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United States · Official source
2,465 records where Rep. Meehan, Martin T. [D-MA-5] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 1994
Designates September 12 through 16, 1994, as National Gang Violence Prevention Week.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 1994
Designates September 17, 1994, as Constitution Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1994
Designates the second Sunday in October 1994 as National Children's Day.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 1994
Recognizes the anniversaries of the Warsaw uprising and the Polish resistance to the invasion of Poland during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 1994
Trade and Environment Reporting Act of 1994 - Requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR), before entering into negotiations for any free trade agreement or other major trade actions, to consult with the Congress, appropriate advisory committees, including the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee, Federal agencies, environmental organizations, and other interested persons, for the purpose of: (1) identifying environmental resources that may be affected by such agreements or actions; and (2) determining the scope of a specified environmental assessment in the case of a negotiation for a free trade agreement. Directs the USTR to: (1) consider the results of such consultations with respect to a major trade action before formulating any negotiating position for such action; and (2) review such negotiating position and determine its compatibility with U.S. laws that protect environmental resources or encourage sustainable development. Directs the Council on Environmental Quality, the Secretary of the Interior, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the USTR to monitor the effects of major trade actions on environmental resources within the United States. Requires such agencies and officials and the Secretary of State to cooperate with other nations to monitor and determine the effects of such actions on such resources outside of the United States. Requires the Council to report every three years to the Congress on the results of such monitoring.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1994
Designates the second week of August 1994 as National U.S. Seafood Week.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to terminate the tobacco price support program. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to terminate the tobacco marketing quota program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to disallow the deduction for certain advertising expenses for tobacco products. Establishes in the Treasury the Anti-Tobacco Use Trust Fund. Establishes in the Fund: (1) the Anti-Drugs in Schools Account; and (2) the Anti-Tobacco Use Advertising Account. Transfers to the Fund and the Accounts specified revenues resulting from the tobacco advertising deduction disallowance. Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish a public education program about the health risks of tobacco products.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the President should seek an international agreement prohibiting the production, possession, transfer, and use of antipersonnel landmines; and (2) a moratorium by the United States on the purchase and production of antipersonnel landmines would encourage other nations to adopt similar measures. Prohibits the U.S. Government from purchasing or producing such landmines effective 90 days after this Act's enactment date. Continues such moratorium for one year from this Act's enactment date. Urges the President to encourage other nations which are major producers of such landmines to adopt similar moratoria. Authorizes the President to extend the moratorium if other nations have adopted similar moratoria. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Defense for: (1) humanitarian activities relating to the clearing and disarming of landmines and the protection of civilians from landmines; and (2) contributions to United Nations funds and nongovernmental organizations to support such activities. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development and the Secretary of State to submit to the Congress a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the social, economic, and environmental costs and effects of antipersonnel landmines. Requires the Secretary of Defense to report to the Congress on the total number of members of the armed forces killed or wounded by antipersonnel landmines during World War II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam era, and the Persian Gulf War.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to Title 11 of the United States Code Title II: Bankruptcy Review Commission Title I: Amendments to Title 11 of the United States Code - Spousal Equity in Bankruptcy Amendments of 1994 - Amends Federal bankruptcy law to provide that filing a petition in bankruptcy does not operate as an automatic stay from actions for: (1) paternity; or (2) alimony, maintenance, or support (including actions for collection from property that is not property of the estate). Includes unsecured claims for alimony, maintenance, or support among priority claims and expenses (thus lifting them from their current status of general, unsecured debts). Prohibits a debtor from avoiding a judicial lien that secures a debt for alimony, maintenance, or support. States that a bankrupt debtor is not discharged from any debt incurred in connection with a divorce or separation agreement. Prohibits a bankruptcy trustee from avoiding a transfer that is a bona fide debt for alimony, maintenance, or support. Permits a child support creditor to appear before the court in any Federal bankruptcy proceeding without charge and without meeting local requirements for attorney appearances if the creditor or representative files a detailed child support debt statement. Title II: Bankruptcy Review Commission - National Bankruptcy Review Commission Act - Establishes the National Bankruptcy Review Commission to study and report to the Congress, the Chief Justice, and the President on bankruptcy issues and the impact of the bankruptcy laws upon women and children living in poverty after divorce. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
Designates February 2, 1995, and February 1, 1996, as National Women and Girls in Sports Day.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
Designates the week of February 6, 1995, as National Inventors Week.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1994
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that there is a need for a national campaign to heighten awareness about domestic battery and to end the silence that surrounds this type of violence.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 1994
Bovine Growth Hormone Milk Labeling and Residue Test Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to impose labeling requirements on milk and milk products intended for human consumption produced from cows treated with synthetic bovine growth hormone (BGH). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to issue regulations for recordkeeping by persons who sell, purchase, distribute, or use synthetic BGH. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a detection test for synthetic BGH residues in milk.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1994
Truth in Tobacco Labeling Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require tobacco product manufacturers to provide to consumers, through labeling, advertising, and promotion: (1) information on additives and constituents in tobacco products and smoke; (2) information on adverse effects; (3) warnings and directions for use; (4) contraindications; (5) warnings against use in pathological conditions; and (6) any other information deemed necessary by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to remove trade secret and confidentiality requirements from provisions regarding a report to the Congress on tobacco additives.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 1994
Designates September 13, 1994, as Commodore John Barry Day.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1994
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by covered entities, including employing authorities of the House of Representatives, employing offices of the Senate, and instrumentalities of the Congress. Declares that: (1) this Act does not apply to the provision of employee benefits for the benefit of an employee's partner; and (2) a disparate impact does not establish a prima facie violation of this Act. Prohibits quotas and preferential treatment. Declares that this Act does not apply to: (1) religious organizations (except in their for-profit activities); (2) the armed forces; or (3) laws creating special rights or preferences for veterans. Provides for enforcement. Disallows State and Federal immunity. Allows recovery of attorney's fees. Prohibits retaliation and coercion. Requires posting notices for employees and applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1994
Bovine Growth Hormone Milk Act - Title I: Labeling - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to impose labeling requirements on milk and milk products intended for human consumption produced from cows treated with synthetic bovine growth hormone (BGH). Directs the Secretary to issue recordkeeping regulations for persons who sell, buy, distribute, or use synthetic BGH. Establishes civil penalties for labeling, recordkeeping, or related violations. Title II: Reduction in Price - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to reduce the price received for milk produced by cows injected with synthetic BGH. Title III: Residue Test - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a detection test for synthetic BGH residues in milk.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 1994
Designates May 1995 as Multiple Sclerosis Association of America Month.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 1994
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) June 21, 1994, is designated as Freedom Summer Remembrance Day; and (2) it reaffirms the goal of removing remaining barriers to full voter participation in this Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 1994
United States-China Act of 1994 - Declares that if nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) is not granted to China by reason of the enactment of a congressional disapproval resolution, such treatment shall continue to apply to goods that are produced by a person that is not a state-owned Chinese enterprise, but not apply to any goods that are produced by a state-owned Chinese enterprise. Provides that if nondiscriminatory treatment is granted to China for a 12-month period on July 3, 1994, such treatment shall not apply to: (1) any good that is produced by the People's Liberation Army or a Chinese defense industrial trading company; or (2) any nonqualified good that is produced by a state-owned Chinese enterprise. Provides that in order for such treatment to be granted to China, the Secretary of the Treasury shall consult with American businesses that have significant trade with or investment in China, to encourage them to adopt a voluntary code of conduct that: (1) follows internationally recognized human rights principles; (2) ensures the employment of Chinese citizens is not discriminatory in terms of sex, ethnic origin, or political belief; (3) ensures that no convict, forced, or indentured labor is knowingly used; (4) recognizes the rights of workers to freely organize and bargain collectively; and (5) discourages mandatory political indoctrination on business premises. Requires the Secretary to determine, and publish in the Federal Register, which persons are state-owned Chinese enterprises and Chinese defense industrial trading companies. Authorizes the President to waive any condition or prohibition imposed under this Act if he determines and reports to the Congress that its continued imposition would have a serious adverse effect on vital U.S. national security interests. Declares that if the President recommends in 1995 that the waiver of human rights and emigration requirements for nondiscriminatory treatment for China be continued, he shall state in a specified report to the Congress the extent to which China has made progress with respect to: (1) adhering to the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (2) ceasing the exportation to the United States of products made with convict, forced, or indentured labor; (3) ceasing unfair and discriminatory trade practices which restrict and unreasonably burden American businesses; and (4) adhering to the guidelines of the Missile Technology Control Regime and the controls adopted by the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Australia Group.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Locate and Case Tracking Title II: Establishment Title III: Parentage Title IV: Enforcement Title V: Collection and Distribution Title VI: Federal Role Title VII: State Role Child Support Responsibility Act of 1994 - Title I: Locate and Case Tracking - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to establish a Federal registry of child support orders or modifications issued by any State court or administrative order or both. Provides for State access to such registry. (Sec. 102)Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to include among the functions of the Federal Parent Locator System: (1) establishing parentage; and (2) establishing, modifying, enforcing child support obligations. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide prompt access to the Secretary of all Federal income tax returns filed by individuals. Instructs the Secretary to expand the Parent Locator Service to establish a national network based on the comprehensive statewide child support enforcement systems to expand State access to the national parent locator network. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a national reporting system on employees and their child support obligations through the mandatory inclusion of certain child support information on W-4 forms (including the availability of health care insurance). (Sec. 104) Requires State plans for child and spousal support to have in effect statutory mechanisms which: (1) establish a child support order registry to transmit abstracts of State child support orders to the Federal Registry and distribute child support proceeds withheld from a delinquent parent's wages; and (2) allow an individual to bring an action against an employer or State official for noncompliance with this Act. Prescribes parameters for direct wage withholding, State agency access to various data bases, and expanded interaction with the National Parent Locator Network. (Sec. 105) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to integrate child support obligations and payments within the structure of income tax returns, including: (1) assessment and collection of child support arrearages; and (2) payment to State registries of child support amounts collected by the Secretary of the Treasury. Title II: Establishment - Amends part D of SSA title IV (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to set forth procedural guidelines for service of process on Federal employees and members of the armed services in connection with proceedings relating to child support and parentage obligations. (Sec. 204) Establishes the National Child Support Guidelines Commission to: (1) study and report to the Congress on the advisability of a national child support guideline; (2) develop such a guideline, if advisable. (Sec. 205) Includes among the requisite components of approved State plans: (1) a specified duration of child support; (2) electronic transmittal of State documents; (3) telephonic appearance in interstate cases; (4) uniform terms in child support orders; (5) social security numbers on marriage licenses, divorce decrees, parentage decrees, and birth certificates; (6) administrative subpoena powers; (7) State-conducted surveys and outreach programs for underserved populations; and (8) State guidelines for child health care insurance. (Sec. 213) Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth rules governing modification of sister State child support orders. Title III: Parentage - Requires approved State plans to include prescribed procedures for paternity acknowledgment. Title IV: Enforcement - Requires approved State plans to include prescribed procedures for garnishment of wages for parents in arrears for child support, including: (1) Federal death benefits; (2) black lung benefits; (3) veterans benefits, and (4) workers' compensation. (Sec. 404) Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to provide that: (1) its garnishment restrictions neither pre-empt State law, nor exempt any person from complying with State or Federal laws permitting garnishment for the purpose of securing child support; and (2) a garnishment intended to satisfy a child support debt takes priority over competing debts owed to the Federal government. (Sec. 405) Mandates that approved State plans include procedures to satisfy child support arrearages which: (1) prohibit a State court from applying the doctrine of election of remedies to prevent a custodial parent from collecting child support from the noncustodial parent; (2) prohibit State and Federal occupational licensing or regulating agencies from issuing or renewing occupational, professional or business licenses to individuals who fail to appear or are delinquent in child support cases; (3) prohibit State motor vehicle departments from issuing or renewing a driver's license or vehicle registration to such individuals; (4) require placement of child support liens on certificates of vehicle title; (5) permit attachment of bank accounts; (6) impose liens upon lottery winnings, insurance, court and other settlements; (7) presume fraudulent intent in any property transfer; (8) permit attachment of public and private retirement plans; (9) eliminate statutes of limitations in child support cases; and (10) require child support enforcement agencies to assess and collect interest on child support judgments. (Sec. 418) Amends Federal bankruptcy law to: (1) except from its automatic stay provisions proceedings establishing parentage and debts for child support; (2) require a bankruptcy plan to provide for full payment when due of debts for child support; (3) declare that a debt for child support includes State public debts and assigned child support based on provision of expenditures with respect to aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) and foster care and adoption assistance; (4) include among prioritized claims allowed unsecured claims for child support; (5) preclude a debtor from avoiding the fixing of judicial liens for child support; (6) except from discharge a debt pursuant to divorce or separation; and (7) prohibit trustee avoidance of a transfer that was a bona fide payment of a debt for child support. (Sec. 419) Prescribes procedural mandates for the Secretary of Defense to cooperate with the States in the enforcement of child support obligations of members and former members of the Armed Forces. (Sec. 420) Requires each State to have in effect laws which adopt the officially approved version of the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. (Sec. 421) Authorizes the Secretary of State to deny or restrict passport privileges to child support debtors subject to State arrest warrants. Denies Federal benefits, loans, guarantees, and employment to debtors with child support arrearages exceeding specified amounts. (Sec. 423) Amends part D of SSA title IV (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to mandate that approved State plans include procedures to satisfy child support arrearages by permitting State courts to order: (1) assignments of life insurance benefits; and (2) assignment of an interest in jointly held property. (Sec. 425) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. should ratify the United Nations Convention of 1956. Mandates that the States treat international child support cases in the same manner as interstate child support cases. (Sec. 426) Prescribes guidelines for shielding depository institutions from liability for providing financial records to State enforcement agencies in child support cases. (Sec. 427) Mandates that approved State plans include procedures to ensure: (1) cost-of-living adjustments in child support orders; (2) annual exchange of financial information by parties to a child support order; and (3) criminal penalties for failure to pay child support and the granting of use immunity may be granted to compel testimony in specified civil child support proceedings. Title V: Collection and Distribution - Prescribes priorities in the distribution of collected child support pursuant to an approved State plan. Directs the Comptroller General to report to the Congress on studies and pilot projects of systems under which States would be required to pay child support to the individuals to whom it is owed before making reimbursements to any State for AFDC provided with respect to such child. (Sec. 502) Mandates that approved State plans include procedures which limit State claims against the noncustodial parent to the assistance provided to the child. (Sec. 503) Revises the fee guidelines for State child support collection and paternity determination services. Title VI: Federal Role - Directs the Secretary to establish the Office of Child Support Enforcement under the direction of an Assistant Secretary. Expands the training programs for State child support enforcement programs. (Sec. 604) Directs the Secretary to develop the methodology for determining each State child support and paternity establishment program's staffing requirements. (Sec. 605) Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to revise the definition of "medical child support order". (Sec. 606) Instructs the Secretary to: (1) contract for a study of the audit process of the Office of Child Support Enforcement; and (2) make grants to the States for demonstration projects implementing a system of assured minimum child support payments. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 608) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create the Children's Trust Fund for making expenditures to implement this Act. (Sec. 609) Instructs the Comptroller General to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the causes for nonpayment of child support; and (2) the efficacy of processing child support and parentage cases in States that use administrative processes as compared to those that use judicial or quasi-judicial processes. (Sec. 611) Directs the Office of Child Support Enforcement to: (1) produce and update a certain compendium entitled "A Guide to State Child Support and Paternity Laws" and (2) establish a permanent advisory committee on child support matters. Title VII: State Role - Mandates that State plans for child and spousal support include: (1) agency advocacy promoting the greatest economic security possible for children; (2) certain information on plan services for dissemination to each custodial parent; (3) an administrative procedure as the sole procedure for change of payee; and (4) conflict-of-interest restrictions upon State modification of a child support order. (Sec. 705) Provides for increased payments to States under the Child Support and Establishment of Paternity program, repealing provisions for State incentive payments.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 1994
Official Travel Reform Resolution - Requires any travel award that accrues by reason of official travel of a Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives to be used only with respect to official travel.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1994
Grants congressional consent to the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact entered into among the States of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to assure the viability of dairy farming in the northeast and to assure consumers of an adequate, local supply of milk.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 1994
Designates August 2, 1994, as National Neighborhood Crime Watch Day.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1994
Social Security Access to Information Act of 1994 - Amends title XI (General Provisions and Peer Review) of the Social Security Act to require annual social security account statements to: (1) express wages, contributions, and benefits in terms of actual dollars and in terms of current dollars; and (2) contain the total amount of benefits paid to date to the eligible individual as well as the total paid to date to all beneficiaries on the basis of the individual's wages and self-employment income, expressed in terms of actual dollars and in terms of current dollars. Requires the Secretary to provide such annual statements to all eligible individuals who have attained age 60, regardless of whether they are receiving old age, survivors and disability insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1994
Sets forth the rule for the consideration of H.R. 3266 (providing for automatic downward adjustments in the discretionary spending limits for FY 1994).
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1994
Authorizes the President to present, on behalf of the Congress, to the Lubavitcher rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a gold medal in recognition of his outstanding and enduring contributions toward world education, morality, and acts of charity. States that no appropriations are authorized to implement this Act. Declares that the medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1994
Airliner Cabin Air Quality Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 to prohibit smoking on all scheduled airline flight segments (currently, just on certain airline flight segments) in air transportation or intrastate air transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 1994
Requires the House of Representatives, when the legislatures of an additional three States ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, to take any legislative action necessary to verify the ratification of the Amendment as a part of the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 1994
National Community Service Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue one-dollar silver coins to commemorate students who volunteer to perform community service. Mandates that all surcharges received from such coin sales be paid to the National Community Service Trust to fund innovative community service programs at American universities, including the service, research, and teaching activities of the faculty and students involved in such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1994
Increases the authorization of appropriations for the Secretary of the Interior to make available to the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission to carry out activities relating to the Lowell National Historical Park and the Lowell Historic Preservation District in Massachusetts. Requires the Secretary, acting through the National Park Service, to assume all responsibilities for administration and oversight of the loan and grant agreements between the Commission and the Lowell Development and Financial Corporation as were previously ascribed to the Commission, upon its termination. Makes any revenues or other assets acquired by the Secretary by donation, the lease or sale of property, or fees for service available to the Secretary, without fiscal year limitation, to be used for any authorized function under this Act. Requires the Secretary to provide for audits of the financial records of the Park at least once each year. Extends the Lowell Historic Preservation Commission until the year 2000. Revises provisions of the terms for loan agreements between the Commission and the Corporation. Authorizes the Commission to renegotiate the terms and conditions respecting loan repayment of the agreement dated December 8, 1980, with the Corporation. Directs the Secretary, upon the termination of the Commission, to establish the Lowell National Historical Park Advisory Committee to advise on the operation, maintenance, development, and programming of the Park and Preservation District.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1994
Terminates the International Space Station Alpha program and redirects the savings therefrom to space and civil aviation programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 1994
Congratulates the people of India on the 47th anniversary of India's independence.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1994
Reinventing Government Act of 1994 - Establishes an independent Reinventing Government Commission to: (1) hold public hearings on recommendations by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with regard to disposals of surplus Government property, closure and consolidation of Federal offices, procurement of Government functions from the private sector, and termination of Federal statutes and regulations; and (2) formulate its own recommendations for the President and the congressional budget committees after analyzing the OMB Director's recommendations. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) assist the Commission in such review upon request; and (2) transmit an analysis of the Director's recommendations to the Commission and the congressional budget committees after the Commission has submitted its recommendations to the President and those committees. Sets forth procedures for: (1) formulation of the Director's recommendations; (2) consideration of Commission recommendations by the President and the Congress; and (3) implementation of final Commission recommendations. Establishes in the Treasury the Reinventing Government Account 1994 for use in closing and consolidating Federal offices and disposing of surplus Government property. Requires the Director to: (1) transmit reports on closure and consolidation operations to the congressional budget committees as part of the annual budget process; and (2) make annual downward adjustments in the discretionary spending limits of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 by the aggregate amount of reductions in discretionary spending for the fiscal year involved. Provides that: (1) none of the changes in direct spending resulting from this Act shall be reflected in OMB estimates under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act); and (2) all receipts resulting from this Act shall be used solely to reduce the public debt.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Amendments to Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act Title II: Amendments to the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act Marine Fish Conservation Amendments of 1994 - Title I: Amendments to Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act - Amends the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act to declare that it is the policy of the Congress to: (1) assure that the national fishery conservation and management program encourages development of practical measures that reduce bycatch (the incidental catch, take, or harvest of certain fish, marine mammals, and other specified animals) to insignificant levels approaching zero; and (2) ensure that all State and Federal actions are consistent with the conservation and management of fisheries under such Act. (Sec. 105) Revises national standards for fishery conservation and management to require conservation and management measures to: (1) provide an adequate margin of safety to act as a buffer against overfishing; and (2) reduce bycatch to the lowest level practicable and avoid unnecessary waste of fish. (Sec. 106) Revises requirements for Regional Fishery Management Councils to direct the Secretary of Commerce to ensure that at least 25 percent of the appointed members of each Council are persons selected for their fisheries expertise, as demonstrated by university, environmental organization, or other non-user group affiliation and by past actions and accomplishments. Provides for removal of a Council member for cause upon the Secretary's determination of a conflict of interest. Requires that each Council decision be recorded by roll call vote registered and forwarded to the Secretary for review. Authorizes each Council to request the Secretary to initiate consultation with a Federal agency about certain agency activity which may affect the essential fishery habitat of a fishery under its jurisdiction designated in a fishery management plan. Revises financial disclosure requirements for Council members to include financial interests held by children, grandchildren, parents, or siblings. Requires any Council member holding a financial interest requiring disclosure to recuse him or herself from voting on or participating in all Council actions that would affect such interest. Authorizes Council members and the public to challenge, in writing to the Secretary, any vote of a Council member alleged to have been made in violation of such recusal requirement. (Sec. 107) Requires any fishery management plan to: (1) specify an objective definition of overfishing for each fish species or population involved in the fishery; (2) contain a recovery plan for any overfished fishery; (3) specify allowable gear types for the fishery, requiring the use of types which minimize bycatch and associated mortality; (4) provide for the stationing on U.S. fishing vessels of observers to gather reliable data; (5) establish a system of fees to pay for plan implementation; (6) assess the bycatch of all gear types used in the fishery; and (7) contain conservation and management measures to minimize or eliminate the adverse impacts of fishing gear and practices on habitat for fish. Requires the Secretary to review each existing fishery management plan for compliance with the definition of overfishing in this Act. (Sec. 108) Specifies plan review, plan preparation, and overfishing determination duties of the Secretary. Mandates the contents of regulations establishing a system to collect fees to pay for fishing vessel observers. Establishes a National Fishery Observer Fund. Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register a list of fish species, populations, and population complexes that are overfished and the objective definition of overfishing used to make that determination. Requires the Secretary to develop a research plan to identify and gather needed data on fish species, populations, and population complexes for which information is insufficient. Revises the approval voting requirements for a management plan for any fishery under the authority of more than one Council. Declares that any Secretary-prepared fishery management plan or amendment addressing a highly migratory species fishery, which was in effect on July 1, 1993, shall remain in effect until superseded by a plan or amendment prepared by the appropriate Councils and approved by the Secretary. Sets forth procedures for adoption of a recovery plan addressing overfishing with respect to fish species, populations, or population complexes subject to a fishery management plan. Directs the Secretary to provide for the elimination of bycatch through fees and incentive programs, including cooperative efforts with the Federal Government on research and development of selective fishing gear and other technological devices for the reduction of bycatch. Directs the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register and submit to the Congress a report on the cumulative impacts on fishery habitats of the actions authorized, funded, or carried out by Federal agencies, including an assessment of how fishery habitats identified in approved fishery management plans are affected. Directs the Secretary to review: (1) the feasibility of establishing a risk sharing pool through a reasonable fee to provide coverage for vessels and vessel owners against liability from civil suits by observers; and (2) the availability of comprehensive commercial insurance for vessel and owner liability against such suits. Requires the Secretary to establish such a pool unless such insurance is available to all fishing vessels and U.S fish processors required to have observers, and it will provide a greater measure of coverage at a lower cost. Requires the Secretary to establish an alternative observation program for vessels on which facilities for quartering of an observer, or for carrying out observer functions, are inadequate to ensure the health or safety of the observer or the safe operation of the vessel. (Sec. 109) Authorizes the Secretary or the appropriate Council (subject to the Secretary's approval) to adopt regulations as an interim measure in the absence of a fishery management plan. Prescribes general requirements for such regulations. Requires the Secretary to comment on and make recommendations concerning any actual or proposed action authorized, funded, or carried out by a State or Federal agency that may result in the destruction or adverse modification of the essential habitat designated in a fishery management plan. Prescribes guidelines for Federal agency response to such comments or recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to prohibit any such Federal agency actions. Provides for: (1) citizen suits to enforce such Act; and (2) citizen petitions to compel the Secretary to make a finding or determination or take any other action authorized by such Act. Title II: Amendments to the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act - Amends the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act of 1975 to require the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service (or his or her designee) to be one of the three U.S. Commissioners on the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. (Sec. 201) Prohibits any U.S. Commissioner from having a financial interest or from serving as an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee with an organization with a financial interest in any catching, harvesting, processing, or marketing activity undertaken within any fishery over which the Commission has jurisdiction. Repeals certain knowledge and experience requirements, with respect to commercial and recreational fishing, for non-governmental Commissioners. Allows regulations to carry out Commission recommendations which may have the effect of decreasing any allocation or quota of fish to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
Timber Fair Trade and Forest Conservation Act of 1994- Amends the Export Administration Act of 1979 to require the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), in order to determine whether a critical shortage exists of unprocessed timber, or of any species or grade of unprocessed timber, for domestic manufacturing, to monitor: (1) exports of, and contracts to export, unprocessed timber; and (2) domestic supplies of such unprocessed timber for domestic manufacturing purposes. Requires the Secretary to impose quantitative restrictions on the export of unprocessed timber in any State or region where a critical shortage exists. Requires the Secretary to submit to the Congress specified quarterly reports. Requires the Secretary, whenever such export restrictions are imposed, to give preference in the allocation of export licenses to persons who own or have ownership interests in fewer than 3,000 acres of forest land. Authorizes the President to suspend such export restrictions if a ruling is issued under the formal dispute resolution procedures of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) finding that they violate GATT Article XI prohibitions on export restrictions and are not allowable under such Article's exceptions. Directs the Secretary to impose quantitative restrictions on exports of unprocessed timber from Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, and Montana.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1994
Designates October 16 through 22, 1994, as National Character Counts Week.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 1994
Calls on: (1) the Republic of Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabagh to cease all hostilities and begin peace negotiations under the framework established by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (2) the parties to the conflict to simultaneously lift all blockades in the region; and (3) the President to take an active role in promoting peace and in monitoring the human rights situation in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1994
Social Security Eligibility Act of 1994 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to increase the retirement age for OASDI benefits to age 67 by the year 2004 and to age 70 by the year 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1994
Social Security COLA Limitation Act of 1994 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to establish a flat-rate cost-of-living adjustment. (Currently such adjustment is based on a beneficiary's actual benefit levels.)
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 1994
Social Security Access to Information Act of 1994 - Amends title XI (General Provisions and Peer Review) of the Social Security Act to require annual social security account statements to: (1) express wages, contributions, and benefits in terms of actual dollars and in terms of current dollars; and (2) contain the total amount of benefits paid to date to the eligible individual as well as the total paid to date to all beneficiaries on the basis of the individual's wages and self-employment income, expressed in terms of actual dollars and in terms of current dollars. Requires the Secretary to provide such annual statements to all eligible individuals who have attained age 60, regardless of whether they are receiving old age, survivors and disability insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress that any legislation enacted to provide for national health care reform should: (1) prohibit the denial of health insurance coverage to, or limitation of coverage or benefits for, any individual or family on the basis of a preexisting medical condition; (2) prohibit charging an unreasonable amount for such coverage and benefits on the basis of a preexisting medical condition; and (3) include among the individuals and families protected by such prohibitions those who wish to acquire health insurance coverage and benefits from an entity other than their current health care provider.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1994
Restricted Explosives Control Act of 1994 - Prohibits the distribution or receipt of restricted explosives without a Federal permit. Defines "restricted explosives" to mean high explosives, blasting agents, detonators, and more than 50 pounds of black powder. Requires applications for such permits to include the applicant's photograph and fingerprints, which shall be taken and transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury by the chief law enforcement officer of the applicant's place of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1994
Designates October 1994 as Crime Prevention Month.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 1994
Directs the Secretary of Defense to terminate the C-17 aircraft acquisition program with those aircraft for which funds are appropriated for FY 1995. Prohibits the obligation of funds appropriated: (1) for FY 1995 for procurement of long-lead items for such aircraft; or (2) after FY 1995 for procurement of such items or such aircraft. Requires the Secretary to develop, and report to the Congress on, a program to meet the remaining strategic airlift requirements of the Air Force through the acquisition of nondevelopmental airlift aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1994
Designates March 20 through 26, 1995, as National Long-Term Care Administrators Week.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1994
Prohibits States from discriminating in the admission to the practice of law on the basis of whether applicants have completed the legal education program of a law school approved by the accrediting or certifying agency of the State in which the school is located, an educational accrediting agency recognized by the State in which the school is located, or the American Bar Association.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1994
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Studies Act of 1994 - Directs the Federal Trade Commission to study and report to the Congress on specified aspects of tobacco advertising and promotion targeted at women and certain ethnic groups.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 1994
Designates April 25 to May 1, 1994, as Let's Stop Kids Killing Kids Week.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 1994
Authorizes the Superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School (currently, the Secretary of the Navy) to enter into agreements with higher educational institutions whereby certain civilian students receive instruction at the School on a tuition-free basis in exchange for officers receiving instruction at the participating institution on the same basis. Expands the list of eligible students to include those lawfully admitted to the Unitedd States to pursue courses in higher education (currently, only U.S. citizens or those lawfully admitted for permanent residence are permitted). Allows others to receive instruction at the School on a cost-reimbursable, space-available basis, with funds received to be used to maintain and operate the School. Provides identical authority for the Commandant of the United States Air Force Institute of Technology, with the approval of the Secretary of the Air Force.