United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992
Investment for America Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reinstate a ten percent investment tax credit for domestic property placed in service after December 31, 1992. Defines domestic property as property completed in the United States and at least 60 percent of the basis of the property is attributable to value added within the United States. Repeals the section of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990 which eliminated expired or obsolete investment tax credit provisions. Allows a tax credit for seven percent of the aggregate amount purchased of domestic durable goods. Limits such credit to $1,000. Prohibits a product from bearing a label which states or suggests that it was made in America unless: (1) the product has been registered with the Department of Commerce; and (2) the Secretary of Commerce has determined that 60 percent of the product was manufactured in, and final assembly took place in, the United States. Requires the registry of American-made products with the Department of Commerce. Prescribes penalties for the fraudulent use of labels.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992
Amends Federal law relating to unlicensed shipping personnel to require merchant mariner's documents for individuals serving on a vessel of at least five gross tons (currently, at least 100 gross tons), subject to certain exceptions, including small passenger vessels (currently, including vessels operating only on rivers and lakes, except the Great Lakes). Removes provisions excepting barges.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal requirements for: (1) individuals to include unemployment compensation in gross income; and (2) information returns from payors and statements to individuals relating to unemployment compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 1992
Specialty Steel Voluntary Restraint Agreement Extension Act - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should: (1) extend the voluntary restraint agreements for specialty steel through March 31, 1995; and (2) ensure that the import ceilings negotiated should not exceed those levels in place as of March 31, 1992. Amends the Steel Import Stabilization Act to extend such Act through March 31, 1995, unless the President submits a certain affirmative annual determination to specified congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1992
National Beverage Container Reuse and Recycling Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit the sale of beer, mineral water, soda water, wine coolers, or carbonated soft drinks in beverage containers by retailers and distributors unless such containers carry a refund value of ten cents. Requires distributors to collect from retailers the refund value for each beverage sold to such retailers. Directs retailers to collect from consumers the refund value for each beverage sold to such consumers. Requires retailers and distributors to pay the refund on returned containers of brands (in the same kind and size of container) sold by such retailers or distributors. Directs distributors to pay annually to a State unclaimed refund amounts (the amount by which the total refund value of all containers sold by such distributors exceeds the amount paid by distributors to persons in that State). Makes unclaimed refunds available to a State for carrying out pollution prevention and recycling programs. Prohibits distributors and retailers from: (1) selling beverages in metal beverage containers with detachable openings; and (2) disposing of containers subject to this Act or any metal, glass, or plastic from such containers (other than the top or seal) in landfills or solid waste disposal facilities. Makes this Act inapplicable to States that have adopted requirements identical to those under this Act or that have demonstrated achievement of a recycling or reuse rate for beverage containers of at least 70 percent. Makes States that fail to maintain such rate for a consecutive 12-month period subject to this Act's requirements. Prohibits States or political subdivisions that impose taxes on the sale of beverage containers from imposing any tax on the amount attributable to the refund value of such containers. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations to provide for the adjustment for inflation of the ten-cent refund amount at ten-year intervals. Prescribes civil penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Historic Sites Selection Reform Act of 1992 - Amends the Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act to prohibit the obligation or expenditure of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to carry out such Act: (1) unless their appropriation has been specifically authorized by law enacted on or before enactment of this Act; or (2) in excess of the amount prescribed by law enacted on or after such enactment. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Creates the Congressional Office of Inspector General (Office), independent of the executive departments and under the control and direction of the Speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives. Sets forth the functions of the Office. Makes an Inspector General (Inspector), to be appointed by the Speaker and minority leader, head of the Office for a seven-year term, unless removed by the Speaker and minority leader for cause. Makes the Inspector ineligible for reappointment. Requires the Inspector to appoint: (1) an Assistant Inspector General for Auditing to supervise the auditing of the office procedures and operations of each Member or committee of the House and any other House office whose employees are paid by the Clerk; and (2) an Assistant Inspector General for Investigations to supervise investigations of such office procedures and operations. Sets forth the duties and responsibilities of the Inspector. Requires each Inspector General to report annually to the Speaker and minority leader of the House. Authorizes the Inspector to receive and investigate complaints or information from a House employee concerning the possible existence of a violation of law or the Rules of the House, mismanagement, gross waste of funds, abuse or authority, or a substantial and specific danger to the public health and safety. Prohibits the Inspector, upon receiving the complaint or information, from disclosing the complainant's identity without the employee's consent, unless such disclosure is unavoidable during the course of the investigation. Prohibits any employee who has authority to take, directs others to take, or recommends or approves any personnel action, from taking action against an employee as reprisal for making a complaint or disclosing information to an Inspector, unless the complaint was false and the complainant knew this or willfully disregarded truth or falsity.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) consideration of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) should be a high priority; (2) LIHEAP funding for FY 1993 should be increased to a level greater than or equal to funding for FY 1992; and (3) the President should accept the LIHEAP funding level for FY 1993 as recommended by the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 1992
Automotive Buyers Right to Know Act of 1992 - Amends the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 to prohibit motor vehicle manufacturers from selling, introducing, or delivering in interstate commerce or importing into the United States any motor vehicle that does not have prominently displayed a label indicating: (1) the location where it was produced; and (2) the value (stated as a percentage of the total value of the motor vehicle) of all parts produced in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 1992
American Automobile Labeling Act - Requires manufacturers of new automobiles to affix, in a prominent place, on each automobile manufactured after 1992, a label indicating: (1) the percentage (by value) of U.S. automobile equipment on it; (2) percentage (by man-hour) of labor performed by U.S. workers in assembling it; and (3) the name of any country, other than the United States, where at least one-third of the automobile equipment (by value) in it originated. Sets forth civil penalties for violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 1992
Designates April 14, 1992, as Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., the birthday and the start of the 91st year of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, leader of the worldwide Lubavitch movement.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1992
Cancer Registries Amendment Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants or contracts to operate population-based, statewide cancer registries in order to collect certain data for each form of in-situ and invasive cancer except basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Authorizes grants for planning the registries. Mandates a study on factors contributing to elevated rates of breast cancer mortality in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, directly or through grants and contracts, or both, to provide technical assistance to the States in the establishment and operation of statewide registries. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1992
Recognizes and grants a Federal charter to the Shepherd's Centers of America, Incorporated, a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Missouri.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1992
Directs the Administrator of General Services to review each current contract for leased motor vehicles for the House of Representatives and recommend an alternative (least expensive) plan for leasing of vehicles for any Member with a lease at a rate above the terms available through the General Services Administration (GSA). Requires all motor vehicle leasing for the House to be conducted through GSA beginning on January 3, 1993. Permits Members to lease: (1) the least expensive full size American made motor vehicle that is appropriate for the official business involved; and (2) directly if terms of lease are equal or better than GSA terms.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1992
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) breast cancer should be declared a public health emergency under specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act to accelerate investigation into the cause, treatment, and prevention of the cause; and (2) activities initiated under the emergency should not supplant major research projects on breast cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Anti-Recession Infrastructure Jobs Act of 1992 - Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Economic Development Administration, to make grants to State and local governments for infrastructure projects in distressed areas. Provides for direct grants for construction and improvement and for completion of planning. Provides for supplemental grants for other Federal grant programs and for State and local programs. Prohibits the use of grants to acquire real property or to cover maintenance costs. Requires assurance that on-site labor can begin within 90 days of project approval. Requires: (1) contracting out construction or improvement work on grant projects; (2) competitive bidding; (3) acceptance of the lowest responsive bid; (4) advertised specifications covering all requirements or obligations preceding contract award; (5) Buy American conditions; (6) minority participation; and (7) applicability of specified Federal laws regarding individuals with disabilities. Directs the Secretary, in carrying out this Act, to prescribe rules, regulations, and procedures that assure adequate consideration is given to the relative needs of various sections of the country, including consideration of these factors in proposed project areas: (1) severity and duration of unemployment; (2) income levels and extent of underemployment; (3) extent of proposed project contribution to reducing unemployment; and (4) amount of unemployment or underemployment in the construction and construction-related industries. Requires a final determination on each grant application within 60 days after the Secretary receives it (or else the grant will be deemed approved). Sets forth formulas for allocation of funds. Sets aside two and one-half percent for Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. Sets minimum and maximum allocation limits for any one State and for specified U.S. territories. Requires the Secretary, in making such grants, to give priority and preference to public works: (1) projects of local governments; (2) projects requested by a State or special purpose unit of local government and endorsed by a general purpose local government; and (3) projects requested by school districts. Requires the Secretary, if the average national unemployment rate is six percent or above for the most recent 12 consecutive months, to: (1) expedite and give priority to applications from State or local governments with rates for that period above the national rate; and (2) give priority thereafter to those from any State or local governments having rates for that period above six percent but below the national rate. Requires State and local prioritization of applications. Requires (if the applicant so requests) that the local government's unemployment rate be based on the rate of any community or neighborhood within such local government's jurisdiction. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Rebuild the American Automobile Industry Act - Title I: Moratorium on the Importation, and the Domestic Sale, of Certain Motor Vehicles - Prohibits the importation into the United States of any motor vehicle that is: (1) a product of Japan; (2) treated as a product of Japan (a motor vehicle manufactured in a facility owned or controlled by Japanese citizens and located in a country other than Japan); or (3) manufactured by or for a domestic motor vehicle manufacturer in a facility that is not located within the United States or Japan and would, if permitted to be imported, be marketed by such manufacturer within the United States. Makes it unlawful to sell in interstate commerce a motor vehicle manufactured by a U.S. manufacturer within the United States unless all motor vehicle parts used in its production are U.S.-made. Sets forth civil penalties and procedures for their review. Title II: Amendments of Internal Revenue Code of 1986 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on: (1) any direct or indirect transfer of the profits of any transplanted motor vehicle manufacturer to a citizen or resident of Japan (including corporations created under Japanese law); and (2) the expenditure of profits by domestic motor vehicle manufacturers for a nonqualified purpose (any purpose, including increases in wages and dividends in excess of inflation, other than research and development, retooling factories, or retraining workers). Prohibits, with respect to the corporate income tax, any business expense deduction for payments of excessive compensation paid by domestic motor vehicle manufacturers to their employees.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Cooperative Interjurisdictional Rivers Fisheries Resources Act of 1992 - Establishes the Council on Interjurisdictional Rivers Fisheries to develop recommendations for cooperative action strategies on the management of interjurisdictional rivers fisheries, including: (1) a listing of the ten highest priority interjurisdictional rivers in need of cooperative fisheries management; and (2) comprehensive fishery strategic plans for the five highest priority rivers. Mandates a pilot test and report to the Congress regarding the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Agreement, including: (1) the impacts of navigation, flood control, power generation, irrigation and municipal water supplies projects on Mississippi River drainage basin fishery resources; and (2) a comprehensive study of the management, research, and restoration needs of the fisheries of the river's drainage system. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that any economic recovery or tax relief package enacted by the Congress should include a correction of the notch problem in social security benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1992
Title I: National Development Investment - Public Works and Economic Development Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to make grants to eligible States, local governments, economic development districts or organizations, or Indian tribes for: (1) construction and repair of public facilities; (2) establishment of revolving loan funds to promote small business; (3) establishment of employee stock ownership plans; and (4) provision of technical assistance for improving and enhancing economic development. Outlines eligibility requirements. Requires an application for a grant under this Act to include: (1) a certification that the area concerned meets certain distress requirements; (2) a certification of any responsibilities which the Secretary has agreed to perform; and (3) a development investment strategy prepared in accordance with this Act. Requires the Secretary to consider specified purposes of this Act in approving applications. Lists as criteria any one of which an area must meet in order to be eligible for a grant under this Act: (1) a per capita income of 80 percent or less of the national average; (2) an unemployment rate one percent above the national average for the most recent 24-month period for which statistics are available; or (3) a sudden economic dislocation resulting in job losses. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to establish a revolving loan fund for making or guaranteeing loans to small businesses for initial or working capital, or for the purchase of facilities or equipment. Limits to $1,000,000 the amount of any such grant. Limits the amount of any grant under this Act to a maximum of 50 percent of the cost of completing the project as determined at the time of the grant application. Allows such grant percentage to increase up to 80 percent in cases of extreme economic distress as determined by the Secretary for up to 25 percent of the total grants made in a fiscal year. Outlines guidelines for the determination of extreme economic distress. Permits the Secretary to reduce or waive the non-Federal share of a project in the case of an Indian tribe. Limits expenditures in any one State to a maximum of 15 percent of the appropriations made pursuant to this Act, except for expenditures to Indian tribes. Limits the amount the Secretary may obligate in any fiscal year to any person, other than grants for the establishment of qualified employee ownership organizations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants, with specified fiscal year limitations, to community development corporations to assist small businesses by reducing the interest rates for economic development activities to be carried out in areas meeting the distress requirements under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1995 for economic development assistance grants under this title. Authorizes the Secretary to make economic development planning grants to States, economic development districts, Indian tribes, distressed counties, and distressed local governments. Requires such planning to be part of a comprehensive, continuous process involving public officials and private citizens in analyzing local economies, defining development goals, determining project opportunities, and formulating and implementing a development program. Earmarks such grants for coordination of investment for community facilities, economic development, manpower training, and transportation services. Authorizes the Secretary to evaluate Federal, State, and local development investment efforts. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct demonstration programs to test the feasibility of new ways to increase productivity and growth, foster innovative technology, match labor force with labor markets, improve U.S. competitiveness, and encourage economic diversity and regional balance. Requires reports on such demonstration programs. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to colleges, universities, and other organizations for promoting productivity, economic development, and employment opportunities. Limits the amount of any economic development planning grant to 75 percent of the cost of such planning or of the preparation of a development investment strategy. Limits the grants to educational institutions in the same manner. Authorizes the Secretary to reduce or waive any non-Federal share of such grants in the case of Indian tribes. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1995 for such grants. Prohibits the approval of any grant unless the Secretary is satisfied that the project concerned will be properly and efficiently administered, operated, and maintained. Permits the Secretary to discharge responsibilities relative to a project by accepting a certification of the grant applicant's performance of such responsibilities. Requires the Secretary to make comprehensive annual reports to the Congress detailing operations under this Act. Requires all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors on projects assisted under this Act to be paid the prevailing rate of wages. Requires the Secretary to maintain and make available for public inspection records of approved applications. Requires each recipient of a grant to maintain specified records. Allows the Secretary and the Comptroller General access to all records of such recipients. Provides nondiscrimination requirements in the approval of grant applications. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1993 through 1995 for salaries and other administrative expenses in carrying out this Act. Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to rename such Act as the National Development Investment Act. Title II: Appalachian Regional Development - Appalachian Regional Development Act Amendments of 1992 - Amends the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965 to declare that investments under such Act shall also be made in severely distressed and underdeveloped counties and areas lacking resources for basic services. States as a new purpose of such Act to make the Appalachian region's industrial and commercial resources more competitive in national and world markets. Outlines general actions to be taken to achieve such purpose. Extends through FY 1995 the authorization of appropriations under such Act for administrative expenses of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Authorizes the Commission to lease office space through FY 1995. Authorizes appropriations through FY 1995 for the Appalachian development highway system. Increase from 70 to 80 percent the Federal share of the costs of an Appalachian development highway segment the Secretary is authorized to pay upon the application of a participating State that has proceeded to construct such segment without the aid of Federal funds. Applies such increase to projects approved after March 31, 1979. Directs the Commission, in considering programs and projects to be given assistance, to include programs and projects proposed in a severely distressed and underdeveloped county or an area lacking resources for basic services. Removes a provision of such Act which prohibited financial assistance to finance the cost of industrial plants and related industrial facilities or to enable plant subcontractors to undertake work previously performed in another area by other contractors or subcontractors. Prohibits grants with funds authorized after September 30, 1992, from exceeding 50 percent of the cost of any approved project, with an exception for up to 80 percent for a county which the Commission determines is one of the most distressed counties in the Appalachian region. Limits the number of grants that may be increased to 80 percent. Adds specified purposes relating to technical assistance, training programs, and demonstrations for which the President is authorized to make grants to the Commission to further the purposes of the Appalachian Regional Development Act of 1965. Allows for demonstrations with regard to economic resources under such grants. Authorizes additional appropriations under such Act for general programs for FY 1993 through 1995. Extends provisions of such Act (previously terminated in 1982) through FY 1995. Authorizes the Commission, if it determines that it is in the public interest, to award to a domestic firm a contract made pursuant to a grant issued under this Act that, under competitive procedures, would be awarded to a foreign firm, if: (1) the final product of the domestic firm will be completely assembled in the United States; (2) when completely assembled, not less than 51 percent of the final product of the domestic firm will be domestically produced; and (3) the difference between bids submitted by the foreign and domestic firms is not more than six percent. Provides certain limitations to such Buy-American requirement. Requires the Commission to report to the Congress on contracts covered and awarded to foreign and domestic firms under the above provision.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for interest on indebtedness secured by a domestically-manufactured highway vehicle acquired after December 31, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the strategic nuclear weapons targeting systems of the United States and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) should reflect the reduction of hostility between such nations and the United States; (2) mutually verifiable assurances that no government is targeting the territory of any other should be forthcoming; (3) prior to negotiations leading to the development of a system of mutual verification, such governments should share all available information pertaining to members of the U.S. armed forces unaccounted for in international military conflicts; (4) it should be U.S. policy in arms reduction negotiations to make the issue of changing strategic nuclear targeting a core part of all further agreements; (5) such assurances should be a condition for any U.S. foreign assistance to a member country of the CIS; and (6) the President should report semiannually to the Congress on compliance with revised targeting strategies and policies.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 1992
Title I: Short Title, Findings, and Definitions - Trade Enhancement Act of 1992 - Sets forth congressional findings and purposes with respect to access to Japanese markets by U.S. manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts. Title II: Merchandise Trade Deficit Reduction - Sets forth annual merchandise trade deficit reduction targets with respect to Japan's trade deficit with the United States. Requires the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to compute annually whether the target has been met for each year, and if it has not, to publish in the Federal Register the import and production restriction implementation period for such year. Authorizes the Secretary to impose temporary quantitative import restrictions on Japanese or Japanese-related motor vehicles (foreign motor vehicles) entered during the first three months of the calendar year following the year for which such computation is made. Requires the Secretary to submit a report to the Congress. Expresses the sense of the Congress that representatives of the United States and Japan should continue discussions regarding measures, to be selected by the Japanese Government, to achieve the merchandise trade deficit reduction targets. Urges the United States Trade Representative (USTR) during such discussions to address market access priorities for U.S. exports to Japan. Title III: Import and Production Restrictions to Be Implemented If Trade Deficit Reduction Target Not Met - Directs the Secretary to compute for calendar years 1993 through 1999 quantitative import restrictions on foreign motor vehicles and domestic motor vehicle production restrictions for transplanted Japanese-related auto manufacturers, except such computations are not required for calendar years 1997 through 1999 if trade deficit reduction targets for calendar years 1992 through 1996 are met. Sets forth civil penalties. Requires each person that has one or more motor vehicle or motor vehicle parts manufacturing facilities within the United States to certify to the Secretary whether it is a domestic vehicle or parts manufacturer or a transplanted Japanese-related vehicle manufacturer. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the Secretary's authority to obtain information and data; and (2) enforcement of this Act. Sets forth civil penalties. Sets forth provisions with respect to the enforcement and judicial review of such penalties. Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on implementation of this Act. Title IV: Negotiations and Other Actions - Requires the USTR to enter into negotiations with Japan to enter into a bilateral agreement that: (1) provides a phased-in increase in the use by transplanted motor vehicle manufacturers of domestically-produced motor vehicle parts to the point where such parts constitute 60 percent or more of the total parts used in the production of such vehicles; and (2) eliminate those aspects of the Japanese automotive distribution system that affect the access of domestically-produced motor vehicle parts to Japanese markets. Directs the USTR to enter into negotiations with representatives of the European Community, Japan, and the governments of other major vehicle-producing countries to enter into multilateral agreements that rationalize world-wide market access and production of motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts. Considers acts, practices, and policies of Japan (including, but not limited to, acts, policies, and practices utilized in the Japanese automotive distribution system known as "Keiretsu") that affect the access of manufacturers of domestic motor vehicle parts to the Japanese market as being unjustifiable and burdensome or restrictive to U.S. commerce, according to the Trade Act of 1974. Adds to response authority under such Act authority to increase the percentage of domestically-produced motor vehicle parts used in the production of motor vehicles for purposes of the qualification of Japanese manufacturers as domestic vehicle manufacturers. Specifies certain objectives to be included in negotiations with Japan if the USTR decides to take action with respect to such practices. Requires the USTR to make certain estimates with respect to the percentage of the Japanese market that is accounted for by domestic motor vehicle parts manufacturers. Directs the Secretary to commence an antidumping duty investigation under the Tariff Act of 1930 to determine whether imports or sales (or the likelihood of sales) of Japanese motor vehicle parts to the United States warrant the imposition of antidumping duties. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to the Congress on the extent to which: (1) "Keiretsu" operations in the United States are in compliance with the internal revenue laws, particularly those relating to transfer pricing; and (2) the Internal Revenue Service is auditing such operations. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to classify for the purposes of tariff treatment certain light trucks as motor vehicles for the transport of goods.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Amends the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 to make permanent the transfer to the Railroad Retirement Account of income tax revenues attributable to the taxation of tier II railroad retirement benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the provisions permitting small issues of tax-exempt bonds to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should: (1) place the highest priority on the success of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), particularly through the personal participation of the President of the United States; (2) negotiate international agreements that effectively reduce the threat of climate change and biological diversity loss; (3) propose an initiative on financing Agenda 21 (the plan of action to be approved by UNCED when it meets) and other global cooperation efforts that takes into account the concerns of developing countries regarding additional costs of international environmental protection and the basic development goals of those countries and that increases accountability for the use of funds provided for environmental purposes; (4) seek to advance the development of a stronger international legal framework, and the creation of appropriate institutional mechanisms, for protecting the global environment; (5) promote public participation in environmental and development decisions at all levels; (6) pursue with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean a cooperative strategy to address environmental concerns in the Western Hemisphere; and (7) evaluate U.S. assistance programs in Latin America and the Caribbean to determine if they address U.S. national security interests in the region by apportioning sufficient funding to environmental concerns. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should support: (1) international and national programs aimed at encouraging a global transition to environmentally sustainable energy systems; (2) new programs and institutions to help developing countries become more energy efficient and otherwise increase their capacity for acquiring and using technology to make their economies more environmentally sustainable; (3) global goals of slowing deforestation of primary forests, increasing worldwide forest cover, and preserving a specified amount of mature forests; (4) improved national forests strategies that integrate all policy issues related to the loss of forests and eliminate economic incentives for deforestation; (5) the development of a new international agreement to eliminate land-based sources of marine pollution and cooperative efforts to address these sources of pollution at the regional level; (6) a process of international consultations aimed at identifying ways that poverty can be alleviated and natural resources better conserved through reduction of developing country debt burdens; and (7) the development of a timetable for industrialized nations and the United Nations to adopt a reformed system of national accounting that would reflect full environmental and social costs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require Federal agencies that plan to terminate operations on real property owned by the United States to identify property on which no hazardous substance was stored for one year or more, released, or disposed. Requires the identification to be based on an investigation of the property to determine the presence of hazardous substances. Sets forth minimum requirements for the identification. Requires identifications to be made: (1) at least six months before the termination of operations on the property; and (2) with the concurrence of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency or, in the case of property that is not part of a facility on the National Priorities List, with the concurrence of the appropriate State official. Requires deeds entered into for the sale or transfer of an identified property by the United States to any other person to contain: (1) a covenant warranting that any response action found to be necessary after the date of such sale or transfer shall be conducted by the United States; and (2) a clause granting the United States access to the property in any case in which a response action is necessary at the property or on adjoining property. Declares that, in the case of a covenant required in deeds for the transfer of U.S. property on which a hazardous substance was stored or released, remedial action has been taken if the construction and installation of an approved remedial design has been completed and the remedy is operating properly. Requires such covenants to contain a clause granting the United States access to the property in any case in which remedial action is found to be necessary after the date of such transfer.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
National Electromagnetic Fields Research and Public Information Dissemination Act - Establishes the Electromagnetic Fields Interagency Committee, designating the Department of Energy, through the Office of Health, as the Committee's lead agency. Establishes the National Electromagnetic Fields Advisory Committee. Establishes a program to conduct research on the possible human health effects of electromagnetic fields. Authorizes grants and contracts for the research. Establishes a program to collect, compile, publish, and disseminate to the public information on electromagnetic fields. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Medicaid Prostate Screening Act of 1991 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to mandate coverage of prostate cancer screening tests under State Medicaid plans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Medicare Prostate Screening Act of 1991 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage of prostate cancer screening tests under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the Coal Industry Retiree Health Benefit Corporation to administer a program for the provision of retiree health benefits in the coal industry. Establishes the Coal Industry Retiree Benefit Fund for the deposit of all amounts received by the Corporation. Requires the following payments to the Corporation: (1) an hourly premium on each hour worked in coal production by employees by each person that produces coal for use or for sale; (2) a per-ton premium obligation on the importer of coal; and (3) an annual per beneficiary premium by each last signatory operator and each other employer. Sets forth the eligibility requirements for benefits for orphan miners, and spouses and dependents or orphan miners or deceased coal miners. Requires the Corporation to provide medical and death benefits to such persons. Directs the Corporation to develop managed care rules applicable to the payment of benefits. Establishes the United Mine Workers of America 1991 Benefit Fund as an employee welfare benefit plan consisting of the merger of excess assets from certain closed plans. Sets forth eligibility requirements for benefits from such Fund. Requires the last signatory operator of any individual receiving retiree health care benefits as of February 1, 1993, from an individual employer plan maintained pursuant to a coal wage agreement to provide retiree health care benefits to such individual. Provides for the determination and disposition of excess pension assets to the Corporation or the 1991 Benefit Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 26 November 1991
Requires the President to: (1) request from Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Laos, Mongolia, North Korea, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union, Vietnam, and any successor state of such countries information those countries may possess concerning American military and civilian personnel who were killed in action or listed in a missing status or as deserters or defectors in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict; (2) deliver such information to the Congress in response to a request; and (3) direct the Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency to provide information in their possession concerning such individuals to the Congress so that the Congress will be able to properly evaluate information from such countries. Prohibits, if the Congress determines by joint resolution that a country has not made a good faith effort to reply to the President's request: (1) economic assistance to the country until it complies with this Act's requirements; (2) most-favored-nation treatment of the country's products; (3) participation by the country in any program under which the United States extends credit or credit or investment guarantees; and (4) any commercial agreement between the country and the United States from taking effect.
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.
![Official portrait of Rep. Kolter, Joseph P. [D-PA-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000307_200.jpg)