The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Rep. Lazio, Rick [R-NY-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000155_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
747 records where Rep. Lazio, Rick [R-NY-2] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1998
Designates the headquarters compound of the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia, as the George H.W. Bush Center for Central Intelligence.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1998
Library of Congress Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1998 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the Library of Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to mint and issue $10 bimetallic coins of gold and platinum in lieu of the gold coins. Requires payment of coin sale surcharges to the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board to support Library activities.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1998
Liberty Dollar Bill Act - Amends Federal law to mandate that the design of the reverse side of $1 Federal reserve notes incorporate: (1) the preamble to the Constitution; (2) a list describing the Articles of the Constitution; and (3) a list describing the Articles of Amendment. Prescribes the design format. States that such requirements do not limit the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) include other inscriptions or material on the reverse side of $1 dollar bills; or (2) adopt other design features to deter counterfeiting of currency.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Expanding Coverage Title II: Enhancing Fairness for Women and Children Title III: Increasing Portability for Participants Title IV: Strengthening Pension Security and Enforcement Title V: Reducing Regulatory Burdens Retirement Security for the 21st Century Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) with respect to pensions. Title I: Expanding Coverage - Restores the amounts of certain limitations formerly in effect under the Code for: (1) defined benefit plans; (2) defined contribution plans; (3) qualified trusts; (4) elective deferrals; (5) deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations; (6) simple retirement accounts; and (7) cost-of-living adjustments. (Sec. 102) Amends the Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to revise requirements relating to plan loans for subchapter S owners, partners, and sole proprietors. (Sec. 103) Allows employers to elect salary reduction only arrangements under Code requirements for simple plans. (Sec. 104) Revises specified top-heavy rules. Repeals family aggregation rules. Revises the definition of key employee. Provides that, at the election of the employer, any employee elective contribution to a plan shall not be taken into account for purposes of determining: (1) whether a plan is a top-heavy plan (or whether any aggregation group which includes such plan is a top-heavy group); or (2) compensation. Requires that employer matching contributions be taken into account for purposes of minimum contribution requirements. Revises requirements for qualifications. Provides for distributions during the last year before a determination date is taken into account. Excludes from the definition of top-heavy plan: (1) cash or deferred arrangements using alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination requirements; and (2) defined contribution plans using alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination requirements. Provides that elective deferrals will not be taken into account for purposes of a special rule where the maximum contribution is less than three percent. (Sec. 105) Provides that qualified staffing firms are to be considered employers for purposes of: (1) specified employment taxes; and (2) providing employee benefits. Provides for coverage of leased employees in employment benefit plans by: (1) applying to leased employees certain requirements concerning cash or deferred arrangements, matching contributions, and employee contributions; and (2) setting forth special rules for the leasing organization's plan. Revises safe harbor plan requirements. (Sec. 106) Provides that elective deferrals shall not be taken into account for purposes of limits on certain plan contributions. (Sec. 107) Amends ERISA to provide for a phase-in of an additional premium for new plans to pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). (Sec. 108) Repeals specified coordination requirements under the Code for deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Title II: Enhancing Fairness for Women and Children - Allows additional salary reduction catch-up contributions for those approaching retirement under Code requirements relating to: (1) elective deferrals; (2) simple retirement accounts; and (3) deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 202) Sets forth requirements relating to equitable treatment for contributions of employees to defined contribution plans. Requires that certain contributions by church plans are not to be treated as exceeding a specified limit. (Sec. 203) Provides for faster vesting of certain employer matching contributions under the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 204) Amends Federal civil service law to revise requirements for deferred annuities for surviving spouses of Federal employees under both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). (Sec. 205) Revises minimum distribution rules under the Code. Revises requirements for actuarial adjustment of benefit under a defined benefit plan. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) simplify and finalize the regulations relating to minimum distribution requirements; and (2) modify such regulations to reflect increases in life expectancy, and revise required distribution methods so that, under reasonable assumptions, the amount of the required minimum distribution does not decrease over a participant's life expectancy. Provides that, during the first year that such revised regulations are in effect, required distributions for future years may be redetermined, with the opportunity to choose a new designated beneficiary and to elect a new method of calculating life expectancy. Excludes specified amounts from minimum distribution requirements. Repeals a rule relating to distributions begun before death occurs. (Sec. 206) Revises requirements relating to tax treatment of division of section 457 plan benefits upon divorce. Title III: Increasing Portability for Participants - Permits rollovers from and to various types of plans under the Code. (Sec. 302) Permits individual retirement plan (IRA) rollovers only if certain conditions are met. (Sec. 303) Permits rollover of after-tax contributions in an exempt trust under specified conditions. Sets forth a hardship exception to the 60-day rule. (Sec. 304) Sets forth requirements for treatment of forms of distribution available under transferor and transferee plans, under both the Code and ERISA. (Sec. 305) Revises restrictions on distributions, including the same desk exception. Repeals business sale requirements. (Sec. 306) Authorizes trustee-to-trustee transfers to purchase permissive service credit with respect to governmental defined benefit plans. Title IV: Strengthening Pension Security and Enforcement - Amends the Code and ERISA to revise the percentage of current liability funding limit. Revises maximum contribution deduction rules and applies them to all defined benefit plan under the Code. (Sec. 402) Amends ERISA to revise requirements relating to missing participants. Direct the PBGC to prescribe rules relating to missing participants for multiemployer plans covered by the PBGC that terminate. Allows the administrator of a plan not otherwise subject to such PBGC regulation to elect to transfer a missing participant's benefits to the PBGC upon termination of the plan, under specified conditions. (Sec. 403) Amends ERISA to revise requirements for periodic pension benefits statements. (Sec. 404) Amends ERISA to make discretionary the imposition and amount of civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibility. Revises requirements for the applicable recovery amount and related rules. (Sec. 405) Amends the Code to allow an employer, in determining the amount of nondeductible contributions for any taxable year, to elect not to take into account any contributions to a defined benefit plan except to the extent that they exceed the full-funding limitation. Title V: Reducing Regulatory Burdens - Amends the Code to provide intermediate sanctions for inadvertent failures. Provides for protection from disqualification upon timely correction or payment of fine under requirements for: (1) qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans; (2) qualified cash or deferred arrangements (section 401(k) plans); and (3) annuity contracts. Provides that, under requirements relating to taxability of the beneficiary of a nonexempt trust, income inclusion for disqualification is not applicable to nonhighly compensated employees. (Sec. 502) Repeals a multiple use test. Directs the Secretary prescribe regulations permitting appropriate aggregation of plans and contributions. (Sec. 503) Directs the Secretary to provide by regulation that a plan shall be deemed to satisfy specified requirements of the Code if it satisfies a certain facts and circumstances test, under specified conditions. (Sec. 504) Revises line of business rules to: (1) repeal a gateway test; and (2) provide a line of business exception. Directs the Secretary to modify regulations relating to special rules for separate lines of business under the Code to: (1) simplify the administrability of the rules for both the Secretary and plans; and (2) permit employees to be allocated among lines of business based on all the facts and circumstances. (Sec. 505) Grants the Secretary discretion in applying a specified coverage test to a plan. (Sec. 506) Amends the Code and ERISA to provide for an annual inflation adjustment to increase the retirement plan cash-out amount. (Sec. 507) Directs the Secretary to delete a specified rule under regulations relating to the cash-out rule. (Sec. 508) Amends the Code and ERISA to revise requirements relating to timing of plan valuations. (Sec. 509) Makes inapplicable to certain mirror plans specified Code requirements relating to deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 510) Amends ERISA rules for substantial owners relating to plan terminations to revise: (1) the phase-in of the guarantee; and (2) the allocation of assets. (Sec. 511) Amends Code requirements for applicable dividends to allow dividends of employee stock ownership plans to be reinvested without loss of dividend deduction. (Sec. 512) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to modify the regulations regarding the exclusion allowance to render void the requirement that contributions to a defined benefit pension plan be treated as previously excluded amounts. (Sec. 513) Provides for a special limitation rule for multiemployer plans as well as governmental plans. (Sec. 514) Eliminates partial termination rules for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 515) Revises the notice and consent period regarding distributions. Directs the Secretary to modify certain regulations under the Code to provide that the description of a participant's right, if any, to defer receipt of a distribution shall also describe the consequences of failing to defer such receipt. (Sec. 516) Sets forth conforming amendments relating to election to receive taxable cash compensation in lieu of nontaxable parking benefits. (Sec. 517) Extends to international organizations the moratorium on application of certain nondiscrimination rules applicable to State and local plans. (Sec. 518) Directs the Secretary to modify certain regulations with respect to certain plan participation by employees of tax-exempt entities under the Code. (Sec. 519) Provides for permissive aggregation of collective bargaining units in specified circumstances relating to plan participation under the Code. (Sec. 520) Repeals a transition rule relating to certain highly compensated employees under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. (Sec. 521) Prescribes requirements for plan amendments or annuity contract amendments under the Code and ERISA.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Child Online Protection Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require anyone who, in interstate or foreign commerce, is engaged in the business of selling or transferring, by means of the World Wide Web, material that is harmful to minors to restrict access to such materials by persons under 17 years of age. Provides civil and criminal penalties for violations of such requirement, as well as an affirmative defense. Directs the Federal Communications Commission to post on its Internet website a definition of material that is harmful to minors.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1998
Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act of 1998 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of making medical assistance for breast and cervical cancer-related treatment services available to certain low-income women without creditable coverage during a presumptive eligibility period. Provides for an enhanced match with regard to such treatment services.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1998
Stalking Prevention and Victim Protection of 1998 - Rewrites stalking provisions of the Federal criminal code. Prohibits and sets penalties for stalking an individual, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, or within Indian country. Provides that a person stalks an individual if the person, on two or more occasions: (1) engages in any conduct that results in the individual's reasonable fear of death or bodily injury to that individual or to a member of that individual's immediate family; and (2) knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such conduct results in that fear. Directs the court, at the time of sentencing for such offense, to issue an appropriate protection order designed to protect the victim from further stalking by the convicted person, which shall continue in effect until the victim communicates to the court that the order is no longer needed. Requires the judicial officer, where a stalking violation is charged and the person has a prior conviction for a crime of violence under Federal or State law, to order the detention of the person before trial, if that conviction was for an offense against the same victim as in the current charge or a member of that victim's family, or if that conviction became final less than five years before the conduct constituting the alleged stalking violation took place. Directs the United States Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate sentence enhancement for a defendant convicted of stalking where the defendant has a prior conviction under Federal or State law of a crime of violence against the same victim as in the current offense or against a member of that victim's family.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1998
Marriage Tax Penalty Elimination Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise standard deduction amounts and individual income tax rate bracket amounts, including providing that amounts for married filing jointly categories shall be twice that of amounts for single filers.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1998
Quality Child Care Loan Forgiveness Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to carry out a demonstration program of student loan forgiveness for individuals who earn a degree in early childhood education and obtain full-time employment in the early child care profession. Requires cancellation of 15 percent of a student loan for each complete year of full-time employment in a child care facility by such a child care provider or educator.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Manufactured Housing Improvement Act - Amends the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 to revise Federal construction and safety provisions for manufactured homes based upon a consensus standards development process. Eliminates the National Manufactured Home Advisory Council.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to limitations on benefits and contributions under qualified plans to apply to multiemployer plans the same treatment in the adjustment to the $90,000 limit on benefits, where the benefit begins before the Social Security retirement age, as is accorded to plans maintained by governments and tax-exempt organizations. Exempts multiemployer plans from the alternative benefit limit of 100 percent of the participant's average compensation for his or her high three years.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Medicare Home Health Agency Efficiency Act of 1998 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, with respect to the interim payment system for home health services. Replaces the current reasonable cost limit under the system (105 percent of the median of per visit costs of freestanding home health agencies) with: (1) 110 percent of the mean of such costs (during FY 1998); and (2) 107 percent of such mean (for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1998). Repeals the two-year freeze on payment increases for such services. Revises the formula for the per beneficiary annual limitation. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish, according to a specified formula, a per beneficiary efficiency standard for services furnished by home health agencies for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 1997. Repeals the default reduction of interim limits.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1998
Senior Citizens' Housing Financial Restructuring Act of 1998 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, with the consent of the owner, to convert certain housing projects for the elderly from direct loan financing to rental assistance contract financing. Authorizes related debt forgiveness and section 8 contract cancellation.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 1998
National Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 1998 - Authorizes the oilheat industry to conduct a referendum through a qualified industry organization among retailers and wholesalers for the creation of a National Oilheat Research Alliance to develop programs concerning oilheat research and development, safety issues, consumer education, and training. Defines industry to include those persons involved in the production, transportation, and sale of oilheat, and in the manufacture and distribution of oilheat utilization equipment, in the United States (but not the ultimate consumers of oilheat). Permits State participation in such Alliance. Prescribes guidelines for Alliance membership and representation. Requires the Alliance to: (1) establish a program coordinating its operation with that of any similar State, local, or regional program; and (2) levy and collect annual assessments on the wholesale sale of No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate sufficient to cover Alliance plans and program costs. Empowers the Alliance to bring suit in Federal court to compel compliance with any assessments it levies.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1998
Urges the Congress and the President to give programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) the highest priority among Federal education programs by working to fund the maximum State grant allocation for educating children with disabilities under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1998
Urges the President to: (1) launch an initiative to resolve the situation in Cyprus based on parameters and principles set forth in specified resolutions of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the United Nations Security Council; and (2) continue bimonthly reports to the Congress on the active engagement of the United States in efforts to find a solution to such situation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1998
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, a gold medal to Gerald and Betty Ford in recognition of their dedicated public service and outstanding humanitarian contributions to the people of the United States. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicate medals in bronze. Declares such medals to be national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1998
Health Care Claims Guidance Act - Amends Federal law relating to claims against the U. S. Government to prohibit any action under such provisions based on a claim submitted: (1) under a federally funded health care program unless the amount of damages alleged is a material amount; (2) in reliance on erroneous information supplied by a Federal agency or in reliance on written statements of Federal policy which affects such claim provided by a Federal agency; or (3) by a person that is in substantial compliance with a model compliance plan issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in consultation with the Secretary of Defense). Requires that the Government prove an allegation of a false health care claim by clear and convincing evidence. Defines, for the amendments made by this Act, "federally funded health care program" to mean a program that provides health benefits, directly or otherwise, established under Social Security Act titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), or XXI (Children's Health Insurance) or provisions of Federal law relating to the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Ethical Standards for Federal Prosecutors Title II: Punishable Conduct Citizens Protection Act of 1998 - Title I: Ethical Standards for Federal Prosecutors - Subjects a Government attorney to State laws and rules, and local Federal court rules, governing attorneys in each State where such attorney engages in duties to the same extent and in the same manner as other attorneys in that State. Directs the Attorney General to make and amend rules of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to assure compliance with this title. Title II: Punishable Conduct - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish by rule that it shall be punishable conduct for any DOJ employee to seek an indictment in the absence of probable cause, to fail promptly to release information that would exonerate a person under indictment, to intentionally or knowingly misstate or alter evidence, to attempt to influence or color a witness's testimony, to act to frustrate or impede a defendant's right to discovery, to offer or provide sexual activities to any government witness or potential witness, to leak or otherwise improperly disseminate information to any person during an investigation, or to engage in conduct that discredits DOJ; and (2) establish penalties for engaging in such conduct, including probation, demotion, dismissal, referral of ethical charges to the bar, loss of pension or other retirement benefits, suspension from employment, and referral of the allegations (if appropriate) to a grand jury for possible criminal prosecution. (Sec. 202) Sets forth procedures regarding written complaints of such conduct by a DOJ employee, investigation of such complaints by the Attorney General, and imposition of appropriate penalties. (Sec. 203) Establishes an independent Misconduct Review Board to review all determinations by the Attorney General with respect to such complaints and to investigate allegations made in statements that may be submitted to it with respect to complaints for which the Attorney General has made no determination or imposed no penalty. Authorizes the Board to impose penalties established above.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1998
Approves a specified location on Federal land in the District of Columbia for a Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1998
Affordable Housing Improvement Act of 1998 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase, and link to the cost-of-living adjustment, the State low-income housing credit ceiling. Modifies provisions concerning: (1) the criteria for allocating housing credits among projects; (2) the responsibilities of housing credit agencies; and (3) the basis of a credit-eligible building.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1998
Equality for Israel at the United Nations Act of 1998 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the United States must promote an end to the exclusion of Israel from any of the United Nations regional blocs, including rotating membership on the UN Security Council; and (2) the U.S. Ambassador to the UN should take all steps necessary to ensure Israel's acceptance in the Western Europe and Others Group regional bloc (membership which includes the non-European countries of Canada, Australia, and the United States). Directs the Secretary of State to report to appropriate congressional committees on efforts taken to achieve such goals.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 1998
Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1998 - Amends the Fair Housing Act to state that: (1) nothing in such Act shall be construed to make the expression of an opinion or the seeking of redress from public authority a violation of such Act; and (2) a party shall not be liable for engaging in litigation or administrative proceedings unless done so for an improper purpose, or not supported by evidence or warranted by existing law. (Sec. 3) Requires specificity of complaint. (Sec. 4) States that a provision of State or local law shall not be construed to violate fair housing provisions if the alleging party has not first exhausted State remedies. (Sec. 5) Provides that familial status protection shall apply to persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption and certain foster children. (Sec. 6) States that fair housing provisions shall not prevent local control of residential uses.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1998
Designates the United States Post Office located at 297 Larkfield Road in East Northport, New York, as the Jerome Anthony Ambro, Jr. Post Office Building.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1998
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela in recognition of his life-long dedication to the abolition of apartheid and the promotion of reconciliation among the people of the Republic of South Africa. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike a gold medal and sell duplicates in bronze at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals. Declares such medals to be national medals. Authorizes a maximum charge against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund to pay for the costs of the medals. Mandates that proceeds from sales of duplicate bronze medals be deposited in such Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress that national goals should include providing access to affordable housing and expanding home ownership opportunities pursued through policies of tax incentives and private and public sector activities.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1998
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Provisions Applicable with Respect to Certain Foreign Insurance Companies Title II: Provisions Applicable to United States Banking Institutions Comprehensive Holocaust Accountability in Insurance Measure - Title I: Provisions Applicable with Respect To Certain Foreign Insurance Companies - Identifies those foreign insurance companies which, as a prerequisite to conducting any form of business in the United States (or with a U.S. bank), must first disclose to the Attorney General the name of any individual with whom such companies had any financial dealing and who is on the list of Jewish Holocaust Survivors maintained by the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C., or the list of individuals who died in the Holocaust maintained by the Yad Veshem of Jerusalem in its Hall of Names. Directs the Attorney General to designate an office in the Department of Justice: (1) to which such disclosures shall be made; and (2) which shall make such names public. Title II: Provisions Applicable To United States Banking Institutions - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the International Banking Act of 1978 to prohibit insured depository institutions and foreign bank-controlled commercial lending companies (with a limited exception for affiliates of foreign insurance companies) from engaging in specified financial transactions with or on behalf of a foreign insurance company listed under title I (including any affiliate) during a specified period until the Attorney General publishes in the Federal Register that such company has complied with the disclosure requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1998
Examination Parity and Year 2000 Readiness for Financial Institutions Act - Requires each Federal banking agency and the National Credit Union Administration Board (Board) to offer seminars to all depository institutions and credit unions under their respective jurisdictions on the implication of the Year 2000 computer problem for: (1) the safety and soundness of such institutions; and (2) their transactions with other financial institutions (including Federal reserve banks and Federal home loan banks). Requires such agencies and the Board to make available to all the institutions under their jurisdiction model approaches to common Year 2000 computer problems with regard to project management, vendor contracts, testing regimes, and business continuity planning. Defines Year 2000 computer problem as any problem which prevents information technology from accurately processing, calculating, comparing, or sequencing date or time data: (1) from, into, or between the 20th and 21st centuries, or the years 1999 and 2000; or (2) with regard to leap year calculations. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to place under the regulatory authority of the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision a service corporation or subsidiary owned by a savings association. Permits the Director to authorize any other Federal banking agency to examine the service corporation or subsidiary if the agency supervises any other person maintaining an ownership interest in it. Subjects the corporation or subsidiary to the insurance termination prescriptions of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Provides that if such service corporation or subsidiary causes services to be performed for itself that are also authorized under this Act, such services shall also fall within the Director's regulatory purview. Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to subject a credit union organization owned in whole or in part by an insured credit union to examination and regulation by the Board to the same extent as an insured credit union. Permits the Board to authorize any other Federal agency to examine a credit union organization if such agency has supervisory authority over any activity of a credit union organization, or over any person maintaining an ownership interest in such organization. Subjects such corporation or subsidiary to the insurance termination and disciplinary requirements of the Federal Credit Union Act. Provides that if an insured credit union or credit union organization causes services to be performed for itself that are also authorized under this Act, such services shall also fall within the Board's regulatory purview.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1998
Holocaust Victims Insurance Act - Requires any person engaged in the insurance business in the United States directly or through a related company during the period 1920 to 1945 to report to the Secretary of Commerce within 90 days of the enactment of this Act on the current status of the insurance policies issued during such period. Imposes a civil penalty upon any person who does not file a report. Directs the Secretary to immediately upon receipt transmit such reports to the House and Senate Committees on Commerce. Requires a person engaged in the insurance business that determines that it issued insurance policies to individuals who were Holocaust victims to pay to the beneficiaries or descendants of the victims the proceeds of such policies. Encourages strongly any such person who does not have records of the individuals to whom it issued life insurance policies during the period 1920 to 1945 to establish a substantial monetary fund to compensate Holocaust victims. Requires the Secretary to report to the House and Senate Committees on Commerce on the number of individuals who were Holocaust victims who held life insurance policies during the period 1920 to 1945. Directs the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to develop a registry of those who died in the Holocaust which shall be made available to the public, including insurance companies preparing a report under this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Prohibits any action brought by a Holocaust victim or heir or beneficiary of a Holocaust victim seeking proceeds of such policies issued or in effect between 1920 and 1945 from being dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitations or laches provided the action is commenced on or before December 31, 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 1998
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) child care assistance, when provided to families, should be provided regardless of whether a child is cared for by an at-home parent, family member, neighbor, or child care center; and (2) a key component to any quality child care proposal should include financial relief for those families where there is an at-home parent. Calls for no bias against at-home parents, and recognizes and applauds their sacrifices and efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 1997
Provides that upon the adoption of this resolution the House of Representatives agrees to the Senate amendment with an amendment to S. 562 (home equity conversion mortgages).
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the low-income State housing credit ceiling amount; and (2) provide for a cost-of-living adjustment for such amount.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Attorney General should remove Hani El-Sayegh from the United States to Saudi Arabia.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 1997
Combat Merchant Mariners Veterans Benefits Act of 1997 - Provides that: (1) service in the U.S. merchant marine during a period of war for a total period equal to at least 12 months shall be considered active duty in determining eligibility for veterans' benefits; and (2) such service may be verified by entries in a continuous discharge book, a certificate of discharge to merchant seamen, a certificate of substantially continuous service, or other documentation available from the Secretary of Transportation or the head of any other Federal agency. Limits eligibility. Specifies that: (1) the minimum active-duty service requirement of any law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs shall apply in determining eligibility for veterans' benefits under this Act; (2) the 12-month requirement under this Act shall not apply to an individual who is permanently disabled in the performance of such service while the vessel is subjected to hostile action; and (3) such service may have been rendered before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act, with a limitation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal a specified restriction imposed by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 on Medicare payment for certain hospital discharges to post-acute care.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Early Hearing Loss Detection, Diagnosis, and Intervention Act of 1997 - Mandates grants or cooperative agreements to: (1) develop statewide hearing loss early detection, diagnosis, and intervention networks; and (2) provide technical assistance to State agencies to complement an intramural program and to conduct applied research related to infant hearing detection, diagnosis, and treatment or intervention. Requires the National Institutes of Health to carry out research on the efficacy of new screening techniques and technology. Mandates coordination and collaboration. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Insurance Disclosure Act of 1997 - Requires insurers, if a medical exam (procured by the insurer) is required for initial or continued enrollment, to: (1) provide the individual involved with all medical information obtained from the exam; and (2) encourage the individual to make the information available to the individual's physician. Deems the above requirements to be provisions of the Public Health Service Act for purposes of provisions relating to enforcement, preemption, State flexibility, and construction. Provides for a private cause of action, including applying certain civil enforcement provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Supersedes any State law providing less protection to individuals. (Sec. 7) Amends ERISA to require a group insurance plan, and any insurer offering a policy in connection with such plan, if a medical exam (procured by the insurer) is required for initial or continued eligibility for benefits, to: (1) provide the individual involved with all medical information obtained from the exam; and (2) encourage the individual to make the information available to the individual's physician. Supersedes any State law providing less protection to individuals. Makes an administrator who fails or refuses to comply liable to the individual for up to $100 per day. Allows other relief.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 1997
Recognizes the historic significance of the fiftieth anniversary of the reestablishment of the State of Israel. Commends the Israeli people for their achievements in building a new state and a pluralistic democratic society in the Middle East. Reaffirms the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel. Extends congratulations and best wishes to the State of Israel and her people for a peaceful, prosperous, and successful future.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 1997
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1997 - Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to: (1) make grants to States or units of local government to purchase armor vests for use by law enforcement officers; and (2) give preferential consideration to applications from jurisdictions that have the greatest need, a mandatory wear policy, and a violent crime rate at or above the national average. Sets forth provisions regarding matching funds and allocation of funds, State and local applications, and grant application renewal. Prohibits any State or unit of local government that receives financial assistance made available by this Act from purchasing equipment or products manufactured using prison inmate labor. Authorizes appropriations. Expresses the sense of the Congress that entities receiving assistance under this Act should, in expending such assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and products.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 1997
Iran Missile Protection Act of 1997 - Authorizes supplemental appropriations for FY 1998 for the Department of Defense for cooperative activities with Russia for determining: (1) the extent of Russian cooperation and assistance in the development by Iran of a ballistic missile capability; and (2) the technical nature of the Iranian missile threat. Requires a certification by the President to the Congress with respect to the information to be released by Russia before such funds may be appropriated. Prohibits the obligation of $3 million in FY 1998 cooperative ballistic missile defense projects with Russia until the President certifies to the Congress that the Russian Government is providing full cooperation with respect to the release of such information. Authorizes appropriations for the Navy theater-wide missile defense system to be used to accelerate the development of such system through additional testing and risk reduction. Authorizes additional appropriations for defense-wide research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) of specified missile defense sytems, radars, networks, and related activities. Authorizes appropriations for defense-wide RDT&E for support of the Israeli Arrow tactical ballistic missile defense system to be used to protect a U.S. ally in imminent peril. Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on the Iranian ballistic missile threat in the Middle East and Persian Gulf regions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 1997
Urges the President to undertake efforts to end restrictions on the freedoms and human rights of the enclaved people of Cyprus.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1997
Iran Missile Proliferation Sanctions Act of 1997 - Directs the President to report periodically to specified congressional committees on foreign persons (except those previously identified or sanctioned or subject to waiver) who, on or after August 8, 1995, have transferred, or attempted to transfer, controlled goods or technology, or provided, or attempted to provide, technical assistance or facilities that contributed, or would have contributed, to Iran's efforts to acquire, develop, or produce ballistic missiles. Requires imposition on such persons of minimum two-year sanctions prohibiting: (1) sales to such persons of items on the United States Munitions List (and terminating sales of any controlled U.S. arms); (2) the export to such persons of dual use goods and technology; and (3) the provision of U.S. financial assistance. Authorizes the President to waive such sanctions, with written justification to Congress, on the basis of U.S. national security or additional information demonstrating that the sanctioned person did not commit the acts alleged.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 1997
Title I: Remedy Selection and Environmental Standards Title II: Community Participation and Human Health Subtitle A: Community Participation Subtitle B: Human Health Title III: Liability Reform Title IV: Brownfields Revitalization Title V: State Role Title VI: Natural Resources Damages Title VII: Oil Pollution Title VIII: Miscellaneous Title IX: Funding Subtitle A: Expenditures From the Hazardous Substance Superfund Subtitle B: 5-Year Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund Superfund Acceleration, Fairness, and Efficiency Act - Title I: Remedy Selection and Environmental Standards - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to revise remedy selection provisions. Authorizes remedial actions to achieve protection of human health and the environment through: (1) treatment that reduces the toxicity, mobility, or volume of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants; (2) natural attenuation; (3) containment or other controls to limit exposure or release; (4) removal of contaminated media; (5) a combination of treatment, containment, and removal; or (6) other methods of protection. (Current law requires that actions in which treatment which permanently and significantly reduces the volume, toxicity, or mobility of such substances is a principal element are to be preferred over actions not involving such treatment.) Requires the President to give preference to remedies that include a treatment component for discrete areas within a facility that contain: (1) high concentrations of highly toxic substances that present such a threat to human health or the environment that it would be imprudent to rely solely on remedies that exclude such component; or (2) high concentrations of such substances that cannot be controlled reliably through engineered barriers and therefore could present such threats if not treated. Directs the President, in any case in which a selected action allows hazardous substances to remain on-site at a facility above concentration levels that would be protective for unrestricted use, to: (1) include, as an integral component of the remedy, restrictions on the use of land, water or other resources to provide long-term health and environmental protection; (2) not determine the remedy to be complete until a mechanism is established to ensure ongoing monitoring and operation and maintenance of the remedy and until necessary institutional controls are implemented and subject to monitoring and enforcement; and (3) ensure that such controls remain in effect as long as necessary to protect human health and the environment. Authorizes the President to use institutional controls as a supplement to, but not as a substitute for, other response measures except in extraordinary circumstances. Establishes public notice requirements with respect to the selection of remedies at facilities relying on such controls. Directs the President to maintain a registry of restrictions on the use of land, water, or other resources through institutional controls that are included in final records of decision as an integral component of the remedy at facilities that are, or have been, on the National Priorities List (NPL). Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to report annually to specified congressional committees on each record of decision signed during the previous fiscal year, the type of institutional controls and media affected, and the institution designated to monitor, enforce, and ensure compliance with such controls. (Sec. 104) Revises requirements for the degree of cleanup. Requires the President, in determining what is protective of human health and the environment, to conduct site-specific human health and ecological risk assessments. Bases human exposure assessments on the reasonably anticipated uses of land and water. Bases determinations of what is protective of plants and animals on the significance of impacts from a release or threatened release of hazardous substances to a local ecosystem and plant and animal communities or populations. Requires selected remedies to take into account reasonably anticipated beneficial uses of: (1) land at a facility and, as appropriate, of nearby property; and (2) groundwater that are or may be impacted by releases or threatened releases and the timing of such uses. Sets forth assumptions to be made by the Administrator regarding such uses. Requires remedial actions with respect to hazardous substances that will remain onsite to comply with requirements applicable to the operation of such actions and that will attain at least any promulgated concentration levels applicable to determining the level of cleanup for actions under: (1) a Federal environmental or facility siting law legally applicable to the substance concerned; or (2) a legally applicable State law that is identified by the State to the President as applicable at the facility to the proposed remedial alternative, that is of general applicability, and that is consistently applied to response actions in the State. Requires final remedies, to the extent technically practicable, to prevent impairment of any designated use of surface water under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and to ensure that uncontaminated groundwater is protected from contamination unless: (1) the remedial action includes natural attenuation to facilitate restoration of groundwater to beneficial use within a reasonable period of time; (2) an alternative concentration limit has been adopted; or (3) the groundwater has no beneficial use. Requires final remedies to prevent or eliminate, at a minimum, human ingestion or exposure to drinking water containing hazardous substances in levels exceeding Maximum Contaminant Levels under the Safe Drinking Water Act, including the provision of an alternative water supply. (Sec. 105) Directs the President to consider new procedures for conducting remedial investigations and feasibility studies in an efficient, cost-effective, and timely manner. Provides for a phased approach to site characterization and remediation in which remedies are arrived at through a sequence of investigations and actions. (Sec. 106) Authorizes the President, to expedite and increase the efficiency of the remedy selection process, to establish generic remedies where such remedies are demonstrated to be effective in protecting human health and the environment. Permits such remedies to provide for consideration of site-specific factors along with generic approaches for particular categories of sites. Waives the requirement for a site-specific risk assessment (other than a baseline) in cases where generic remedies are applied. Permits the Administrator to issue waivers of generic remedies if information submitted by the interested party demonstrates that a generic remedy is inappropriate or that another alternative can protect human health and the environment through less costly means. (Sec. 107) Authorizes the President, in order to respond to a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, to acquire a hazardous substance easement which limits or controls the use of land or other natural resources. Permits easements to be used whenever institutional controls have been selected as a component of a remedial action and the national contingency plan. Makes easements enforceable in perpetuity (unless terminated pursuant to this Act) against owners of affected property or persons who acquire interest in, or rights to use, the property. Sets forth provisions regarding the President's authority to assign easements to other parties. (Sec. 108) Requires risk assessments and characterizations conducted under CERCLA to: (1) provide objective assessments, estimates, and characterizations which neither minimize nor exaggerate the nature and magnitude of health and environmental risks; (2) distinguish scientific findings from other considerations; (3) be based on the best, relevant, and current scientific and technical information; and (4) be based on a careful analysis of the weight of scientific evidence that supports conclusions about a problem's potential health and environmental risk. Directs the President to: (1) update and publish exposure and ecological risk assessment guidelines consistent with such principles; and (2) conduct a study of the cancer potency values of 12 specified hazardous substances frequently found to pose significant risks at NPL facilities. (Sec. 109) Requires the President to establish a National Superfund Remedy Review Board to control remedy costs and to provide for protective, consistent, and cost-effective remedial decisions at NPL facilities. Directs the Board, for remedial alternatives identified after this Act's enactment date and following identification of a preferred remedy, to review remedies for NPL facilities for which the estimated cost of the preferred remedy exceeds $15 million. Permits the Board to review remedies for which the estimated cost is less than such amount, if requested. Authorizes the President to establish a different threshold for remedy review for U.S.-owned or operated facilities. Provides for public notice of such reviews. (Sec. 110) Directs the President to review past Superfund records of decision, upon request of an interested party within 12 months of this Act's enactment date, to ensure that such decisions reflect the current state of knowledge with respect to remediation science and technology and to improve the cost-effectiveness of site remediation while ensuring long-term health and environmental protection. Defines a past record of decision as one selecting a remedy for an NPL site that was signed prior to October 2, 1995, and that has not been reviewed pursuant to a specified EPA directive or otherwise updated since such date. Title II: Community Participation and Human Health - Subtitle A: Community Participation - Requires the President to take specified actions to provide for meaningful public participation in every significant phase of a response action at a facility listed or proposed for listing on the NPL (covered facilities). Permits Community Advisory Groups, affected Indian tribes and communities, local government officials, and State and local health officials to propose remedial alternatives to the President. (Sec. 203) Requires the President to make records relating to response actions at covered facilities available to the public throughout all phases of an action. Sets forth minimum requirements for documents made available to the public which describe risk to human health. (Sec. 204) Authorizes a State with an NPL site to establish a Superfund Site Information Office. Requires the Administrator to provide financial and other assistance to States for establishment and operation of such Offices. Directs the Administrator to establish such Offices within EPA for States that fail to do so. (Sec. 205) Revises provisions regarding grants for technical assistance to authorize the Administrator to make such grants to Community Advisory Groups or affected communities with respect to: (1) covered facilities; (2) facilities at which the Administrator is undertaking a response action anticipated to exceed one year; or (3) facilities at which a specified funding limit is anticipated to be reached. (Sec. 207) Sets forth specific notice and comment requirements to provide for public participation in removal actions. (Sec. 208) Requires the President to provide the opportunity for the establishment of a Community Advisory Group, a representative public forum, to achieve direct, regular, and meaningful consultation with all interested parties throughout all stages of a response action whenever: (1) the President determines such a group will be helpful; or (2) 25 individuals residing in the area in which the facility is located, or ten percent of the population of a locality in which the NPL facility is located, whichever is fewer, petition for a Group to be established. Authorizes such Groups to offer recommendations on the anticipated future use of land at a facility prior to the selection of a remedy. Authorizes the President to provide technical and administrative support for such Groups. (Sec. 209) Directs the Administrator to submit to the Congress and Superfund Site Information Offices a community study that includes an analysis of: (1) the duration of time between the discovery and listing of a facility; (2) the timing and nature of response actions; (3) the degree to which public views are reflected in response actions; (3) future land use determinations and use of institutional controls; (4) the population, race, ethnicity, and income characteristics of communities affected by facilities listed or proposed for listing on the NPL; and (5) the risk presented by each such facility. Requires periodic updates of such study. Directs the Administrator to institute necessary improvements or modifications to address any deficiencies identified by the study. Subtitle B: Human Health - Requires the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Administrator to develop and distribute educational materials on human health effects of hazardous substances to the public. Authorizes the ATSDR Administrator to provide grant or contract assistance to individuals who may be affected by releases or threatened releases when: (1) a public health assessment is conducted at an NPL facility; or (2) a facility is being evaluated for inclusion on the NPL. Authorizes and directs the ATSDR Administrator, pursuant to such grants or contracts, to provide diagnostic services, health data registries, and preventative public health education to communities affected by such releases. (Sec. 223) Requires the President, in setting priorities for remedial action under the national hazardous substance response plan (part of the national contingency plan for the removal of oil and hazardous substances), to place highest priority on facilities with releases resulting in actual ongoing human exposures at levels of public health concern or demonstrated adverse effects. (Sec. 224) Requires the Administrator to evaluate areas such as Indian country or poor rural communities that warrant special attention and identify up to five facilities in each EPA region that are likely to warrant inclusion on the NPL. Accords such facilities a priority in evaluation for NPL listing and scoring. Title III: Liability Reform - Revises limits on obligations from the Hazardous Substance Superfund (Superfund) to continue response actions. Bars the President from taking or requiring response actions at any facility after $4 million has been expended or two years have elapsed from the date of initial response unless the facility is on or proposed to be on the NPL or: (1) continued response actions are required to prevent or mitigate an emergency; (2) there is immediate risk to public health or welfare or the environment; and (3) such assistance will not be otherwise provided on a timely basis. Revises confidentiality requirements with respect to information regarding response actions and applies such requirements to contractors. (Sec. 302) Bars the President from issuing orders in connection with abatement actions to protect public health and the environment against any person who would not be liable for damages and costs described under general liability provisions. (Sec. 304) Absolves of liability for response costs and damages certain owners or operators and contiguous property owners, including persons who inherited the property concerned or received it by charitable donation and government entities that acquired property involuntarily or through eminent domain, if such persons: (1) did not cause or contribute to the hazardous substance release that caused the incurrence of response costs; and (2) exercised due care with respect to such substance. Exempts from liability construction contractors whose liability is based solely on construction contract activities and who did not know of the presence of hazardous substances and exercised due care upon discovery of such substances. Grants the United States a lien for unrecovered response costs on a facility for which the owner is not liable by reason of meeting the conditions described above. Prescribes conditions for such liens. Bars liens with respect to property: (1) for which the property owner preceding the current owner is not liable or has resolved liability; or (2) where an environmental assessment gave the owner or operator no reason to know of the release of hazardous substances. (Sec. 305) Absolves certain small businesses and de minimis parties of liability with respect to actions taken before October 23, 1997. Removes such exemption if the de minimis materials contribute significantly to response costs or to natural resource damages. Directs the Administrator to establish a small business Superfund assistance section within the EPA small business ombudsman office to provide assistance and information regarding CERCLA and the allocation and settlement processes. (Sec. 306) Revises contribution provisions to require an action by a potentially responsible party (PRP) against another PRP for recovery of costs to be commenced within the later of: (1) three years after completion of a removal action or within six years after initiation of physical on-site construction for a remedial action; or (2) three years after the date of judgment in any action for recovery or the date of any administrative order or judicial settlement for recovery of costs or damages. Provides that a person who has resolved liability to a State or an Indian tribe in an administrative or judicially approved settlement shall not be liable for claims by persons other than the United States regarding response costs or damages addressed in the settlement. Provides the same protection for persons who have resolved liability to the United States (except for liability to a State for remedial or removal action costs). Includes protection against all claims that may be asserted against the settling party for recovery of costs or damages paid by another person if addressed in the settlement, except claims based on contractual indemnification. Limits the right to seek contribution from other parties where: (1) the person asserting the right has waived such right in a settlement; (2) the person from whom the contribution is sought is not liable under CERCLA; or (3) the person from whom the contribution is sought has entered into a final settlement with the United States. Makes any person who commences a contribution action liable to the person against whom the action is brought for all reasonable costs of defending against the claim if the action: (1) is barred for the reasons stated above; (2) is brought against a person who is protected from suits by reason of settlement with the United States; or (3) is brought during a specified moratorium period. (Sec. 307) Expands the exemption from liability for response action contractors to include exemption from liability under State or local law unless a State has enacted a law determining liability of such contractors. Extends certain indemnification agreements made by the President with respect to negligence of response action contractors to any claims for negligence arising under State or local law. Extends certain provisions relating to surety bonds with respect to direct Federal procurement of response actions. Bars actions against contractors more than six years after the completion of work. Makes such prohibition inapplicable in cases of gross negligence or intentional misconduct or in States or political subdivisions where the State has enacted a statute determining liability for such contractors. (Sec. 308) Requires consent decrees pursuant to settlements to require the parties to attempt expeditiously to resolve disagreements concerning implementation of the remedial action informally with Federal and State agencies. Requires such decrees to provide authority for the Federal district court with jurisdiction to resolve disagreements. Authorizes the Administrator, if a PRP will be paying amounts to the President as part of a settlement for carrying out a response action, to accept ownership of a financial instrument running irrevocably to the benefit of the United States to conduct such response actions. Revises provisions regarding mixed funding to require the President to reimburse parties from Superfund where settlements or administrative orders require them to perform response actions at NPL sites where the costs will exceed the aggregate equitable shares of costs. Provides special conditions for funding with respect to settlements entered into, or orders issued, before October 23, 1997. Authorizes the President to delay reimbursements in fiscal years in which funds are unavailable. Requires (current law authorizes) the President to offer PRPs (currently, any person) who enter into settlement agreements that are in the public interest a final covenant not to sue concerning liability to the United States for response actions or costs, provided that: (1) the settling party agrees to perform a final remedial action for the release that is the subject of the settlement; (2) the agreement has been reached prior to the commencement of litigation against the settling party; (3) the settling party waives all contribution rights against other PRPs at the facility; (4) the settling party pays a premium that compensates for the risks of remedy failure, future liability, and unanticipated increases in the cost of any uncompleted action (unless the party is performing the action); (5) the remedial action does not rely on institutional controls to ensure continued health and environmental protection; and (6) the settlement is otherwise acceptable to the United States. Authorizes the President, for settlements for which covenants are unavailable, to provide any person with a covenant not to sue concerning any liability to the United States if the covenant not to sue is in the public interest. Makes PRPs who are natural persons, small businesses, or municipalities with a demonstrated limited ability to pay response costs eligible for expedited settlements. (Sec. 309) Absolves persons (other than owners or operators) who arranged for the recycling of recyclable material or who transported such material from liability for environmental response actions with respect to NPL facilities. Deems transactions involving scrap paper, plastic, glass, textiles, or rubber (other than whole tires) to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that the following criteria were met: (1) the recyclable material met a commercial specification grade and a market existed for the material; (2) a substantial portion of the material was made available for use as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (3) the material (or product made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; and (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations. Deems transactions involving scrap metal to be arranging for recycling if the person who arranged the transaction demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; (2) he or she complied with applicable standards regarding activities associated with the recycling of scrap metals; and (3) the scrap metal was not melted prior to the transaction. Deems transactions involving spent lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or other batteries to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the criteria for scrap materials were met; and (2) he or she complied with applicable Federal environmental standards regarding such batteries. Deems transactions involving used oil to be arranging for recycling if the person involved demonstrates that: (1) the recyclable material was sent to a facility that recycled used oil by using it as a feedstock for the manufacture of a new saleable product; (2) the material was not mixed with hazardous waste regardless of when generated; (3) the material (or product made from the material) could have been a replacement for a virgin raw material; (4) with respect to transactions occurring 90 days after this Act's enactment, the person exercised reasonable care to determine that the facility where the material would be managed by another was in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (5) he or she was in compliance with standards for the management of used oil under the Solid Waste Disposal Act; and (6) the transaction was not for the purpose of recycling used oil by using it for dust suppression. Makes the exemptions from liability inapplicable if the person: (1) had an objectively reasonable basis to believe at the time of the recycling transaction that the recyclable material would not be recycled or would be burned as fuel or for energy recovery or incineration (in the case of materials other than used oil) or that the consuming facility was not in compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws or regulations; (2) had reason to believe that hazardous substances had been added to the material for purposes other than processing for recycling; or (3) failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the management of the material. Makes such exemptions inapplicable if the recyclable material contained: (1) polychlorinated biphenyls in excess of the threshold for regulation under the Toxic Substances Control Act; or (2) a concentration of a solid waste determined by the Administrator to be inherently waste-like (including certain hazardous wastes and sludges) pursuant to specified Federal regulations. (Sec. 310) Requires the President, upon request of two or more PRPs at an NPL facility or vessel, to initiate an allocation for a response action at such facility or vessel if: (1) the action is not the subject of a consent decree entered, or an administrative order issued, before October 23, 1997; and (2) the aggregate costs of all actions at such facility or vessel are estimated to exceed $5 million. Provides for allocations, upon request of such parties, for actions that are undergoing construction pursuant to such decrees or orders if provided for under Section 311 of this Act. Makes the allocation process inapplicable to any U.S.-owned or operated facility or vessel and any facility or vessel for which there is only one PRP or for which there has been a final settlement, decree, or order that determines the allocated shares of all PRPs. Sets forth requirements for the President in initiating the allocation process. Authorizes the Administrator or the Attorney General, as representatives of Superfund, and any State that may be responsible for costs, to participate in allocation proceedings. Places a moratorium on litigation seeking recovery of response costs or contributions in connection with actions for which the President has initiated allocations until 150 days after issuance of the allocator's report or of a subsequent report under this section. Stays pending actions or claims, including those under State law, until such prescribed period unless the court determines that a stay will result in manifest injustice. Sets forth requirements for the selection of a neutral, third party allocator by PRPs or the President. Describes the allocator's authorities. Authorizes the allocator, based on collected information, to amend the list of PRPs to add, delete, or change the status of such parties. Permits allocation parties to submit the names of additional PRPs to the allocator. Sets forth procedures for the allocation of response costs to PRPs and Superfund by the allocator. Divides unattributable shares pro rata among the allocation parties and Superfund. Requires the allocator to issue an allocation report identifying the share of response costs attributable to each party, individually and by category, and to Superfund. Permits private allocations submitted by allocation parties to be adopted as the allocation report under certain conditions. Sets forth: (1) confidentiality requirements with respect to documents submitted to the allocator; (2) conditions under which the Administrator and Attorney General may reject the allocator's report; and (3) requirements for accepting settlements based on allocations. Authorizes the United States to commence an action against any allocation party that has not resolved its liability to the United States following an allocation. (Sec. 311) Sets forth conditions under which parties responsible for carrying out response actions pursuant to consent decrees entered, or administrative orders issued, before October 23, 1997, shall be entitled to mixed funding. Title IV: Brownfields Revitalization - Directs the President to establish a program to provide grants to eligible States or political subdivisions, including Indian tribes, for: (1) inventory and assessment of brownfield facilities; and (2) capitalization of revolving loan funds for remedial actions at such facilities. Defines a "brownfield facility" as real property with respect to which expansion or redevelopment is complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance. Makes Superfund monies available for such grants. (Sec. 402) Authorizes the Administrator to provide technical and other assistance to States to establish and expand State voluntary cleanup programs. Makes limited amounts available from Superfund for FY 1998 through 2002 for such assistance. (Sec. 403) Bars the President or any person (other than a State), with respect to a facility that is not listed or proposed for listing on the NPL at which there is a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance, from taking an administrative or judicial enforcement action or bringing a civil action if a voluntary response action is being conducted under an approved State plan or the action has been certified as complete by a State. Makes exceptions to this prohibition if the State requests the President to take action or in certain cases of emergency, risk, or migration of contamination across State lines. Title V: State Role - Authorizes the Administrator to delegate authority to States to take specified actions at NPL facilities, including actions relating to response, liability, settlements, allocations, Federal facilities, remedy selections, and community participation. Sets forth administrative provisions and restrictions on such authority. Authorizes States to request delisting of NPL facilities for which responsibility has been transferred. Permits the Administrator to withdraw State authority under certain conditions. Sets forth conditions under which the President may take actions in States to which authorities have been delegated. (Sec. 502) Allows the Administrator to authorize States to implement a State hazardous substance response program in lieu of the response action authorities of this Act at any NPL facility. Sets forth administrative provisions and restrictions on such authority. Permits States to delist a facility from the NPL if no further action to address the contamination is necessary to protect health and the environment or cleanup is proceeding under the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Authorizes the Administrator to withdraw State authority under certain conditions. Sets forth conditions under which the President may take actions in States implementing State response programs. (Sec. 503) Requires the Administrator to provide grants to, or enter into contracts with, States to which authorities have been delegated. Revises provisions requiring contracts with States before remedial actions are provided to prohibit the Administrator or a State to which authorities have been delegated from providing any remedial action unless the State enters into an agreement providing assurances that it will pay ten percent of the costs of the action and the costs of operation and maintenance. (Sec. 506) Permits the President to add a facility to the NPL only with the concurrence of the Governor of the State in which the facility is located. Authorizes the President to add a facility without a Governor's concurrence 12 months following the request for concurrence if the Governor has not taken a response action to address the release or threatened release at the facility and the facility presents sufficient risks under the Hazard Ranking System to be listed as a national priority. Provides for deferrals to listing if long-term remedial action will be conducted under other Federal authorities or if remedial action that will provide long-term health and environmental protection is underway under a State response program. (Sec. 507) Extends certain provisions authorizing reimbursements by the President to local governments affected by releases or threatened releases to affected States as well. (Sec. 508) Sets forth provisions regarding enforcement and dispute resolution regarding remedy selection at Federal facilities for which authorities have been delegated to a State. Title VI: Natural Resources Damages - Revises provisions regarding liability for natural resources damages to include the governments of foreign countries whose natural resources are damaged in the list of parties to which a charged party may be liable. (Sec. 604) Sets forth provisions regarding the designation of trustees for natural resources by Indian tribes and foreign governments. (Sec. 606) Limits the measure of damages to a natural resource to: (1) reasonable costs of restoration; (2) the loss of use by the public of the resource prior to restoration, except that any loss before December 11, 1980 (CERCLA's enactment date), shall not be recoverable; and (3) costs of reasonable assessment of damages to the resource. Bars recovery for psychological damages. (Sec. 607) Sets forth requirements for damage assessments by Federal, State, Indian tribe, and foreign trustees. (Sec. 608) Requires all assessments to be adjudicated in a de novo trial in a Federal district court. Provides for public participation in the damage assessment process. Limits admissibility of relevant evidence that is not made public. (Sec. 610) Permits sums recovered by trustees to be available only for restoration, replacement, or acquisition of natural resources. (Sec. 611) Precludes trustees who receive compensation for natural resources damages or claims pursuant to this Act from recovering compensation for the same natural resource pursuant to any other State or Federal law. Bars recovery under such other laws if recovery for such resources is made under this Act. Prohibits double liability for such resources in the same manner as double recovery is barred. Bars recovery for natural resources damages where such damages and the release of a hazardous substance from which such damages resulted occurred wholly before December 11, 1980. (Sec. 613) Requires a foreign claimant, in order to recover such damages, to demonstrate that: (1) he or she has not been otherwise compensated for such damages; and (2) recovery is authorized by an agreement between the United States and the claimant's country or the Secretary of State has certified that such country provides a comparable remedy for U.S. claimants. Permits foreign claims for damages resulting from a release or threatened release in or on the territorial sea, internal waters, or adjacent shoreline of a foreign country only if the release is from: (1) an Outer Continental Shelf facility or a deepwater port; (2) a vessel in the navigable waters; or (3) a vessel carrying a hazardous substance as cargo between two places in the United States. (Sec. 614) Makes this title inapplicable to actions to recover natural resources damages in which a trial has begun before July 1, 1997, or in which a final settlement, decree, or order has been issued before such date. Title VII: Oil Pollution - Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 to make amendments conforming to those made to CERCLA in Title VI of this Act with respect to natural resources damages, recovery, and liability. Title VIII: Miscellaneous - Expands CERCLA provisions regarding treatment of Indian tribes to afford Indian tribes the same treatment as States with respect to provisions regarding public participation and remedy selection. Deems references to State facilities under CERCLA to mean facilities on Federal Indian reservations as well. Requires the President to conduct a study of, and report to the Congress on, the health impacts on Indian tribes of pollutants, contaminants, and hazardous substances released from facilities listed on or proposed for listing on the NPL. (Sec. 803) Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to require certain grants for the training and education of workers engaged in hazardous waste removal or containment or emergency response activities to be made from Superfund. Allocates at least 20 percent of funds for such purposes to the training of minority and other community-based workers who are involved in such activities. Title IX: Funding - Subtitle A: Expenditures From the Hazardous Substance Superfund - Revises the list of activities for which expenditures from Superfund are authorized. Permits the President to use Superfund monies for administrative costs directly related to the costs of authorized activities. Bars the use of Superfund for response actions that are not removal actions with respect to non-NPL facilities. Repeals provisions regarding the assumption of certain liability by the Post-closure Liability Fund. (Sec. 902) Authorizes appropriations to Superfund for FY 1998 through 2002. Subtitle B: 5-Year Extension of Hazardous Substance Superfund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the environmental tax to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1997, and before January 1, 2003. Extends specified provisions regarding: (1) Superfund's financing rate; (2) limits on tax if the unobligated balance in Superfund exceeds a specified amount; and (3) the repayment deadline for advances made to Superfund.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) all schools should be drug-free; (2) all Federal, State, and local drug fighting agencies should work together with schools and parents to ensure that a renewed effort is made to fight the distribution, sale, and use of illegal drugs in our schools and to America's youth; (3) all governmental leaders and parents share a role in raising awareness of this issue and offering constructive alternatives to illegal drug use; and (4) the Congress and the President should set a goal and work with local communities and parents to end the distribution, sale, and use of illegal drugs in the Nation's schools by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 1997
Medicare Prostate Cancer Screening Act of 1997 - Amends the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to accelerate from January 1, 2000, to January 1, 1998, the effective date for the prostate cancer screening test benefit under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 1997
Denounces and rejects the resolution adopted on September 21, 1997, by the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League in their conference in Cairo which invites Arab states to take action to ease United Nations (UN) sanctions against Libya. Reaffirms U.S. commitment to support the sanctions until the two individuals suspected in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103 and UTA flight 772 are turned over to appropriate judicial authorities in the United States or the United Kingdom and France as required by UN Security Council resolutions. Calls upon the President to suspend all U.S. assistance to all countries which violate the UN sanctions. Requests that the Secretary of State express to the government of each Arab League member country the profound concern of the United States about efforts to undermine the international fight against terrorism by weakening or violating the sanctions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1997
Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Act of 1997 - Establishes the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Commission to determine the validity of land claims arising out of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848. Authorizes three or more eligible Mexican descendants in the State of New Mexico who are also descendants of the same community land grant to petition the Commission for such a determination on behalf of themselves and all other descendants. Directs the Commission to establish a Community Land Grant Study Center at the Onate Center in Alcalde, New Mexico, to be responsible for directing the research, study, and investigations necessary to assist the Commission in performing its duties. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1997
Charitable Giving Relief Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit non-itemizers to deduct a portion of their charitable contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1997
Supports National Mammography Day and urges all American women to take an active role in the fight against breast cancer by all means available to them. Calls for recognition of the role played by community organizations and health care providers in promoting awareness of the importance of regular mammograms and in helping to expand the availability of low-cost mammograms.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 1997
Commends: (1) the Government of Italy for its leadership in focusing attention on the issues in Albania and in assembling an international protection force there; (2) Italy, Greece, and other countries for offering refuge to displaced persons during the height of the Albanian crisis; and (3) the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and former Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitsky for leadership in helping Albania resolve its crisis. Declares that the Congress looks forward to working with the new Albanian Government as it works to build democratic institutions and promote political reconciliation in Albania. Urges the new Government and President of Albania to: (1) embrace pluralism and to foster cooperation and reconciliation among the political forces in Albania; (2) foster trust with its citizenry to achieve stability in the region; (3) take steps toward further developing a market-based economy; (4) pursue investigations, in cooperation with appropriate international financial institutions, into the pyramid investment schemes that cost hundreds of thousands of Albanians their savings; and (5) ensure freedom of the press and media access for all interested parties. Calls for the United States to assist the new Albanian Government in its efforts to build strong democratic institutions, bring about economic reform, promote the rule of law, and reconstitute a professional Albanian military and police.