United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Prohibits the United States from supporting the admission of China into the World Trade Organization (WTO) unless the Congress passes a joint resolution, according to specified procedures, allowing the United States to support such admission. Directs the President to: (1) notify the Congress if China becomes a member of the WTO without the support of the United States; and (2) submit notice of the withdrawal of the United States from the WTO Agreement. Makes a conforming amendment to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Honors Cesar E. Chavez for his commitment to improve the plight of farm workers and the poor. Urges that a Federal holiday be recognized throughout the United States in his honor. Encourages all Americans to commit themselves to working for justice through nonviolence in their communities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1997
Expresses the sense of the Congress that it recognizes: (1) the concern of the railroad industry that the current spousal annuity system is inadequate; and (2) that a process of dialogue must take place among all parties of the railroad community including rail labor, management, and retiree organizations before railroad annuity legislation can be enacted. Urges all parties to find a way to fund an amendment that would improve the survivor benefits component to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prescribe frequency and payment limits under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) for screening fecal-occult blood tests, flexible sigmoidoscopies, barium enemas, and colonoscopy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Pension Access and Coverage Subtitle A: Improved Access to Individual Retirement Savings Subtitle B: Improved Fairness in Retirement Plan Benefits Subtitle C: Improving Retirement Plan Coverage Subtitle D: Simplifying Plan Requirements Title II: Security Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: ERISA Enforcement Title III: Portability Title IV: Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection Subtitle A: Pension Reform Subtitle B: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs Subtitle C: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements Subtitle D: Spousal Consent Required for Distributions From Section 401(k) Plans Subtitle E: Women's Pension Toll-Free Phone Number Title V: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments Retirement Security Act of 1997 - Title I: Pension Access and Coverage - Subtitle A: Improved Access to Individual Retirement Savings - Chapter 1: Contributions To Individual Retirement Plans Through Payroll Deductions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to require a private contractor with the Secretary of Labor to establish a system under which: (1) eligible employees, through employer payroll deductions, may make contributions to individual retirement plans; and (2) amounts in the individual retirement plans are invested according to certain requirements. (Sec. 103) Provides for: (1) contributions to individual retirement plans; (2) investment options; (3) accounting and information; (4) administrative costs; (5) fiduciary responsibilities, liability and penalties, bonding, and investigative authority; and (6) selection of contractor. (Sec. 108) Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the Secretary of Labor to design and award the contract for such system; and (2) the contractor to begin operations. Chapter 2: Nonrefundable Tax Credit for Contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts - Amends IRC to allow a nonrefundable tax credit for a portion of contributions to individual retirement plans, calculated according to a specified scale. Chapter 3: Expanded Individual Retirement Accounts to Increase Coverage and Portability - Subchapter A: IRA Deduction - Raises the income limitations for the individual retirement account (IRA) tax deduction, with a corresponding adjustment to the formula for the phaseout of such limitations. (Sec. 122) Prescribes an inflation adjustment for the IRA deductible amount and income limitations. Subchapter B: Distributions and Investments - Allows the use of distributions from individual retirement plans, without additional tax, to: (1) purchase first homes; (2) pay higher education expenses; or (3) pay financially devastating medical expenses. (Sec. 132) Allows the use without penalty of distributions from certain plans during periods of unemployment. (Sec. 133) Requires that contributions to individual retirement plans (other than special individual retirement accounts) be held for at least five years in certain cases before they may be distributed without specified tax consequences. Chapter 4: Periodic Pension Benefits Statements - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) with respect to periodic pension benefits statements in cases of defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, and multiemployer plans. Subtitle B: Improved Fairness in Retirement Plan Benefits - Amends IRC to require a specified minimum employer contribution to simple retirement accounts. Provides for an employer option to suspend contributions with 30-days' notice. Amends ERISA with respect to fiduciary duties in the case of such accounts. (Sec. 152) Amends IRC to set forth various nondiscrimination rules for qualified cash or deferred arrangements and matching contributions. (Sec. 153) Increases from $75,000 to $80,000 per year specified compensation criteria for a highly compensated employee. Excludes specified categories of employees with respect to age, short length of service, and part-time service from the meaning of highly compensated employee. Subtitle C: Improving Retirement Plan Coverage - Allows a tax credit for up to a maximum $500 of the qualified start-up costs of eligible small employers in establishing a qualified pension plan or qualified employer payroll deduction system. (Sec. 162) Limits annual benefits under governmental and multiemployer plans to $90,000, eliminating the alternative 100 percent of high three-year average compensation limitation. Exempts from the $7,500 or one third of includible compensation limit for annual benefits certain excess benefit arrangements under deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Prohibits such arrangements from being taken into account in determining whether any other plan is an eligible deferred compensation plan. (Sec. 163) Declares that compensation deferred under a mirror plan shall not be taken into account in applying certain limits (with respect to deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations) to compensation deferred under any other deferred compensation plan. (Sec. 164) Sets forth special rules to treat contributions by self-employed individuals as matching contributions. (Sec. 165) Amends specified Federal law relating to Federal employees to allow immediate participation in the Thrift Savings Plan for Federal employees by eliminating certain waiting periods. (Sec. 166) Amends the IRC to revise the limits on contributions excluded from the calculation of non-deductible contributions for purposes of the tax on non-deductible contributions to a qualified employer plan. (Sec. 167) Excludes from gross income any workers' compensation received by former police officers or fire fighters for heart disease or hypertension. Subtitle D: Simplifying Plan Requirements - Amends IRC and ERISA to set a full funding limitation for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 172) Eliminates IRC partial termination rules for multiemployer plans. (Sec. 173) Revises IRC nondiscrimination and minimum participation rules with respect to governmental plans. (Sec. 174) Eliminates specified ERISA requirements for plan descriptions and for filing of summary plan descriptions and descriptions of material modifications to a plan. (Sec. 175) Replaces the 150 percent of current liability factor in the calculation of the full-funding limit with an incremental scale from 155 percent in 1998 to 170 percent in 2001, followed by zero in 2002 and succeeding years. (Sec. 176) Directs the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Labor to expand their efforts to examine existing guidance regarding notice, recordkeeping, and operational requirements for retirement plans, in order to permit the use of new technologies by plan sponsors and administrators in ways which maintain the protection of the rights of participants and beneficiaries. Title II: Security - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Amends ERISA to provide investment protection for specified plans that include qualified cash or deferred arrangements under IRC ("401(k) plans") by setting limitations on investment in employer securities and employer real property by cash or deferred arrangements. Provides a transition rule for plans holding excess securities or property. (Sec. 202) Applies an ERISA requirement for annual, detailed investment reports to certain IRC 401(k) plans. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in prescribing regulations for required information in such reports, to consider including specified types of information. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to the Congress on: (1) the extent to which pension plans invest in collectibles; and (2) whether such investments present a risk to the pension security of the participants and beneficiaries of such plans. (Sec. 204) Amends IRC to prohibit qualified employer plans from making loans through credit cards and other intermediaries. (Sec. 205) Increases the amounts of multiemployer plan benefits guaranteed under ERISA. (Sec. 206) Increases the maximum amount of the civil penalty which may be assessed administratively for certain prohibited transactions. (Sec. 207) Amends ERISA with respect to substantial owner benefits to revise the phase-in of guarantee and the allocation of assets. (Sec. 208) Directs the Secretary of Labor to report annually to the President and the Congress on plans from which residual assets were distributed to employers (reversion report). (Sec. 209) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should: (1) review existing correction mechanisms to determine whether modifications might facilitate additional utilization by sponsors, improve voluntary compliance, and hasten the correction of pension plans; (2) consider whether additional means of addressing nonegregious violations should be explored; and (3) make appropriate legislative recommendations. Subtitle B: ERISA Enforcement - Amends ERISA enforcement provisions to repeal a limited scope audit requirement for employee pension benefit plans. Requires an accountant, in offering an opinion in the case of an employee pension benefit plan, to rely, to the extent consistent with generally accepted auditing standards, on the work of any independent public accountant of any bank or similar institution or insurance carrier that holds assets or processes transactions of the employee pension benefit plan, provided that such bank, institution, or insurance carrier is regulated, supervised, and subject to periodic examination by a State or Federal agency. (Sec. 212) Sets forth additional ERISA requirements for qualified public accountants. (Sec. 213) Amends ERISA and the IRC to exempt from the prohibition against assignment or alienation of an accrued pension benefit offsets for certain civil and criminal judgments against fiduciaries. Changes from mandatory to discretionary the imposition and amount of civil penalties for breach of fiduciary responsibilities. Title III: Portability - Amends ERISA and the IRC to provide for faster vesting of employer matching contributions. (Sec. 302) Revises certain restrictions on distributions from IRC 401(k) plans. (Sec. 303) Amends ERISA and IRC with respect to an accrued benefit not to be decreased by plan amendment to revise the treatment of transfers between defined contribution plans. (Sec. 304) Amends ERISA rules requiring transfer of benefits of missing participants to direct the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to prescribe similar rules for multiemployer plans that terminate. Requires transfer of missing participants' plan benefits to the PBGC by certain plans not otherwise subject to ERISA enforcement provisions. Title IV: Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection - Subtitle A: Pension Reform - Makes certain new rules for pension integration under the Tax Reform Act of 1986 applicable to all existing accrued benefits. (Sec. 401) Amends IRC to: (1) disallow integration for simplified employee pensions; and (2) provide for eventual repeal of certain pension integration rules. (Sec. 402) Sets forth rules regarding the application of minimum coverage requirements with respect to separate lines of business. (Sec. 403) Amends IRC and ERISA with respect to division of pension benefits upon divorce, at the former spouse's election, to deem any State divorce decree to be a domestic relations order specifying that half of the marital share of the participant's accrued benefit is to be provided to such former spouse. (Sec. 404) Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (RRA) to entitle divorced spouses to railroad retirement annuities independent of the employee's actual entitlement. Subtitle B: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs - Amends RRA to extend Tier II railroad retirement benefits to surviving former spouses pursuant to divorce agreements. (Sec. 412) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to survivor annuities for widows, widowers, and former spouses of Federal employees who die before attaining the age for deferred annuity under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). (Sec. 413) Amends Federal law relating to the armed forces to terminate a two-tier annuity computation and social security offset under the military survivor benefit plan. (Sec. 414) Amends Federal civil service law with respect to payment of lump-sum benefits to former spouses of Federal employees under CSRS and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS). Subtitle C: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements - Modifies ERISA and IRC requirements for joint and survivor annuities to provide for an alternative joint and two-thirds survivor annuity payable while both the participant and the spouse are alive. Subtitle D: Spousal Consent Required for Distributions From Section 401(k) Plans - Amends IRC to require spousal consent for distributions from section 401(k) plans. Subtitle E: Women's Pension Toll-Free Phone Number - Directs the Secretary of Labor to contract with an independent organization to create a women's pension toll-free phone number and contact. Authorizes appropriations. Title V: Date for Adoption of Plan Amendments - Sets forth dates for adoption of plan amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup Title II: State Voluntary Response Programs Title III: Innocent Landowners and Prospective Purchaser Liability Community Revitalization and Brownfield Cleanup Act of 1997 - Title I: Brownfield Remediation and Environmental Cleanup - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to provide grants to local governments to inventory and conduct site assessments of brownfield sites. Defines a "brownfield site" as a parcel of land that contains or contained abandoned, idled, or under-used commercial or industrial facilities, the expansion or redevelopment of which is complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants. (Sec. 103) Directs the Administrator to establish a program of grants to local governments for capitalization of loan programs for brownfield site cleanup by the locality or owner or prospective purchaser. (Sec. 104) Makes amounts in the Hazardous Substance Superfund (the Fund) available to carry out the grant programs of this Act. Authorizes appropriations from the Fund. (Sec. 105) Requires reports to the Congress regarding the site assessment and loan capitalization programs. (Sec. 106) Imposes funding limitations, including a restriction on use of funds to meet Federal cost-sharing requirements and a prohibition on the use of grants to pay fines or penalties. (Sec. 109) Authorizes appropriations to carry out the site assessment and loan capitalization programs. Title II: State Voluntary Response Programs - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to add provisions requiring the Administrator to provide technical and other assistance to States to establish and expand qualifying State voluntary response programs, comprised of elements including public participation opportunities, oversight and enforcement authorities, and certification mechanisms. Title III: Innocent Landowners and Prospective Purchaser Liability - Amends CERCLA, with respect to defenses to liability of an owner of after-acquired property, to deem a person to have made (under current law, "undertaken") appropriate inquiry into the property's previous ownership and uses if the person establishes that an environmental site assessment was conducted which meets specified requirements (compliance with an American Society for Testing and Materials standard or with standards issued by the President) and the person fulfills certain responsibilities concerning information compilation, exercise of appropriate care with respect to hazardous substances at the facility, and cooperation with those conducting response actions. (Sec. 302) Absolves from liability for response actions bona fide prospective purchasers to the extent liability at a facility for a release or threat thereof is based solely on ownership or operation of a facility. Gives a lien upon a facility to the United States for unrecovered response costs in any case in which there are such unrecovered costs for which the owner is not liable by reason of this Act and the facility's fair market value has increased above that which existed 180 days before the action was taken. (Sec. 303) Adds CERCLA provisions governing owner-operator status of persons owning or operating property contiguous to a release site.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Microcredit for Self-Reliance Act of 1997 - Authorizes the President to provide through U.S. and indigenous nongovernmental organizations and credit institutions credit and other assistance for microenterprises in developing countries. Sets forth assistance eligibility criteria. Authorizes funds allocations. Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, in order to maximize the sustainable development impact of such assistance, to establish a monitoring system that sets certain performance goals for it. Authorizes appropriations for the U.S. contribution to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) only to provide grants to nongovernmental organizations and other private community-based microenterprise institutions serving the poor, especially women. Directs the President to urge other IFAD donor nations to contribute to the microenterprise and microfinance activities of the Fund. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Microstart Program established by the United Nations Development Program represents an important new initiative; and (2) the President should instruct the U.S. representative to the United Nations to use the U.S. vote to support the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Historic Homeownership Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures made by a taxpayer with respect to a certified historic home which has been substantially rehabilitated and which is owned by the taxpayer and used as his or her principal residence. Allows the credit for such expenditures to be taken by a purchaser of the rehabilitated home. Permits, in lieu of the credit, a historic rehabilitation mortgage credit certificate, which shall be transferred to a lender in exchange for a reduction in the rate of interest on the loan secured by the building.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1997
Merchant Mariners Fairness Act of 1997 - Provides that certain qualified service of a member of the U.S. merchant marine, including a vessel crewmember of the U.S. Army or Naval Transport Service, during World War II constituted active military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits under the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge under such Act to each merchant marine member whose qualified service warrants such a discharge. Prohibits the payment of any retroactive benefits under this Act. Mandates a processing fee for any benefit application of a member possessing such qualified service.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish birth defects prevention and research programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to provide for collection, analysis, and reporting of birth defects statistics from birth certificates, infant death certificates, hospital records, or other sources and to collect and disaggregate such statistics by gender and racial and ethnic group. Directs the Secretary to establish at least five regional birth defects monitoring and research programs to collect and analyze information on the number, incidence, correlation, and causes of birth defects. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Director of CDC, to award grants or enter into cooperative agreements with specified entities to serve as Centers of Excellence for Birth Defects Prevention Research. Requires one of the Centers to focus on birth defects among ethnic minorities. Requires the CDC to establish a clearinghouse for the collection and storage of data generated from birth defects monitoring programs developed under this Act. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to provide for the evaluation, and implementation of prevention strategies designed to reduce the incidence and effects of birth defects. Requires the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to consult with State and local governmental agencies, managed care organizations, nonprofit organizations, physicians, and other health professionals and organizations. Directs the Secretary to establish an Advisory Committee for Birth Defects Prevention. Requires the Secretary to report biennially to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources regarding birth defects. Subjects the provisions of this Act to requirements of the Privacy Act. Applies all Federal laws relating to the privacy of information to the data and information that is collected under this Act. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Research on Lupus Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus Lupus Research and Care Amendments of 1997 - Title I: Research on Lupus - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute with respect to lupus. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate such activities with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of Health; and (2) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, lupus, including research to determine the reasons underlying the elevated prevalence of the disease among African-American and other women. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Delivery of Services Regarding Lupus - Mandates grants for the establishment, operation, and coordination of effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with lupus and their families. Regulates fees imposed by grantees on service recipients. Authorizes technical assistance. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: School Construction Assistance Program Title II: General Provisions Partnership to Rebuild America's Schools Act of 1997 - Title I: School Construction Assistance Program - Part 1: Program Authorized - Establishes a program to provide Federal funds to help States and local school districts finance the repair, renovation, modernization, and construction of their school facilities. (Sec. 104) Makes appropriations and specifies their allocation. Part 2: Grants to States - Provides for allocation of funds for formula grants to States by the Secretary of Education, on a proportional basis similar to that for Basic Grants for disadvantaged students under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) eligible State agencies; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) period for project initiation; (5) selection of localities and projects; (6) State applications; (7) amount of Federal subsidy; (8) separate funds or accounts; (9) prudent investment; and (10) State reports. Part 3: Direct Grants to Local Educational Agencies - Provides for direct grants both formula and competitive) to local educational agencies (LEAs) by the Secretary of Education. (Sec. 121) Makes eligible for grants the LEAs with the largest numbers of children aged five through 17 from families living below the poverty level. Makes LEAs for Hawaii and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ineligible for such grants. Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) grantees; (2) allowable uses of funds; (3) eligible construction projects; (4) redistribution of funds; (5) local applications; (6) formula grants; (7) competitive grants; (8) amount of Federal subsidy; (9) separate funds or accounts; (10) prudent investment; and (11) local reports. Title II: General Provisions - Sets forth requirements relating to: (1) technical employees; (2) wage rates; (3) no liability of the Federal Government; and (4) consultation with Secretary of the Treasury by the Secretary of Education.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1997
Medicare Telemedicine and Medical Informatics Demonstration Act of 1997 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, to make a grant to a consortium meeting specified criteria to provide for a project for the development and operation of telemedicine and medical informatics systems to demonstrate the application of high-capacity computing and advanced networks to the provision of health care to residents of medically underserved rural and inner-city areas. Requires the project to focus on Medicare beneficiaries and on improvements in primary care (and prevention of complications) for residents with diabetes. Lists project objectives, which include improving patient access to and compliance with appropriate care guidelines for chronic diseases through direct telecommunications link with information networks in order to improve patient quality-of-life and reduce overall health care costs. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the time limitation on benefits for immunosuppressive drugs under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Domestic Violence Legal Services Eligibility Act - Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to require the Legal Services Corporation, in establishing income levels to determine if a client who is the victim of domestic violence is eligible for assistance, to prescribe that only that client's income will be considered in making such determination.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Firearm Child Safety Lock Act of 1997 - Prohibits the transfer of a firearm or the manufacture of a handgun, in or affecting commerce, without a specified child safety lock. Sets forth civil penalties for violations of this Act, including loss of a Federal dealer's license.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Amends Federal law relating to health insurance for Government employees to require that each health insurance contract ensure that, to the extent possible, prescriptions are filled with a generic form of the drug involved unless the nongeneric form is ordered by the provider or requested by the individual.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Fast-Track Fairness and Accountability Act - Authorizes the President to enter into a trade agreement eligible for fast-track consideration only if it requires each country party to the agreement to: (1) adopt laws that afford internationally recognized worker rights to workers and that promote internationally recognized environmental standards in that country; and (2) treat as an actionable unfair trade practice the denial of such rights and standards as a means for such country to gain a competitive trade advantage.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Federal Jobs Opportunity Act - Amends Federal law concerning Government organizations and employees to entitle an individual who receives a passing grade in an examination for entrance into the competitive service, and, on the date of taking such examination or at any time within the 14-day period immediately preceding such date, is a welfare recipient, to three additional points above the rating earned by such individual. Requires that any entitlement of an individual to additional points under the preceding in connection with a particular examination shall terminate: (1) upon the termination of the individual's entitlement to welfare benefits or within a reasonable period thereafter as may be provided for under any regulations to carry out this Act; or (2) if later, upon the expiration of the 12-month period beginning on the date of the examination (non-applicable if the welfare benefits are terminated by reason of fraud or for other similar reasons). Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to prescribe any regulations necessary to carry out this Act, including provisions relating to: (1) how an individual may demonstrate that he or she qualifies as a welfare recipient for purposes of this Act; and (2) procedures under which OPM, an appointing authority, or another official or agency shall be notified in the event of a termination of welfare benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Northern Ireland Peace Act - Prohibits the sale or export of plastic bullets to the United Kingdom, including the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Directs the President, in order to deny the United Kingdom and the Royal Ulster Constabulary the ability to support acts of violence and destruction against Catholic enclaves in Northern Ireland, to establish diplomatic initiatives, both bilaterally with U.S. allies and multilaterally in appropriate international fora (including the United Nations) to limit the sale or export of plastic bullets to the United Kingdom and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Directs the President to report periodically to the Congress on such bilateral and multilateral efforts. Directs the Secretary of State, as part of the annual human rights report to the Congress under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, to include a description of each incident involving the use of plastic bullets as weapons in Northern Ireland.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Workplace Violence Prevention Tax Credit Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a workplace safety program credit to an employer for 40 percent of the safety and education costs paid or incurred by such employer to implement workplace safety programs to combat violence against women.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1997
Urges: (1) the Supreme Court of Argentina to designate a single investigative judge to conduct the investigation of the March 17, 1992 terrorist bombing of the Israeli embassy; (2) Argentinean judicial authorities to move forward aggressively in the investigation of the July 18, 1994 terrorist bombing of the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina Jewish Community Center; (3) Argentinean authorities to acknowledge publicly the reports submitted by Argentinean, U.S., and Israeli experts which determined that the explosion at the Israeli embassy took place outside the walls of the embassy; and (4) the President and appropriate executive agencies to provide all appropriate assistance which has been or which may be requested to help Argentinean authorities investigate these acts of terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
Allows each Member of the House of Representatives to hire one additional employee under the Members' Representational Allowance if: (1) at the time of such employment, the individual employed is receiving welfare; and (2) by reason of the employment, the individual is no longer eligible for welfare. Provides that nothing in this Act may be construed to permit any increase in the amount of funds provided under the Members' Representational Allowance of any Member who hires such employee. Amends the Social Security Act to provide that, with respect to a Member who employs in the District of Columbia a recipient of assistance under a State grant program under such Act, as long as the State represented by the Member elects to treat the recipient as a member of a family in such State for purposes of its welfare participation rate requirements, the recipient shall be so treated by only that State.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Brownfield Grants Programs Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development Brownfield Grants Title III: Expensing of Environmental Remediation Costs Brownfield Economic Revitalization Act of 1997 - Title I: Brownfield Grants Programs - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a program to provide grants to States, local governments, or Indian tribes to inventory and conduct site assessments of, and other pre-cleanup activities at, brownfield sites. Defines a "brownfield site" as an abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial or commercial facility where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. (Sec. 103) Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish a program of grants to States, local governments, or Indian tribes for capitalization of loan programs for brownfield site cleanup by the State, locality, tribe, or owner or prospective purchaser; (2) carry out programs of assistance for partnership agreements between EPA and State and local governments, Federal agencies, or private entities and for brownfields workforce training in affected communities; and (3) establish a program of voluntary cleanup grants to States or tribes. (Sec. 107) Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Department of Housing and Urban Development Brownfield Grants - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants, in connection with the authority to guarantee obligations to finance certain community development activities, to eligible public entities for projects and activities for economic redevelopment of brownfield sites. Title III: Expensing of Environmental Remediation Costs - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a taxpayer to elect to treat certain hazardous substance remediation expenditures as expenses not chargeable to capital account and therefore deductible in the year in which paid or incurred. Requires that such expenditures be made at non-National Priorities List contaminated sites in areas that meet specified poverty, zoning, enterprise or empowerment zone, or brownfields pilot project criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1997 - Title I: Hemophilia Relief Fund - Establishes in the Treasury the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 103) Specifies that any individual who has a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection shall receive $125,000 from amounts available in the Fund if the individual meets one of the following conditions: (1) has a blood-clotting disorder and was treated with blood-clotting agents between July 1, 1982, and December 31, 1987; (2) is the lawful spouse of such individual or the former lawful spouse and was the lawful spouse of the individual at any time after a date within such period on which the individual was treated; or (3) acquired the HIV infection through perinatal transmission from a parent who is such an individual. Requires that the following conditions be met with respect to such individual: (1) the individual submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services written medical documentation that the individual has an HIV infection; (2) a petition for payment be filed with the Secretary by or on behalf of such individual; and (3) that the Secretary determine that the claim meets the requirements of this Act. (Sec. 105) Specifies that any right under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable. Sets limits regarding the number of claims per victim. (Sec. 106) Prohibits the Secretary from making any payment with respect to any petition filed under this Act unless the petition is filed within three years after the enactment of this Act. Title II: Treatment of Certain Private Settlement Payments in Hemophilia-Clotting-Factor Suit under the Medicaid and SSI Programs - Prohibits a settlement payment from being considered income or resources in determining a class member's eligibility for, or the amount of: (1) medical assistance under the Medicaid program; or (2) benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program. Defines the terms: (1) "class member"; and (2) "settlement payment."
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1997
Medicare Bone Mass Measurement Coverage Standardization Coverage Act of 1997 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for standard national Medicare coverage of bone mass measurements (for early detection of potential osteoporosis).
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1997
Declares that it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States and the United Nations, through the International Coral Reef Initiative, should: (1) work with organizations, governments, and the private sector to identify, and eliminate or modify, unsustainable fisheries or other practices that are harmful to coral reefs and human health; and (2) promote the sustainable use of coral reef resources worldwide, consistent with Agenda 21 of the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries adopted in October 1995, and the International Coral Reef Initiative Call to Action and Framework for Action.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Railway Labor Act to apply its provisions regarding railway labor practices to U.S. air carrier flight operations (excluding ground operations performed by non-flight crew members) conducted in whole or in part outside of the United States and their flight crew members who perform their duties in whole or in part outside of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Safe and Sober Streets Act of 1997 - Amends Federal transportation law to require the Secretary of Transportation to withhold five percent of the funds authorized for Federal aid highway programs for FY 2001, and ten percent of such amounts for subsequent fiscal years, from any State that has not enacted and is not enforcing a law that considers as intoxicated an individual who has an alcohol concentration level of 0.08 percent or greater while operating a motor vehicle in such State. Allows funds withheld from a State during FY 2001 to be available for up to three fiscal years after such date (to allow a State to meet such requirement within such period), but allows no grace period with respect to funds withheld during the subsequent fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Jesse Gray Housing Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a program to construct new public housing units. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to make financial assistance available for public housing projects, especially those likely to be disposed of or demolished. Prohibits the Secretary from approving a project demolition application. Reduces lower-income rent contribution and related amounts under: (1) the United States Housing Act of 1937; (2) the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act; (3) the Housing Act of 1959; (4) the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965; (5) the National Housing Act; (6) the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978; (7) the Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983; (8) the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990; (9) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, (10) the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996; (11) the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992; (12) the Housing Act of 1949; (13) the Federal Home Loan Bank Act; (14) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act; (15) the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; and (16) the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992. Excludes welfare or social security cost-of-living adjustments from such adjusted income determinations. Directs the Secretary to prepare a Federal housing assistance report.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the post-1987 reduction in the State ceiling on private activity bonds. Provides, beginning in 1999, for cost-of-living adjustments in the State ceiling on such bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 1997
NAFTA Accountability Act - Requires assessment of the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), renegotiation of certain NAFTA provisions, and withdrawal from NAFTA unless specified conditions are met and certified to. Sets forth conditions for continuing U.S. participation in NAFTA, which must be met before the end of 1998. Requires certifications by certain U.S. officials with respect to NAFTA, relating to: (1) overall trade balance between each NAFTA Party (United States, Canada, and Mexico) (by the Secretary of Commerce); (2) currency values (by the Secretary of the Treasury); (3) gains in U.S. jobs and living standards (by the Secretary of Labor); (4) health and environmental standards, with respect to food imports and to U.S.-Mexico border areas (by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Food and Drug Administration, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency); (5) flow of illegal drugs from Mexico and Canada (by the Attorney General); (6) NAFTA Party democracy and human freedoms (by the President); (7) U.S. agriculture (by the Secretary of Agriculture); and (8) compliance with U.S. transportation safety standards by Mexican commercial trucks or buses coming into the United States (by the Secretary of Transportation). Requires the President to renegotiate, in specified ways, the terms of NAFTA to: (1) correct trade deficits, currency distortions, loss of U.S. jobs, and agricultural tariff and quota provisions; and (2) ensure the safety of the public health and the environment, provide effective drug interdiction, and ensure compliance with certain U.S. transportation standards. Directs the President to consult regularly with the Congress regarding such renegotiations and certifications. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative to consult with appropriate congressional committees in developing technical and conforming amendments that may be required to carry out this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that until the conditions set by this Act are met: (1) the President should not engage in negotiations to expand NAFTA to include other countries; and (2) fast-track authority should not be renewed with respect to the approval of any such NAFTA expansion.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1997
Ovarian Cancer Research and Information Amendments of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for research on ovarian cancer. Specifies material to be included in ovarian cancer information and education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1997
Aviation Safety Protection Act of 1997 - Amends Federal transportation law to establish a whistleblower protection program for airline employees providing air safety information. Prohibits air carriers, contractors, and subcontractors from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee as to pay, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee: (1) is about to provide or has provided to the Federal Government information relating to air safety; or (2) is about to file or has filed a proceeding, or testified, or otherwise participated in a proceeding relating to air safety. Sets forth a Department of Labor complaint procedure for persons who believe they have been discharged or discriminated against in violation of this Act. Provides for award of attorney's fees of up to $5,000 to a prevailing employer for any such complaint found frivolous or brought in bad faith. Specifies civil penalties for violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 1997
Women's Health Office Act of 1997 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Social Security Act, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish an Office of (or on) Women's Health and a related coordinating committee in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, the Health Care Resources and Services Administration, and the Office of the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements, contracts, and interagency agreements with public and nonprofit private entities, agencies, and organizations. Requires that the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall directly or through contracts with public and private entities, agencies, and organization, provide for evaluations of projects carried out with financial assistance provided under the grants and for the dissemination of information developed as a result of such projects. Transfers to such Office all functions exercised by the Office on Women's Health of the Public Health Service prior to the enactment of this Act, including all personnel and compensation authority, all delegation and assignment authority, and all remaining appropriations. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary for FY 1998 through 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Morris K. Udall Wilderness Act of 1997 - Designates specified lands in Alaska as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act - Declares it is the policy of the Congress that: (1) English shall be the common language of mutual understanding in the United States, and this policy shall apply in all of the States freely admitted to the Union; and (2) if the referenda under this Act result in approval of sovereignty leading to Statehood for Puerto Rico, it is anticipated that English would become the official language of the Federal Government in Puerto Rico. Declares that Congress has the authority to expand existing English language requirements in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Requires a referendum to be held by December 31, 1998, on Puerto Rico's political status, for either: (1) retention of its present Commonwealth status; (2) full self-government through separate sovereignty leading to independence or free association; or (3) full self-government through U.S. sovereignty leading to statehood. Requires the President to develop and submit to the Congress for approval legislation for: (1) a transition plan of at least ten years which leads to full self-government for Puerto Rico; and (2) a recommendation for the implementation of such self-government consistent with Puerto Rico's approval. Requires the transition plan, if the vote favors statehood, to include proposals and incentives to increase the opportunities of the people of Puerto Rico to learn English, including the teaching of English in public schools, fellowships, and scholarships. Requires another referendum within four years, and every four years thereafter (but not in a general election year), if the referendum conducted under this Act, and any subsequent referendum, does not result in a majority vote for separate sovereignty or statehood. Sets forth specified requirements with respect to the referendum and congressional procedures for consideration of legislation. Makes funds available for the referendum, including those derived from the Federal excise tax on foreign rum. Requires the Government of Puerto Rico to make grants to the State Elections Commission of Puerto Rico for referenda held under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Commemorative Coins Title II: Circulating Coins Marian Anderson Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Title I: Commemorative Coins - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) mint and issue one-dollar and half-dollar coins in commemoration of the centennial of the birth of Marian Anderson; and (2) allocate sales surcharges to the Smithsonian Institution, the Public Broadcasting Fund, and the National Museum of American History for the support of the National Numismatic Collection. Title II: Circulating Coins - Amends Federal currency law to provide that at the Secretary's discretion, half-dollar coins minted after specified dates may bear the same design as the commemorative coins minted under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Increases the salaries of the Chief Justice and associate Supreme Court justices of the United States and the judges of the United States courts of appeals, the United States district courts, and the United States Court of International Trade by 9.6 percent. Requires future adjustments in judicial salaries to equal the percentage by which General Schedule pay rates are adjusted (currently, the percentage change in the Employment Cost Index).
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Authorizes the Ralph David Abernathy Memorial Foundation to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor Dr. Ralph David Abernathy and the Poor People's Campaign. Exempts the memorial from provisions of the Commemorative Works Act which: (1) prohibit commemorative works honoring a nonmilitary event, individual, or group of individuals from being authorized until after the 25th anniversary of the event or death of the individual(s); and (2) require the offset of Federal funds used to pay maintenance and preservation expenses of the memorial and its infrastructure (but requires excess construction funds received by the Foundation to be deposited in a Treasury account for such expenses).
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1997
Recognizes the importance of African-American music to global culture. Calls on the people of the United States to study, reflect on, and celebrate African-American music.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1997
Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 1995 (sic) - Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to include certain service in the organized military forces of the Philippines and service as Philippine Scouts within the definition of active U.S. military service for purposes of eligibility for various veterans' benefits for former active-duty military personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 1997
Jesse Gray Housing Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to carry out a program to construct new public housing units. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the Secretary to make financial assistance available for public housing projects, especially those likely to be disposed of or demolished. Prohibits the Secretary from approving a project demolition application. Requires public housing agencies to carry out job training and employment programs in connection with certain housing construction and revitalization projects. Reduces lower-income rent contribution and related amounts under: (1) the United States Housing Act of 1937; (2) the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act; (3) the Housing Act of 1959; (4) the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965; (5) the National Housing Act; (6) the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978; (7) the Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983; (8) the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990; (9) the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997, (10) the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996; (11) the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992; (12) the Housing Act of 1949; (13) the Federal Home Loan Bank Act; (14) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act; (15) the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; and (16) the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992. Excludes welfare or social security cost-of-living adjustments from such adjusted income determinations. Directs the Secretary to prepare a Federal housing assistance report.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1997
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 1997 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Public Health Service Act to require any group health plan which provides emergency health services to cover emergency services furnished to a plan participant: (1) without need for any prior authorization; (2) subject to stated exceptions, whether or not the physician or provider is plan participant; and (3) subject to stated exceptions, without regard to any other term or condition of the plan. Defines "emergency medical services" and related terms. Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) to provide for the provision of the same benefits to Medicare and Medicaid plan participants. Provides for the establishment of guidelines by the appropriate Secretaries in order carry out the provisions of this Act. Directs the Secretaries to jointly establish an advisory panel to assist in the development of such guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1997
Fairness in Medicaid Funding Act of 1997 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to revise the State percentage factor and related factors in the Federal medical assistance percentage used under the Medicaid program. Bases payments to the States for administration costs on the Federal medical assistance percentage.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1997
Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations relating to gender-based persecution, including female genital mutilation, for use in determining an alien's eligibility for asylum or withholding of deportation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 1997
Prohibits a person from leaving a loaded firearm, or an unloaded firearm and ammunition, any of which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, in a manner that the person knows or reasonably should know is likely to be accessible to a juvenile, unless the person has given the juvenile permission to possess the firearm and the possession is under the supervision of an adult who is not prohibited by Federal, State, or local law from possessing a firearm. Requires that: (1) licensed dealers post a copy of such prohibition; and (2) notice be included on the form required to be obtained by licensed dealers from prospective firearms transferees. Makes it an affirmative defense that the firearm was left in a locked, opaque box or with a trigger locking device installed. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, to impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a violation. Limits judicial review of the Secretary's action. Prohibits, with exceptions, the sale of a firearm by a licensed dealer to any person unless, before the sale, the dealer has offered to sell the purchaser a trigger locking device, explained its operation, and had the person indicate in writing that the person understands that trigger locking devices are available for purchase.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1997
21st Century Scholars Act of 1997 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a 21st Century Scholars Program, which shall give eligible 21st Century Scholars (eligible Scholars) a legally binding promise, secured by the full faith and credit of the United States, to provide the maximum authorized Pell Grant to cover the costs of attendance for each of up to four years of attendance at an eligible institution. Makes students eligible Scholars if they successfully completed the uppermost grade at a qualifying elementary school and were residents of the such school's attendance area during the school year in which such grade was completed. Makes schools qualifying elementary schools if they serve attendance areas in which the concentration of children from low-income families exceeds 75 percent, as determined under specified provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1997
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Pension Reform Title II: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs Title III: Reforms Related to 401(k) Plans Title IV: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements Title V: Spousal Consent Required for Distributions from Section 401(k) Plans Title VI: Women's Pension Toll-Free Phone Number Title VII: Periodic Pension Benefits Statements Comprehensive Women's Pension Protection Act of 1997 - Title I: Pension Reform - Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to apply specified integrated plan nondiscrimination rules to all accrued benefits. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to repeal the permitted disparity provision with respect to simplified employee pension contributions. (Sec. 102) Applies minimum coverage requirements to a separate line of business employer plan for qualified trust purposes. Establishes a single line of business special rule. (Sec. 103) Sets forth provisions concerning the division of pension benefits upon divorce. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to set forth similar provisions. (Sec. 104) Provides for the continued availability of certain remedies with respect to pre-1985 domestic relations orders. (Sec. 105) Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to eliminate specified employee-annuitant requirements with respect to a divorced wife's annuity. Title II: Protection of Rights of Former Spouses to Pension Benefits Under Certain Government and Government-Sponsored Retirement Programs - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 and Federal law to provide for protection of former spouses to railroad and civil service pension benefits. Title III: Reforms Related to 401(k) Plans - Applies a specified limitation on acquisition and holding of employer securities and real property to 401(k) plans. Title IV: Modifications of Joint and Survivor Annuity Requirements - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Code to permit, with respect to specified plans, a qualified joint and two-thirds survivor annuity. Defines such an annuity. Title V: Spousal Consent Required for Distributions from Section 401(k) Plans - Amends the Code to require spousal consent for 401(k) plan distributions. Title VI: Women's Pension Toll-Free Phone Number - Directs the Secretary of Labor to provide for a women's pension toll-free telephone number. Authorizes appropriations. Title VII: Periodic Pension Benefits Statements - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prescribe time periods for furnishing pension benefits statements.
![Official portrait of Rep. Meek, Carrie P. [D-FL-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000628_200.jpg)