United States · United States Congress · 9 September 1992
Dire Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1992, for Disaster Assistance to Meet the Present Emergencies Arising from the Consequences of Hurricane Andrew and other Natural Disasters - Makes supplemental appropriations for FY 1992 for emergencies arising from natural disasters such as Hurricane Andrew and Typhoon Omar. Designates such amounts as emergency requirements for all purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Title I: Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies - Makes additional appropriations available to the Department of Agriculture for: (1) the Agricultural Research Service for buildings and facilities; (2) the Commodity Credit Corporation for crop losses and the tree assistance program; (3) the Soil Conservation Service for watershed and flood prevention operations; (4) the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service for the emergency conservation program; (5) the Farmers Home Administration for the agricultural credit insurance fund program account, the rural housing insurance fund program account, the rural development insurance fund program account, the rural development loan fund program account, rural water and waste disposal grants, very-low-income housing repair grants, rural housing for domestic farm labor, emergency community water assistance grants, and salaries and expenses; and (6) the Food and Nutrition Service for the food stamp program. Declares that funds provided by this title are available only to the extent funds are not provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Title II: Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies - Makes additional funds available to: (1) the Department of Commerce for the Economic Development Administration, the Minority Business Development Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; (2) the Department of Justice for general administration, legal activities, the Federal Prison System, and the Office of Justice Programs; (3) the Department of State for the administration of foreign affairs; (4) the Judiciary for Courts of Appeals, District Courts, and other judicial services; and (5) the Small Business Administration for the disaster loans program account. Title III: Department of Defense - Military - Makes additional amounts available for incremental costs of military, reserve, and national guard personnel and for operation and maintenance of military forces. Title IV: Energy and Water Development Department of Defense - Civil - Makes additional funds available to the Army Corps of Engineers-Civil for general construction, flood control and coastal emergencies, operation and maintenance, and flood control for the Mississippi River and tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. Title V: Department of the Interior and Related Agencies - Makes additional appropriations available to the Department of the Interior for: (1) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; (2) the National Park Service; (3) the United States Geological Survey; and (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Title VI: Departments of Laobr, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies - Makes additional funds available to: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services for the Public Health Emergency Fund; (2) the Department of Education for educational excellence, impact aid, student financial assistance, and departmental management. Title VII: Department of Defense - Military - Makes supplemental amounts available to cover incremental costs at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida, for military construction and family housing. Title VIII: Department of Transportation and Related Agencies - Makes additional funds available to the Department of Transportation for: (1) the Coast Guard; (2) the Federal Aviation Administration; (3) the Federal Transit Administration; and (4) the Research and Special Programs Administration. Title IX: Treasury Department, U.S. Postal Service, the Executive Office of the President, and Certain Independent Agencies - Makes supplemental funds available to: (1) the Department of the Treasury for the U.S. Customs Service and the Internal Revenue Service; and (2) the General Services Administration (GSA) for the Federal Buildings Fund and the Federal Supply Service. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator of GSA to hire temporary employees as necessary for government operations in areas affected by Hurricane Andrew and Typhoon Omar. Amends the Treasury, Postal Service and General Government Appropriations Act, 1992 to repeal restrictions on travel expenses on employees subject to such Act. Authorizes heads of Federal agencies to establish emergency administrative leave as necessary for employees affected by the Hurricane and the Typhoon. Title X: Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies - Makes additional amounts available to: (1) Department of Veterans Affairs for the Veterans Health Administration and departmental administration; (2) the Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing programs, housing counseling assistance, guaranteed housing loans, and management administration; and (3) the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster relief, the disaster assistance direct loan program account, the community disaster loan program account, and salaries and expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to establish a 20 percent maximum broken kernel content for rice made available under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1992
National Dividend Act of 1992 - Establishes a program for the distribution of certain corporate tax revenues to the registered voters of each State in the form of dividend payments. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to the chief financial officer of each State, in accordance with a prescribed schedule, an amount equal to the National Dividend Payment, as computed under this Act, multiplied by the number of registered voters in the State. Sets forth criteria and procedures to govern: (1) the chief financial officer's selection of an incorporated bank to act as the State's disbursing agent; and (2) payments to qualified voters. Establishes in the Treasury the National Dividend Payment Trust Fund. Authorizes payment into the Fund of specified amounts from revenue received from: (1) corporate income tax; (2) tax on the unrelated business income of certain tax-exempt organizations; (3) capital gains tax; (4) tax on insurance company income; and (5) alternative minimum tax on corporations. Establishes a National Dividend Review Board to review the manner in which payments are made from the Fund and to make investments of Fund amounts. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, all dividend income received by a taxpayer from domestic corporations, including dividends received under this Act. Increases the corporate income tax deduction for dividends received by a corporation on the preferred stock of a public utility. Prohibits corporate income tax rates from exceeding 34 percent. Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to declare it out of order in either the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider budget resolutions for fiscal years 1993 and thereafter that would increase the level of total budget outlays beyond those budgeted for FY 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to make a sugarcane producer liable for excess harvesting penalties only if such sugar is marketed by a sugarcane processor in excess of the processor's allocation. Requires any assessed penalty to be prorated among producers of all sugarcane acquired by the processor from excess acres. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to suspend or adjust sugarcane limits due to a natural disaster or other adverse condition.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for the direct popular election of the President and Vice President of the United States and abolishes the electoral college.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 1992
Life Imprisonment for Egregious Recidivists Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal criminal code to require the court, in the case of a conviction for a Federal violent felony, to sentence the defendant to life imprisonment if the defendant has previously been convicted of two other violent felonies.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 1992
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the people of the several States and the District of Columbia shall elect the President and Vice President who shall be joined as candidates. Requires the electors of President and Vice President in each State to have the qualifications requisite for electors of the branch of the State legislature that has the greatest number of members. Provides that the persons joined as candidates having the greatest number of votes for President and Vice President shall be elected, if such number be at least 40 percent of the whole number of votes cast. Provides that if no person has such number, a runoff election shall be held in which the choice of President and Vice President shall be made from the persons who received the two highest President and Vice President. Requires: (1) each State legislature to determine the time, place, and manner of elections, which may be altered by the Congress; and (2) the Congress to determine the days for elections and the manner in which the results shall be ascertained and declared, but no election other than a runoff election shall be held later than the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Authorizes the Congress to provide for cases of the pre-election death, inability, or withdrawal of a candidate for President or Vice President.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 1992
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that a monthly benefit shall be paid to the recipient's surviving spouse for the month in which the recipient dies, subject to a reduction of 50 percent in the last monthly payment if the recipient dies during the first 15 days of such month.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1992
Directs the Architect of the Capitol to design, construct, and maintain a public debt clock in the basement rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building to be adjusted on a continuous basis to reflect the amount of the public debt of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to exclude construction and fire equipment from the definition of "excess defense articles" for purposes of restricting the transfer of such equipment to foreign countries.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 1992
Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow, on order of a veterinarian: (1) a new animal drug approved for one use to be used for a different purpose, provided the use does not result in residues in food in violation of established safe levels for the drug; and (2) a new drug approved for human use to be used in non-food producing animals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1992
Designates September 18, 1992, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Requires the POW/MIA flag to be flown on a flagstaff of the White House, the Departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Selective Service Commission, each national cemetery, and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on such day. Requires the flag to be flown on a flagstaff of each national cemetery and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 30, 1992 (Memorial Day), and on November 11, 1992 (Veterans Day). States that the flag shall be displayed as a symbol of national concern and commitment to resolving the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing, and unaccounted for.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
National Forest Health Act of 1992 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare an annual Forest Health Report for the National Forest System which shall contain: (1) an inventory of forest health; and (2) a review of management activities aimed at reducing forest mortality due to fire, drought, disease, insects, or other catastrophe. Authorizes salvage timber sales as a management activity in specified circumstances, and sets forth sales procedures for certain roadless and other areas. Prohibits salvage sales: (1) with respect to specified National Forest System lands (management plan lands unsuitable for timber production, Wilderness Preservation System lands withdrawn from timber production); and (2) if the sale would result in a quantity of timber offered for sale exceeding specified limits.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 1992
Entitles the Department of Veterans Affairs to recover the reasonable cost of care or services provided to a veteran for a non-service-connected disability from another Federal department or agency to the extent that such veteran would have been eligible to receive payment for such care or services from such department or agency. Requires the amount recovered to be reduced by any required deductible or copayment. Subrogates the Department to any right or claim that the veteran may have against another department or agency in the receipt of such payment. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations to determine the reasonable cost of care and services so provided. Directs the Comptroller General to report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on comments and recommendations with respect to such regulations. Provides that a veteran eligible through the Department for such care or services may not be denied such care or services or be required to make any copayment or deductible in order to receive such care. Directs that amounts recovered shall be credited to the current operating account of the Department facility that provided such care or services. Prohibits any amounts so credited from being offset by reductions in amounts otherwise available to such facility or in the total amount of funds made available to the Department for health care and medical services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for enrollment under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act at any time (without regard to special enrollment periods) in the case of any veteran over age 65 who is entitled to benefits under part A (Hospital Insurance) of such title.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 1992
Minor Crop Protection Assistance Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to define "minor use" as the use of a pesticide on a commercial agricultural crop or site where: (1) the total U.S. acreage for the crop is less than 300,000 acres; (2) the acreage expected to be treated as a result of that use is less than 300,000 acres annually or the agricultural crop represents production from less than 300,000 acres annually; (3) the use does not provide sufficient economic incentive to support initial or continuing registration; and (4) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not determined that the use presents an unreasonable adverse environmental effect. Permits the Administrator, in handling the registration of a pesticide for a minor use, to waive applicable data requirements if it is determined that the absence of data will not prevent the Administrator from determining the incremental risk presented by the minor use and that such risk would have an unreasonable adverse environmental effect. Prohibits data that relates solely to a minor use, without the permission of the original data submitter, from being considered by the Administrator to support a minor use application by another person for ten years following the submission of the data. Terminates the exclusive use of such data if the registration is voluntarily cancelled, or if the data are used to support a nonminor use. Provides for expedited review (within six months of submission) of applications to support minor use pesticide registrations. Grants registrants who make good faith requests for minor use waivers regarding required data, and whose requests are denied, a full time period for providing such data. Requires the Administrator, upon the request of a registrant, to extend the deadline for the production of data required solely to support a minor use pesticide up to four years if the registrant provides data to support other uses of the pesticide and a schedule to assure that the data production will be completed before the expiration of the extension. Applies the same extension conditions to data for reregistrations. Requires the Administrator to conditionally amend a registration to permit additional minor uses even if data is insufficient if the applicant has submitted satisfactory data pertaining to the proposed minor use and amending such registration would not increase environmental risks. Prohibits amendments if the pesticide meets or exceeds risk criteria associated with human dietary exposure and other specified conditions. Provides for extensions of minor use registration and data submission deadlines in cases where a registrant is not providing data to support a minor use but is providing data in a timely fashion to support other uses. Requires the Administrator, when a minor use registration application is filed no later than two years after another registrant voluntarily cancels registration for a similar use, to evaluate such application as if the voluntary cancellation had not yet taken place for purposes of data use, subject to environmental risk considerations. Directs EPA to assure coordination of minor use issues through the establishment of a minor use program within the Office of Pesticide Programs. Establishes and authorizes funding for a Department of Agriculture matching fund minor use program. Requires the program to be utilized to ensure the continued availability of minor use crop protection chemicals, including the data to support minor use pesticide registrations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1992
New Careers in Education Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to make monthly stipends available to assist certain members of the armed forces who are discharged or released from active duty with living expenses while they obtain certification as elementary or secondary school teachers. Makes eligible for such stipends members who served on active duty for at least 180 days and who: (1) have received a baccalaureate or advanced degree from an accredited State higher education institution; (2) agree to seek certification as an elementary or secondary school teacher; and (3) satisfy such other criteria as the Secretary may prescribe. Requires the member to apply for such stipend within one year after discharge or release from active duty. Requires all stipend applicants to have been released from such duty under honorable conditions. Requires information concerning such stipend availability to be included in a member's preseparation counseling. Requires the Secretary to maintain and provide to the Congress annually information on the number of stipends awarded for each year and the number of recipients successfully obtaining certification as teachers. Directs the stipend to be paid to recipients over a 12-month period. Requires a recipient to enter into a contract with the Secretary, agreeing to accept such assistance in order to obtain certification and to teach for at least two school years afterwards in a State elementary or secondary school. Requires a recipient who fails to comply with the contract to repay the United States 100 percent of the stipend amount, with specified exceptions. Forgives repayment if the recipient becomes permanently and totally disabled. Directs the Secretary to make implementation and progress reports to the Congress. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1992
Declares that it is the sense of the Congress that any legislation passed by the Congress to address American health care needs must include coverage for mental disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1992
Nuclear Reactor Licensing Act of 1992 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to prescribe guidelines for: (1) issuance by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of nuclear reactor combined construction and operating licenses; and (2) post-construction hearings on such licenses. Provides for judicial review of final Commission orders affecting such licenses.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1992
Federal Prison Industries Condor Project Act of 1992 - Directs Federal Prison Industries (FPI) to conduct pilot programs to test the feasibility of providing increased employment for Federal prisoners by producing items for the private market that would otherwise be produced by foreign labor. Permits FPI to enter into agreements with private industry to carry out this Act. Exempts: (1) items produced in such programs from legal restrictions on the sale of items produced by prison labor; (2) decisions in such programs from restrictions under the Federal criminal code on FPI decisions to produce new products or significantly expand the production of existing products; and (3) the business operations of such programs from application of the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984. Directs the board of directors of FPI to include in its annual report to the Congress its findings on the results of such programs and recommendations as to whether to expand this concept within the Federal prison system.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Individualized Rehabilitation Services Program Selection Act of 1992 - Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide handicapped individuals eligible for services under such Act with the right to select their vocational rehabilitation service providers pursuant to an individualized written rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Title I: General Amendments - State Regulation and Management of Solid Waste Act of 1991 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to revise provisions concerning congressional findings and objectives. Title II: State Solid Waste Management Plans - Sets forth as the objective of this title the reduction of solid waste generated and disposed of during the 20 years following the enactment of this Act by requiring States to develop programs which: (1) reduce the generation of solid waste and encourage resource conservation; and (2) facilitate the recycling of, and the use of valuable resources from, such waste. Requires State waste management plans to: (1) identify the types, sources, and characteristics of solid wastes that are expected to be generated within, transported to, or managed by, the State during the 20 years following the enactment of this Act; (2) ensure the availability of capacity to manage such waste in an environmentally sound manner; (3) provide for annual certifications to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency with respect to meeting objectives and capacity to manage waste; (4) provide that all solid waste management facilities in the State meet Federal and State laws and allow only registered facilities to manage waste; (5) provide for technical and financial assistance to local communities to meet plan requirements; and (6) specify the conditions under which the State will authorize the acceptance of solid waste from other States. Directs a State, when identifying waste capacity, to take into account waste management agreements between persons in such State and persons in States contiguous with such State. Sets forth plan submission requirements. Title III: Interstate Transport of Waste - Authorizes a State with an approved solid waste management plan to prohibit or restrict the importation of solid waste from another State for management purposes (other than transportation). Permits States to levy fees on solid waste. Requires at least 50 percent of such fees to be allocated to the local government managing the waste. Title IV: Financial Assistance - Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the development and implementation of waste management plans; (2) grants to States for the encouragement of recycling and resource recovery and conservation; and (3) assistance to rural communities for solid waste management.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive the Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) late enrollment penalty for certain current and former uniformed service members aged 65 or older and dependents residing within 100 miles of a treatment facility on a military base slated for closure who enroll under part B during a special 90-day enrollment period established by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Revises the overtime pay system for United States Customs Service inspectors, with changes providing overtime pay for: (1) overtime services provided on other than Sundays, holidays, or on callback at twice the hourly rate of basic pay of the customs inspector or canine enforcement officer (inspector), with no work for which overtime is authorized to be treated as being less than two hours in duration (unless the work occurs immediately before or after a shift, in which case the hourly rate shall be applied to the actual time worked); (2) Sunday and holiday work at such rate, with no work for which overtime is authorized to be treated as being less than four hours in duration; and (3) unscheduled work at such rate (or, where the inspector is required to return to such employee's place of work at such rate plus an amount equal to the product of the employee's hourly rate of basic pay multiplied by three hours, as compensation for commuting time), with no work for which overtime is authorized to be treated as being less than two hours in duration. Specifies that customs officers and employees who may be required to remain on duty between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. to perform services in connection with the lading or unlading of cargo, the lading of cargo or merchandise for transportation in bond or for exportation in bond or with benefit of drawback, the receiving or delivery of cargo on or from the wharf, or the unlading, receiving, or examination of passengers' baggage, shall receive overtime compensation at the rates provided under this Act. Treats inspectors as law enforcement officers for purposes of the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees' Retirement System. Ties the Customs User Fee Account under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to Civil Service retirement provisions regarding deductions, contributions, and deposits. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to fix the rates of pay for journeyman level inspectors undertaking inspectional services at no less than the minimum rate payable for GS-11.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Farmers Home Administration Improvement Act of 1992 - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture from: (1) requiring a specified cash flow percentage in order to qualify for a guaranteed real estate or operating loan; and (2) penalizing a farmer whose production is negatively affected by administrative delay. Provides for an expedited following-year loan application process in the case of an applicant whose farm operations and financial situation remain substantially unchanged. Limits to one year the period for which inventory land shall be held for sale or lease to socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 1992
Automobile Content Information Disclosure Act - Requires manufacturers and dealers of passenger motor vehicles, light trucks, and sport utility vehicles to display on each vehicle a label specifying: (1) the estimate of the manufacturer of the average range of the minimum and maximum components of each model line of such vehicle which are produced in the United States; and (2) the location of the final assembly of such vehicle. Treats violations under this Act as violations of the label and entry requirements under the Automobile Information Disclosure Act and as unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce under the Federal Trade Commission Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1992
Designates April 14, 1992, as Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., the birthday and the start of the 91st year of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the worldwide Lubavitch movement.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Cooperative Interjurisdictional Rivers Fisheries Resources Act of 1992 - Establishes the Council on Interjurisdictional Rivers Fisheries to develop recommendations for cooperative action strategies on the management of interjurisdictional rivers fisheries, including: (1) a listing of the ten highest priority interjurisdictional rivers in need of cooperative fisheries management; and (2) comprehensive fishery strategic plans for the five highest priority rivers. Mandates a pilot test and report to the Congress regarding the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement, including: (1) the impacts of navigation, flood control, power generation, irrigation and municipal water supplies projects on Mississippi River drainage basin fishery resources; and (2) a comprehensive study of the management, research, and restoration needs of the fisheries of the river's drainage system. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1992
Tax Reform and Economic Recovery Act of 1992 - Title I: Reduction in Capital Gains Tax for Individuals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a capital gains deduction for noncorporate taxpayers for assets held from one to three years. Provides special rules for gain or loss from the sale or exchange of collectibles and sales of interest in partnerships. Disallows such a capital gains deduction in computing the alternative minimum tax. Revises the formula for determining gain from the dispositions of certain depreciable realty to take into account depreciation adjustments (adjustments allowed or allowable for exhaustion, wear and tear, obsolescence, or certain amortization). Title II: Limited Relief From Passive Loss Rules - Provides for the treatment of rental and nonrental real estate activities under the limitations on losses from passive activities. Title III: Tax Credit for Children - Allows a tax credit of $125 for each child of an eligible individual. Title IV: Increases in Individual Income Income Tax Rates - Increases the tax rates for higher income individuals. Imposes a surtax on the individual tax or the alternative minimum tax of an individual whose income exceeds $1,000,000. Applies such surtax to estates and trusts as well.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1992
Wetlands Simplification Act - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 (FSA) to provide that: (1) a technical determination with respect to wetland or converted wetland on agricultural lands (including the identification of wetland and the development of a wetland restoration or mitigation plan) shall be used in the administration of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) (thus giving the Soil Conservation Service sole Federal responsibility for making such determinations); and (2) any area of agricultural land or any activities related to the land determined to be exempt from the requirements of the FSA shall also be exempt from FWPCA requirements as long as such lands are used as agricultural lands.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly report to the President and the Congress on the differences in program rules under the food stamp program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (part A of title IV of the Social Security Act), and Medicaid program (title XIX of the Social Security Act) and how such rules could be made uniform. Requires coordination of such report with the report of the Advisory Committee on Welfare Simplification and Coordination.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Directs the Secretary of Defense to hold harmless, defend, and indemnify any State, political subdivision, or person or entity that acquires ownership or control of a military installation that is closed pursuant to a base closure law from all liability arising out of the release or threatened release of any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant as a result of Department of Defense activities at such installation. Excepts from such indemnification those entities that cause or contribute to such release or threatened release.