United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1991
Commends: (1) the people of Guam for their patriotism, bravery, loyalty to the United States, and many sacrifices during World War II, particularly during the invasion and occupation of the Guam territory; (2) the members of the Navy Insular Force and U.S. Navy and Marine Corps for the efforts and sacrifices they made in defense of the U.S.; (3) the Hawaiians for their sacrifices and contributions to the U.S. war effort during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941; and (4) the Hawaii Territorial Guard members, Varsity Victory Volunteers, the civilian workers at the Pearl Harbor Naval Ship Yard and other Hawaiian military installations, 100th Infantry Battalion, Military Intelligence Service, and 442nd Regimental Combat Team for their sacrifices and contributions to the U.S. war effort during such attack.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 1991
Social Security Notch Fairness Investigatory Commission Act of 1991 - Establishes the Social Security Notch Fairness Investigatory Commission to study and report to the President and the Congress on ways to correct the benefit disparity between those born before 1916 and those born after 1916 caused by the 1977 changes in the Social Security benefit formula under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1991
Medicare Outpatient Diabetes Education Coverage Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage of outpatient education services under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for individuals with diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 1991
Second National Blue Ribbon Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government Act - Establishes the Second National Blue Ribbon Commission to Eliminate Waste in Government to: (1) conduct a private sector survey on management and cost control in the Federal Government; (2) review executive agency operations and existing General Accounting Office, Congressional Budget Office, Inspector General Reports, and other existing governmental and nongovernmental recommendations for reducing waste; and (3) submit to the President and the Congress a list of those recommendations with estimated savings that the Commission determines are most significant and recommendations for improving the budget process, management, and reducing waste and costs in the Government. Requires the Commission to identify, address, and to report to the President and the Congress on: (1) opportunities for increased efficiency and reduced costs in the Government that can be realized by executive action or legislation; (2) areas in the Government where managerial accountability can be enhanced and administrative control can be improved; (3) specific Federal programs that have accomplished their objectives and ought to be terminated; (4) specific Federal program services that could be provided at a lower cost by the private sector; (5) specific reforms of the budget process that would yield savings, increase accountability and efficiency, and enhance public confidence in the budget process; (6) specific areas in the Government where further study can be justified by potential savings; and (7) specific recommendations for legislative and administrative actions. Requires the Commission to be funded, staffed, and equipped, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, by the private sector without cost to the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income the qualified military benefits of retired military personnel employed as administrators or instructors in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1991
Gulf of Mexico Protection and Restoration Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to implement a comprehensive plan for improving and protecting the water quality of the Gulf of Mexico. Requires the Administrator to award grants for research to develop baseline scientific data regarding the environmental quality of the Gulf for use in preparing and evaluating the plan. Makes State agencies, nonprofit research organizations, and universities eligible for grants. Directs the Administrator, at the request of the Governor of a Gulf State affected by the plan, to make a grant for implementing the plan to the State if the State commits to implement the plan and has an approved proposal. Sets forth State proposal requirements. Limits: (1) the Federal share of State grants to 50 percent of the total cost of implementing the proposal; and (2) administrative costs supported by a grant to ten percent of the portion of the grant expended per fiscal year. Defines a "Gulf State" as Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Authorizes and allocates appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1991
Melaleuca Control Act of 1991 - Treats melaleuca quinquenervia as a noxious weed for quarantine and control purposes under the Federal Noxious Weed Act. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to propose regulations to add melaleuca, the Brazilian pepper, and the Australian pine to the Federal Noxious Weed List. Directs the Secretary of the Army to construct a research and quarantine facility in Broward County, Florida, to deal with melaleuca and other exotic plants that threaten native Florida ecosystems. Authorizes FY 1993 appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1991
Economic Growth and Family Tax Freedom Act of 1991 - Title I: Nonrefundable Tax Credit for Children - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of $1,000 for each child under the age of six and $300 for each child between the age of six and 18. Makes the dependent care credit inapplicable to children under the age of six. Title II: Reducing the Cost of Capital by Reducing Capital Gains Tax Rates, Indexing the Basis of Certain Assets, and Excluding Gain From Sales of Principal Residences - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the individual and corporate capital gains rate from 34 percent to 15 percent. Reduces such tax to 7.5 percent for low- and middle-income taxpayers. Provides for the phaseout of personal exemptions and the overall limitation on itemized deductions to take into account adjusted gross income which has been reduced by net capital gain. 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 of 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. Provides for indexing the limitation on capital losses of noncorporate taxpayers. Excludes from gross income the sale or exchange of property that has been owned and used by the taxpayer as the taxpayer's principal residence. Terminates provisions relating to the rollover or gain on the sale of a principal residence. Title III: Adjusting Depreciation Rates to Reflect Inflation - Provides a depreciation deduction adjustment for tangible property (other than residential rental property and nonresidential real property) placed in service after 1991. Allows phase-in deductions for such property placed in service after 1996. Title IV: Savings Incentives - Allows individuals to establish individual retirement plus accounts with tax treatment similar to that for individual retirement plans. Makes contributions to such accounts nondeductible. Provides for qualified distributions from such accounts, other than for general retirement purposes, including special purpose distributions made for the purchase of a first home and for medical or educational purposes. Prohibits special purpose distributions from being made during the first five years of the account. Title V: Treatment of Passive Losses - Provides for the treatment of rental and nonrental real estate activities under the limitations on losses from passive activities. Title VI: Enterprise Zones - Subtitle A: Designation of Enterprises Zones - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secretary) to designate enterprise zones for purposes of providing tax and regulatory relief and improving local services. Limits choices to areas nominated by States and local governments. Limits the total number of areas that may be designated, and the time period of the designation. Authorizes the Secretary to designate a zone only if the area meets certain locational, demographic, unemployment, and poverty criteria. Requires nominating local governments, as a condition of the Secretary's designation, to agree in writing to follow a course of action that may include reducing tax rates, improving local services, simplifying or streamlining regulation of business, and providing job training to area residents. Describes areas to which the Secretary must give preference in selecting areas for designation. Requires the Secretary to report to the Congress every two years on the effects of such enterprise zones' designation in accomplishing the purposes of this Act. Subtitle B: Federal Income Tax Incentives - Allows a nonrefundable income tax credit to enterprise zone employees for five percent of any wages earned as do not exceed a specified amount. Phases out such credit. Provides for the nonrecognition of capital gain on the sale of enterprise zone property. Allows a taxpayer a deduction on the aggregate amount paid for the purchase of enterprise stock on its original issue by a qualified issuer. Requires any gain from the disposition of the stock to be treated as ordinary income. Excludes enterprise zone capital gains from income computation of alternative minimum taxes. Subtitle C: Regulatory Flexibility - Amends Federal law to revise the definition of "small entity" for purposes of the analysis of regulatory functions to include qualified business, government, and nonprofit enterprises operating within enterprise zones. Authorizes Federal agencies, upon request by a designating government, to waive or modify rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation of projects or activities within an enterprise zone. Requires agencies to approve the request if the resulting benefits of job creation, community development, or economic revitalization outweigh the public interest in retaining the rule unchanged. Disallows waiver or modification of a rule that would directly violate a statutory requirement or present a danger to the public health and safety. Subtitle D: Establishment of Foreign-Trade Zones in Enterprise Zones - Requires the Foreign-Trade Zone Board to consider on a priority basis, and to expedite the processing of, applications for the establishment of foreign-trade zones within enterprise zones. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to give priority to, and expedite applications for, the establishment of ports of entry necessary to establish such zones. Subtitle E: Repeals of Title VII of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 - Repeals title VII (enterprise zone development) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1991
Designates December 4, 1991, as Federal Civilian Employee Remembrance Day to recognize contributions provided by Federal civilian employees during the attack on Pearl Harbor and during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 1991
Urges and requests the President to require the Secretary of the appropriate military department to award the Bronze Star to each member of the Navy or Marine Corps who served under General Wainwright during the defense of Corregidor Island, the Philippines, during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 1991
Urges the President to: (1) support and negotiate with the United Nations (UN) to earmark funds, in the range of 25 percent of the monies collected for the UN Commission Fund, towards the costs of oil spill cleanup and restoration in the Arabian Gulf and Kuwait, including the costs incurred by the U.S. Coast Guard; and (2) enhance U.S. cooperation and assistance in providing expertise to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in cleanup and restoration efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1991
1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games Commemorative Coin Act - Provides for the minting and sale of commemorative gold and silver coins to support the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games and the programs of the United States Olympic Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1991
Authorizes the Air Force Association to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor the men and women who have served in the U.S. Air Force.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) condemn the use of force in Yugoslavia; (2) recognize the independence of the Republics of Croatia and Slovenia; and (3) work for the cessation of hostilities leading to a negotiated settlement and peace in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1991
Foreign Aid Reporting Reform Act of 1991 - Directs the President, in conjunction with the submission of annual requests for enactment of authorizations and appropriations for foreign assistance programs, to submit to the Congress a single report containing: (1) an integrated justification for all foreign assistance programs proposed for the coming fiscal year; and (2) an assessment of when the objectives of those programs will be achieved so that the assistance can be terminated. Requires the President to include in such report general information regarding the foreign assistance program, as well as information concerning specific assistance recipients and centrally-funded programs. Directs congressional committees reporting legislation authorizing the enactment of or providing new budget authority for foreign assistance programs to include in reports accompanying such legislation an explanation for any change proposed in: (1) the total amount of new budget authority authorized or provided for any program as compared to the amount proposed by the President; or (2) the amount of assistance for any specific recipient or for any centrally-funded program as compared to the amount proposed by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1991
Requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives to ensure that letterhead stationery used in the House is made from recycled paper that contains at least 50 percent recycled material.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1991
Medical Care Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1991 - Title I: Grants to States for Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the implementation and evaluation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems. Sets forth eligibility requirements for States seeking such grants. Directs the Secretary to award not less than ten such grants each fiscal year, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary to: (1) designate each State receiving such a grant as a model ADR State (making such State eligible for a two-year extension); and (2) disseminate information on the ADR systems implemented by such States to other States, health care professionals and providers, and other interested parties. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and promulgate standards and regulations necessary to carry out the grant program, including qualification standards that States must meet to receive grants and regulations establishing State data gathering requirements; (2) take into account, in developing qualification standards, specified factors such as the effectiveness of such systems in supporting access to health care, encouraging improvements in the quality of care, resolving claims promptly, and providing predictable outcomes; (3) provide States with technical assistance; and (4) report to the Congress, within four years of the first grant, describing and evaluating the ADR systems implemented. Title II: Uniform Standards for Malpractice Claims - Specifies that, with respect to any health care liability action brought in a Federal or State court and any medical malpractice claim or medical product liability claim subject to an ADR system: (1) no person may be required to pay more than $100,000 in a single payment in damages (whether for economic or non-economic losses) for expenses to be incurred in the future, but shall be permitted to make periodic payments (as determined by the court); (2) the total amount of damages that may be awarded to an individual and the family members of such individual for non-economic losses may not exceed $250,000; (3) the total amount of damages received by an individual shall be reduced by any other payment that has been or will be made to the individual to compensate such individual for the injury that was the subject of the action or claim; (4) a claimant's attorney's fees may not exceed 25 percent of the first $150,000 of any award or settlement, or 15 percent of any additional amounts, paid to the claimant; (5) the total amount of punitive damages that may be assessed may not exceed twice the total amount of the damages awarded to compensate the claimant for losses resulting from the injury; and (6) the liability of each defendant for non-economic losses shall be several only and not joint, and each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of non-economic losses allocated to the defendant in direct proportion to the defendant's percentage of responsibility. Establishes a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice and product liability claims, beginning on the earlier of the date on which the injury that is the subject of the action was discovered or the date it should reasonably have been discovered. Specifies that, in the case of a medical malpractice or product liability claim relating to services provided during labor or the delivery of a baby, if the claimant was not previously treated for the pregnancy by the defendant health care professional or provider a court may not find that the defendant committed malpractice and assess damages against the defendant unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Bars a defendant from being found to have committed malpractice unless the defendant's conduct at the time of providing the health care services was not reasonable, except where the claimant asserts that the defendant is liable under a strict liability theory. Bars the award of punitive damages with respect to any medical product liability claim alleged against a medical product producer if the drug or device that is the subject of the claim: (1) was subject to approval or premarket approval under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with respect to the safety or performance of the drug or device or the adequacy of the packaging or labeling; (2) was approved by FDA; or (3) is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to conditions established by FDA and applicable regulations. Makes an exception in the case of withheld information, misrepresentation, or illegal payment to an FDA official for purposes of securing approval of the drug or device. Provides for a separate proceeding to determine punitive damages. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the admissibility of evidence; and (2) criteria for determining the amount of punitive damages. Provides that the U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over health care liability actions based on Federal questions or based on specified provisions concerning commerce and antitrust regulations. Specifies that this title preempts State law only to the extent that State law: (1) permits the recovery by a claimant or the assessent against a defendant of a greater amount of damages; (2) permits the awarding of a greater amount of attorneys' fees; (3) establishes a longer period during which medical malpractice or product liability claims may be initiated; or (4) establishes a less strict standard of proof for determining whether a defendant has committed malpractice. Title III: Encouraging Establishment of Community and Migrant Health Center Risk Retention Group - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to encourage the establishment of a nationwide risk retention group (RRG) for community and migrant health centers receiving assistance under such Act. Defines an RRG for purposes of this title as an entity defined in the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 that: (1) provides professional liability insurance and other types of profitable insurance approved for issuance by the Secretary to community and migrant health centers; (2) provides insurance that applies to all claims filed against a community or migrant health center after the entity initiates insurance coverage and to claims arising from acts that occurred prior to the initiation of coverage if the claims are not covered by other insurance; and (3) meets such other requirements as the Secretary may establish.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1991
Cancer Screening Incentive Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit for expenditures (not paid by insurance or otherwise) incurred by the taxpayer for qualified cancer screening tests.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1991
Urges the President to call upon the President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to begin negotiations with leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia for the prompt withdrawal of Soviet troops from the Baltic States.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Congress and the President should reexamine and reduce the defense budget based on changing national security needs in the post-Cold War era; and (2) savings should be used to reduce the Federal budget deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1991
Medicare EKG Payment Restoration Act of 1991 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) reestablish separate payment for the interpretation of electrocardiograms (EKGs) that are ordered or performed during an office visit or consultation with a physician; and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish separate fee schedule amounts for EKG interpretations and to adjust the relative values established for office visits to or consultations with a physician to reflect the establishment of such separate fee schedule amounts. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish practice guidelines for the use of EKGs for dissemination along with other educational information relating to the use of EKGs to physicians; (2) develop a profile of the use of EKGs by physicians; and (3) conduct a study and report to the Congress on the utilization and costs of EKGs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1991
Federal Fire Safety Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to prohibit the use of Federal funds to: (1) construct, purchase, or lease a newly constructed Federal office building, other than housing, having more than 25 full-time Federal employees nor to renovate one with five or more stories unless the entire building includes automatic sprinkler systems or an equivalent level of safety, with specified exceptions; and (2) increase the number of employees in such building by more than 100 employees over that as of enactment of this Act without such system or level of safety. Prohibits the use of such funds after the enactment of this Act: (1) to construct, purchase, lease, rebuild, or operate Federal Government housing for Federal employees and their dependents; (2) multifamily housing for Federal employees subsidized by the Federal Government; and (3) rental assistance housing, without automatic sprinkler systems and smoke detectors (in some cases smoke detectors alone). Directs the: (1) Administrator of the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (Administrator) to promulgate regulations implementing this Act; and (2) head of any Federal agency that owns, leases, or operates a federally-funded building or housing unit, to invite the local agency or voluntary organization with fire protection responsibility in the jurisdiction of such building or housing unit to prepare, and biennially review, a prefire plan for it.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1991
Designates 1992 as the Year of the Gulf of Mexico. Directs all Federal and State agencies which have responsibility for matters affecting the Gulf to work to increase public awareness regarding the immeasurable value of this resource and current conditions which threaten its aesthetic and economic value.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1991
Extends nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to the products of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to remove their products from the column two duty rate.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1991
Area Health Education Centers Reauthorization Act of 1991 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to specify a term of six years for agreements establishing area health education centers (AHECs). Modifies the purposes of AHECs, including serving high-impact areas and States as well as border areas close to Mexico. Mandates, if available in the area, participation of a school of public health. Authorizes agreements for the planning, development, and operation of State-supported AHECs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1991
Commends the people of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and their democratically elected leaders for their continuing courage and commitment to freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Extends the presumption of service-connection, for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits and medical care, in the case of exposure to ionizing radiation, to include reserve members exposed to such radiation during active and inactive duty training. Expands the list of diseases presumed to be service-connected in the case of exposure to ionizing radiation to include cancer of the salivary tract and cancer of the urinary tract. Terminates the current presumptive period (the maximum period allowed before manifestation of the illness or disease occurs in order to be presumed to be service-connected and, therefore, covered as a veterans' benefit) of 40 years after participation in the radiation-related activity (30 years in the case of leukemia). Amends the Veterans' Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish guidelines and standards for the resolution of claims for benefits where a claim is based on a veteran's exposure to ionizing radiation. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to identify not less than three activities in which individuals serving on active duty, or active or inactive duty training, have participated and which likely would have exposed such individuals to levels of ionizing radiation above background levels. Requires the Secretary to identify at least three additional activities no later than the beginning of FY 1993 through 1995. Requires the Secretary, immediately after identifying such an activity, to direct the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Environmental Hazards to evaluate and make a finding as to whether participation in such activity resulted in potentially harmful exposure to ionizing radiation. Requires reports from the Committee and the Secretary concerning such activities. Directs the Secretary to list each ionizing radiation exposure identified, unless the Secretary determines that the activity did not result in an opportunity for potentially harmful exposure to ionizing radiation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Intermodal Carriers Competitiveness Act of 1991 - Prohibits a State, political subdivision, or interstate agency of two or more States from adopting or enforcing any law, rule, regulation, or standard relating to interstate or intrastate rates, routes, services, or terms of service of any national intermodal carrier with respect to the provision of surface transportation of property in the State.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Foreign Capital and Securities Markets Study Act of 1991 -Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to the Congress on the capital and securities markets of Japan and their implications for and economic effects on the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Food Quality Protection Act of 1991 - Title I: Cancellation and Suspension - Amends provisions of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) relating to cancellation and changes in classification or other terms or conditions of registration with respect to the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Requires that a rulemaking under such provisions be based on a validated test or other significant evidence raising prudent concerns of unreasonable adverse effects to man or to the environment. Sets forth procedural requirements for such a rulemaking. Provides for amendment of a rule and for judicial review. Allows the Administrator, in the case of a suspension, to waive certain requirements. Allows the Administrator to elect to proceed with a special review proceeding or a public interim administrative review proceeding, if published before a specified date, under the law in effect before enactment of this Act. Requires the Administrator to reassess each tolerance and exemption from the requirement for a tolerance at certain times in connection with reregistration of pesticides. Establishes the Science Review Board to assist the Scientific Advisory Panel in reviews conducted by the Panel. Revises procedures applicable after denial of an application for registration. Allows the Administrator to deny an application for registration because it does not comply with the requirements of a rule issued under provisions of this Act. Repeals provisions regulating the authority of the Administrator to initiate a public interim administrative review process. Declares a decision made after a hearing in certain circumstances during phase three of reregistration to be final. Amends provisions regulating: (1) review by district courts of suspension of registrations; and (2) public hearings. Title II: Data Collection - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to collect pesticide use data of Statewide or regional significance for all the major crops and crops of dietary significance. Mandates research, development, and dissemination of integrated pest management techniques and other pest control methods that enable producers to reduce or eliminate application of pesticides which pose a greater than negligible dietary risk to humans. Title III: Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to define, subject to exception, "pesticide chemical" as it is defined in the FIFRA. Adds to the list of prohibited acts under the FDCA violation of provisions relating to confidentiality of data, as amended by this Act. Deems a food adulterated if it bears or contains: (1) a pesticide chemical residue that is unsafe; or (2) a new animal drug, or conversion product thereof, that is unsafe. Sets forth requirements relating to tolerances and exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance for pesticide chemical residues in food, including residues of degradation products. Prohibits establishment of a tolerance higher than a level the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency determines is adequate to protect the public health. Sets forth the factors the Administrator must consider. Allows a greater than negligible dietary risk if: (1) use protects from greater adverse health effects to humans or the environment; (2) use avoids greater risks from another pesticide; or (3) the unavailability of the pesticide would reduce the availability of an adequate, wholesome, and economical domestic supply of the food, and the adverse effects from the reduction would outweigh the risk posed by the residue. Allows the Administrator to issue an exemption from the requirement for a tolerance only if the Administrator determines that a tolerance is not needed to protect the public health, in view of the levels of dietary exposure that could reasonably be expected to occur. Sets forth the factors the Administrator must consider. Sets forth procedures and requirements in connection with: (1) petitions for tolerances or exemptions; (2) certain actions authorized on the Administrator's own initiative; (3) the required submission of additional data to support the continuation of a tolerance or exemption; and (4) confidentiality of data submitted to the Administrator. Provides for continuation of previously issued regulations. Sets forth transitional provisions. Prohibits a final rule that revokes, modifies, or suspends a tolerance or exemption until the Administrator has taken any necessary action under the FIFRA with respect to the registration of the pesticide involved. Requires the Administrator, if the Administrator takes certain actions with respect to the registration of a pesticide, to revoke any tolerance or exemption that allows the presence of the chemical or chemical residue. Requires the suspension of any tolerance or exemption upon the suspension of the use of an associated registered pesticide. Provides for: (1) tolerances for unavoidable residues in the case of a residue of a canceled or suspended pesticide chemical that will unavoidably persist in the environment and thereby be present in or on a food; and (2) residues resulting from an application which was lawful at the time of the application. Directs the Administrator to require the payment of fees sufficient for the Administrator's functions under these provisions. Prohibits, subject to exception, a State from establishing or enforcing any limit on a qualifying pesticide chemical residue in or on any food which is not identical to Federal requirements. Prohibits a State from enforcing a residue limit which was lawful at the time of application. Authorizes appropriations for increased monitoring by the Secretary of Health and Human Services of pesticide residues in imported and domestic food.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Semiconductor Investment Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify the depreciable life for semiconductor manufacturing equipment as three-year property.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1991
Veterans' Hospice Services Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a pilot program to: (1) assess the feasibility and desirability of furnishing hospice care to terminally ill veterans; and (2) determine the most efficient and effective means of furnishing such care. Directs the Secretary to designate 15 to 30 Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities for such demonstration projects. Requires the Secretary to ensure that: (1) Department medical facilities conducting such projects include both urban and rural area facilities; (2) the full range of affilitation between medical facilities of the Department and medical schools is represented by the facilities selected to conduct such projects; and (3) such facilities vary in the number of beds they operate and maintain. Allows such hospice care to be accomplished by Department medical facilities and personnel by contract where inpatient services are provided by Department medical facilities, or by contract where inpatient services are provided by a non-Department medical facility. Allows such inpatient care to be provided at a facility not designated in the contract when the provision of such care at such other facility is necessary under the circumstances. Limits the amount paid for hospice care programs under this Act to the equivalent of hospice care payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Allows the Secretary to pay in excess of such amounts for hospice care when the Secretary determines, on a case-by-case basis, that: (1) the furnishing of such care is necessary and appropriate; and (2) the amount paid under Medicare would not compensate the program for the cost of furnishing such care. Directs the Secretary, during the pilot program period, to designate not less than five Department medical facilities at which palliative care is being furnished to terminally ill veterans either by Department personnel and facilities providing such care or by Department personnel monitoring care provided by non-Department facilities. Directs the Secretary to ensure that terminally ill veterans who have been informed of their medical prognosis receive information relating to their eligibility for hospice care and services under Medicare. Directs the Secretary to submit annual reports to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees relating to the conduct of the pilot program and the furnishing of hospice care to terminally ill veterans under the demonstration projects. Requires the Secretary to also report to such committees an evaluation and assessment of the hospice care program, including information enabling the committees to fully evaluate the feasibility of furnishing palliative care to terminally ill veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Veterans Dignity in Health Care Act of 1991 - Grants veterans who are patients or residents in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, nursing homes, and domiciliaries the right to purchase and use tobacco products. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that: (1) each VA facility that maintains a commissary or canteen makes tobacco products available through, and provides patients or residents access to, the commissary or canteen; and (2) each VA facility maintains and provides patients or residents access to an indoor patient smoking area.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1991
Military Retirement Equity Act of 1991 - Permits retired members of the armed forces to be paid retirement pay concurrently with compensation for any service-connected disability if the person's entitlement to such retirement pay is based solely on: (1) age; (2) length of service; or (3) both. Reduces the amount of retirement pay, in the case of individuals receiving both types of pay, by a specified percentage of the disability compensation which decreases as the disability rating increases. Prohibits any reduction in the retirement pay of a disabled person when the disability rating is total. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, once the Federal budget deficit has been reduced, the Congress should reexamine and eliminate any offset of retired pay by a veteran's disability compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit Medicare coverage of chiropractic services to certain spinal manipulations and physical examinations and X-rays furnished to an individual to determine if spinal manipulations are appropriate therapy, conducted by State-licensed chiropractors who are legally authorized by the State to provide such services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1991
Establishes a Joint Committee on the Organization of the Congress to: (1) make a full and complete study of the organization and operation of the Congress; and (2) recommend improvements in such organization and operation with a view toward strengthening its effectiveness, simplifying its operations, improving its relationships with other branches of the Government, and improving the orderly consideration of legislation. Requires a report to the Senate and the House of Representatives not later than the adjournment sine die of the 102d Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Medicare Physician Payment Reform Amendments of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the transition rules for phasing in the resource-based relative value scale (RB RVS) method of payment for physician services to prohibit adjustments for asymmetry in the transition and for behavioral responses. Declares spending under this Act to be an emergency requirement under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) and exempt from sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 1991
Recognizes and grants a Federal charter to the Military Order of the World Wars, a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1991
Fairness in Product Liability Act of 1991 - Governs any product liability action brought in either State or Federal court against a manufacturer or product seller on any theory for harm caused by a product, superseding State law in specified ways and degrees. Makes a product seller liable only if the seller: (1) failed to exercise reasonable care regarding the product, and the failure was the proximate cause of the harm; (2) made an express warranty, independent of any express warranty by the manufacturer, the product failed to conform to the warranty and the failure caused the harm; or (3) engaged in international wrongdoing which was a proximate cause of the harm. Makes a product seller liable as if the seller were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process under State laws; or (2) a court determines the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows, in certain circumstances, a complete defense of alcohol or controlled substance use. Reduces damages by the percentage of harm attributable to misuse or alteration of a product by any person, subject to exception involving misuse or alteration by the claimant's employer or coemployees. Allows punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller for conscious, flagrant indifference to user safety. Prohibits, in certain circumstances, punitive damages regarding a drug or device, as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, unless packaging of a drug is substantially out of compliance with tamper-resistant packaging regulations. Declares manufacturer or seller liability to be several and not joint for noneconomic damages. Requires a product liability action to be brought within two years after the harm and its cause is, or with reasonable diligence should have been, discovered. Sets the time limit at 25 years for products which are capital goods. Requires offset of workers' compensation benefits. Sets forth rules regarding subrogation, contribution, indemnity, and liens. Provides for tort actions against employers. Prohibits U.S. district courts from having jurisdiction under specified provisions of Federal law over any civil action arising under this Act.
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