United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency should accelerate the interim phaseout schedules and the final phaseout date of chlorofluorocarbons, carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform, and halons (and shall provide for complete phaseout as early as possible), accelerate the interim phaseout schedule and the final phaseout date of the hydrochlorofluorocarbons that have relatively long atmospheric lifetimes or high ozone depletion potentials, and prioritize efforts to issue regulations providing for the recapture and recycling of ozone-destroying substances used in appliances and motor vehicle air-conditioners and for the elimination of such substances used in nonessential consumer products; and (2) the President should urge the Contracting Parties to the Montreal Protocol to accelerate the interim phaseout schedules and the final phaseout date of the ozone-destroying chemicals currently covered by the Protocol, to include hydrochlorofluorocarbons within the terms of the Protocol and provide for the most rapid phaseout of those hydrochlorofluorocarbons with relatively long atmospheric lifetimes or high ozone depletion potentials, to amend the Protocol to include recapture and recycling provisions and prohibit the venting or release of ozone-destroying chemicals from refrigeration and air-conditioning units into the atmosphere by a set date, and to accelerate the compliance of developing countries with the terms of the Protocol.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1992
Restrictions on Azerbaijan Act - Requires the United States to continue to deny the following trade and economic benefits to the Republic of Azerbaijan: (1) most-favored-nation status (nondiscriminatory treatment); (2) loans, guarantees, or insurance with respect to U.S. exports to it; (3) beneficiary status under the Generalized System of Preferences; (4) treatment as a country subject to provisions of the Trade Act of 1974 relating to market disruption; (5) treatment as a member of Country Group Y (countries with which the United States has diplomatic or trading relations); (6) any benefit bestowed under the Agreement on Trade Relations Between the United States and the Soviet Union, signed on June 1, 1990; and (7) U.S. assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Requires the United States to impose as a condition to making contributions to any international organizations providing activities in the former Soviet Union that none of the funds be available for such activities, except humanitarian assistance, in Azerbaijan. Authorizes the President to waive such restrictions. Terminates such restrictions if the President determines and reports to the Congress that Azerbaijan: (1) has ceased all blockades and uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh; (2) improves the human rights of Armenians, Russians, Jews, and other minorities; and (3) has committed to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peacefully.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Emergency Community Development Act of 1991 - Title I: Temporary Assistance for Community Development Activities - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to States, local governments, and Indian tribes for community development assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Housing Programs - Authorizes funds, in addition to other specified authorizations, for: (1) public housing vacancy reduction; (2) the National Homeownership Trust; and (3) the Flexible Subsidy Fund. Title III: Single Family Mortgage Insurance - Amends the National Housing Act with regard to single family mortgage insurance to prohibit a limitation on financed closing costs. Directs the Secretary to establish single premium payments for refinanced mortgages. Title IV: Rural Housing - Authorizes and increases funding for: (1) insured or guaranteed rural housing loans; (2) supplemental grants for remote rural housing; (3) housing improvement loans; (4) rural housing loans for elderly, handicapped, or low-income persons; (5) housing for rural homeless and migrant farmworkers; and (6) rental assistance payment contracts. Title V: Homeless Assistance - Authorizes and increases funding for: (1) Federal Emergency Management Agency emergency food and shelter grants; (2) emergency shelter grants; (3) the supportive housing demonstration program; (4) supplemental assistance for facilities to assist the homeless; and (5) section 8 assistance for single room occupancy dwellings. Title VI: Department of Housing and Urban Development Administration - Exempts multifamily project assistance from certain certification of limitation provisions under specified circumstances. Authorizes appropriations for multifamily housing mortgage insurance regional, field, or zone staff. Title VII: Financial Institutions Housing Provisions - Authorizes appropriations for the Federal Home Loan Banks' affordable housing program.
United States · United States Congress · 27 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) democratically-elected local government and civil administration in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Republic of Azerbaijan should be restored; (2) there should be free access to all prisoners by foreign government representatives and independent human rights organizations; (3) the United Nations (UN) Security Council should take up the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh to consider whether UN peacekeeping forces should be deployed to maintain order in the area; (4) foreign assistance extended to the former Soviet Union should be directed to the republics and, except for emergency and humanitarian assistance, conditioned on the establishment of democratically-elected governments and respect for human rights; (5) foreign assistance should be provided directly to Nagorno-Karabakh through impartial international organizations; (6) the human rights provisions of the September 23, 1991, communique negotiated at Zheleznovodsk under the auspices of the Presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan should be fulfilled without delay by the parties; and (7) the U.S. Government should support and encourage the objectives of this resolution by all appropriate means.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly report to the President and the Congress on the differences in program rules under the food stamp program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children program (part A of title IV of the Social Security Act), and Medicaid program (title XIX of the Social Security Act) and how such rules could be made uniform. Requires coordination of such report with the report of the Advisory Committee on Welfare Simplification and Coordination.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Medicaid Federalization Act of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to: (1) convert the Medicaid program to a federally administered program of medical assistance that requires contributions by a State in order for individuals in the State to receive current Medicaid core services; (2) provides for the reversion of Medicaid administrative authority to a State upon the State's request; (3) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publish an alternative version of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) fee schedule amounts for physicians' services and Medicare payment amounts for the operating costs of inpatient hospital services for use in determining payment amounts for such services under Medicaid that takes into account differences in the individuals covered and such services provided under Medicare and Medicaid; (4) provide that if a physician knowingly and willfully and on a repeated basis refuses to furnish services to individuals eligible for Medicaid, the Secretary may exclude such physician from participating in Medicare for a limited period; and (5) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to increase excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco products, and gasoline and other specified fuels in order to finance a federally administered Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Endangered Species Act Amendments of 1992 - Title I: Recovery Plans - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary (either the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as program responsibilities are vested) to: (1) develop and implement recovery plans by December 31, 1996, for listed endangered and threatened species for which such plans have not been developed as of December 31, 1992; and (2) do the same for such non-listed species as of December 31, 1992, within two years after the species is listed. Title II: Penalties and Enforcement - Waives the 60-day notice requirement with respect to the filing of a civil suit by an individual in the case of an action against any person respecting an emergency posing a significant risk to the well-being of any listed species of fish or wildlife. Authorizes the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating to promulgate regulations to carry out the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the resolutions of its parties as well as to enforce this Act. Title III: Habitat Conservation Plans - Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with any State, municipality, county, or local government to assist in the development of a plan for the conservation of any threatened or endangered species. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans, under specified conditions, to any such entities: (1) in the development of such plans; (2) to carry out biological and other studies in connection with it; and (3) related tasks. Establishes the Habitat Conservation Planning Fund for the deposit of all appropriated sums to assist in the development of conservation plans. Title IV: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Anti-Boycott MFN Restriction Act of 1991 - Prohibits application of nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to the products of countries that participate in, or cooperate with, the international economic boycott of Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Equal Remedies Act of 1991 - Amends Federal law relating to damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination to remove provisions limiting the dollar amount of damages awarded for pecuniary and nonpecuniary losses and punitive damages.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress and the President, prior to each fiscal year, to agree on an estimate of total receipts (except those derived from borrowing) for that fiscal year by enactment of a joint single subject resolution. Prohibits outlays for that year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding this amount unless the Congress, by a three-fifths rollcall vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths rollcall vote of each House to increase the public debt. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress. Requires the amount by which outlays exceed receipts to be eliminated or reduced by equal amounts of outlay reductions and revenue increases, to be approved by a majority of each House by rollcall vote. Requires any elimination by unequal amounts of outlay reductions and revenue increases to be approved by three-fifths rollcall vote of each House. Requires amounts by which receipts exceed outlays to be used for reducing the public debt. Prohibits total receipts for any fiscal year from increasing by a rate greater than the rate of increase in the gross national product in the second prior fiscal year, unless approved by a three-fifths rollcall of each House. Waives these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect. Makes this Act effective beginning with FY 1997 or with the second fiscal year beginning after its ratification.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should continue to support the full protection of the African elephant through the unqualified listing of all populations of the African elephant on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
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 · 22 November 1991
Urges the President to renew the voluntary restraint agreements with Taiwan and Japan for an additional five years in order to protect national security and ensure U.S. industrial competitiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Haitian Refugee Protection Act of 1991 - Directs the President to: (1) assure the protection of Haitian nationals under U.S. control; and (2) reallocate at least 2000 federally funded FY 1992 refugee admissions to Haiti. Provides for temporary protected status for certain Haitian nationals.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 1991
Calls upon the President, as part of the Uruguay Round General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) talks, to initiate negotiations to make GATT compatible with the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other U.S. health, safety, labor, and environmental laws, including laws to protect the environment outside of the United States. Declares that the Congress will not approve legislation to implement any trade agreement (including the Uruguay Round of the GATT and the U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement) that jeopardizes such laws, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Clean Air Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1991
Sets forth U.S. policy on assistance to El Salvador. Permits funds made available for military assistance for El Salvador for FY 1992 in excess of $21,000,000 to be obligated only with the prior notification of specified congressional committees. Authorizes the transfer of such funds to the Demobilization and Transition Fund for El Salvador established under the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1991. Makes such funds available only for costs of the demobilization, retraining, relocation, and reemployment in civilian pursuits of former combatants in the conflict in El Salvador. Permits the obligation of amounts in the Fund only if the President, prior to obligation of funds, notifies: (1) specified congressional committees; and (2) the Congress that the El Salvadoran Government and representatives of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) have reached a permanent settlement of the conflict. Prohibits any U.S. assistance to El Salvador if the head of the El Salvadoran Government is deposed by military coup or decree. Resumes such assistance only pursuant to a law enacted by the Congress. Permits the delivery of military assistance to the armed forces of El Salvador only with the prior approval of the elected president of El Salvador.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 1991
Commends: (1) the people of Zambia for their commitment to democracy; and (2) former President Kaunda and the United National Independence Party on their cooperation in allowing open participation in the recent elections. Congratulates President Frederick Chiluba on his election as Zambia's President. Calls on: (1) President Chiluba to restore respect for internationally recognized human rights and establish a system of governance that fosters open political participation and encourages the development of democratic institutions; and (2) the President of the United States to take steps to implement a comprehensive assistance program, in coordination with other western donors, to the newly elected government and its people. Urges: (1) President Chiluba to take steps to strengthen Zambia's economy, renew its debt service payments to the International Monetary Fund, and restore Zambia's commitment to implementing its economic restructuring obligations with the World Bank; and (2) President Bush to encourage other industrialized nations to participate in supporting Zambia's newly elected government.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 1991
House of Representatives Campaign Spending Limit and Election Reform Act of 1991 - Title I: Expenditure Limitations, Contribution Limitations, Matching Funds, and Reduced Third-Class Mail Rate for Eligible House of Representatives Candidates - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to set forth limitations regarding House of Representatives election expenditures, contributions, and matching funds. Limits aggregate contributions received and expenditures made by an eligible House of Representatives candidate in an election cycle to $600,000, with specified additional limitations in general, special, and runoff elections. Establishes the Make Democracy Work Fund (the Fund) for payment of funds and initial expenditures incurred by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in the administration of this Act. Outlines FEC examination, audit, and repayment procedures to determine candidate compliance with this Act. Subjects FEC actions to judicial review. Directs the FEC to report to the House of Representatives regarding: (1) candidate expenditures made and balances remaining in the Fund after each election; and (2) a detailed explanation and justification of rules, regulations, and forms it has issued under this Act. Precludes a House of Representatives candidate from receiving funds from the Make Democracy Work Fund without prior certification that any television commercial was prepared or distributed by the candidate in a manner that readily permits closed captioning of the commercial's oral content by way of specified broadcast technology. Amends Federal Postal Service law to provide reduced third-class mailing rates to eligible House of Representatives candidates during a general election period. Title II: Limitations on Political Committee and Large Donor Contributions That May Be Accepted By House of Representatives Candidates; Miscellaneous Provisions Relating To Contributions Under The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 - Sets forth limitations on political committee and large donor contributions (and contributions by dependents not of voting age) that may be accepted by House of Representatives candidates. Mandates that contributions to candidates from State and local political party committees be aggregated. Increases the amount that multicandidate political committees may contribute to national political party committees. Deems corporate or labor union expenditures for candidate appearances, debates, or voter guides to be contributions if the corporate or labor organization expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate or favors one candidate over another. Title III: Requirement of Budget Neutrality - Provides that the net costs of providing certain benefits under this Act must be fully offset by specified measures that either raise revenues or reduce spending by a specified deadline (thus achieving budget neutrality). Title IV: Independent Expenditures - Modifies definitions relating to independent expenditures. Sets forth reporting requirements for certain independent expenditures. Title V: Bundling and Soft Money - Prohibits any person from acting as conduit or intermediary for any contribution to any candidate, except in specified circumstances. States that such persons are likewise prohibited from conducting or participating in joint fundraising activities with or on behalf of any candidate. Sets forth limitations upon the combined political activities of political committees of political parties. Prohibits incumbents and candidates for Federal office from soliciting contributions to certain organizations substantially engaged in voter registration or get-out-the-vote campaigns. Mandates that political committees established and maintained by a national political party shall report all receipts and disbursements during the reporting period, whether or not in connection with an election for Federal office. Title VI: Prohibitions Relating to Political Committees and Foreign Nationals - Prohibits a candidate for Federal office from establishing, maintaining, or controlling any political committee other than a principal campaign committee, or certain authorized committees (thereby prohibiting the use of leadership committees). Allows such leadership committees to continue making contributions until one year after January 1, 1993, after which time all funds must be disbursed in one or more specified manners. Prohibits an unauthorized political committee from using the name of any candidate in any fundraising activity on its behalf in a context which suggests that the committee is the candidate's authorized committee. Prohibits a foreign national from controlling, influencing, or participating in election-related activities, including making contributions or expenditures relating to any political election or the administration of a political committee. Title VII: Campaign Surplus - Mandates that the funds exceeding $600,000 of incumbents who are House of Representatives candidates be deposited in a separate account subject to the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. Title VIII: Campaign Advertising - Prescribes guidelines for campaign advertising related to: (1) printed communication; and (2) broadcast or cablecast communication. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to entitle House of Representatives candidates to the lowest unit rate charged by a licensee for the same amount of time (currently, the same class and amount of time for the same period on the same date, during the 30 (currently 45) days prior to the primary election and the 45 (currently 60) days prior to the general election). Prohibits the licensee from pre-empting such a candidate's use of the station except in an emergency. Title IX: Contribution Solicitation - Proscribes the solicitation of contributions by false representation by any person as a candidate or as a representative of a candidate or of a political party or committee. Title X: Reporting Requirements - Requires certain reports to identify any person (other than a committee) who contributes more than $50 (currently, more than $200). Directs the FEC to: (1) require with respect to specified reports that operating expenditures be reported on an election cycle basis, by category, as specified by the FEC; and (2) maintain computerized indices of contributions of $50.00 or more. Title XI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1991
Calls on President Mobutu of Zaire to step down and permit the transitional government to return the country to democratic rule. Condemns all violations of human rights in Zaire. Supports the aspirations of the Zairean people for democratic change. Invites the international community of nations to express their concern with respect to the repression and corruption of the Mobutu regime and to support the Zairean democratic forces' desire for peaceful change. Calls upon the administration to: (1) urge the Belgian and French Governments to keep their troops in place until an international peacekeeping force can be brought into Zaire to ensure stability during the political transition period; and (2) express its willingness to offer appropriate assistance to help implement any future international peacekeeping arrangement.
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 · 5 November 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Byelorussia (a.k.a. Belarus), Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (a.k.a. Kirghizia) Moldavia (a.k.a. Moldova), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan should accept and implement all commitments on human rights, fundamental freedoms, and humanitarian cooperation contained in the Helsinki Final Act, the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, or any other document of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and (2) the President should convey to the leaders of these republics that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is a vital element in achieving genuine security and cooperation in Europe and should keep the Congress informed of the status of human rights and fundamental freedoms in each of these republics.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 1991
Nuclear Testing Moratorium Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from conducting any explosive nuclear weapons test during the one-year period following the enactment of this Act unless the President certifies to the Congress that the Soviet Union has conducted such a test during such period.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Family Preservation Act of 1991 - Title I: Child Welfare Services - Amends part B (Child Welfare Services) of title IV of the Social Security Act to convert the Child Welfare program from an authorization to a capped entitlement program. Requires maintenance of State effort under such program. Sets forth a new formula for allotments to States under such program. Repeals provisions for incentive payments to States which maintain a foster care inventory, information system, and case review system, but requires States to provide such protections and other services designed to keep families together or reunify them, or to place children for adoption, with a legal guardian, or in some other planned, permanent living arrangement. Requires States to submit the following types of reports on child welfare services and expenditures: (1) pre-expenditure reports; (2) post-expenditure reports; and (3) comparative financial contributions reports. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to annually transmit to specified congressional committees a summary of the information contained in such comparative financial contributions reports. Requires such information to be made available to the public. Reserves funds for entitlement grants to States to plan for and provide child welfare services designed to strengthen and preserve families. Requires use of part of such funds to develop or expand specialized child welfare services programs for families in crisis due to substance abuse that: (1) emphasize comprehensive services geared to the whole family; and (2) support or expand availability of programs for pregnant women and programs that allow mothers (and other caretaker relatives) to reside with their children while receiving services or treatment. Requires uses of the remaining part of such funds to develop or expand: (1) service programs to help children, where appropriate, return to families from which they have been removed, or be placed for adoption, with a legal guardian, or in some other planned, permanent living arrangement; (2) preplacement preventive services programs to help children at risk of foster care placement to remain with their families; or (3) service programs for follow-up care for families to whom a child has been returned after a foster care placement. Reserves funds for grants to State court systems to assess and improve procedures in child welfare cases, in carrying out the Child Welfare Services program and part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act. Sets forth application requirements and formulas for determining the amount of such grants for FY 1993 through 1997. Directs the Secretary of HHS to submit interim and final reports to the Congress on the information obtained from assessments conducted with such grants and the impact of such grant programs on State court procedures and functions. Requires each State to periodically compile a detailed directory of programs designed to keep families together or reunify them or place children permanently, identifying which of such programs provides specialized child welfare services to families in crisis due to substance abuse. Requires States to report on measures taken to comply with the Indian Child Welfare Act. Title II: Foster Care and Adoption Assistance - Amends title IV (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child Welfare Services) of the Social Security Act to add a new part C, Comprehensive Service Projects, to grant States flexibility and resources to develop comprehensive and coordinated services designed to: (1) preserve and strengthen families with children at risk of placement outside their homes; (2) reunite children with their families expeditiously if an out-of-home placement is found to be necessary; and (3) place children in adoptive homes or other permanent arrangements in a timely fashion if reunification with their families is not appropriate. Permits any State to apply to the Secretary of HHS for permission to: (1) conduct a comprehensive service project in a selected area or areas; and (2) suspend certain child welfare services and foster care and adoption assistance requirements with respect to State activities in such area or areas during the project. Sets forth application requirements and administrative provisions for such projects. Prohibits the Secretary of HHS from requiring as a condition of approval of a project application: (1) the State to select any area or areas in which to conduct the project; or (2) the project to comply with any requirements not specified in the project authorization. Sets forth those requirements with which such a project must comply. Provides for determining the expenses for which a State might properly seek reimbursement, for purposes of calculating such grant amount. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to increase such grant amount, to the extent appropriate, by taking specified factors into account. Sets forth requirements for notification to States of grant amounts, and for grant payments in equal quarterly installments. Prohibits a State from carrying out such a project in a manner that impairs the entitlement of any child to: (1) the foster care benefits he or she would have received if the Secretary had approved the State plan for the fiscal year and had not authorized the State to conduct such a project; or (2) any other benefit to which the child is legally entitled. Deems a State to have in effect an approved foster care and adoption assistance plan during the period in which it conducts such a project for purposes of State plan requirements under part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act. Requires States to report annually on funds expended under such projects to the Secretary of HHS and the Advisory Commission on Children and Families. Provides for administrative remedies for unsuccessful projects. Provides for project termination. Requires a State to discontinue the project at the end of a fiscal year: (1) if it has notified the Secretary that it intends to do so; or (2) if the Secretary has determined for the fiscal year that the State is not conducting the project in accordance with requirements and is not making satisfactory progress toward achieving the State plans, and the Secretary does not plan to pursue an administrative remedy with respect to the project. Makes abandoned children entering foster care eligible for foster care maintenance payments. Makes the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made eligible for adoption assistance payments. Makes technical revisions in the foster care maintenance payments program and the adoption assistance program to expand the removal from home requirement to include removal from legal custody. Provides for retroactive application of such new requirement under the adoption assistance program. Makes children whose adoption has been set aside by a court eligible for foster care maintenance payments. Makes the adoptive parents of any such child with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments may be made eligible for adoption assistance payments. Establishes a respite care program for foster parents with children who have special needs. Limits the expenses eligible for reimbursement under such program. Expands the definition of children with special needs, for purposes of the adoption assistance program, to include: (1) those children for whom information is known and available about their genetic or social history indicating a high risk of medical conditions or physical, mental or emotional handicaps (which makes it reasonable to conclude they cannot be placed for adoption without providing part E adoption assistance or Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) medical assistance; and (2) those children that have been adopted, that were under the care and responsibility of the State agency responsible for administering the State's part E programs prior to being adopted, and that have a mental, physical, or emotional handicap that either existed before the adoption but was not diagnosed until afterwards or first manifests itself after the adoption but is congenital or was caused beforehand. Includes relatives (as well as foster parents) who are prospective adoptive parents and with whom the child has significant emotional ties while in their care for purposes of an exception to the requirement that an effort be made to place special needs children with appropriate adoptive parents without providing adoption assistance or Medicaid assistance. Requires each State to submit to the Secretary of HHS the factors and conditions it uses to identify children with special needs, for purposes of the adoption assistance program, and any modifications to such factors and conditions. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish an Advisory Committee on Foster Care Placement to study and report to the Secretary and the Congress on the implementation of specified requirements, under State plans for foster care and adoption assistance, that reasonable efforts be made: (1) prior to placement of a child in a foster home, to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child's home; and (2) to make it possible for the child to return to the child's home. Provides Federal coverage of 90 percent of State costs in developing and installing statewide mechanized data collection and information retrieval systems which: (1) the Secretary determines are likely to enhance the administration of such programs; (2) are capable of interfacing with the State data collection system for information on child abuse and neglect; and (3) meet other specified requirements. Covers 50 percent of State costs for operation of such systems. Provides that all State expenditures for development, installation, and operation of such systems shall be treated as necessary for proper and efficient administration of the State plan, without regard to whether the systems may be used with respect to foster or adoptive children other than those on behalf of whom payments may be made for foster care maintenance or adoption assistance. Reduces, after three years, from 90 to 50 percent the Federal matching payment for development and installation of such systems. Defers a deadline for implementation of automated systems until one year after certain regulations are promulgated. Directs the Secretary to establish a work group, including representatives of specified organizations, to advise on planning and implementation of the system to be used for collection of data relating to adoption and foster care in the United States. Requires the State plan to provide for: (1) a triennial review of the amounts paid as foster care maintenance payments and adoption assistance to assure their continuing appropriateness; and (2) a report to the Secretary of HHS on the results. Requires that the dispositional hearing to determine the final status of a foster child: (1) occur within 12 months of his or her original placement, rather than the current 18 months; (2) determine and document the measures needed to enhance the likelihood of making the child legally eligible for adoption and of finding an adoptive home for the child, if the hearing determines that the child should be placed for adoption, and the specific measures which have been or need to be taken to make an adoptive placement or a finding that placement of the child in an adoptive family would be inappropriate, if the child is legally eligible for adoption. Revises the time frame for judicial determinations on voluntary placements. Sets forth case plan requirements for placement of children in out-of-State foster care, including a finding that the child needs services not available in the State. Requires annual review, with the child present, of the status of children in out-of-State foster care placements. Requires States to collect data on the numbers of children in out-of-State foster care placements. Requires a State, in order to receive payments for expenditures after FY 1994 for foster care maintenance payments made with respect to children placed in foster care outside the State, to conduct and submit a study to the Secretary of HHS, by the end of such fiscal year, identifying the number and common characteristics of such children and the reason why they were not placed in foster care in the State. Sets forth provisions with respect to the treatment of assets of youth participating in the independent living program. Eliminates the ceilings on Federal foster care payments to States and the States' authority to transfer unused foster care funds to the Child Welfare Services program. Directs the Secretary of HHS to: (1) establish an advisory committee; and (2) issue final regulations for training of staff of agencies responsible for administering foster care and adoption assistance programs and for training of foster and adoptive parents. Requires such committee to include representatives of public agencies and nonprofit organizations with an interest in child welfare. Directs the Secretary to annually publish information, on a State-by-State basis, on expenditures for, and the operation of, the Child Welfare Services program, the Foster Care and Adoption Assistance program, and Comprehensive Service Projects. Amends title IV of the Social Security Act to add a new part G, Child Welfare Review System. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish such system to: (1) review each State child welfare program to assess whether the requirements of such Act are being carried out; (2) impose financial penalties in cases of substantial failure to comply; and (3) provide technical assistance to any such program. Requires the Secretary to complete such a review for each State program not less frequently than once every three years. Sets forth provisions relating to effects of noncompliance, suspension and recision of financial penalties, and administrative and judicial review. Requires that all State child welfare programs be reviewed at least once by the end of FY 1997. Prohibits the Secretary from reducing or withholding any payment or seeking any repayment from any State under part B or E by reason of a determination made in connection with specified reviews or audits for certain periods. Prohibits suspension of payments with respect to any claim for reimbursement 30 days after the Secretary of HHS receives the quarterly statement of expenditures that contains the report of the claim. Provides that within ten months after the Secretary takes any action to suspend payment with respect to such a claim, the Secretary shall: (1) determine the allowability of the claim; or (2) if unable to make such a determination, make payment with respect to the claim, subject to a later determination of allowability. Title III: Emergency Assistance - Amends the AFDC program to require States to provide emergency assistance to needy families with children, including services designed to prevent homelessness. Title IV: Social Services Block Grant - Amends title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act to authorize increased appropriations at specified levels under such program for FY 1993 through 1996 and at levels indexed to increases in the Consumer Price Index thereafter. Provides for the allocation to tribal organizations of program funds otherwise allotted to the State in which the Indians represented by such organization reside. Title V: Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation Activities - Amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI (General Provisions and Professional Standards Review) of the Social Security Act to require the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to establish an Advisory Commission on Children and Families (the Commission). Requires the Commission to collect and assess specified types of information in order to identify cost-effective approaches to protect and enhance the physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being of children and their families. Directs OTA to report annually to the Congress on the Commission and its assessment. Requires the Commission to conduct, through contracts with independent research organizations, the following research and evaluation projects: (1) an evaluation of child welfare service programs, including intensive family preservation programs; (2) foster care evaluations; (3) longitudinal child welfare data bases, and studies of child welfare population dynamics; and (4) comprehensive service projects evaluations. Requires the Commission to conduct a study concerning child separation guidelines. Directs the Secretary of HHS to conduct the following research and evaluations: (1) a study (under contract with an independent research organization) to assess the prevalence and nature of risks to the safety of employees of child welfare systems; and (2) a three-year study (under contract with an organization with demonstrated appropriate experience) to examine methodologies for measuring the workloads of providers of child welfare services and community mental health services. Directs the Secretary of HHS to authorize child welfare demonstration projects concerning each of the following: (1) abandoned infants' permanent placement; (2) termination of parental rights; (3) child welfare worker training in U.S. areas that border on Mexico; (4) staff recruitment and retention; and (5) joint training for staff of child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice agencies. Directs the Secretary of HHS to authorize demonstration projects to test the feasibility of eliminating income and resource requirements respecting foster care and adoption assistance payments. Directs the Secretary of HHS to provide technical assistance to States for: (1) interpreting and implementating parts B, C, and E; (2) disseminating information on innovative child welfare agencies; (3) correcting problems identified through Federal audits and reviews and carrying out corrective action plans under part E; (4) implementing the foster care and adoption data collection system; and (5) addressing other matters identified by such Secretary. Title VI: Miscellaneous Human Resources Amendments - Amends the AFDC program to give States the option of using retrospective budgeting without monthly reporting under AFDC. Increases the amount of stepparent income disregarded under AFDC. Amends the Family Support Act of 1988 to extend demonstration projects for evaluating model procedures for reviewing child support awards. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 and the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 to make technical corrections relating to human resource and income security provisions. Repeals the technical amendment made by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 with respect to the National Commission on Children. Title VII: Budget Compliance Provisions - Specifies the applicable cost estimate of this Act for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). States that the conversion by this Act of the Child Welfare program from an authorization to a capped entitlement program shall not be treated as a change in concept or definition under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 1991
Management Corps Act of 1991 - Requires the President to designate a private nonprofit organization which has demonstrated expertise in providing assistance to business enterprises in the Republics of the Soviet Union and the Baltic States through United States citizens with expertise in the management of business enterprises who voluntarily donate their time and services to such enterprises in those countries. Designates such organization as the Management Corps. Sets forth administrative provisions for such Corps. Provides for grants to the Corps to be made by the Secretary of State through the Agency for International Development. Requires the Corps to publish an annual report which shall be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) U.S. policy toward the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should be guided by a conviction that the interests of international security must take precedence over any conflicting interests in promoting nuclear commerce; and (2) the United States should encourage the IAEA to introduce reforms to strengthen its ability to pursue its safeguards objectives. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should undertake bilateral and multilateral initiatives to maintain and enhance international confidence in the effectiveness of IAEA safeguards and in other multilateral undertakings to halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons, including initiatives for: (1) building international support for the principle that nuclear supply relationships must require purchasing nations to agree to full-scope international safeguards; (2) encouraging each nuclear weapon state to undertake a comprehensive review of its own procedures for declassifying information relating to the design or production of nuclear explosive devices and to investigate any measures that would reduce the risk of such information contributing to nuclear weapons proliferation; (3) arranging for timely payment of annual financial contributions by all IAEA members; and (4) seeking agreement among the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to apply IAEA safeguards in perpetuity and to establish new limits on the right to withdraw from that Treaty. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should direct the U.S. representatives to the IAEA to work toward the early adoption of reforms in the implementation of the safeguards responsibilities of the IAEA, including: (1) making public the IAEA's annual safeguards implementation report, establishing a public registry of commodities in international nuclear commerce, and creating a public repository of current nuclear trade control laws, agreements, regulations, and enforcement and judicial actions by IAEA member nations; (2) enabling the IAEA to issue fines for violations of safeguards procedures, pay rewards for information on possible safeguards violations, and establish a hotline for reporting such violations and other illicit uses of weapons-grade nuclear material; (3) implement special inspections of undeclared nuclear facilities and seeking authority for the IAEA to conduct challenge inspections on demand at suspected nuclear sites; and (4) developing with other IAEA member states an agreement on procedures to expedite approvals of visa applications by IAEA inspectors. Directs the President, within six months, to submit to specified congressional committees a report describing the bilateral and multilateral initiatives which the President has taken during the period since the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 1991
Condemns the unconstitutional military junta in Haiti. Supports the restoration of the legitimately elected government of President Aristide and the peace efforts of the Organization of American States. Calls upon: (1) the Attorney General to temporarily suspend the forced return of Haitian nationals during this crisis; (2) the Coast Guard to begin a coordinated search and rescue at sea operation with respect to Haitians fleeing Haiti; and (3) the Aristide government, upon its restoration, to respect and promote the human rights of all Haitian citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1991
USHealth Program Act of 1991 - Title I: Provision And Expansion Of Hospital, Medical, And Preventive Services To Cover All Americans Either Through A USHealth Program Or Qualified Employer Health Plans - Subtitle A: Coverage of Elderly, Disabled, Retired, and Other Non-Employed Individuals Through a USHealth Program - Part 1: Eligibility - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish the USHealth Program (Program) for the provision of hospital as well as long-term care and certain preventive benefits to U.S. citizens and permanent U.S. residents. Provides for incorporating into the Program for hospital care: (1) aliens who are employed with a foreign government or an international organization and reside in the United States; and (2) foreign visitors. Provides for low-income assistance under the Program. Repeals provisions of various other benefit programs rendered superfluous by the comprehensive nature of the Program. Makes conforming amendments to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974. Provides transitional Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) coverage of pregnant women and infants up to 185 percent of the Federal poverty level. Increases to 100 percent the Federal medical assistance percentage for additional populations covered. Part 2: Benefits - Revises the scope of benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance). Lists under such part Program benefits which comprise: (1) inpatient hospital services; (2) medical and other health services; (3) comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility services and home intravenous drug therapy services; (4) alcohol and drug abuse rehabilitation services; (5) outpatient mental health services; and (6) home health services. Changes payment provisions. Expands covered medical and other health services under Medicare to include the following preventive services as Program benefits: (1) prenatal care; (2) well-child care; (3) screening mammographies; (4) screening pap smears; (5) family planning services and supplies furnished to individuals of child-bearing age who desire such services and supplies; (6) colorectal cancer screening services; (7) counseling to modify risk factors for heart disease, cancer, and stroke, including dietary measures, weight reduction, smoking restriction, and physical conditioning; and (8) such other health services as the USHealth Board finds are cost-effective in the prevention of disease or illness. Directs the USHealth Board to establish: (1) frequency schedules for the provision of certain preventive services listed above; and (2) standards for entities furnishing preventive service under Medicare who otherwise are not qualified to provide other services under Medicare. Includes prescription drugs within such expanded coverage as Program benefits. Sets forth certification standards for comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility services, outpatient physical therapy services, outpatient speech pathology services, and home intravenous drug therapy services. Eliminates all mandatory benefits under the Medicaid program. Part 3: Payments For Services - Sets forth payment rules for inpatient hospital services, medical and other health services generally, prescription drugs, and home intravenous drug therapy services, which include no co-payments for inpatient hospital services. Directs the USHealth Board to: (1) establish a program to assure appropriate prescribing and dispensing practices; (2) prepare and update annually a guide for physicians concerning wholesale prices of commonly prescribed drugs; (3) establish a fee schedule for home intravenous drug therapy services; and (4) adjust Medicare payment rates for inpatient hospital services and physicians' services to reflect changes in the population served and other special circumstances. Requires the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission to conduct a study concerning appropriate adjustments in payments for inpatient hospital services to account for reduced hospital costs resulting from Medicare payment of prescription drugs and home intravenous drug therapy services. Provides protection against out-of-pocket expenses which exceed specified individual and family catastrophic limits. Prohibits service providers from imposing charges when a catastrophic limit has been reached. Details provisions with respect to the treatment of health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Repeals Medicare payment rules for outpatient mental health services. Subtitle B: Coverage of Employed Individuals Through Qualified Employer Health Plans - Part 1: General Provisions - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXI (Access to Health Insurance For Health Services Through Employment) under which employers are required to enroll their employees and dependents in a qualified employer health plan or in the Program. Sets forth rules for the enrollment of full- and part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees, including rules applicable in cases of families with more than one worker and where both employers offer enrollment under a qualified employer health plan. Phases in implementation of enrollment requirements according to a schedule based on the size of the employer. Sets forth enforcement provisions. Outlines requirements for qualified employer health plan premiums and cost-sharing, including limitations on the amount that may be charged for premiums. Gives qualified employer health plans the option of electing Program rules governing payments for services. Sets forth the requirements for standards to certify a health plan provided by an employer or sold to an individual as a qualified health plan, including: (1) requirements that plan benefits must at least mirror the Medicare part A health services provided under the Program; (2) requirements respecting limits on pre-existing condition exclusions and coverage standards for such required plan benefits; and (3) disclosure and other requirements to protect consumers. Prohibits certain State benefit and coverage rules under a qualified health plan. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a full deduction for health insurance costs of the self-employed and to make such deduction permanent. Part 2: Insurance Reform - Subpart A: General Reforms - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add a new title XXVII (Group Health Insurance Standards) under which insured and self-insured employment-related health plans must be ascertained as meeting certain standards established below in order to be, respectively, issued or offered. Provides sanctions for plans that fail to meet such standards, including possible loss of their qualified status. Requires the USHealth Board to request the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to develop specific standards to implement the requirements in the remaining paragraphs below which such plans must be ascertained as meeting. Provides that if NAIC fails to develop such standards or if the Board finds that such standards do not implement such requirements, the Board shall develop such standards. Requires that such plans may not discriminate on the basis of health status for certain services. Requires that pre-existing condition exclusions under such plans be treated in the same manner as is mandated under the Social Security Act for qualified health plans. Requires any carrier which offers such a plan to register with the applicable State regulatory authority. Requires that such carriers offer the same plans to all employers within their individual service areas. Details separate requirements with respect to HMOs. Specifies that a carrier may not offer or issue to an employer such a plan with a term of less than 12 months. Requires guaranteed renewability with some exceptions. Lists notice and other requirements applicable to renewals, including the requirement that the period of renewal for each employer plan be for a period of not less than 12 months. Provides an exception to the requirements in this paragraph for self-insured carriers and self-insured employment-related health plans. States that such requirements do apply to reinsurance carriers and employment-related reinsurance plans offered to such carriers or underwriting such self-insured plans. Requires that the premiums for all employer plans of the same entity shall be: (1) established based on a single cohesive rating system which is applied consistently for all employer groups and is designed not to treat groups, after a certain period, differently based on health or risk status; and (2) actuarially certified each year. Requires employer health plan premiums to be community-rated for a given geographical area. Disallows adjustments to premium rates based on age and gender of covered individuals. Requires a Program reimbursement election before employer health plan premium rates may be adjusted otherwise. Requires employer health plans to permit enrollment of individuals based on specified beneficiary classes. Provides an exception to the requirements in this paragraph for self-insured carriers and self-insured employment-related health plans. States that such requirements do apply to reinsurance carriers and employment-related reinsurance plans offered to such carriers or underwriting such self-insured plans. Prescribes a basic benefit package for employer health plans, with exceptions for employment-related reinsurance plans, self-insured plans, and HMO plans. Sets forth miscellaneous disclosure and recordkeeping requirements for employer health plans. Subpart B: Encouraging Establishment of Managed Care - Adds a new part 3 (Favorable Treatment of Network Plans and Utilization Review Programs) to new title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act added above to provide for favorable treatment of network plans and utilization review programs. Subpart C: Repeal of COBRA Continuation Requirements - Repeals COBRA continuation requirements under the Public Health Service Act, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Title II: Provision of Long-Term Home and Community-Based Care, Nursing Home Care, And Other Benefits For All Americans Through the USHealth Program - Adds a new part B (Long-Term Care Protection And Certain Preventive Benefits) to Medicare under which U.S. citizens and permanent U.S. residents are eligible for long-term care, without regard to age or disability status, and certain preventive benefits. Sets forth provisions respecting long-term care protection under new part B. Details eligibility criteria for long-term care which include requirements that only those individuals applying for benefits who have been determined by a Screening Agency to be limited in daily living activities or so cognitively impaired as to require ongoing supervision will be eligible for: (1) home and community-based services; (2) respite care; and (3) nursing facility services. Provides that the duration of such services shall be unlimited as long as the Case Management Agency determines, through its periodic review of a patient, that the patient continues to require such services. Requires that the determination of the need of an individual for such services shall be made by the Case Management Agency. Places limitations on coverage for respite care. Directs the USHealth Board to contract with States or other entities to act as Long-Term Care Screening Agencies for the State. Makes such agency responsible for assessing the eligibility of individuals for such services. Directs the USHealth Board to contract with a State or private nonprofit organization to establish and administer a Long-Term Care Case Management Agency for each designated area of a State. Requires such agency to: (1) provide case management services for eligible individuals directly or through contracts with home care or home health agencies; (2) develop a care plan for each individual determined to be eligible by a Screening Agency or approve such a plan which has been developed by a qualified service provider; (3) maintain a registry of qualified providers of home and community-based care and nursing facilities in the State; and (4) assist individuals in choosing qualified providers to carry out the care plan and in locating alternative providers if the individual becomes dissatisfied with the provider initially chosen. Requires a State, in addition to the USHealth Board, to monitor the performance of all designated Case Management Agencies and assure the fiscal stability of such agencies. Requires services provided to eligible individuals pursuant to a plan of care to be provided by qualified service providers. Lists service providers qualified to provide home and community-based services. Sets forth payment rules for home and community-based services and nursing facility services. Sets forth requirements for the certification of providers of such long-term care services. Establishes the Home and Community-Based Care Advisory Council to: (1) assist the USHealth Board in assuring the prompt and efficient implementation of long-term care protection under new part B; (2) regularly review the implementation of such protection; and (3) recommend to the Board and to the Congress any necessary modifications to such protection with respect to home and community-based services. Sets forth home- and community-based provider quality assurance requirements and case management agency quality assurance requirements. Directs the USHealth Board to develop and implement a standard and extended survey of home care agencies certified to receive payments for such long-term care services provided under new part B. Sets forth provisions respecting certain preventive benefits under new part B. Entitles U.S. citizens and permanent U.S. residents to the following preventive benefits: (1) routine physical checkups; (2) routine eye care (including the dispensing of corrective lenses); (3) dental care; and (4) hearing care. Specifies the specific items and services which comprise each such benefit. Sets forth special rules for children. Directs the USHealth Board to provide for a program for the certification of the safety and efficacy of hearing aids for which payment may be made under new part B. Sets forth payment rules, including rules prohibiting the application of deductibles or co-payments to payments for such preventive benefits. Directs the USHealth Board to make grants to: (1) educational institutions for programs to train individuals in the provision of home- and community-based care and nursing facility services; (2) State approved programs to develop and conduct programs to train individuals in the provision of home health aide services; and (3) accredited university schools of nursing to develop model consumer training programs to provide information and training about the delivery of home care services for caregivers as well as general information about the home- and community-based care service system. Authorizes appropriations for such grants. Directs the Board to assist public or private nonprofit entities in meeting the costs of planning, developing, and operating centers for long-term care planning and technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the USHealth Board to conduct long-term home care demonstration projects for seriously mentally ill individuals and family caregivers. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Low-Income Assistance - Adds a new part C (Assistance For Low-Income Individuals) to Medicare under which low-income U.S. citizens and permanent U.S. residents who are enrolled under part A or under a qualified employer health plan or are entitled to benefits under part B may apply for assistance to limit or eliminate their financial obligations for premiums, deductibles, and co-payments. Title IV: USHealth Program Administration - Subtitle A: USHealth Administration - Adds a new part D (USHealth Administration) to Medicare to establish, as an independent agency in the executive branch of the Government, a USHealth Administration, to be governed by a USHealth Board, to administer the USHealth Program created under this Act. Abolishes the Health Care Financing Administration. Subtitle B: Miscellaneous - Repeals provisions regarding the use of public agencies or private organizations to facilitate payment to providers of services. Permits States to be carriers for administration of part A benefits. Makes miscellaneous conforming changes in carrier provisions. Adds additional administrative provisions to part A relating to prescription drugs. Directs the Director of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment to provide for the appointment of a Prescription Drug Payment Review Commission to report annually to the Congress on methods of determining payment for prescription drugs. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct various studies with respect to prescription drugs, including a study on the possible inclusion of experimental drugs under the Program, and to report to the Congress on the results of each such study. Requires General Accounting Office studies on wholesale prescription drug prices and the costs to pharmacies of doing business. Directs the USHealth Board to develop a standard prescription drug claims form. Subjects home intravenous drug therapy services to review by peer review organizations. Revises administrative provisions under Medicare regarding home intravenous drug therapy services. Makes miscellaneous and technical changes with respect to HMO coverage and payment. Sets forth special rules for frail elderly demonstration projects and similar projects. Title V: Quality Assurance And Cost Containment - Subtitle A: Quality Assurance - Amends part B (Peer Review) of title XI of the Social Security Act to require contracts with peer review organizations to provide that: (1) major organizational efforts be devoted to quality assurance activities; and (2) quality assurance activities be conducted with respect to all the different types of health and long-term care covered by Medicare or through a private payor. Revises the definition of the term "peer review organization" to require such an entity to include representatives of providers of services for which quality assurance activities are conducted. Provides funding for increased quality assurance activities. Requires each utilization and quality control peer review organization to establish and staff a quality assurance board that will monitor the quality of care provided under Medicare in the area served by the organization. Amends the Medicare program to: (1) prohibit payments to health care providers which are not licensed and certified by the State; (2) direct the USHealth Board to promulgate a consumers' bill of rights which shall recognize specified rights as rights of consumers which may be asserted by the consumer or his or her representative or guardian; (3) revise the hospital discharge planning process to require a discharge planning process which meets guidelines and standards to be established by the USHealth Board that guard against early inappropriate hospital discharges and ensure a timely and smooth transition to the most appropriate type of and setting for post-hospital care; and (4) require HMOs to make outpatient mental health services available to their clients and ensure that quality assurance activities include such services. Amends the Peer Review program to require peer review organizations to monitor hospitals' compliance with discharge planning process requirements. Subtitle B: Cost-Containment - Sets forth a formula to determine the overall annual health care amount allowed to be spent under the Program. Directs the USHealth Board to conduct negotiations each year with representatives of the classes of health care providers in order to allocate overall spending among the different classes of providers. Requires a report to the Congress on negotiation results along with a specification of the amount to be allocated to each class of provider. Requires the Board to adjust each year the payment rates by each class of provider. Title VI: Financing - Amends the Medicare program to: (1) set forth rules for determining the premiums to be charged individuals and employers for enrollment under part A; (2) specify the early year premiums for aged and disabled part A enrollees and set forth rules for determining the premiums for later years; and (3) revise procedures for collecting part B premiums to provide for the collection of delinquent premiums. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate the limit on wages and self-employment income subject to social security and railroad retirement taxes; and (2) increase the health insurance tax rate. Requires State maintenance of effort payments. Redesignates the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund as the USHealth Program Trust Fund. Provides for off-budget treatment of the Fund. Extends the borrowing authority of the Fund. Dedicates additional specified revenues to the support of the Program. Repeals the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund and transfers the funds in, and obligations of, such Fund to the USHealth Program Trust Fund. Repeals the separate authorization of appropriations to cover Government contributions and provide a contingency reserve applicable to the former Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Title VII: Rural And Central City Demonstration Projects And Expansion Of Primary Care And Public Health Delivery Capacity - Directs the Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration to provide for additional research and demonstration projects into how Medicare could be changed to better cover care for beneficiaries residing in rural areas and in central city areas of large cities. Requires an annual report to the Congress on the progress of such projects. Extends the authorizations for the following programs or services under the Public Health Service Act through the year 2000: (1) immunization programs; (2) tuberculosis prevention and control programs; (3) lead poisoning prevention programs; (4) programs (and projects) for the prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases; (5) migrant and community health center services; (6) homeless programs; (7) public housing programs; (8) family planning services; and (9) early intervention services for individuals with HIV disease. Directs the USHealth Board to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for projects to plan and develop primary care centers and public health clinics which will serve medically underserved populations. Directs the USHealth Board, every five years, beginning with 1994, to submit to the Congress a report on the impact of this Act in meeting the following Goals for the Nation stated in "Health People, 2000": (1) to increase the span of healthy life for Americans; (2) to reduce health disparities among Americans; and (3) to achieve access to preventive services for all Americans. Requires each report to include such recommendations with respect to changes in the benefits and payment policies under this Act as will best promote achievement of national health promotion and disease prevention goals and objectives.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1991
United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1991 - Title I: United States Policy - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the following should be U.S. policy with respect to the U.S. relationship with Hong Kong: (1) the United States should seek to establish direct bilateral ties with Hong Kong in economic, shipping, communications, tourism, cultural, sport, and other matters to the extent that Hong Kong is allowed to exercise autonomy in these fields under the 1984 Joint Declaration of the Governments of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and China on the question of Hong Kong; (2) the United States should seek to maintain after June 30, 1997, with the authorization of the Chinese Government, the U.S. Consulate-General in Hong Kong and other U.S. official and semi-official organizations; (3) the United States should invite Hong Kong to maintain, after such date, its official and semi-official missions in the United States and to open other missions in those fields in which it is permitted to exercise autonomy under the Joint Declaration; (4) the United States should seek to reach agreements with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Administrative Region) in such fields, particularly with respect to reduction or abolishment of visa restrictions hindering U.S. nationals seeking to work in Hong Kong and Hong Kong residents seeking to work in the United States; (5) the United States should recognize passports and travel documents issued by the Administrative Region; and (6) the Chinese Government's exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong should not affect treatment of Hong Kong residents who apply for visas to visit the United States. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the following should be U.S. policy with respect to participation by Hong Kong in multilateral organizations: (1) the United States should support Hong Kong's participation in multilateral organizations open to non-states that are concerned with those matters in which Hong Kong is permitted to exercise autonomy under the Joint Declaration; (2) the United States should continue to fulfill its obligations to Hong Kong under international agreements, so long as Hong Kong reciprocates; (3) the United States should support Hong Kong's application to join all multilateral international conferences, agreements, and organizations; and (4) the United States should support Hong Kong's continued participation after June 30, 1997, under the name Hong Kong, China, in all such conferences, agreements, and organizations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the following should be U.S. policy with respect to commerce between the United States and Hong Kong: (1) the United States should seek to maintain and expand economic and trade relations with Hong Kong and should continue to treat Hong Kong as a separate territory in economic and trade matters (even after June 30, 1997); (2) the United States should continue to negotiate directly with Hong Kong to conclude bilateral economic agreements (even after June 30, 1997); (3) the United States should continue to consider Hong Kong for most-favored-nation trade status and to recognize certificates of origin for manufactured goods issued by the Administrative Region; (4) the United States should continue to allow the U.S. dollar to be freely exchanged with the Hong Kong dollar and U.S. businesses should continue to operate in Hong Kong; (5) the United States should continue to support Hong Kong's access to sensitive technologies; (6) the United States should encourage Hong Kong to continue to develop a framework which provides protection for intellectual property rights; and (7) the United States should negotiate a bilateral investment treaty with Hong Kong. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the following should be U.S. policy with respect to transportation matters involving Hong Kong: (1) the United States should continue to recognize ships and airplanes registered in Hong Kong and negotiate air service agreements directly with Hong Kong; (2) the United States should continue to recognize ships registered by Hong Kong after June 30, 1997, and U.S. commercial ships should remain free to port in Hong Kong; (3) the United States should recognize certificates issued by the Administrative Region to Hong Kong air carriers; (4) the United States should recognize permits issued by the Administrative Region to U.S. air carriers for specified services; (5) the United States should negotiate with the Administrative Region to renew or amend all air service agreements existing on June 30, 1997, and to conclude new air service agreements affecting all flights to, from, or through China; and (6) the United States should negotiate with the Administrative Region about arrangements to implement international aviation agreements. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the following should be U.S. policy with respect to cultural and educational exchanges with Hong Kong: (1) the United States should seek to maintain and expand U.S.--Hong Kong relations and exchanges in culture, education, science, and academic research; (2) the Administrative Region should be accorded individual status as a full partner in the Fulbright Program; and (3) the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress should seek to expand educational and informational ties with the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Title II: The Status of Hong Kong in United States Law - Applies U.S. laws to Hong Kong after June 30, 1997, in the same manner they applied before such date. Approves the continuation in force of all treaties entered into by the United States and Hong Kong before such date. Title III: Reporting Provisions - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) submit to the Speaker of the House and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a report on the degree to which the Joint Declaration is being implemented; and (2) include a separate subreport on Hong Kong when submitting country reports to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 1991
Title I: Preservation of Low-Income Rental Housing - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 with regard to low-income housing. Title II: Rural Housing Program Extensions - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to extend rural: (1) rental housing loan authority; and (2) mutual and self-help housing grant and loan authority.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 1991
Women in Apprenticeship Occupations and Nontraditional Occupations Act - Directs the Department of Labor (the Department) to promote an outreach program to inform employers and labor unions of the availability of technical assistance for preparing the workplace to employ women in apprenticeable occupations and other nontraditional occupations. Requires the Department to: (1) promote such program to employers through, but not limited to, the private industry councils in each service delivery area; (2) provide outreach to labor unions through, but not limited to, the building trade councils, joint apprenticeable occupations councils, and individual unions; and (3) give priority to employers in areas that have nontraditional employment and training programs specifically targeted to women. Sets forth various activities which such technical assistance provided by community-based organizations to employers and labor unions. Directs the Department to select a total of 50 employers or labor unions to receive such technical assistance. Requires each eligible community-based organization desiring to receive a competitive grant to provide such technical assistance to employers and labor unions to submit an application to the Department. Requires the Department to give priority to applications to community-based organizations that demonstrate specified types of experience and that have tradeswomen or women in nontraditional occupations as active members. Sets forth application requirements, including specified descriptions, assurances, and commitments. Directs the Department to serve as a liaison among employers, labor, and community organizations. Directs the Department to: (1) conduct a study of the participation of women in apprenticeable occupations and nontraditional occupations, examining specified topics; and (2) report to the Congress within two years on such study, with recommendations. Authorizes appropriations.
![Official portrait of Rep. Kennedy, Joseph P., II [D-MA-8]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000110_200.jpg)