United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1991
Radiation Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to affirm State authority to regulate the disposal of certain low-level radioactive waste for which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require disposal in a licensed facility.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the Congress and the States shall have power to prohibit the act of desecration of the U.S. flag and to set criminal penalties for such act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Amends Federal law to declare that the Tax Reform Act of 1986 shall be applied and administered as if the three-year basis recovery rule applicable to government employees' annuities had not been repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the targeted jobs credit permanently. Increases the maximum age requirement for economically disadvantaged youth from 23 to 25.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Condemns Iraq's unprovoked attack on Israel. Expresses sympathy for the loss of life, casualties, and destruction. Declares solidarity with the people of Israel. Commends the citizens of Israel for their perserverance and the Government of Israel for its restraint. Recognizes Israel's right to defend itself. Reaffirms America's continued commitment to provide Israel with the means to maintain her freedom and security.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 1991
Condemns the recent violence by Soviet forces in Lithuania. Calls upon President Gorbachev to immediately cease the use of force against the people and the democratically-elected governments of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia and supports President Bush's condemnation of such Soviet actions in Lithuania. Calls upon the President to: (1) make this issue a priority item on the agenda of the upcoming U.S.-Soviet summit or otherwise to convey the message directly to the Soviet Government; (2) review bilateral relations and, in consultation with European allies, consider coordinated economic sanctions if the Soviets continue such actions; and (3) consider other ways to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to nonrecognition of the forcible annexation of the Baltic States by the Soviet Union and to show support for the people of the Baltic States. Calls upon the Soviet Government to: (1) enter into peaceful and meaningful negotiations with Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia on the nature of their future relations; (2) resolve peacefully disputes with all Soviet republics; and (3) abide by its obligations under the Helsinki Final Act, the United Nations Charter, and other international documents to respect human rights and self-determination. Urges that the new conflict resolution mechanisms created within the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in November 1990 be employed to help resolve this crisis peacefully.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 1991
Requires the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of the amount required to be apportioned to any State under the Federal-aid highway program if it is lawful in such State to: (1) possess an open alcoholic beverage container in the passenger area of any motor vehicle on a public highway; or (2) consume any alcoholic beverage in such motor vehicle on a public highway. Exempts from such withholding measures charter buses of ten or more passengers whose drivers are not permitted by State law to possess open alcoholic beverages in the passenger area. Provides for the release of withheld funds to States which comply with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 1991
Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1991 - Requires the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct, at least biannually, joint spectrum planning with respect to: (1) future spectrum requirements for public and private uses and the allocation actions to accommodate those uses; and (2) actions to promote the efficient use of the spectrum. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to submit to the President and the Congress a report identifying bands of frequencies that: (1) are allocated on a primary basis for Federal Government use and eligible for licensing pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act); (2) are not required for the present or identifiable future needs of the Government; (3) can be made available for use under the Act (other than for Government stations); (4) are most likely to have the greatest potential for productive uses; and (5) will not result in excessive costs to the Federal Government. Sets forth criteria for identifying, and recommending for reassignment, such frequencies. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress a report which makes a preliminary identification of reallocable bands of frequencies. Directs the Secretary to convene an advisory committee to: (1) review the bands of frequencies identified in the preliminary report; (2) advise the Secretary with respect to the bands of frequencies which should be included in the final report; (3) receive public comment on the reports; and (4) prepare and submit to the Secretary and specified congressional committees a report on recommendations for the reform of the process of allocating the electromagnetic spectrum between Federal and non-Federal use. Directs the President, after receiving the final report, to: (1) withdraw the assignment to a Government station of any frequency which such report recommends for reallocation; (2) withdraw or limit the assignment to a Government station of any frequency which such report recommends be reallocated or made available for mixed use; (3) assign or reassign other frequencies to Government stations as necessary to adjust to such withdrawal or limitation of assignments; and (4) notify the FCC and each House of Congress of the actions taken. Authorizes the President to substitute alternative frequencies in the interest of national defense, important governmental needs, public health or safety, or Federal financial considerations. Directs the FCC to submit to the President and the Congress a plan for the distribution of the reallocated frequency bands. Authorizes the President to reclaim reassigned frequencies for reassignment to Government stations. Sets forth procedures for reclaiming frequencies. Authorizes appropriations to cover the costs of reclaiming frequencies.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 1991
Finds that the Constitution vests all power to declare war in the Congress. Declares that any offensive action against Iraq must be explicitly approved in advance by the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 1991
Christopher Columbus Coin and Fellowship Act - Title I: Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Coins - Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than a specified number of five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the quincentenary of the discovery of America. Sets forth certain features of such coins and provides for their design, issuance, and sale. Terminates the minting of such coins after June 30, 1993. Requires the Secretary to deposit surcharges from the sale of such coins in the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Fund for use by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. Declares that no law governing procurement or public contracts shall be applicable to the procurement of goods and services necessary for carrying out this Act, except that this provision shall not relieve any person from complying with any law relating to equal employment opportunity. Mandates that all amounts received from coin sales be deposited in the coinage profit fund. Title II: Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation - Christopher Columbus Fellowship Act - Establishes the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation to award fellowships to outstanding individuals to encourage new discoveries in all fields of endeavor for the benefit of mankind. Establishes the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Fund. Directs the Foundation to report to the President and to the Congress annually on its operations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 1991
War Cost Disclosure Act of 1991 - Requires the President to seek a declaration of war from the Congress before directing U.S. armed forces to engage in any hostile action or other act of war against any nation. Directs the President, whenever seeking a declaration of war or whenever U.S. armed forces are introduced into hostilities or situations described in the War Powers Resolution of 1973, to report within 48 hours to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate on: (1) the circumstances necessitating the introduction of U.S. armed forces; (2) the constitutional and legislative authority under which such introduction will take place; (3) the level of U.S. and foreign casualties expected; (4) the estimated scope, duration, and cost of the hostilities; (5) the proportion of the total cost which will be paid by U.S. allies; (6) what Federal programs should be cut and what Federal revenues should be increased to pay for military action; and (7) how U.S. armed forces personnel needs will be met and whether the draft should be reinstated to meet such needs. Requires the Comptroller General to review such report. Provides for revisions of the President's report whenever the data on cost or casualties provided by the Comptroller General exceed the estimates provided by the President.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 1991
Employee Educational Assistance Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income tax exclusion of amounts paid under employee educational assistance programs. (Under current law the exclusion expires for taxable years beginning after December 31, 1991.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1991
Federal Government Foreign Travel Accountability Act of 1991 - Prohibits the obligation or expenditure for foreign travel by Federal employees and officials (including Members of Congress) of funds not specifically appropriated for such travel. Requires such employees and officials to travel by the most economical means possible and to travel aboard U.S. commercial carriers, unless an alternative means of foreign travel is more economical. Directs Federal agency heads to designate foreign travel supervisors. Requires each supervisor and each congressional committee to: (1) approve foreign travel of employees and officials in advance; (2) establish guidelines for such travel to prevent unnecessary trips; and (3) file quarterly reports with respect to such travel which shall be made available for public inspection. Requires such reports to: (1) specify the purpose and agenda of the trip; (2) identify each such employee or official and any other person who accompanies them at Government expense; and (3) describe any determination by a supervisor or congressional committee that such travel could be accomplished by a more economical alternative means when such travel is not aboard such a carrier. Requires such reports to be destroyed six years after being filed unless they are required in an ongoing investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reinstate the windfall profit tax on domestic crude oil. Terminates such tax after the last full month the Resolution Trust Corporation is in existence. Appropriates revenues received from such tax to the Corporation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1991
Creates in the House of Representatives a Select Committee to Investigate Financial Institution Fraud, Mismanagement, Oversight, and Supervision to conduct a full and complete investigation and study of fraud, mismanagement, oversight, and supervision in federally and State insured financial institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends Federal law to prohibit any State from imposing an income tax on the pension income of any individual who is not a resident or domiciliary of that State.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Consumer Credit Protection Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Fair Credit Reporting Amendments - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to place additional restrictions on the permissible purposes of consumer reports. Adds dwelling rental applications and check cashing privilege applications to the list of permissible uses. Prohibits, subject to exception, a consumer reporting agency (CRA) from furnishing certain reports in connection with any credit or business transaction which is not initiated by the consumer. Prohibits a CRA from reporting Chapter 13 bankruptcy information that is more than seven years old and other bankruptcy information that is more than ten years old. (Current law prohibits reporting any bankruptcy information, including Chapter 13, that is more than ten years old.) Provides for graduated periods of obsolescence for information relating to overdue payments. Repeals exemptions to obsolete information reporting prohibitions relating to credit, life insurance, or employment involving amounts over specified sums. Prohibits a CRA from prohibiting any report user from disclosing the contents of a report to the consumer. Requires a CRA to maintain certain records regarding: (1) accuracy assurance procedures; and (2) the certified purpose for which any information relating to any consumer is requested by any person. Requires any CRA, on request of any person, to disclose specified information about itself. Requires that: (1) certain disclosures by a CRA to a consumer required by current law be in writing; (2) all information in the consumer's file (currently, the nature and substance of all information) be disclosed to the consumer; (3) certain information be disclosed to the consumer regarding identification of any person who had access to any information in the consumer's file; and (4) any disclosure by a CRA to any consumer under specified provisions include a summary of all the consumer's rights and remedies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Requires that such a summary be included in disclosures relating to: (1) investigative consumer reports; and (2) reports focusing on public record information for employment purposes. Requires reinvestigations in case of disputed accuracy to be completed within a reasonable time, not to exceed 30 days. (Current law requires completion within a reasonable time.) Requires CRAs to keep certain records regarding reinvestigation procedures. Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) notice upon a determination that a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant; (2) notice upon completion of a reinvestigation; and (3) reinvestigations which cannot be completed in 30 days. Eliminates the option for a CRA to include in a report a codification or summary of a consumer's statement regarding disputed accuracy rather than the statement itself. Requires that a CRA: (1) notify of a consumer dispute any person designated by the consumer who has received a non-employment report within the last year (currently, within the last six months); and (2) disclose to the consumer the recipients of any such report within the last year (currently, within the last six months). Sets a dollar limit on charges which may be imposed by a CRA for certain disclosures and makes other changes regarding when charges may be made. Requires a CRA which furnishes a consumer report for employment purposes to notify the consumer of the specific source of the information. Revises the duties of users of consumer reports, including requiring the user to provide: (1) the name and address of the three largest CRAs; and (2) the written summary of the consumer's rights and remedies prepared under specified provisions. Makes any person who furnishes information to any CRA (as well as CRAs and users of reports) civilly liable for willful noncompliance and for negligent noncompliance with the Act. Makes all functions and powers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) available to the FTC to enforce compliance. (Current law links enforcement to specified provisions of the FTCA.) Makes persons who furnish information to CRAs subject to certain administrative enforcement provisions, as enforced by bodies other than the FTC. Requires any person who regularly furnishes information to a CRA to give notice of such fact in writing to the consumer before providing information about the consumer to the CRA. Requires any person, when that person, in the course of conducting business, furnishes information about any consumer to a CRA, to follow reasonable procedures to assure the accuracy of the information. Title II: Credit Repair Organizations - Credit Repair Organizations Act - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prohibit any credit repair organization (any person who provides a service for the purpose of improving a consumer's credit record) from: (1) charging or receiving any money prior to the completion of its services (unless it has obtained a $50,000 surety bond); (2) charging or receiving money solely for the referral of a customer to a retailer if the credit which may be extended to the buyer is upon substantially the same terms as those available to the general public; (3) advising any client to make an untrue or misleading statement; or (4) using any untrue or misleading statement. Requires the organization to provide the consumer with a written disclosure statement which includes a description of: (1) the consumer's rights; (2) the services to be provided by the organization; and (3) the total amount the consumer will be charged. Sets forth contract requirements and the rights of the consumer with regard to cancellation of such contract. Subjects any organization which fails to comply with any provision of this Act to Federal civil liability. Provides for the administrative enforcement of this Act by the Federal Trade Commission, as provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay a specified sum to a named individual, and her children, in full satisfaction of all claims against the United States arising from the death of her husband as a result of a construction accident in Pennsylvania.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Recyclable Materials Technology and Markets Development Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) conduct a study of markets for postconsumer materials (defined as materials that have served their intended end-use by an entity other than an industrial establishment); and (2) establish an Office of Recycling Research and Information in the Department of Commerce. Requires the Director of Recycling Research and Information to: (1) make grants for studies and scientific research relating to recycling of postconsumer materials; and (2) conduct a public outreach program to provide information to secondary school students, State and local governments, and the general public. Requires each manufacturer of a recyclable product to recycle, or provide for the recycling of, increasing minimum percentages of the products manufactured during specified years. Directs the Secretary to designate a product as recyclable if it may feasibly be recycled, as determined by the Secretary. Prohibits manufacturing a product for which the prescribed recycling rate was not met for the preceding year. Provides for civil fines for violating the prohibition. Prohibits manufacturing a nonrecyclable product if a recyclable substitute is readily available. Directs the Secretary to designate a product as nonrecyclable if it is not technically or economically feasible to be recycled. Authorizes the Secretary to require nonrecyclable products to be so labeled. Provides for civil fines for violating the prohibition. Provides for recycling seals of approval for recyclable products and for products containing a certain percentage of recycled postconsumer materials.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Educational Grant Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to delay initial disbursement of Pell Grants to first-year undergraduate students. Makes ineligible for participation in the Pell Grant program any institution with a high default rate on student loans. Directs the Secretary of Education to study the accreditation system for proprietary institutions of higher education. Requires such study to: (1) examine conflicts of interest with respect to such institutions' board members; and (2) determine if the current system represents public interest by accrediting institutions that educate students adequately and use public funds responsibly. Requires a report to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Desert Shield Burden-Sharing Act of 1991 - Directs the President to determine whether each foreign country that receives trade benefits from the United States is making a commensurate contribution to the multinational military mobilization carried out in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Requires the President to impose an additional duty to dutiable products and a duty to duty-free products of countries that are found not to be contributing to the mobilization. Provides for the termination of such duties. Establishes the Desert Shield Reimbursement Fund to receive duties collected under this Act. Makes the Fund available solely to reimburse appropriations made to support U.S. participation in the mobilization.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Iraq Embargo Enforcement Act - Requires the President to prohibit the importation of products from a foreign person that exports to Iraq items whose export would not be permitted from the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Repeals provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 that restrict the types of scholarships and fellowship grants that may be excluded from gross income for income tax purposes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax deduction for interest on a qualified educational loan incurred to pay the educational expenses of the taxpayer, spouse, or dependent. Eliminates the current requirement that such indebtedness be secured by an interest in real property.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Veterans' Compensation Amendments of 1991 - Title I: Compensation Rate Increases - Increases the rates of: (1) veterans' disability compensation; (2) additional compensation for veterans' dependents; (3) the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans; (4) dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children; and (5) supplemental dependency and indemnity compensation for disabled adult children. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death. Title II: Miscellaneous Program Amendments - Authorizes the Secretary to accept gifts, devises, and bequests which enhance the Secretary's ability to provide services and benefits. Allows the payment of parents dependency and indemnity compensation less frequently than monthly if the amount of the annual benefit is less than four percent of the maximum annual rate payable. Prohibits a readjustment in the rating schedule from causing a veteran's compensation amount to be reduced unless an improvement in the veteran's disability is shown to have occurred. Makes the presumptive period (the period after service in a radiation-risk activity during which a disease must become manifest in order to be considered service-connected and, therefore, compensable as disability compensation) for leukemia 40 years (currently, 30). Creates a 40-year presumptive period for members of the reserves who were exposed to atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device during active duty or inactive duty for training and who contract specified diseases or illnesses within such period. Increases the amount of Veterans' Mortgage Life Insurance available to a veteran owning a home to the lesser of $90,000 or the amount of the loan outstanding on the home. (Currently, the amount is the lesser of $40,000 or such amount.) Increases from one to two years the required time after discharge or release permitted to qualify for National Service Life Insurance (for service-disabled veterans). Repeals the $144,000 housing loan ceiling for veterans' housing loans which will automatically be guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ratifies the guaranteeing of loans applied for since December 18, 1989, which would have been guaranteed if this amendment had then been in effect. Makes permanent (currently ends December 31, 1990) the authority of the Secretary to manage real property acquired by the Secretary as a result of a default on a loan guaranteed by the Department. Extends from December 31, 1990, to April 1, 1991, the eligibility for hospital and nursing home care and medical treatment of veterans exposed to a toxic substance during service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era and veterans exposed to ionizing radiation while serving between September 11, 1945, and July 1, 1946. Extends through FY 1991 the authorization of appropriations as well as the authority of the Secretary to make contracts and grants for the care and treatment of veterans in the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in the Philippines. Amends the Veterans' Benefits and Services Act of 1988 to extend through FY 1991 (currently 1990) the authority for the operation of a pilot program for the provision of mobile health-care clinics for veterans residing in isolated areas. Extends through December 31, 1992, the period through which a veteran may be considered a Vietnam veteran for purposes of eligibility for disabled veterans' employment and training programs. Increases from $60 to $90 the monthly pension payment authorized to be paid to a veteran having neither spouse nor child who is institutionalized as incompetent. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out specified administrative reorganizations within the Department involving data processing and information resources management centers. Authorizes the Secretary to use funds currently available for general operating expenses to pay for leases entered into for the collocation of three medical centers of the Department with three administrative centers of such Department. Title III: Agent Orange - Veterans Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1991 - Provides that the disease of chloracne in Vietnam veterans shall be considered to have been service-connected if such disease became manifest to a ten percent or more degree of disability within one year after the last date on which the veteran performed such service in Vietnam. Presumes the following diseases to be service-connected for veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service: (1) non-Hodgkins lymphoma; and (2) soft-tissue sarcoma. Provides a presumption of service-connection in the case of a Vietnam veteran suffering from a disease associated with effects of exposure to certain dioxins or other herbicide agents during such service in Vietnam. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations listing a positive association between any disease and the biological effects of exposure to a herbicide agent in Vietnam. Requires the Secretary to update such list continually. Requires the Secretary, in prescribing and revising such list, to obtain by contract the determinations and estimates of a contract scientific organization. Requires such organization to: (1) determine which diseases have any degree of association with the biological effects of exposure to an herbicide agent; and (2) estimate the extent of association between each such disease and each such biological effect. Requires the organization to determine such association specifically with respect to lung cancer and each other cancer. Outlines contract provisions required in such agreements between the Secretary and the scientific organization, including surveys, evaluations, and periodic determinations. Requires such scientific organization to provide reports to the Secretary and the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees regarding its determinations and evaluations. Requires such organization to determine, in the case of a positive association, whether there is a reasonable basis for concluding that a Vietnam veteran with the highest level of exposure to that herbicide agent in Vietnam was exposed to such agent under the circumstances necessary for such biological effects. Requires a report from the organization to the Secretary and the veterans' committees when there is no such reasonable basis found. Requires the Secretary to make certain determinations and follow-up reports after receiving such reports from the contract scientific organization, including the issuance of a report to the veterans' committees and the promulgation of positive associations regulations if necessary. Requires benefits to be continued even though a disease is removed from the regulations listing diseases having positive associations. Provides special effective dates. Directs the Secretary to compile and analyze all clinical data that: (1) is obtained by the Department in connection with examinations and treatment of veterans for disabilities related to exposure to certain herbicides or to service in Vietnam; and (2) is likely to be scientifically useful in determining the association, if any, between the disabilities of such veterans and their exposure to such herbicides and other toxic substances. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to the veterans' committees concerning such analysis and its results. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Director of the National Institutes of Health Research and Grants Division (NIH) before compiling and analyzing such information. Requires the Director of NIH to review each annual report submitted by the Secretary and transmit to the Secretary an evaluation of the contents of each report. Directs the Secretary to establish and maintain a system for the collection and storage of voluntarily contributed samples of blood and tissue of veterans who performed active service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Outlines provisions concerning the security and authorized uses of such specimens, as well as limitations on the acceptance of such samples. Requires the Secretary to consult with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to the extent that an agreement has been reached with NAS serving as the contract scientific organization for the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Director of the Medical Follow-up Agency in the event of no agreement with NAS. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide for the conduct of studies of the feasibility of conducting additional scientific research on health hazards resulting from: (1) exposure to dioxin; (2) exposure to other toxic agents in herbicides used in support of U.S. and allied military operations in Vietnam during the Vietnam era; and (3) active military, naval, or air service there. Requires the Secretary to report to the veterans' committees on the results of such studies. Requires the Secretary to consult with NAS before undertaking such studies and requires NAS to review such studies and report recommendations to the Secretary and the veterans' committees, to the extent provided under any agreement between the Secretary and NAS. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to require the Secretary to annually furnish updated information to veterans listed in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Agent Orange Registry on health risks resulting from exposure to dioxin or other toxic agents in herbicides as a result of service in Vietnam during the Vietnam era. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the veterans' committees on the research being conducted to develop treatments for physiological absorption of dioxin and other toxic agents used in herbicides by the United States in Vietnam, including research relating to exposure to dioxin and other toxic agents outside Vietnam. Extends through December 31, 2000, the eligibility for hospital and nursing home care for veterans exposed to toxic substances in Vietnam. Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1988 to authorize direct consultation between the Ranch Hand Advisory Committee and Department of the Air Force scientists conducting the Ranch Hand Study (a study of the long-term health effects of exposure to phenoxy herbicides and contaminants). Requires the preparation and submission of annual reports and a final report in connection with such study. Requires the Secretary, upon the request of any Vietnam era veteran who was exposed to dioxins during such service and who has either applied for Department medical care or has filed a claim for, or is in receipt of, veterans' disability compensation, to obtain a blood sample from such veteran to test for the level of a specified dioxin. Requires the Secretary to notify the veteran of test results regarding the likelihood of the veteran's exposure to such dioxin while serving in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to make it an unfair labor practice for an employer to offer or grant: (1) permanent replacement employee status during a labor dispute; or (2) any employment preference to an individual who worked or indicated a willingness to work during a labor dispute over an employee who exercised specified rights during such dispute and who is working for, or has unconditionally offered to return to work for, the employer.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from diminishing existing allocations of spectrum (available radio frequencies) to the amateur radio service after January 1, 1991. Requires the FCC to provide replacement spectrum to the service for any frequency reallocation after such date.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Airline Bankruptcy Passenger Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue an order authorizing a covered air carrier to develop an air transportation plan which protects airline ticket holders in the event it becomes a debtor in bankruptcy proceedings after the ticket purchase date. Provides that if satisfactory plans have not been submitted by a specified deadline, the Secretary must promulgate regulations requiring all covered air carriers to provide air transportation for such ticket holders.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 to provide for a presumption of disability due to pneumoconiosis with respect to certain coal miners whose claims were filed during a specified period under the Black Lung Benefits Program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit secret service protection, other than on a reimbursable basis, for any former President or family member who is away from his or her domicile and who directly or indirectly obtains income from activities while away.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to prohibit any Member of Congress or congressional candidate from making contributions to any other Member or congressional candidate. Prohibits Members from soliciting and accepting contributions with respect to any election of congressional leadership officers.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
House of Representatives Election Campaign Reform Act of 1990 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish the House of Representatives Campaign Trust Fund (the Fund) within the Treasury; (2) provide a 100 percent tax credit for the first $200 in contributions an individual makes to a House candidate running for election in the State in which the individual is a resident if such contributions are not transmitted through an intermediary; and (3) provide for a $2 tax check-off on Federal income tax returns to be paid to the Fund. Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to: (1) reduce from $5,000 to $2,000 the maximum amount of contributions a multicandidate political committee may make to any candidate for Federal office per election; (2) prohibit a House candidate from establishing, maintaining, or controlling a political committee, other than an authorized committee of the candidate or a committee of a political party; (3) require a House candidate to report to the Federal Election Commission all contributions totaling at least $25,000, in contributions of $200 or less from individual residents of the State from which the candidate is running in order to receive matching payments for the first $200 in individual contributions up to a maximum amount of $300,000; (4) require the Commission to certify to the Secretary of the Treasury such amounts reported; (5) require a House candidate to certify to the Commission that neither he or she, nor any family members, will furnish more than $100,000 from personal funds for the election; (6) allow the opponents of a House candidate who refuses to make such a certification to receive matching funds for up to $1000 in contributions from individuals regardless of their State residence; (7) allow opponents of a House candidate who violates such a certification to receive from the Fund payments equal to the amount of personal funds furnished for the election in excess of $100,000; (8) allow a House candidate who is certified and is notified by the Commission that he or she is the target of an independent expenditure in excess of $10,000 to receive from the Fund payments equal to 300 percent of the amount of such independent expenditures; (9) require that excess campaign funds be repaid to the Fund on a pro rata basis; (10) require any persons who make independent expenditures in excess of $10,000 to report such independent expenditures to the Commission within 24 hours and to file with the Commission a statement as to which candidate such expenditures are intended to help or hurt; and (11) require the Commission to notify each candidate in the House election of such independent expenditures within 24 hours. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to, respectively: (1) require broadcast stations to offer their lowest rates for broadcasts which are one to five minutes in length to House candidates who have made a certification that they will limit personal spending to $100,000; and (2) require the inclusion of a statement that a House candidate has not agreed to abide by the spending limits where appropriate in broadcast or print advertisements which solicit contributions or expressly advocate the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate. Sets forth penalties for violations of this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Solid Waste Compact Act of 1989 - Amends the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to require States to submit solid waste disposal plans to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval. Authorizes States to enter into compacts to provide for the establishment and operation of regional solid waste disposal facilities. Prohibits a compact from restricting the use of such facilities to solid waste generated in the compact region before January 1, 1991, and before the Congress consents to such compact. Requires a compact to provide that every five years after such compact has taken effect the Congress may withdraw its consent. Directs EPA to: (1) identify alternative management programs for the control of solid waste and publish technical guidance regarding the implementation of such programs; and (2) publish information that a State or compact must provide to EPA, together with requirements for facilities, if such programs are pursued as alternatives to traditional solid waste management.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Veterans' Compensation Amendments of 1991 - Increases the rates of: (1) veterans' disability compensation; (2) additional compensation for veterans' dependents; (3) the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans; (4) dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children; and (5) supplemental dependency and indemnity compensation for disabled adult children. Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to adjust administratively the rates of disability compensation payable to persons who are not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability or death.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends Federal law to eliminate the requirement that there be 500 or more persons regularly employed by all Federal agencies in a city or county before the Secretary of the Treasury may enter into an agreement to withhold city and county income and employment taxes from the pay of Federal employees who live or work there.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Repeals the National Endowment for Democracy Act. Prohibits Federal agencies from expending funds for assistance for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Directs the Comptroller General to audit funds granted to the NED by the U.S. Government that have not been audited previously. Provides that a specified provision of the National Endowment for Democracy Act requiring compliance by the NED with the Freedom of Information Act shall continue to apply with respect to funds received by the NED on or before this Act's enactment date.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Requires any request by the President for a declaration of war, and any declaration of war by the Congress, to include a cost/benefit statement that identifies risks and uncertainties in terms of the cost in dollars as well as human misery.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Federal Employees' Political Activities Act of 1991 - Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the result of any election. Prohibits an employee from using or attempting to use official authority to intimidate, threaten, coerce, command, or influence: (1) any individual for the purpose of interfering with the right of any individual to vote as the individual may choose, or of causing any individual to vote, or not to vote, for any candidate or measure in any election; (2) any person to give or withhold any political contribution; or (3) any person to engage, or not to engage, in any form of political activity. Prohibits an employee from using, attempting to use, or permitting the use of any official information, unless such information is available to the general public. Prohibits an employee from: (1) giving or offering to give a political contribution to any individual either to vote or to refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; (2) soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution to vote or refrain from voting, or to vote for or against any candidate or measure, in any election; or (3) giving or handing over a political contribution to a superior of the employee. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving, or from being in any manner concerned with soliciting, accepting, or receiving, a political contribution: (1) from another employee (or a member of another employee's immediate family) with respect to whom the employee is a superior; or (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official or an individual receiving salary or compensation from the Treasury. Prohibits an employee from soliciting, accepting, or receiving a political contribution from, or giving a political contribution to, any person who: (1) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the employing agency; (2) conducts operations or activities which are regulated by that agency; or (3) has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance of the employee's official duties. Directs the Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board to prescribe regulations which exempt employees from such prohibitions. Prohibits an employee from engaging in political activity: (1) while on duty; (2) in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by a Federal employee or official; (3) while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee; or (4) while using any vehicle owned or leased by the Government. Exempts certain high level political appointees from such prohibitions if the costs associated with the political activity are not paid for by money derived from the Treasury. Authorizes leave without pay or accrued annual leave to an employee who is a candidate, upon request, to allow such employee to engage in activities relating to that candidacy. Declares that such request may be denied if the exigencies of the public business so require. Declares that such employee may be required to take leave without pay or accrued annual leave in order to be a candidate if activities relating to the candidacy interfere with the employee's performance of duties. Applies this Act to postal employees and employees of the Postal Rate Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Extends the time for performing certain tax-related acts by reason of service in a combat zone for those individuals performing Desert Shield services. Declares such extended time to be the period during which such individual performs such services and the next 60 days thereafter. Allows the payment of interest on any overpayments due such individuals, starting April 15. (Generally, interest will be paid only on refunds made more than 45 days after a return is filed.) Applies this Act for any period of continuous hospitalization outside the United States attributed to an injury incurred while performing Desert Shield services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Social Security Earnings Test Amendments of 1991 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits. Sets a monthly limit on the amount other OASDI beneficiaries may earn in a taxable year ending in 1992 before incurring a benefit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to make it explicit that the authority to withhold past-due child support from an individual's Federal tax refunds may be exercised after such child reaches the age of majority.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take such actions as are necessary to ensure that, with respect to each field office of the Social Security Administration in operation as of January 1, 1989: (1) such office is not closed; (2) any type of function performed by such office is not terminated; and (3) no employee of such office is removed, reassigned, furloughed, or reduced in grade. Permits a field office to be relocated if the new location is within the same commuting area as the former site of such office. Requires an annual report to the Congress on compliance.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Savings and Loan Asset Recovery Act - Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to allow a person to bring a civil action to assess a civil penalty for a violation with respect to a federally insured financial institution in the same manner and subject to the same procedures as a person may bring an action under Federal law with respect to civil actions for false claims.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to provide that information requested from the Secretary of Health and Human Services to assist a party in interest with respect to the administration of an employee benefit plan shall be provided at least once without charge.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Limits assessments of underpayments with respect to taxable periods beginning before July 1, 1985, in connection with the annual occupational tax on retail liquor and beer dealers. Abates assessments and refunds overpayments of any post-1987 tax.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Changes the definition of "Vietnam era," for purposes of veterans' benefits, to include, in the case of a veteran who served on active duty in the armed forces in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, or the adjacent waters, the period from March 1, 1961, through August 4, 1964. Amends the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 to apply such definition to veterans' employment preference.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Defines "person" to include the unborn for the purpose of the right to life guarantee. Exempts from applicability of this amendment laws permitting medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1991
Supports the President's actions to defend Saudi Arabia and his diplomatic and economic initiatives to resolve the Persian Gulf crisis. Demands that Iraq immediately withdraw from Kuwait. Finds that the Constitution vests all power to declare war in the Congress. Declares that any offensive action against Iraq must be explicitly approved in advance by the Congress.