United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude State and local governmental plans from the limitation on benefits exceeding 100 percent of the participant's average compensation for the high three years. Provides that qualified governmental excess benefit arrangements shall not be taken into account in determining whether pension plans meet the limitations on benefits and contributions of qualified plans. Requires taxation of such benefits as if they were provided under a deferred compensation plan maintained by a corporation not exempt from tax which does not meet the requirements of qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans. Exempts disability income received as a pension, annuity, or similar allowance as a result of personal injuries or sickness from the reduced dollar limitation for defined benefit plans where the employee has less than ten years participation or the retirement benefit begins before the social security retirement age. Revises the special rule for State and local government plans which requires such limitation to equal the accrued benefit to allow the election of such rule to be revoked under certain circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Prohibits the shipment in interstate or foreign commerce of steel jaw leghold traps and of articles of fur derived from animals trapped in such traps. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to reward nongovernment informers for information leading to a conviction under this Act. Empowers enforcement officials to detain, search, and seize suspected merchandise or documents and to make arrests with and without warrants. Subjects seized merchandise to forfeiture.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Peace, Democracy and Development in El Salvador Act of 1991 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States shall use diplomacy to encourage the Government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) to: (1) participate in good-faith negotiations to achieve a cease-fire and permanent settlement of the conflict in El Salvador; (2) adhere to the terms of agreements signed in Geneva, Switzerland, Caracas, Venezuela, and San Jose, Costa Rica; and (3) support the role of the Secretary General of the United Nations in advancing proposals on the outstanding issues defined in the Caracas accords to resolve the conflict. Withholds from El Salvador unobligated military assistance for FY 1991 and prior fiscal years and military assistance allocated for FY 1992 and 1993 until the Congress enacts a joint resolution authorizing the provision of such assistance and the President reports to the Congress that: (1) those responsible for ordering and carrying out, or obstructing the investigation into, the November 1989 murders of certain priests and civilians have been apprehended and brought to justice; (2) internationally recognized workers' rights have been extended to Salvadoran workers; (3) the El Salvadoran Government has pursued legal avenues to bring to trial and obtain verdicts for those responsible for the murders of Archbishop Romero and certain land reformers and for the bombings of the FENASTRAS headquarters; (4) the El Salvadoran Government is complying with international standards of respect for humanitarian and medical workers; (5) steps have been taken to place the El Salvadoran military under the control of the civilian government; (6) the El Salvadoran Government is negotiating to achieve a cease-fire and a settlement of the conflict and has not rejected a plan for the settlement of the conflict put forth by the United Nations Secretary General; and (7) the El Salvadoran Government, through its military and security forces, has not engaged in assassinations of, or acts of violence against, civilians and has not failed to control such activities by elements subject to the control of such forces. Prohibits funding for: (1) the stationing of U.S. military personnel in El Salvador as trainers or advisors to the El Salvadoran armed forces; and (2) the financing of covert operations in El Salvador or for covert military assistance to the El Salvadoran Government. Establishes the Demobilization, Transition, and Reconstruction Fund to assist with the cost of monitoring a permanent settlement of the conflict, the demobilization of combatants in the conflict and their transition to peaceful pursuits, and the reconstruction of El Salvador. Makes the Fund available only upon the President's notification to the Congress that the El Salvadoran Government and the FMLN have reached a permanent settlement to the conflict. Requires the President, upon notification of a permanent settlement or on September 30, 1992, if no notification has occurred prior to such date, to transfer withheld military assistance to the Fund. Prohibits economic support fund (ESF) assistance from being obligated as balance-of-payments or cash assistance for El Salvador. Makes ESF assistance for El Salvador available only for projects for child nutrition, health, clean water, basic education, agrarian reform, and other human needs of the people of El Salvador. Requires such assistance to be used only for programs implemented solely by civilian agencies. Subjects ESF assistance for El Salvador to reprogramming notifications under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Women in Development Act of 1991 - Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID) to ensure actions are taken to strengthen the AID's women in development policy, including: (1) incorporating the active participation of local women and local women's organizations in its development activities; (2) instructing AID staff to collect and analyze sex-disaggregated data and to insure that country strategies, projects, and programs are designed to reflect the impact on women in proportion to the higher of their traditional participation in the targeted activities or their proportion of the population; (3) insuring that project and program evaluations include an assessment of the extent to which the project integrates women in the development process and of the project's impact on women; (4) increasing the number and responsibility of women in positions within AID; and (5) establishing within AID a task force on women in development. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that specified amounts be made available for programs to integrate women into the agency responsible for integrating women into the development process and for administrative expenses of such agency. Authorizes appropriations for the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. Requires the Director of the Peace Corps to take specified actions to strengthen the Peace Corps' women in development policy. Earmarks funding for the Peace Corps Office of Coordinator of Women in Development.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President, the Secretary of Commerce, and specified other officials should cooperate in providing assistance to U.S. small businesses seeking to become involved in the rebuilding of Kuwait; (2) the Administrator of the Small Business Administration should conduct a public information campaign to advise U.S. small and minority businesses about becoming involved in such rebuilding; (3) U.S. companies that have been awarded contracts pertaining to such rebuilding should seek to subcontract with U.S. small and minority businesses; and (4) all businesses that have been awarded such contracts should seek to hire veterans of the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1991
Universal Health Care Act of 1991 - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXI (National Health Insurance) to establish a national, single-payer health insurance program under which every U.S. citizen would be eligible for enrollment. Allows individuals to choose their own health care providers from among those providers participating in the program. Provides for comprehensive health care under the program with the following benefits provided without any payment of coinsurance or deductibles: (1) inpatient hospital services; (2) nursing facility services; (3) home health services; (4) hospice care; (5) medical care; (6) prescription drugs and biologicals; (7) preventive health services; (8) home and community-based services; (9) mental health care; and (10) such other medical or health care items or services as the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines to be appropriate. Incorporates into the National Health Care program various practice guidelines and trust fund administrative provisions under the Medicare program (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) as well as Medicare-related provisions in titles XI and II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Act, including those provisions relating to outcomes of research and peer review under title XI and administration of OASDI and Medicare trust funds under title II. Outlines provisions regarding payments to providers. Provides monthly payments to hospitals and nursing homes on the basis of prospective global budgets established annually after review by the State advisory board and approval by the designated government agency. Provides payment to physicians and other health care professionals according to fee schedules established by the Secretary and adjusted by geographic region. Provides payment for health care (including hospice care) furnished outside of a hospital or nursing home on the basis of either global budgets or fee schedules, or instead on the basis of another prospective payment method (including capitation) which has been approved and reviewed as appropriate. Restricts payments to Federal health care services providers. Requires health care providers to accept payments under the program for items and services as payment in full. Changes the functions of the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission and the Physician Payment Review Commission (renamed the Professional Payment Review Commission) to require such bodies to instead furnish advice to the Secretary, concerning the global budgets of hospitals and nursing homes and fee schedules of physicians and other health care professionals. Creates the Long-Term Care Payment Review Commission and the General Health Care Payment Review Commission to furnish advice to the Secretary concerning the payment mechanism for health care (including hospice care) furnished outside of hospitals or nursing homes and fee schedules for services which have not been described above. Requires all such bodies to report annually to the Congress and the Secretary on the modification of various payment systems described above to meet its objectives. Sets forth administrative provisions. Requires administration of the program at the national level by the Secretary. Allows States to administer the program at the State level. Requires the Secretary to establish a national health budget and State health budgets specifying the amount to be spent per calendar year for health care and how revenues from the National Health Trust Fund will be used under the program. Indexes the national budget each year according to corresponding increases in the gross national product. Establishes expenditure targets to control the growth of health care costs. Requires the national budget to set aside separate amounts for capital expenses and direct medical education and to specify the manner of division among the States. Creates advisory boards representing both consumers and health care providers to advise on the implementation of the program at the national and State levels. Authorizes the Secretary or State to enter into contracts with qualified entities to process claims. Allows only one contract per State. Requires the Secretary to establish applicable reporting systems for the program. Establishes the National Health Trust Fund to finance this Act's initiatives with revenues from: (1) specified tax increases outlined below; (2) hospital insurance taxes imposed on additional State and local government employees and additional changes made to the Internal Revenue Code over time to fund the program; (3) long-term care/health care premiums imposed on elderly individuals who do not have low incomes; (4) State payments determined according to a specified formula tied to corresponding increases in the gross national product; and (5) amounts remaining in the trust funds supporting the Medicare program after the settlement of claims for payment under Medicare has been completed and amounts applicable to Medicare and OASDI trust fund provisions incorporated into the National Health Care program resulting from gifts and bequests, investments, and overpayments. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase personal and corporate income taxes, employer hospital insurance taxes, and the amount of social security benefits subject to income taxation; (2) repeal the limitation on the amount of wages subject to employee and employer hospital insurance taxes; and (3) expand the category of employees subject to hospital insurance taxes as described above. Terminates the Medicare and Medicaid (title XIX of the Social Security Act) programs, Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs health benefits and medical care program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Illegal Dumping Prevention Act of 1991 - Amends the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 to authorize the seizure and forfeiture of vessels illegally dumping wastes into ocean waters.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
United States One Dollar Coin Act of 1991 - Amends Federal currency law to prescribe the color and content of one-dollar coins. Mandates that the obverse side of the one dollar coin have a design recognizing America's veterans. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to cease regular production of one-dollar Federal Reserve notes by a specified date (except for such quantities as are required to meet collectors' needs). Mandates that the seigniorage of the new one-dollar coins be used to offset the reverse seigniorage resulting from the destruction of Susan B. Anthony dollar coins in Government storage.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the luxury excise tax parts for accessories installed for use of passenger vehicles by disabled individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Amends the Railway Labor Act to provide that a majority of valid votes cast by members of a craft or class of employees shall determine the representative of such craft or class.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exemption for qualified small issue industrial bonds (bonds issued to finance manufacturing facilities and farm property) through 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1991
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to design and strike a silver commemorative medal for members of the U.S. armed forces who serve in a combat zone in connection with the Persian Gulf conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Individual Retirement Options Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the ten percent penalty tax on early distributions from qualified retirement plans: (1) first-time homebuyer distributions; (2) qualified higher education expenses; and (3) qualified catastrophic illness expenses. Allows an additional deduction for 50 percent of the contributions made to individual retirement plans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permanently extend the period during which qualified mortgage bonds and mortgage credit certificates may be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from issuing any oil or gas exploration leases or licenses on submerged lands off the coastlines of the eastern seaboard, western seaboard, and Alaska (the Outer Continental Shelf). Retains the leases, licenses, and permits in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to cancel (with compensation) specified leases or permits in effect on such date. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on alternative options for compensating leaseholders of specified land tracts.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income the value of any subsidy provided by an electric utility to a customer for the purchase or installation of energy conservation measures.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Urges the President to consider for appointments to policymaking positions in the executive branch those individuals with knowledge and experience with the problems and operations of small business concerns.
United States · United States Congress · 19 February 1991
Older Americans' Freedom to Work Act of 1991 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which beneficiaries who have attained retirement age may earn without incurring a reduction in benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Ancient Forest Protection Act of 1991 - Establishes the National Ancient Forest Reserve System. Designates certain lands in California, Oregon, and Washington as components of such System. Declares that all Federal lands in such States which qualify as ancient forest or associated forest and are not designated as components of the System shall be managed as if they are. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations with respect to the removal of commercial timber from such lands. Declares it to be U.S. policy to develop and utilize scientific information to study and identify the biological and ecological requirements of ancient forest ecosystems. Directs the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to study and report to appropriate congressional committees on the biological and physical requirements for the survival of such ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Social Security Notch Adjustment Act of 1991 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to establish a new formula for computing the primary insurance amount of individuals who attain age 65 in or after 1982 and would otherwise be subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Extends the application of such transitional benefit computation rules to those who become eligible for benefits before 1989. (Currently those who become eligible after 1983 are subject to the benefit computation rules of the Social Security Amendments of 1977.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Volunteer Protection Act of 1991 - Prescribes circumstances under which volunteers working for nonprofit organizations or government entities shall be immune from personal financial liability for acts on behalf of the organization or entity. Sets forth exceptions and conditions that a State may impose on the granting of such immunity. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase by one percent the fiscal year allotment which would otherwise be made to a State to carry out the Social Services Block Grant Program under title XX of the Social Security Act if such State has, within two years, certified to the Secretary that it has enacted a State law which provides such immunity. Provides for the continuation of such increase based on an annual recertification.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Small Business Desert Storm Loan Relief Act of 1991 - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration (SBA) to liberally construe this Act to benefit persons called to active duty in the military service of the United States. Authorizes the SBA to: (1) extend the term of any direct loan or debenture for up to five years beyond the maximum legal term; and (2) waive or modify minimum time periods or minimum income declines, if appropriate. Directs the SBA to suspend temporarily the repayment obligation under a direct SBA loan if the borrower or any person jointly liable with the borrower is called to active duty in the military service subsequent to disbursement of the loan proceeds. Directs the SBA to suspend or reduce the repayment obligation of a small business concern under an SBA loan made to a partnership or corporation if it determines that the repayment ability of the borrower has been substantially impaired due to the entry on active duty of any person who is a principal owner, manager, or key employee of such borrower. Authorizes the SBA to: (1) make all or part of any payments due to a person under the terms of an SBA guaranteed loan if it determines that the repayment ability of the borrower has been substantially impaired due to the entry on active duty of any person who is a principal owner, manager, or key employee of such borrower; and (2) extend direct loan terms (including reamortization) and make payments of any amounts due under a guaranteed loan for a maximum of five years. Direct the SBA to issue interim final rules and implementing regulations within ten days of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Veterans PTSD Treatment and Psychological Readjustment Act of 1991 - States that it shall be the policy of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to implement the recommendations of the Chief Medical Director's (CMD) Special Committee on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to establish and operate specialized inpatient post-traumatic stress disorder units (SIPUs) at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. Requires such facilities and services to be available to all eligible veterans, including veterans of the Persian Gulf conflict. Requires the Secretary to gradually increase the number of SIPUs in order to meet a total increase of not less than 30 units by December 31, 1994. Requires the Secretary to direct the Special Committee to identify areas of the country in which there are significant needs for expanding the Vet Center program. Directs the Special Committee to present a list of not less than 40 areas as candidates for new Vet Centers to the Readjustment Counseling Service of the Department no later than September 30, 1991. Requires the Counseling Service to gradually increase the number of existing Vet Centers in order to meet a total increase of not less than 40 by December 31, 1994. Directs the Advisory Committee on Readjustment of Veterans (established under this Act) to prepare a report to be submitted to the Congress on recommendations to increase outreach efforts to veterans of the Vietnam era and thereafter with readjustment counseling needs. Expands eligibility under the Vet Center program to include veterans of the Persian Gulf conflict. Directs the Secretary to make facilities and services of the Vet Centers available to family members of military personnel assigned to duty in the Persian Gulf. Urges the Secretary to fill expeditiously Vet Center staff vacancies caused by reassignment to Department medical facilities in preparation for receipt of casualties from the Persian Gulf conflict. Directs the Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee and seek its advice with respect to: (1) the administration of Department benefits for veterans, particularly Vietnam and post-Vietnam era veterans; (2) reports and studies pertaining to veterans, particularly Vietnam and post-vietnam era veterans; and (3) the needs of all veterans with respect to compensation, health care, readjustment, outreach, and other benefits and programs administered by the Department. Requires the Advisory Committee to report annually to the Secretary pertaining to the social, economic, educational, and psychological readjustment of veterans. Requires the Secretary to submit such reports to the Congress, along with comments and recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct a pilot program to contract for care and treatment and rehabilitative services in halfway houses, therapeutic communities, psychiatric residential treatment centers, and other community-based treatment facilities for eligible veterans suffering from PTSD. Requires the CMD to plan, design, and conduct such program. Requires the Secretary to approve the quality and effectiveness of a program operated by a contract facility before allowing veterans to be furnished treatment there under the pilot program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) urge all public and private entities to provide appropriate employment and training opportunities to veterans who have been provided treatment and rehabilitative services under this Act for PTSD and who have been determined to be sufficiently rehabilitated to be employable; and (2) provide all possible assistance to the Secretary of Labor in placing such veterans in such opportunities. Requires the Secretary to provide referral services and advice to veterans discharged or released from active service who are not eligible for PTSD treatment and services. Limits participation in the PTSD pilot program to 500 eligible individuals. Directs the Secretary to report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on the operation of the pilot program through FY 1994. Terminates the pilot program after five years of operation. Directs the Special Committee to examine the effectiveness of contracts for the treatment of PTSD with private facilities and therapists. Requires the Special Committee to report its findings and recommendations to the veterans' committees. Requires the Secretary, in administering the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program, to encourage the participation of individuals who desire to become psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, and other professionals specializing in the treatment of PTSD. Directs the CMD to conduct research programs to consider the most effective treatment for PTSD and the effectiveness of involving the family in the treatment of PTSD and to report his findings to the veterans' committees. Requires such research to be conducted through the National Center on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, with consultation from the Special Committee and the Advisory Committee. States that it shall be the policy of the Secretary to implement the recommendations of the Special Committee to establish and operate post-traumatic stress disorder clinical teams (PCTs) at Department medical centers that provide mental health services. Requires such services to be available to all veterans, including veterans of the Persian Gulf conflict. Directs the Secretary to increase the number of PCTs by 50 units by the end of calendar year 1994. Requires the Secretary, in establishing such new PCTs, to give priority to locations that do not have a SIPU or an affiliated Vet Center. Requires the Secretary to direct the Special Committee to assess the capacity of the Department to provide treatment for PTSD. Requires the Special Committee to report its findings to the Secretary, to be forwarded to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual an income tax deduction for qualified home health care and adult day and respite care expenses with respect to a dependent who: (1) resides with the taxpayer; (2) suffers from Alzheimer's disease or a related organic brain disorder; and (3) is physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Recycling Initiatives Grant Act - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to award grants for creating and supporting innovative techniques for solid waste recycling. Limits the amount of such grants. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Extends the immediate retirement provisions applicable to Federal law enforcement officers to: (1) revenue officers for the Internal Revenue Service; (2) customs inspectors for the U.S. Customs Service; (3) customs canine enforcement officers for the U.S. Customs Service; and (4) inspectors for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions governing the income tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to: (1) make the deduction permanent (under current law it will expire after tax year 1991); and (2) phase in an increase in the allowable deduction, reaching 100 percent for taxable years beginning in 1994 and thereafter.
![Official portrait of Rep. Mavroules, Nicholas [D-MA-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000264_200.jpg)