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United States · Official source
567 records where Rep. Kim, Jay [R-CA-41] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1997
Directs the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to jointly establish a visa waiver pilot program for Korean nationals traveling in tour groups to the United States. Specifies requirements for such waiver.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Patient Right to Know Act - Prohibits any contract or agreement, or the operation of any contract or agreement, between an entity operating a health plan (including any partnership, association, or other organization that enters into or administers such a contract or agreement) and a health care provider (or group of health care providers) from prohibiting or restricting the provider from engaging in medical communications with his or her patient. Requires that each State shall enforce this Act with respect to health insurance issuers that sell, renew, or offer health plans in the State. Provides for enforcement of this Act by the Secretary of Health and Human Services if the Secretary, after consultation with the chief executive officer of a State and the insurance commissioner or chief insurance regulatory official of the State, determines that the State has failed to substantially enforce the requirements. Mandates a civil money penalty. Allows State requirements equal to or more protective of medical communications than the requirements of this Act. Defines "medical communication" as a communication between a provider and a patient (or the patient's guardian or legal representative) regarding the patient's health status, medical care, or treatment options.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1997
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1997 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Public Health Service Act to require certain group health plans, and health insurance issuers providing coverage under a group plan, to ensure specified minimum coverage regarding: (1) breast cancer mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissections; (2) post-mastectomy breast reconstruction on both breasts; and (3) secondary consultations by specialists. Prohibits: (1) changing coverage terms and conditions based on a participant's or beneficiary's decision to request less than the minimum coverage; and (2) certain penalties or incentives to providers or specialists. Amends: (1) the Public Health Service Act to apply the same requirements to health insurance issuers in the individual market; and (2) the Internal Revenue Code to apply those requirements to group health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Illegal Alien Employment Disincentive Act of 1997 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to not count work experience as an unauthorized alien for purposes of admission as an employment-based immigrant or an H-1B nonimmigrant.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Flood Prevention and Family Protection Act of 1997 - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to exempt from provisions requiring consultation and conferencing with the Secretary of the Interior any agency action that consists of: (1) building, operating, maintaining, or repairing a Federal or non-Federal flood control project, facility, or structure to address a critical, imminent threat to public health or safety or a catastrophic natural event or to comply with Federal, State, or local public health or safety requirements; or (2) routine operation, maintenance, rehabilitation, repair, or replacement of a Federal or non-Federal flood control project, facility, or structure, including operation of a project or facility in accordance with a previously issued Federal authorization. Provides that any activity by a Federal or non-Federal person that consists of such an action is not a taking of a species for purposes of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Freedom of Passport Information Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of State to provide to the public free of charge a U.S. passport information telephone inquiry service.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 1997
Telemarketing Fraud Prevention Act of 1997 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for civil and criminal forfeiture of the proceeds of telemarketing fraud. Directs that any property forfeited, or the proceeds of such property, be used to the extent needed, as determined by the Attorney General, for the national information hotline established under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and other telemarketing fraud enforcement. Grants the payment of mandatory restitution for telemarketing fraud priority over the payment of restitution in connection with the commission of a Federal health care offense. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to increase: (1) by two levels the vulnerable victim adjustment; and (2) the offense level for any fraud offense by two levels if the defendant conducted activities to further the fraud from a foreign country in order to impede prosecution for the offense. Requires any presentence report required under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to include information about the age of each victim of each fraud offense for which a defendant is convicted.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Uniformed Services Medicare Subvention Program Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense and of Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly establish a subvention program to provide the Department of Defense (DOD) with reimbursement from the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act for health services provided to Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries who agree to receive such services through the managed care option of the TRICARE program (a DOD-managed health care program). Makes program enrollment voluntary. Requires the Secretary of Defense to waive the TRICARE enrollment fee for program participants for whom Medicare reimbursement may be made. Directs the HHS Secretary to make monthly payments to DOD from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund representing appropriate reimbursement amounts. Provides for the determination of such amounts. Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) maintain DOD health care efforts for Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries; (2) estimate, for the first fiscal year of the subvention program, the amount expended by DOD for FY 1997 for providing health care items and services to such beneficiaries; and (3) establish monthly targets of the number of such beneficiaries for whom reimbursement will not be provided to DOD. Requires the Comptroller General, for each program year, to report to the Secretaries and the Congress on the extent to which costs under the TRICARE program and the Medicare program have increased as a result of the subvention program. Requires the Secretaries to take necessary steps to offset any excess costs and prevent future excess costs, including: (1) suspension or termination of the subvention program; (2) adjustment of the payment rate; or (3) adjustment of DOD maintenance of effort requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Subsidy Termination for Overdue Payments Act of 1997 - Prohibits a Federal agency or instrumentality from providing financial assistance, with specified exceptions, without certification that the applicant is: (1) not more than 60 days delinquent in the payment of a child support payment order; or (2) in compliance, if so delinquent, with an agreement regarding support collection with the person to whom payment is to be made or a State providing collection services to that person.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 1997
Constitutional Amendment - States that no person born in the United States shall be a U.S. citizen unless a parent is a U.S. citizen, is lawfully in the United States, or has lawful immigration status at the time of the birth.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
NAFTA Infrastructure Responsibility Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to Mexican border States and local governments for certain transportation projects necessary to: (1) relieve congestion due to increased traffic resulting from implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); and (2) improve enforcement of motor carrier safety laws. Limits the Federal share of the costs of such projects to 80 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 to authorize the use of appropriations to enter into agreements with Mexican border States that have established infrastructure banks to make lines of credit available to them for projects to construct Federal-aid highways which will support traffic resulting from NAFTA.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to improve the social security card for purposes of carrying out illegal alien employment provisions under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Amends Federal law to provide criminal penalties for fraud and related activities concerning work authorization documents.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a congressional gold medal to Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Infrastructure Protection Act of 1997 - Prohibits the receipts and disbursements of the Highway Trust Fund (for both the Federal aid highway program and the Mass Transit Account), the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund which are allocable to the transportation-related operations of such Funds from being included in either the Federal budget as submitted by the President or in the congressional budget. Exempts such Trust Funds from any general statutory budget limitation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Uniformed Services Medicare Subvention Demonstration Project Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly establish a demonstration project to provide the Department of Defense (DOD) with reimbursement, under provisions of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, for health services provided to Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries who participate in the project and receive such services through the managed care option of the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program). Requires the project to be conducted during the three-year period beginning on January 1, 1998, in no more than five geographic regions designated by the Secretaries. Makes project enrollment voluntary. Requires the Secretary of Defense to waive the TRICARE enrollment fee for project participants for whom Medicare reimbursement may be made. Requires inclusion in the project of a provision for expansion to incorporate health care services provided to such beneficiaries under the fee-for-services options of the TRICARE program if the Secretaries determine that such expansion is feasible and advisable. Directs the HHS Secretary to make monthly payments to DOD from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund representing appropriate reimbursement amounts. Provides for the determination of such amounts. Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) maintain the DOD health care efforts for Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries; (2) estimate the amount expended by DOD for FY 1997 for providing health care items and services to such beneficiaries; and (3) establish monthly targets for the number of such beneficiaries enrolled in the project necessary to meet DOD maintenance of health care efforts for such individuals. Limits to $65 million the annual payments to DOD for the project. Requires the Comptroller General, for each project year, to submit to the Secretaries and the Congress a report on the extent to which costs under the TRICARE program and the Medicare program have increased as a result of the project. Directs the Secretaries to modify the project at the end of each year to correct for any discrepancy between cost targets and actual spending under the project. Directs the Secretaries to submit to the Congress an interim and final report on various project aspects.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Enumerated Powers Act - Requires each Act of Congress to contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act. Provides that failure to comply shall give rise to a point of order in either House of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Designates the Republic of Korea as a visa waiver pilot program country for one year under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
No Frills Prison Act - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require a State, to be eligible for truth in sentencing incentive grants, to demonstrate that it: (1) provides living conditions and opportunities within its prisons that are not more luxurious than those that the average prisoner would have experienced if not incarcerated; (2) does not provide to any such prisoner specified benefits or privileges, including earned good time credits, less than 40 hours a week of work that either offsets or reduces the expenses of keeping the prisoner or provides resources toward restitution of victims, unmonitored phone calls (with exceptions), in-cell television viewing, possession of pornographic materials, instruction or training equipment for any martial art or bodybuilding or weightlifting equipment, or dress or hygiene other than as is uniform or standard in the prison; and (3) in the case of a prisoner serving a sentence for a crime of violence which resulted in serious bodily injury to another, does not provide housing other than in separate cell blocks intended for violent prisoners, less than nine hours a day of physical labor (with exceptions), any release from the prison for any purpose unless under physical or mechanical restraint, any viewing of television, any inter-prison travel for competitive sports, more than one hour a day spent in sports or exercise, or possession of personal property exceeding 75 pounds in total weight or that cannot be stowed in a standard size U.S. military issue duffel bag. Directs the Attorney General to establish similar conditions in the Federal prison system.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Repeals the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the tax rate on beer.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Capital Gains Tax Reduction Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the maximum capital gains tax rates for both individuals and corporations. Provides for the indexing of assets for determining gain or loss.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
National Right-to-Work Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement (union security agreement), to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Truth in Budgeting Act - Prohibits (subject to the Line Item Veto Act of 1996) the receipts and disbursements of the Highway Trust Fund, the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, the Inland Waterways Trust Fund, and the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund from being counted as new budget authority, outlays, receipts, or deficit or surplus for purposes of the Federal budget as submitted by the President, the congressional budget, or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Exempts such trust funds from any general statutory budget outlays limitation. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit the amount of interest that may be credited to such trust funds. Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to estimate annually: (1) what, but for this Act, would be at the close of the next fiscal year the amount of unfunded aviation authorizations; and (2) the net aviation receipts at the close of such year.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Bill Emerson English Language Empowerment Act of 1997 - Amends Federal law to declare English to be the official language of the U.S. Government. States that representatives of the Federal Government have an affirmative obligation to preserve and enhance the role of English as the official language of the Federal Government. Requires such representatives to conduct official business in English. Prohibits anyone from being denied Government services because he or she communicates in English. Requires that all officials conduct all naturalization ceremonies entirely in English. Directs that nothing in this Act construed to limit the preservation or use of Native Alaskan or Native American languages. Sets forth definitions for purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Constitutional Amendment - Makes any person who has been elected for a full term: (1) two times to the Senate ineligible for election or appointment to the Senate; or (2) six times to the House ineligible for election to the House. Bars any person who has served as a: (1) Senator for more than three years of a term to which some other person was elected from being subsequently eligible for election to the Senate more than once; and (2) Representative for more than one year from being subsequently eligible for election to the House more than five times. Excludes election or service occurring before this article becomes operative when determining eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 1997
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts (except those derived from borrowing) for that fiscal year unless the Congress, by a three-fifths roll call vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each House to increase the public debt. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress. Requires the approval of a majority of each House by roll call vote before any bill to increase revenue may become law. Authorizes the Congress to waive these provisions when: (1) a declaration of war is in effect; or (2) the United States is engaged in a military conflict which poses a threat to national security as declared by a joint resolution adopted by a majority of each House. Makes this article effective beginning with FY 2002 or with the second fiscal year beginning after its ratification, whichever is later.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose Title II: Binding Budget Law Title III: Enforcement of Budget Discipline Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law Subtitle B: Line Item Reduction Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited Subtitle D: "Pay-as-You-Go" Requirement for New Spending Subtitle E: "Lock-Box" for Savings From Spending Reductions Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism Title V: Protection of Social Security Title VI: Technical Amendments to Federal Law to Carry Out This Act Title VII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation Budget Process Reform Act - Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal budget process should focus the attention of policymakers and the public on the aggregate impact of Federal spending on the economy, and on the tradeoffs that must be made among priorities in order to control overall levels of spending. Declares that the budget process should contain safeguards against delay and inaction, so that temporary shut-downs of the Government may be avoided. Title II: Binding Budget Law - Requires the Congress to enact a binding budget law, in the form of a joint resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year before that in which the fiscal period commences. (Sec. 202) Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any spending bill affecting spending in a major functional category unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is enacted. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to require a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate to consider any spending bill prior to the enactment of the budget law. Repeals authority for consideration of spending bills prior to adoption of the budget resolution. (Sec. 203) Prohibits baseline budgeting. Requires objective year- to-year comparisons under budget law, with the starting point for both Presidential and congressional budgets the levels of budget outlays for the current fiscal year. (Sec. 204) Amends the CBA to establish a rainy day fund for natural disasters. Requires budget law to include a major functional category for natural disasters, under specified conditions. (Sec. 205) Amends Federal law relating to the contents of the President's annual budget submission to the Congress to require the President to submit: (1) a budget of the U.S. Government for the following fiscal period on a single page, which sets forth specific budget ceilings in each major functional category, by the first Monday in February of each year before that in which a fiscal period commences; and (2) a detailed budget for that fiscal period, on or before the 15th day after a joint resolution on the budget for the following budget period is enacted. Title III: Enforcement of Budget Discipline - Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law - Amends CBA to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide to the Congress an estimate of the costs in each major functional category of each spending bill before being voted on by the Senate or the House. (Sec. 301) Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to consider over-budget spending bills. (Sec. 302) Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive any provision of this Act. Subtitle B: Limited Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to exercise line-item reduction authority if the Congress exceeds the budget ceilings in the binding budget law or an automatic continuing resolution for a fiscal period. Declares that such authority shall permit the reduction of over-budget spending in a major functional category to the level established in the binding budget law or automatic continuing resolution. Sets forth procedures for congressional introductions of line-item bills after the President transmits a special message to rescind an item of budget authority. Prohibits amendments to such bills. Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited - Declares the intent of the Congress to end open-ended, "blank check" appropriations which typically authorize spending "such sums as may be necessary." (Sec. 306) Amends CBA to require fixed-dollar appropriations for every account except Social Security and interest on the debt. Prohibits open-ended appropriations. (Sec. 307) Requires Executive agencies to adjust expenditures, including program eligibility requirements and benefit levels, to ensure that appropriations for entitlement programs are not exceeded. (Sec. 308) Restricts budget authority and entitlement authority to one fiscal period. Subtitle D: "Pay As You Go" Requirement for New Spending - Amends CBA to prohibit the Congress from considering any legislation which exceeds the budget ceiling unless it offsets such increased spending with an equal amount of reductions. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House or in the Senate to waive such prohibition. Sets forth special rules in the case of legislation that exceeds a budget ceiling for the natural disaster functional category. Repeals a CBA provision for an exemption in the House from pay-as- you-go rules. Subtitle E: "Lock-Box" for Savings From Spending Reductions - Amends CBA to: (1) establish "lock-box" procedures to ensure budget savings from House and Senate amendments to appropriations bills result in actual spending cuts; (2) require Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports on such procedures; and (3) mandate reduction of spending allocations to House and Senate committees and subcommittees to meet "lock-box" levels. Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism - Makes appropriations to provide for an automatic continuing resolution if for any account an appropriation for a fiscal period does not become law before the beginning of such period. (Sec. 402) Provides for contingency regulations for automatic continuing resolutions. Grants each State the option of receiving an aggregate amount for the fiscal period for social safety net programs equal to the allocation to the State for such programs in the preceding fiscal period. (Sec. 403) Restricts consideration of legislation providing budget or spending authority to only that reported by the Committees on Appropriations. Makes such restriction inapplicable in the case of Social Security benefits. Title V: Protection of Social Security - Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to require or permit reductions in otherwise payable Social Security benefits. (Sec. 502) Provides that no reduction in benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) shall be made as a consequence of this Act. Title VI: Technical Amendments to Federal Law to Carry Out This Act - Makes various technical and conforming amendments, including changing references to a concurrent resolution on the budget to references to a joint resolution on the budget. Title VII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation - Sets forth definitions for specified terms. Changes the definition of budget authority to exclude offsetting receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 1996
Condemns the incursion by armed North Korean soldiers into the territory of the Republic of Korea on September 18, 1996, and demands that North Korea discontinue such incursions. Urges North Korea to resume negotiations to further a dialogue between North and South Korea and to reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1996
Drug Importer Death Penalty Act of 1996 - Amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to direct the court to sentence a person convicted of bringing into the United States a proscribed quantity of a mixture or substance containing a controlled substance in an amount the Attorney General has determined is equal to 100 usual dosage amounts to life imprisonment without possibility of release (or, if the defendant has violated such provision on more than one occasion and if certain requirements under the Federal criminal code are met, to death). Makes conforming amendments to the code.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 1996
California Bay-Delta Environmental Enhancement and Water Security Act - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 through 2000 for the initial Federal share of the cost of developing and implementing: (1) a specified portion of an ecosystem protection plan for the San Francisco Bay Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Watershed (Bay-Delta) in California; and (2) the ecosystem restoration elements of the long-term California-Federal Bay-Delta Program. Requires such appropriated funds to be administered in accordance with procedures established by such Program until the Congress authorizes an entity recommended by the Program to carry out this Act. Requires funds authorized to be appropriated to agencies that are currently or that subsequently become Program participants to be in addition to the baseline funding levels established in this Act for currently authorized projects and programs under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act and other currently authorized Federal programs for the purpose of Bay-Delta ecosystem protection and restoration. Authorizes agencies and departments that are or that become participants in the Program to undertake the activities and programs for which Federal cost sharing is provided by this Act. Requires the United States to immediately initiate coordinated consultations and negotiations with California to expeditiously execute a specified cost-sharing agreement signed by its Governor on July 11, 1996. Directs the Office of Management and Budget to submit to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, as part of the President's FY 1998 Budget, an interagency budget crosscut that displays Federal spending for FY 1993 through 1998 on ecosystem restoration and other purposes in the Bay-Delta Region, separately showing funding provided previously or requested under pre-existing authorities and new authorities granted by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1996
Northern Mariana Islands Delegate Act - Requires the Northern Mariana Islands to be represented in the Congress by an elected nonvoting Delegate to the House of Representatives. Provides that the Resident Representative of the Islands shall be the Delegate.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 1996
California Environmental Enhancement and Water Security Act - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 through 2000 for the Federal share of the cost of implementing the program described in the document entitled "Principle for Agreement on Bay-Delta Standards Between the State of California and the Federal Government," dated December 15, 1994. Makes this Act effective on the date of passage of 1996 California State proposition 204.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 1996
Preempts any State or local law, ordinance, regulation, or order precluding a tip credit or requiring a tip credit less than the tip credit that is permitted under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 relating to the accounting of tips in determining the wage of tipped employees.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1996
Restores Federal armed forces provisions relating to the status of missing persons as in effect before amendments made by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1996
Directs the Secretary of State and the Attorney General to jointly establish a visa waiver pilot program for Korean nationals traveling in tour groups to the United States. Specifies requirements for such waiver.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 1996
Veterans' Cemetery Protection Act of 1996 - Sets penalties for vandalism and theft at national cemeteries.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1996
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the 19 men and women who died in the bombing in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, should be accorded all honor due to heroes; and (2) those who continue to serve in the United States armed forces anywhere in the world should be assured that their well-being and interests will at all times be safeguarded and given the highest priority.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 1996
Urges the national broadcast television networks to renew their commitment to voluntarily reserving the first hour of prime-time broadcasting for programming suitable for American family members of all ages.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1996
American Land Sovereignty Protection Act of 1996 - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from nominating any Federal lands for inclusion on the World Heritage List pursuant to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage unless such nomination is specifically authorized by a law. Authorizes the President to submit proposals for legislation authorizing such a nomination. Requires the Secretary to object to the inclusion of any property in the United States on the list of World Heritage in Danger (established under the Convention) unless the Secretary: (1) has submitted to the Congress a report describing the necessity for such inclusion; and (2) is specifically authorized to assent to the inclusion by a joint resolution of the Congress enacted after the report is submitted. Amends the National Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 to prohibit Federal officials from nominating lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Provides that such designation of an area in the United States shall not have, and shall not be given, any force or effect, unless the Biosphere Reserve: (1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted before December 31, 1999; (2) consists solely of federally-owned lands; and (3) is subject to a management plan that specifically ensures that the use of intermixed or adjacent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted as a result of that designation. Prohibits, under any international agreement, the nomination, classification, or designation of: (1) federally-owned lands located within the United States for a special or restricted use unless authorized by law; (2) State or local government lands unless authorized by State or local law; or (3) privately owned lands without the owner's consent.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1996
Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to improve the social security card for purposes of carrying out illegal alien employment provisions under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Amends Federal law to provide criminal penalties for fraud and related activities concerning work authorization documents.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1996
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from tax certain State organizations or funds providing coverage for losses on property arising from earthquakes.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 1996
NATO Enlargement Facilitation Act of 1996 - Declares that it should be the policy of the United States to: (1) assist the transition to full membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe; and (2) work to construct a political and security relationship between an enlarged NATO and the Russian Federation. Expresses the sense of the Congress that in order to promote security in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, Moldova, and Ukraine: (1) the United States should support the full and active participation of these countries in activities that will qualify them for NATO membership; (2) the U.S. Government should press the European Union to admit as soon as possible any country qualifying for membership; and (3) the United States and NATO should support military and peacekeeping initiatives between and among such countries, NATO countries, and Russia. Designates Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic as eligible to receive certain assistance for transition to full membership in NATO. Requires the President to designate as eligible for such assistance other emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe that meet specified criteria. Authorizes appropriations for NATO enlargement assistance. Declares that the transfer of excess defense articles to countries intending to participate in NATO (including countries of NATO's southern flank) shall be given priority, to the maximum extent feasible, over the delivery of such articles to other countries, except certain countries specified under the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1995. Declares that the Congress endorses U.S. efforts to modernize the defense capability of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and any other countries the President designates under the NATO Participation Act of 1994, by exploring options for the sale or lease to such countries of weapons systems compatible with those used by NATO members, including air defense systems, advanced fighter aircraft, and telecommunications infrastructure. Amends the NATO Participation Act of 1994 to establish a presidential and congressional procedure for termination of eligibility for assistance for Partnership for Peace countries which: (1) no longer meet certain eligibility criteria; (2) are hostile to the NATO alliance; or (3) pose a national security threat to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1996
NAFTA Infrastructure Responsibility Act of 1996 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to Mexican border States and local governments for certain transportation projects necessary to: (1) relieve congestion due to increased traffic resulting from implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); and (2) improve enforcement of motor carrier safety laws. Limits the Federal share of the costs of such projects to 80 percent. Authorizes appropriations. Amends the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 to authorize appropriations to be used to enter agreements with Mexican border States that have established infrastructure banks to make available to them lines of credit for projects to construct Federal-aid highways which will support traffic resulting from NAFTA.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
Children's Privacy Protection and Parental Empowerment Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit specified activities relating to personal information about a child (defined as a person under age 16), including knowingly: (1) selling such information (by a list broker) without the written consent of a parent of that child; (2) using prison inmate labor for data processing of personal information about children; and (3) distributing or receiving any such information, knowing or having reason to believe that the information will be used to abuse or physically harm the child. Authorizes civil actions by children with respect to whom a violation of this Act occurs. Directs the court to award a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attorney's fee as a part of the costs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
Biomaterials Access Assurance Act of 1996 - Provides that, in any civil action, a biomaterials supplier (one who supplies components or raw materials used to manufacture implants) may raise any defense provided under this Act. Exempts a biomaterials supplier from liability for harm to a claimant caused by an implant, with exceptions in the case of a supplier who: (1) is a registered manufacturer of the implant; (2) is a seller of the implant and who held title to the implant at the time of sale (or is related by common ownership or control to such a seller); or (3) furnishes raw materials or components that fail to meet applicable contractual requirements or specifications. States that a supplier may be considered a manufacturer of an implant, for purposes of such civil actions, only if the supplier has registered with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and included the implant on a list of devices filed pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Requires claimant payment of attorney's fees if the court finds the claim to be without merit and frivolous.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
Calls for the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to release all Buddhist monks and civilians and all Roman Catholic monks and priests currently being unlawfully detained.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1996
Defense of Marriage Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that no State, territory, or possession of the United States or Indian tribe shall be required to give effect to any marriage between persons of the same sex under the laws of any other such jurisdiction or to any right or claim arising from such relationship. Establishes a Federal definition of: (1) "marriage" as only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife; and (2) "spouse" as only a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1996
United States Armed Forces Protection Act of 1996 - States certain congressional findings and policy concerning the placement of U.S. armed forces under United Nations (UN) operational or tactical control. Prohibits Department of Defense funds from being obligated or expended for activities of any element of the armed forces that is placed under UN operational or tactical control, unless: (1) the President, at least 15 days before UN control is to become effective (or not later than 48 hours afterwards in an emergency), certifies to the Congress that such action is in the national security interests; or (2) such placement is specifically authorized by law or is part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization operation. Specifies information to be submitted with the President's certification, including: (1) information on the national security interests to be advanced; (2) the mission, size, and composition of the U.S. forces involved; (3) the command and control relationship of the U.S. forces with the UN command structure and with the U.S. unified command for the region; (4) the exit strategy for, and withdrawal authority of, U.S. forces; and (5) the anticipated monthly incremental cost of U.S. participation. Provides that this Act shall not apply to activities of the armed forces carried out as part of specified ongoing activities of the UN Protection Force in Macedonia or Croatia. Requires that members of the armed forces be informed of their unit's mission and their chain of command in any operation to which their unit is assigned.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1996
Small Business OSHA Relief Act of 1996 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to require each OSHA standard promulgated by the Secretary of Labor to be based upon a cost-benefit assessment and a determination that the standard's benefits justify the costs it imposes. Directs the Secretary, in the case of any employer of 250 or fewer employees cited for a violation of specified requirements, standards, or rules, which is a significant threat to an employee's health or safety, but where the employer has made a good faith correction effort, to waive up to 100 percent of the penalty otherwise proposed for such violation: (1) if the employer corrects the violation within the time set for abatement; or (2), if the employer does not correct the violation within such time, to the extent that the employer uses the amount which would have been paid as the penalty for correction of the violation. Prohibits issuance of a citation for any posting requirement and any requirement to prepare and maintain injury and illness records or written plan or verification, unless: (1) the employer has willfully or repeatedly violated the requirement; or (2) the failure to meet such requirement has resulted in employee exposure to a hazard. Directs the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with States for consultation to employers concerning the provision of safe and healthful working conditions. Requires the Secretary to reimburse States that enter into such agreements for 90 percent of costs and 100 percent of State staff training and specified out-of-State travel expenses. Prohibits the Secretary from establishing any performance measures for any subordinate within the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (including any regional director, area director, supervisor, or inspector) with respect to the number of inspections conducted, citations issued, or penalties assessed.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1996
Congratulates the people of the Republic of Sierra Leone for holding their first democratic multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections in nearly 30 years. Encourages them to continue to negotiate an end to the civil war and to work together. Reaffirms the commitment of the United States to helping nations move toward freedom and democracy and to encouraging peace, democracy, and economic development on the African continent.