with a service area adjoining such area to include the area as part of their service area. (Sec. 1411) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) technical assistance for entities seeking to establish a network plan in an underserved area; (2) financial assistance to eligible entities in order to provide for the development and implementation of AHPs in rural areas; and (3) under the Public Health Service Act, migrant health centers and community health centers. (Sec. 1422) Provides coverage under part B of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for rural emergency access care hospital services. (Sec. 1431) Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments for transitional assistance to eligible hospitals. Requires any hospital accepting such assistance to provide a significant volume of services to persons unable to pay for services. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle F: Treatment of Chronically Underserved Areas - Directs the Health Care Standards Commission to develop standards for the identification of chronically underserved areas. Makes provisions for addressing health care delivery in such areas. Subtitle G: Repeal of COBRA Continuation Requirements - Repeals the COBRA continuation requirements for group health plans and title XXII of the Public Health Service Act. Subtitle H: Definitions - Sets forth definitions for this title and title II. Title II: Low-Income Assistance for Health Coverage - Subtitle A: Low-Income Assistance - Provides premium assistance for very-low income individuals and moderately low-income individuals. Provides for nominal cost-sharing for such individuals and special assistance for certain items and services. Subtitle B: Long-Term Care Phase-Down Assistance to States - Provides for long-term care phase-down assistance to eligible States for each calendar quarter in 1995 through 1998. Subtitle C: Financing - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to achieve savings under such program by: (1) reducing the update for inpatient hospital services; (2) reducing the conversion factor for the physician fee schedule for non-primary care services; and (3) reducing hospital outpatient services through establishing a prospective payment system. (Sec. 2204) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a Medicare part B premium tax on higher-income individuals. (Sec. 2205) Achieves additional Medicare savings through the: (1) phased-in elimination of Medicare disproportionate share adjustment payments; (2) reduction of routine cost limits for home health services; (3) reduction in routine cost limits for extended care services; and (4) reductions in payments for hospice services. Subtitle D: Repeal of Medicaid Program - Repeals title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act. Title III: Training and Education of Health Care Professionals - Subtitle A: Reform of Federal Funding for Medical Residency Training - Directs the Health Care Standards Commission to approve a resident training position in medical residency program for purposes of funding approved medical residency training programs under this title. Provides funding, in addition, for physician retraining. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) the allocation of entry positions among programs; and (2) the general distribution of positions among specialties. (Sec. 3004) Requires payment by AHPs of one percent of gross premium receipts to the National Medical Education Fund. Requires payments from the Medicare trust funds to the National Medical Education Fund. (Sec. 3005) Establishes the National Medical Education Fund. Subtitle B: Other Medical Education Grants and Programs - Authorizes appropriations under the Public Health Service Act for medical education programs, including: (1) the scholarship and loan repayment programs of the National Health Service Corps; (2) area education centers; (3) public health and preventive medicine; (4) family medicine; (5) general internal medicine and pediatrics; (6) physician assistants; (7) allied health projects grants and contracts; and (8) nurse practitioner and nurse midwife programs. Title IV: Preventive Health and Individual Responsibility - Subtitle A: Expansion of Public Health Programs - Authorizes appropriations under the Public Health Service Act for the following public health programs: (1) immunizations against vaccine-preventable diseases; (2) prevention, control, and elimination of tuberculosis; (3) lead poisoning prevention; (4) preventive health measures with respect to breast and cervical cancers; (5) the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; (6) the Office of Minority Health; (7) preventive health and health services block grant; (8) categorical grants for early intervention regarding acquired immune deficiency syndrome; and (9) programs of the Centers for Disease Control regarding the smoking of tobacco products. Directs the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion to promote individual responsibility in personal health care and in the use of valuable health care resources. Subtitle B: Medicare - Provides Medicare coverage for: (1) screening fecal-occult blood tests and screening flexible sigmoidoscopies for the purpose of the early detection of cancer; (2) tetanus-diphtheria boosters; (3) well-child services; and (4) an annual screening mammography for women over age 64. Title V: Malpractice Reform - Subtitle A: Findings; Purpose; Definitions - Sets forth the findings, purpose, and definitions for this title. Subtitle B: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims - Prohibits bringing a medical malpractice liability action in a State court unless there has been an initial resolution under an alternative dispute resolution system. Limits the total noneconomic damages in such actions to $250,000. Sets limits on attorney's fees. Makes special provision for obstetric services. Subtitle C: Requirements for State Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems (ADR) - Establishes requirements for State alternative dispute resolution systems. Provides for grants to States to assist in implementation of such systems. Subtitle D: Grants to States for Development of Practice Guidelines - Directs the Secretary to make grants to States for the development of medical practice guidelines for health care professionals that may be applied to resolve medical malpractice liability claims. Title VI: Paperwork Reduction and Administrative Simplification - Preempts State quill pen laws. Ensures the confidential treatment of electronic health care information. Sets forth provisions which provide for: (1) the standardization of electronic health information; (2) uniform claims forms; (3) the liability of insurers when benefits are payable under two or more plans; and (4) the uniformity of the availability of information among health plans when benefits are payable under two or more plans. (Sec. 6007) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on a health plan not in compliance with specified requirements of this title. Title VII: Additional Benefits On a Pay-As-You-Go Basis - Expresses the sense of the Congress that additional benefits should be provided by the Federal Government to the extent that additional financing is made available on a pay-as-you-go basis.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1993
Amends the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 to repeal the reduction in the tax deductible portion of business meal and entertainment expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 5 October 1993
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to temporarily defer the payment of premiums to the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund.