United States · United States Congress · 28 September 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose Title II: Binding Budget Law Title III: Enforcement of Budget Discipline Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law Subtitle B: Line Item Reduction Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited Subtitle D: "Pay-as-You-Go" Requirement for New Spending Subtitle E: "Lock-Box" for Savings From Spending Reductions Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism Title V: Protection of Social Security Title VI: Technical Amendments to Federal Law to Carry Out This Act Title VII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation Budget Process Reform Act - Title I: Statement of Congressional Purpose - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Federal budget process should focus the attention of policymakers and the public on the aggregate impact of Federal spending on the economy, and on the tradeoffs that must be made among priorities in order to control overall levels of spending. Declares that the budget process should contain safeguards against delay and inaction, so that temporary shut-downs of the Government may be avoided. Title II: Binding Budget Law - Requires the Congress to enact a binding budget law, in the form of a joint resolution, by April 15 of the calendar year before that in which the fiscal period commences. (Sec. 202) Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any spending bill affecting spending in a major functional category unless and until a joint resolution on the budget is enacted. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to require a two-thirds majority vote in the House and the Senate to consider any spending bill prior to the enactment of the budget law. Repeals authority for consideration of spending bills prior to adoption of the budget resolution. (Sec. 203) Prohibits baseline budgeting. Requires objective year- to-year comparisons under budget law, with the starting point for both Presidential and congressional budgets the levels of budget outlays for the current fiscal year. (Sec. 204) Amends the CBA to establish a rainy day fund for natural disasters. Requires budget law to include a major functional category for natural disasters, under specified conditions. (Sec. 205) Amends Federal law relating to the contents of the President's annual budget submission to the Congress to require the President to submit: (1) a budget of the U.S. Government for the following fiscal period on a single page, which sets forth specific budget ceilings in each major functional category, by the first Monday in February of each year before that in which a fiscal period commences; and (2) a detailed budget for that fiscal period, on or before the 15th day after a joint resolution on the budget for the following budget period is enacted. Title III: Enforcement of Budget Discipline - Subtitle A: Supermajority Required to Break Budget Law - Amends CBA to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to provide to the Congress an estimate of the costs in each major functional category of each spending bill before being voted on by the Senate or the House. (Sec. 301) Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to consider over-budget spending bills. (Sec. 302) Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House and the Senate to waive any provision of this Act. Subtitle B: Limited Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to exercise line-item reduction authority if the Congress exceeds the budget ceilings in the binding budget law or an automatic continuing resolution for a fiscal period. Declares that such authority shall permit the reduction of over-budget spending in a major functional category to the level established in the binding budget law or automatic continuing resolution. Sets forth procedures for congressional introductions of line-item bills after the President transmits a special message to rescind an item of budget authority. Prohibits amendments to such bills. Subtitle C: "Blank Check" Appropriations Prohibited - Declares the intent of the Congress to end open-ended, "blank check" appropriations which typically authorize spending "such sums as may be necessary." (Sec. 306) Amends CBA to require fixed-dollar appropriations for every account except Social Security and interest on the debt. Prohibits open-ended appropriations. (Sec. 307) Requires Executive agencies to adjust expenditures, including program eligibility requirements and benefit levels, to ensure that appropriations for entitlement programs are not exceeded. (Sec. 308) Restricts budget authority and entitlement authority to one fiscal period. Subtitle D: "Pay As You Go" Requirement for New Spending - Amends CBA to prohibit the Congress from considering any legislation which exceeds the budget ceiling unless it offsets such increased spending with an equal amount of reductions. Requires a two-thirds affirmative vote in the House or in the Senate to waive such prohibition. Sets forth special rules in the case of legislation that exceeds a budget ceiling for the natural disaster functional category. Repeals a CBA provision for an exemption in the House from pay-as- you-go rules. Subtitle E: "Lock-Box" for Savings From Spending Reductions - Amends CBA to: (1) establish "lock-box" procedures to ensure budget savings from House and Senate amendments to appropriations bills result in actual spending cuts; (2) require Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports on such procedures; and (3) mandate reduction of spending allocations to House and Senate committees and subcommittees to meet "lock-box" levels. Title IV: Sustaining Mechanism - Makes appropriations to provide for an automatic continuing resolution if for any account an appropriation for a fiscal period does not become law before the beginning of such period. (Sec. 402) Provides for contingency regulations for automatic continuing resolutions. Grants each State the option of receiving an aggregate amount for the fiscal period for social safety net programs equal to the allocation to the State for such programs in the preceding fiscal period. (Sec. 403) Restricts consideration of legislation providing budget or spending authority to only that reported by the Committees on Appropriations. Makes such restriction inapplicable in the case of Social Security benefits. Title V: Protection of Social Security - Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to require or permit reductions in otherwise payable Social Security benefits. (Sec. 502) Provides that no reduction in benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) shall be made as a consequence of this Act. Title VI: Technical Amendments to Federal Law to Carry Out This Act - Makes various technical and conforming amendments, including changing references to a concurrent resolution on the budget to references to a joint resolution on the budget. Title VII: Definitions and Rules of Interpretation - Sets forth definitions for specified terms. Changes the definition of budget authority to exclude offsetting receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1996
Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1996 - Prohibits the use of appropriated funds to provide, procure, furnish, fund, or support, or to compel any individual, institution, or government entity to provide, procure, furnish, fund, or support, any item, good, benefit, program, or service, the purpose of which is to cause, or to assist in causing, the suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing of any individual. Amends the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to incorporate a modified version of this prohibition. Adds a further prohibition, with regard to protection and advocacy systems, against certain assistance provided under such Federal laws for asserting or advocating a legal right to cause, or to assist in causing, or to receive assistance in causing, suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing. Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the use or availability of appropriations under such Act to provide any item, or service, for the purposes of causing or assisting in suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing. Prohibits Federal financial participation under title XIX (Medicaid), or Federal reimbursement under title XVIII (Medicare), of the Social Security Act for assisted suicide or related services. Provides for the treatment of advance directives under both Medicare and Medicaid. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for assisted suicide and related services under the Older Americans Act of 1965, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, and under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services Program) of the Social Security Act. Prohibits the use of appropriated funds for assisted suicide and related services under the military and Federal employees health care systems, and as health care for Peace Corps volunteers and Federal prisoners. Amends the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act to ban the use of Federal funds for assisted suicide and related services. Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to prohibit the use of legal assistance for assisted suicide and related services, and for asserting or advocating a legal right to such services.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1996
Role Models Academy Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a demonstration program under which a four-year, residential, military-style academy (the Role Models Academy) is established which: (1) offers at-risk youth secondary school coursework and vocational training (and may offer precollegiate coursework); (2) focuses on the education and vocational training of youth at risk of delinquency or dropping out of secondary school; (3) has a teaching staff primarily composed of former members of the armed forces or participants in the Troops to Teachers Program, if they are qualified and trained to teach at the Academy; (4) operates a mentoring program involving role models from all sectors of society; (5) may contain a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps unit; (6) is housed on the site of any military installation closed pursuant to a base closure law; and (7) if effective, serves as a model for similar military-style academies throughout the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 1996
Jackie Robinson Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) mint and issue one-dollar silver coins emblematic of Jackie Robinson in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the breaking of the color barrier in major league baseball; and (2) distribute surcharge proceeds to the Jackie Robinson Foundation to enhance its education and youth leadership programs, and increase the availability of scholarships for economically disadvantaged youths.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 1996
Veterans Medicare Subvention Demonstration Project Act - Directs the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly establish a demonstration project to provide the Department of Veterans Affairs with reimbursement, under provisions of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, for health care services provided to certain Medicare-eligible veterans. Requires the Secretaries to conduct the project: (1) in not more than three Veterans Integrated Service Networks; and (2) during the three-year period beginning on January 1, 1997. Requires the Secretaries to include a provision for expanding the project to incorporate health care services provided to Medicare-eligible veterans under fee-for-service arrangements if the Secretaries determine that such expansion is feasible and advisable. Directs the HHS Secretary to make monthly payments to the Department from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund (HHS trust funds) representing appropriate reimbursement amounts. Provides for the determination of such amounts. Directs the Secretaries to: (1) establish a minimum and maximum enrollment level for veteran participants in the project; and (2) determine baseline costs of such care and coverage. Directs the VA Secretary to: (1) establish and operate a managed health-care plan through which Medicare-eligible veterans who participate in the project receive health care; and (2) waive any enrollment fee for such participants. Directs the Secretaries to report to the Congress concerning specified project participation, findings, and results. Directs the Comptroller General, for each year of the project, to report to the Secretaries and the Congress on the extent to which the costs of the Secretaries have increased as a result of the project. Requires the Secretaries to modify the project following such reviews to correct any discrepancies between project cost targets and actual spending.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1996
Restores Federal armed forces provisions relating to the status of missing persons as in effect before amendments made by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 1996
Authorizes the President to award the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously to Theodore Roosevelt for his actions in the attack of San Juan Heights, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War on July 1, 1898.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1996
Veterans' Training and Employment Bill of Rights Act of 1996 - Entitles the following covered persons to priority of services under any federally-funded workforce preparation, development, or delivery program or service, as long as such person otherwise meets participation eligibility requirements: (1) veterans who have a service-connected disability or who served on active duty in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized; (2) the spouse of any person who died of a service-connected disability or who has a total permanent disability resulting from a service-connected disability; (3) the spouse of any member serving on active duty who is listed as missing in action, captured in the line of duty by a hostile force, or forcibly detained or interned by a foreign government or power; and (4) the spouse of a veteran who died while a permanent service-connected disability was in existence. Requires State and local entities performing such programs or services to inform covered individuals of the availability of such services. Directs the Secretary of Labor to report annually to the congressional veterans' committees concerning an evaluation of such priority program and its level of services. (Sec. 3) Requires Federal contracts or grants of $100,000 or more for the procurement of personal property and non-personal services to contain a provision under which the party receiving the contract or grant agrees to take affirmative action to employ and advance qualified veterans who: (1) are disabled; (2) served on active duty in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized; or (3) while serving on active duty, participated in a U.S. military operation for which an armed forces service medal was awarded. Directs the President to implement promulgating regulations which require the contractee or grantee to list employment openings with local employment agencies and to give priority to qualifying veterans. (Sec. 4) Requires veterans qualifying under this Act to be given appropriate recruitment (currently, readjustment) appointments within the Federal Government. (Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary to provide specified veterans' employment rights and benefits assistance to veterans qualifying under this Act. Provides for the filing, investigation, and determination of claims by qualifying individuals that an entity has failed to comply with the hiring requirements provided under this Act. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary to allocate an additional ten full-time equivalent positions from the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor to the Veterans' Employment and Training Service to carry out work training and employment services for qualifying individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1996
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to quarantee veterans loans for adjustable rate mortgages in a manner similar to the manner in which the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development insures adjustable rate mortgages under provisions of the National Housing Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 1996
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the 19 men and women who died in the bombing in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, should be accorded all honor due to heroes; and (2) those who continue to serve in the United States armed forces anywhere in the world should be assured that their well-being and interests will at all times be safeguarded and given the highest priority.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1996
Establishes the Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare to make findings and recommendations to the Congress concerning specified aspects of the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 1996
George Bush School of Government and Public Service Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make a grant to assist in the establishment of the George Bush Fellowship Program, located at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service of the Texas A & M University. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 1996
National Small Business Regulatory Relief Act of 1996 - Amends the Small Business Act to establish a Small Business Regulatory Relief Council. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency, Internal Revenue Service, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (participating agencies) to submit to the Council a five-year plan for the establishment and maintenance of a partnership with small business development centers (SBDCs) for a system of voluntary regulatory compliance (compliance). Outlines plan contents and requires such participating agencies to ensure the nonduplication of efforts in such regard. Requires the Council: (1) within 30 days after a participating agency submits a plan, to approve or modify such plan; (2) to establish guidelines for the implementation of each plan; and (3) to report annually to the President and the congressional small business committees on the types of assistance provided by SBDCs to small businesses participating in the system of compliance, as well as outreach efforts to inform small businesses of such opportunity. Requires each SBDC to: (1) submit annually to the Council a work plan for SBDCs to carry out the system of compliance; (2) report semiannually to the Council on assistance provided to small businesses by SBDCs under this Act; and (3) report annually to the Council on recommendations for improving the regulation of small businesses. Directs the Council to: (1) evaluate annually the system of compliance; (2) determine whether SBDCs are performing in accordance with their compliance work plans; and (3) provide for an independent evaluation of such system after three years of operation. Requires the participating agencies to set aside specified percentages of their annual funding for FY 1997 through 2001 for compliance assistance under this Act. Provides for the deposit of such funds into the National Regulatory Relief Fund, and for appropriate Fund distributions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 1996
Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to improve the social security card for purposes of carrying out illegal alien employment provisions under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Amends Federal law to provide criminal penalties for fraud and related activities concerning work authorization documents.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 1996
Recognizes and honors the Filipino World War II veterans for their defense of democratic ideals and their important contributions to the outcome of World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Veterans Compensation Benefits Title II: Education and Other Readjustment Benefits Title III: Other Matters Veterans' Compensation and Readjustment Benefits Amendments of 1996 - Title I: Veterans Compensation Benefits - Adds bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma to the list of diseases that will be considered service-connected (and therefore compensable) when occurring in a radiation-exposed veteran. (Sec. 102) Considers any veteran age 65 or older and a patient in a nursing home as totally and permanently disabled for purposes of eligibility for veterans' disability compensation. (Sec. 103) Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a pilot program under which veterans' medical disability evaluation examinations may be made under contract by persons other than employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Sec. 104) Reduces the annual clothing allowance for veterans who are incarcerated and furnished clothing by the penal institution. (Sec. 105) Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 1994 to extend the due date for a final report from the Veterans' Claims Adjudication Commission concerning the disposition of claims for veterans' benefits. Provides funding. Title II: Education and Other Readjustment Benefits - Repeals provisions prohibiting the Secretary from approving the enrollment of an eligible veteran or other person in a course offered at an educational institution when such institution has been in operation for less than two years. Prohibits the Secretary from approving enrollment in a course not leading to a standard college degree when: (1) the institution or branch thereof offering the course has been operating for less than two years; or (2) following either a change in ownership or a move, the institution does not retain substantially the same faculty, student body, and courses. Provides for the approval or disapproval of courses offered by an institution under contract. Revises approval requirements concerning the adequacy of student records. (Sec. 202) Eliminates the distinction between the pursuit of education by open circuit television and independent study for purposes of the computation of the educational assistance allowance provided. (Sec. 203) Authorizes the Secretary to approve the pursuit of flight training if, among other requirements, the individual possesses a valid private pilot's license and meets the medical requirements for a commercial pilot's license on the first day of such training and within 60 days after successfully completing such training. (Sec. 204) Repeals a provision limiting the monthly educational assistance allowance payable to an individual pursuing a cooperative program. Increases the monthly educational allowance provided to individuals pursuing training in a business or industrial establishment as part of a full-time education program. (Sec. 205) Extends the authority of the Secretary to issue certificates or other securities evidencing an interest in a pool of veterans' mortgage loans guaranteed by the Department. (Sec. 206) Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to extend the authority for veterans' reintegration projects. Title III: Other Matters - Authorizes the American Battle Monuments Commission to enter into arrangements for the repair and long-term maintenance of war memorials. Establishes in the Treasury a fund for such repair and maintenance expenses. (Sec. 302) Provides burial benefits when a veteran dies at an institution at which such veteran was receiving Department-authorized hospital or nursing home care.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Veterans' Education Programs Title II: Veterans' Benefits Programs Veterans' Education and Compensation Benefits Amendments of 1996 - Title I: Veterans' Education Programs - Makes a veteran eligible for training and rehabilitation services and assistance due to an employment handicap caused by a service-connected disability whether or not such person is in receipt of retired pay. Excludes from the scope of such services and assistance job-readiness skills development and counseling under the Veterans' Job Training Act. Repeals a provision allowing a program of independent living services and assistance to include services and assistance as described in title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) to determine whether a veteran is capable of participating in a program of independent living services and assistance when the Secretary determines that a veteran has a serious employment handicap for which the achievement of a vocational goal currently is not reasonably feasible. Authorizes the provision of a subsistence allowance to a veteran while satisfactorily pursuing a program of employment services provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs. (Currently, such allowance is only permitted after the conclusion of such program.) Provides employment assistance through the Department for certain veterans with a service-connected disability rating of ten percent or more (currently, with any disability). (Sec. 102) Increases the monthly rates of veterans' basic educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill, effective on October 1, 1996. (Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary of Defense to allow certain individuals currently enrolled in the Post-Vietnam Era Veterans' Educational Assistance program to instead enroll in the Montgomery GI Bill program of veterans' educational assistance. Provides for deductions from pay for program participants, while allowing refunds to such individuals for any amount paid into the former program but unused in educational benefits. (Sec. 104) Makes eligible for assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill program members of the Army and Air National Guard who performed certain duty after June 30, 1985 (currently November 29, 1989). Reduces the pay of such individuals for such participation. (Sec. 105) Makes permanent (currently terminates September 30, 1996) the authority for such assistance to include alternative teacher certification programs. Title II: Veterans' Benefits Programs - Revises the effective date for the discontinuance of certain veterans' benefits by reason of death of the recipient. Provides the effective date of an award for dependency and indemnity compensation for which application is received within one year from the date of death of the veteran. (Sec. 202) Increases: (1) from one to two years the authorized period for the payment of certain accrued benefits upon the death of a beneficiary; and (2) from $5,500 to $6,500 the allowance for automobiles and adaptive equipment for certain disabled veterans. (Sec. 204) Directs the Court of Veterans Appeals to provide funds to legal assistance entities to be used to provide legal assistance to financially needy veterans in proceedings before such Court. Directs the Court to seek to provide such funds through a selected nonprofit organization. Outlines types of assistance, services, and activities to be provided using such funds. Directs the Secretary to transfer funds appropriated to the Department for FY 1997 through 2003 for funding the legal assistance program. Directs the Court to report annually to the Congress on the use of such funds.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 1996
War Crimes Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that anyone, whether inside or outside the United States, who commits a grave breach of the Geneva conventions, where the person who commits such breach or the victim of such breach is a member of the U.S. armed forces or a U.S. national, shall be fined or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, or, if death results to the victim, be subject to the death penalty.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Makes herbicide-exposed veterans eligible for hospital and nursing home care for any disease among those for which the National Academy of Sciences has determined: (1) there is sufficient evidence to conclude a positive association between occurrence of the disease and exposure to a herbicide agent; (2) there is evidence which suggests such an association, though such evidence is limited in nature; or (3) available studies are insufficient to permit a conclusion about the presence or absence of such an association. Makes such veterans eligible for such care for a disease for which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines there is credible evidence suggestive of such an association. Makes radiation-exposed veterans eligible for such care for any disease currently listed among covered diseases or any other disease for which the Secretary determines there is credible evidence of a positive association between occurrence of the disease and exposure to such radiation. Extends through 1998 the authority to provide such care. Extends: (1) through 1998 the authority to provide outpatient care to herbicide-exposed veterans; and (2) permanently the authority to provide such care to radiation-exposed veterans. Authorizes the Secretary to establish in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs a Committee on Care of Severely Chronically Mentally Ill Veterans which shall continually assess the capability of VHA to meet the treatment and rehabilitation needs of mentally ill veterans whose mental illnesses are severe and chronic and who are eligible for health care furnished by the Department. Requires various reports with respect to such Committee and its assessments. Directs the Secretary to establish and operate centers for mental illness research, education and clinical activities to represent various U.S. geographic regions. Allows the designation of no more than five centers. Outlines requirements for proposals submitted for designation as a center. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1998 through 2001 for basic support of center activities. Directs the Under Secretary of Health for VHA to allocate other Department funds for such centers. Requires annual reports. Requires at least one center to be designated by January 1, 1998. Authorizes the use of disbursement agreements for the administration of pay, benefits, and records of medical residents and interns serving in Department facilities furnishing hospital care or medical services (currently, only Department hospitals). Authorizes the Secretary to suspend special pay agreements in the case of Department physicians and dentists who enter residency training programs, such suspension to last for the duration of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 1996
Textile and Apparel Global Competitiveness Act of 1996 - Directs the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), whenever the United States negotiates a protocol for accession of a country to the World Trade Organization (WTO), to negotiate for inclusion in that protocol: (1) provisions for effective market access to that country's domestic markets for U.S. textile and apparel products; and (2) provisions allowing the suspension or revocation of paragraph 14 (relating to increasing import levels based on growth rates) of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, if the country has failed to enforce such market access provisions. Requires negotiation of bilateral agreements containing similar provisions with countries that are not WTO members. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to direct the USTR to identify annually, report to the Congress, and publish in the Federal Register the names of priority foreign countries that deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons producing or selling textile or apparel products. Establishes in the Treasury a Textile Global Competitiveness Research Fund, consisting in part of fines provided by this Act, and whose amounts shall be available: (1) to the Office of Textiles, Apparel, and Consumer Goods of the Department of Commerce for the American Textile Partnership (AMTEX), the Textile-Clothing Technology Center (TC2), and the National Textile Center (NTC); (2) for adjustment assistance for textile and apparel firms; and (3) to the Customs Service for the enforcement of laws governing trade in textile and apparel goods. Directs the USTR to take necessary steps to negotiate a quota agreement with any non-WTO country whose exports to the United States exceed $100 million annually, or are creating serious damage or the actual threat of it to the U.S. textile and apparel industry. Specifies: (1) a quota formula for new textile agreements with non-WTO countries which already have a textile agreement with the United States; and (2) provisions for inclusion in the accession protocol of countries acceding to the WTO. Requires the USTR to ensure that any protocol under negotiation for accession to the WTO of a non-WTO country with a textile import bilateral agreement with the United States, as well as any subsequent agreement, provides for a reduction in the quantity of that country's textile and apparel goods that may be imported into the United States if the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) determines that the bilateral agreement is being circumvented and that inadequate or no measures are being taken by that country to take action against such circumvention. Prescribes specified Customs Service enforcement actions and penalties (including fines, seizure, and forfeiture) for violations of customs laws involving textile and apparel goods. Directs the Commissioner of Customs to establish a Division on Textile Enforcement. Requires withdrawal of preferential tariff or quota treatment (unilateral trade concessions) from the textile and apparel goods of any country: (1) demonstrating a consistent pattern of circumventing textile agreements with United States; (2) refusing to cooperate in investigations; (3) failing to provide adequate enforcement of intellectual property rights with respect to textile and apparel goods; or (4) failing to provide fair and equitable market access for U.S. textile and apparel goods.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Recognition of the Millennium Society Title II: Commemorative Coins Title III: Commemorative Postage Stamps Millennium Society Act of 1996 - Title I: Recognition of the Millennium Society - Recognizes the Millennium Society (a nonprofit U.S. corporation chartered and organized under the laws of the State of Illinois on November 21, 1983) and any other organization that is organized and operated by the corporation exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. (Sec. 105) Sets forth the goals and purposes of the Society, which include: (1) establishing national goals for commemoration and celebration of the millennium in the United States and U.S. participation in such international events; (2) exercising exclusive jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to U.S. participation in commemorations or celebrations of the millennium; (3) coordinating activities and holding forums and symposiums to promote educational and cross-cultural exchange; and (4) establishing, endowing, and administering the Millennium Scholars Program. (Sec. 114) Grants the Society the sole and exclusive right to the use of specified symbols, emblems, trademarks, and names to carry out its functions. Authorizes the Society to allow contributors and suppliers of goods and services to use the Society's trade name, trademarks, symbols, insignia, emblems, seals, descriptive or designating marks, and slogans in advertising under specified conditions. Subjects to a civil action by the Society for the remedies provided in the Trademark Act of 1946 any person who, without the Society's consent, uses its trademark, symbol, insignia, emblem, seal, descriptive or designating mark, or slogan: (1) for the purposes of trade; (2) to induce the sale of any goods or services; (3) or to promote any theatrical exhibition, performance, or competition. Exempts persons who lawfully used such a symbol or slogan before the enactment of this Act. Allows the individuals to continue such lawful use for the same purpose and for the same goods or services. Title II: Commemorative Coins - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint five-dollar gold coins and one-dollar silver coins emblematic of the events of the second millennium and the advent of the third. (Sec. 204) Provides for the issuance of such coins beginning on July 1, 1999, and ending on January 1, 2001. (Sec. 207) Requires all surcharges received from coin sales to be promptly paid to the Society, under specified conditions, to be used only for the purpose of supporting the Millennium Scholars Program. Title III: Commemorative Postage Stamps - Urges the U.S. Postal Service to cooperate with the Secretary and the Society in the: (1) issuance of appropriate first day of issuance postage stamps commemorating the end of the second millennium and the advent of the third; and (2) production of a philatelic numismatic combination as a unique item to be made available to the public for such commemoration.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 1996
Amends the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act to: (1) extend through FY 1999 the authorization of appropriations for homeless veterans' reintegration projects; and (2) repeal a provision which extends until December 31, 1997, the authority to conduct a demonstration program of job training for the homeless, as well as the homeless veterans' reintegration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 Title II: Enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1996 Title III: Conforming Changes to Other Statutes Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1996 - Title I: Repeal of the Public Utility Holding Act of 1935 - Repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA). Title II: Enactment of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1996 - Declares that this Act does not apply to persons previously exempted from regulations under the PUHCA. Authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to institute proceedings to terminate any such exemption if termination would be necessary for regulating the rates of a public utility company and for protecting consumers. Empowers FERC to exempt any person or transaction from this title if it finds that regulation of such person or transaction is irrelevant to the rates of a public utility company. Prescribes procedural guidelines for both FERC and State access to holding company records (including subsidiaries and affiliates). Retains the jurisdiction of FERC and State commissions to determine whether a public utility company may recover in rates any costs of affiliate transactions. Grants FERC certain Federal Power Act enforcement powers. Transfers from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to FERC all resources that relate primarily to the functions vested in FERC by this Act. Expresses the sense of the Congress that all personnel of the Office of Public Utility Regulation of the SEC should be transferred to FERC. Title III: Conforming Changes to Other Statutes - Amends the Federal Power Act to repeal its conflict of jurisdiction guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 1996
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Food and Drug Administration should issue a definitive statement on the relationship (or lack thereof) between silicone gel breast implants and connective tissue disease, classic auto-immune symptoms, and other serious diseases; and (2) the Food and Drug Administration and the National Cancer Institute should develop recommendations for breast care for women with breast implants.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 1996
Authorizes the Court of Veterans Appeals to provide funds (where possible, through a nonprofit organization) for financial assistance to legal assistance entities to assist financially needy veterans in connection with proceedings before such Court. Permits legal assistance activities in connection with such proceedings to include: (1) financial assistance to defray the expenses of legal advice or representation (other than payment of attorney's fees); (2) case screening and referral services; (3) education and training of attorneys and other legal personnel who may appear before the Court; and (4) encouragement and facilitation of pro bono representation by attorneys, clinical law programs of law schools, and veterans' service organizations. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) contributions by legal assistance entities receiving financial assistance; (2) a prohibition against such entities requiring or requesting the payment of a charge or fee in connection with the program; and (3) administrative and reporting requirements. Provides funding.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1996
Amends the Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994 to extend the time for the submission of the final report of the Veterans' Claims Adjudication Commission until December 31, 1996. Provides funding.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1996
Biomaterials Access Assurance Act of 1996 - Provides that, in any civil action, a biomaterials supplier (one who supplies components or raw materials used to manufacture implants) may raise any defense provided under this Act. Exempts a biomaterials supplier from liability for harm to a claimant caused by an implant, with exceptions in the case of a supplier who: (1) is a registered manufacturer of the implant; (2) is a seller of the implant and who held title to the implant at the time of sale (or is related by common ownership or control to such a seller); or (3) furnishes raw materials or components that fail to meet applicable contractual requirements or specifications. States that a supplier may be considered a manufacturer of an implant, for purposes of such civil actions, only if the supplier has registered with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and included the implant on a list of devices filed pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Requires claimant payment of attorney's fees if the court finds the claim to be without merit and frivolous.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1996
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1996 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, as of December 1, 1996, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled adult children, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Requires each such increase to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date. Requires the Secretary to publish such increases in the Federal Register at the same time that the social security increases are required to be published.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 1996
Defense of Marriage Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide that no State, territory, or possession of the United States or Indian tribe shall be required to give effect to any marriage between persons of the same sex under the laws of any other such jurisdiction or to any right or claim arising from such relationship. Establishes a Federal definition of: (1) "marriage" as only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife; and (2) "spouse" as only a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1996
Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to extend the demonstration program for direct billing of Medicare, Medicaid, and other third party payors.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Insurance Reform Title II: Other Matters Veterans' Benefits Amendments of 1996 - Title I: Insurance Reform - Amends the Servicemen's Group Life Insurance (SGLI) Program to exclude from coverage under such Program members assigned or transferred to the Retired Reserve. Provides that, upon termination of active-duty service, a person's coverage under SGLI: (1) shall be automatically converted to Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI), subject to the payment of premiums and other applicable terms and conditions; or (2) shall, at the election of the member, be converted to an individual insurance policy with a participating private insurer selected by the member. Outlines VGLI coverage limits in the case of any person insured under VGLI who becomes insured under SGLI but dies before terminating or converting the VGLI coverage. Terminates VGLI coverage on the effective date of an individual insurance policy with a private insurer. Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide military personnel with general information concerning life insurance whenever they have the opportunity to elect not to be insured under SGLI or to be insured in an amount less than the maximum $200,000 coverage. Redesignates the Servicemen's Life Insurance Program as the Servicemembers' Life Insurance Program. Requires the SGLI coverage of any member of the Retired Reserve to be converted to VGLI coverage within 90 days after enactment of this Act. Title II: Other Matters - Defines a minor child, for purposes of eligibility for burial in national cemeteries, as one under 21 years of age or under 23 years of age if pursuing a program of education in an educational institution. Requires the offices of Education Procedures Systems, Education Operations, and Education Policy and Program Administration of the Education Service of the Veterans Benefits Administration to be located in the District of Columbia.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1996
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Construction Authorization Title II: Strategic Planning for Health Care Resources Title III: Other Matters Title I: Construction Authorization - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) carry out eight specified ambulatory care addition major medical facility projects; (2) carry out ten specified environmental improvement major medical facility projects; (3) carry out three specified seismic correction major medical facility projects; and (4) enter into six leases for specified medical facilities. (Sec. 103) Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for FY 1997 for the Construction, Major Projects, account and for the Medical Care account. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to report to the Senate and House Veterans' Affairs Committees on the health care needs of veterans in east central Florida. Prohibits the obligation of funds (other than for design work) for the conversion of the former Orlando Naval Training Center Hospital in Orlando, Florida, to a nursing home care unit until 15 days after such report is submitted. Title II: Strategic Planning for Health Care Resources - Replaces an annual reporting requirement regarding operational and construction plans for VA medical facilities with a requirement that the Secretary report annually to the veterans' committees: (1) regarding long-range health planning of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including a five-year strategic plan for the provision of medical care to eligible veterans through coordinated networks of medical facilities; and (2) showing the current VA priorities (listing the top 20) for proposed major medical construction projects. (Sec. 202) Specifies additional information required to be included in a prospectus submitted by the Secretary to the veterans' committees in connection with proposed medical facilities, including data on demographics, projected workload and utilization, operating costs, funding priority, and alternatives to facility construction. (Sec. 203) Revises the definition of "major medical facility project" for purposes of provisions governing medical facility acquisition to mean a project involving a total expenditure of more than $5 million (currently, $3 million). Repeals a provision of the Veterans' Medical Programs Amendments of 1992 which makes inapplicable to projects for which funds were appropriated prior to the enactment of such Act a prohibition on the appropriation, obligation, or expenditure of funds for any major medical facility project unless funds for such project have been specifically authorized by law. Prohibits the Secretary from obligating funds in excess of $500,000 from the VA's Advance Planning Fund toward design or development of a major medical facility project until the Secretary reports to the veterans' committees. (Sec. 205) Repeals provisions setting forth required clinical services of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Requires the VHA to include the Office of the Under Secretary for Health and necessary professional and auxiliary services. Requires the Under Secretary to ensure that the Office is staffed to provide expertise in the treatment and rehabilitation of disabled veterans and in appropriate clinical care disciplines. Repeals the requirements that: (1) the Associate Deputy Under Secretary for Health be a qualified doctor of medicine; (2) such Office include Directors of Nursing Service, Pharmacy Service, Dietetic Service, Podiatric Service, and Optometric Service; and (3) one Assistant Under Secretary for Health be a qualified doctor of dental surgery or dental medicine and another be a qualified physician trained in geriatrics. Title III: Other Matters - Designates: (1) the VA medical center in Jackson, Mississippi, as the G.V. Sonny Montgomery Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center; (2) the Mountain Home Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as the James H. Quillen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center; and (3) the VA nursing care center at the VA medical center in Aspinwall, Pennsylvania, as the H. John Heinz, III Department of Veterans Affairs Nursing Care Center. (Sec. 304) Restores and extends through December 31, 2000, the Secretary's authority to establish at any VA medical center a nonprofit corporation to provide for conducting approved research.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1996
Amends Federal law to require that the President's annual budget include a detailed plan to achieve a balanced budget in the following six years. Requires the Congressional Budget Office's Director to determine, certify, and inform the Congress regarding whether that plan achieves a balanced budget. Requires the Congress, if the budget is certified as not being balanced, to return the budget to the President. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to make it not in order in the House to consider any budget concurrent resolution unless it provides for a balanced budget. Allows the House to waive that rule if a declared war is in effect or the United States faces an imminent and serious military threat to national security and is so declared by a joint resolution which becomes law. Prohibits the Rules Committee from reporting any rule or order waiving that rule.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1996
Calls upon the members of the Army Reserve to wear Army uniforms on April 23 each year to remind the American people of the Reserve's commitment to serve and protect the Nation. Calls upon the American people to remember the families of, employers of, and all others who assist the Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1996
Designates the Mountain Home Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as the James H. Quillen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1996
Drive Away from Ethanol Welfare Act of 1996 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the credit for alcohol used to produce any ether. Limits other tax incentives to produce alcohol for use as fuel. Reduces the credit for any alcohol which is ethanol.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1996
National Oceanographic Partnership Act - Establishes the National Oceanographic Partnership Program. Sets forth the purposes of the program. Establishes the: (1) National Ocean Research Leadership Council; (2) Ocean Research Partnership Coordinating Group; and (3) Ocean Research Advisory Panel under the program. Sets forth the composition of membership and specified duties of each. Mandates certain annual reports. Authorizes appropriations for the National Oceanographic Partnership Program for FY 1997 and requires that a certain amount be available for the operations of the partnership program office for such fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1996
Restores until December 31, 2000, the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish research corporations within the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs (such authority terminated on December 31, 1992).
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1996
Redesignates the Herbert Clark Hoover Department of Commerce Building located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., as the Ronald H. Brown Commerce Building.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1996
Drug and Biological Products Reform Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to set forth the mission of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and mandate an annual report to specified congressional committees. (Sec. 3) Modifies new drug requirements regarding: (1) clinical investigation commencement; (2) application contents and review; (3) effectiveness determinations; (4) the use of scientific advisory panels; and (5) marketing approval application review by accredited persons. (Sec. 8) Provides for the accreditation of persons to: (1) review applications for new drugs or for certification of insulin-containing drugs; and (2) conduct good manufacturing practice (GMP) inspections. (Sec. 9) Allows applicants to declare an impasse in a review or a submission for an investigational use exemption and mandates use of a dispute resolution process. (Sec. 10) Adds references to accredited persons to provisions relating to GMP inspections. Imposes post-inspection requirements. Deems certain chemistry, manufacturing, and controls to comply with current GMP and prohibits actions to delay or prevent the manufacture or marketing of a drug for failure to conform to GMP, subject to exception. (Sec. 12) Allows a new drug manufactured in a small facility to be used to show safety and effectiveness. (Sec. 13) Regulates changes in the manufacture of a new drug, biological product, new animal drug, blood, or blood component. (Sec. 14) Repeals provisions relating to the certification of drugs containing insulin or antibiotics. (Sec. 15) Requires that applications or petitions requesting conversion from prescription to nonprescription status and all matters relating to nonprescription drugs be reviewed by a single office in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Allows a single scientific advisory panel to provide recommendations. (Sec. 16) Mandates an applicant-accessible information system to track applications and submissions to the FDA. (Sec. 17) Prohibits actions by the Secretary of Health and Human Services from requiring an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment. (Sec. 18) Regulates drugs compounded by a licensed pharmacist on the order of a licensed physician. (Sec. 19) Directs the Secretary to meet with foreign countries to discuss harmonization of regulatory requirements. (Sec. 20) Controls the effect of the dissemination of medical texts, peer-reviewed scientific publications, and other material. (Sec. 21) Prohibits the Secretary from relying on statements not promulgated in accordance with rulemaking requirements to require any action under the FDCA. (Sec. 22) Mandates training for FDA employees on regulations and policies under the FDCA. (Sec. 23) Regulates: (1) the delegation of authority under the FDCA; (2) judicial review of decisions regarding investigational new drugs and new drugs; and (3) communication to non-FDA persons regarding certain matters before completion of an investigation. (Sec. 26) Defines "biological product" and "human tissue." Declares that blood, a blood component, an organ, milk, or human tissue is not a drug. Prohibits subjecting computer software developed or modified by, or used in, a human tissue establishment to any premarket clearance requirement. Requires such software to be validated to demonstrate that it achieves its intended purpose before use and subjects it to the GMP requirements of the FDCA. Requires licenses to introduce biological products, blood, and blood components into interstate commerce. Regulates licensing. Allows regulation of human tissue only if the Secretary demonstrates that voluntary regulation is inadequate to protect the public health. Provides for such regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 1996
Truth in Employment Act of 1996 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to provide that nothing in specified prohibitions against unfair labor practices shall be construed as requiring an employer to employ any person who seeks or has sought employment with the employer in furtherance of other employment or agency status.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1996
Amber Hagerman Child Protection Act of 1996 - Amends the Federal criminal code to apply prohibitions and penalties for aggravated sexual abuse of a person under age 12 and for sexual abuse of a person between the ages of 12 and 16 to any person who: (1) crosses a State line with intent to engage in a sexual act with such minor; or (2) knowingly engages, or attempts to engage, in such an act in interstate or foreign commerce. Authorizes imposition of the death penalty if the defendant kills the victim. Directs that a defendant previously convicted of another Federal offense of sexual abuse or aggravated sexual abuse of a minor or of a State offense that would have been such an offense had it occurred in a Federal prison be sentenced to life imprisonment, unless the death penalty is imposed. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (VCCLEA) to provide that, in order not to reduce the funds available under the drug control and system improvement grant program under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 by ten percent, a State shall have in effect a law which requires a court to sentence a defendant in a State prosecution who is convicted of an offense that would have been aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse of a minor if it occurred in a Federal prison, and who has previously been convicted for such an offense, to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Revises VCCLEA provisions under subtitle A of title XVII (the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act) to: (1) provide for the transfer of information from the State law enforcement agency to the Federal Bureau of Information (FBI); (2) require the information collected under a State registration program to be transmitted to the FBI and to be released to law enforcement agencies and government agencies conducting background checks under specified circumstances; and (3) direct the FBI to maintain a separate data base for information submitted to it under this Act, to make such data base accessible to appropriate State law enforcement officials, and to inform appropriate local law enforcement officials on each occasion that a person registered changes registration to that locality.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1996
Limits the amount of a veteran's disability compensation that may be deducted by reason of the receipt of military separation pay or a Department of Defense separation benefit to 75 percent of that pay or benefit. Makes such provision effective for compensation payments made by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for months beginning on or after October 1, 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1996
Revises specified provisions regarding minimum allocations of Federal aid highway funds and provisions of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) to direct the Secretary of Transportation, in FY 1998 and thereafter, to ensure that each State's percentage of the total apportionments in each such fiscal year and allocations for the prior fiscal year from funds made available out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is not less than the percentage of estimated tax payments to the HTF by highway users in the State in the latest fiscal year for which data are available. Repeals ISTEA provisions specifying the percentage of total apportioned and allocated funds to be allocated to each State for the surface transportation program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1996
Congratulates the people of Taiwan on holding the first democratic presidential election in Chinese history. Declares that the United States is committed to: (1) moving nations toward freedom and democracy; and (2) encouraging and protecting its democratic friends on Taiwan, within the framework of the Taiwan Relations Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1996
Uniformed Services Medicare Subvention Demonstration Project Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly establish a demonstration project (project) to provide the Department of Defense (DOD) with reimbursement, under provisions of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, for health services provided through DOD to certain Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries. Requires the project to be conducted in one or more regions in which the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) has been implemented. Allows such project to be conducted for up to two years. Requires such Secretaries to jointly submit to the Congress a first annual report and a final report containing specified information concerning project participants and such project's effects on military medical care access, readiness, and training. Directs the HHS Secretary to make monthly payments to DOD from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund (HHS trust funds) representing appropriate reimbursement amounts. Provides for the determination of such amounts. Directs such Secretaries to jointly: (1) establish a base level of TRICARE coverage required in a geographic region for eligibility under the project; (2) determine baseline costs of such care and coverage; and (3) establish upper reimbursement limits. Directs the Secretary of Defense to waive the enrollment fee for individuals enrolled in a TRICARE program participating in the project. Establishes in the Treasury the Medicare Subvention Fund (Fund) for providing payments to the HHS Secretary for reimbursement of the HHS trust funds and for the payment of all expenses related to the participation of Medicare-eligible covered military beneficiaries in excess of the base level established under this Act, as well as administrative expenses. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1997 and 1998 for deposit into the Fund to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1996
Veterans' Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide hospital care and medical services to, among others, any veteran: (1) with a compensable service-connected disability (currently, for any service-connected disability, regardless of compensation); or (2) who is unable to defray the expenses of necessary medical care and services. Authorizes the Secretary, with respect to veterans not otherwise eligible for such care and services, to furnish hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care which the Secretary determines is needed. (Sec. 3) Repeals the requirement that veterans be eligible to receive hospital care through the Department of Veterans Affairs in order to receive surgical, dental, optometric, and podiatric services, but requires such eligibility before receiving certain prosthetic appliances as well as special clothing necessitated by the wearing of such appliances. (Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary, in managing the provision of hospital care and medical services, to establish and operate a system of annual patient enrollment, with specified priorities relating to the degree of disability of a veteran and related factors. Requires the Secretary to design, establish, and manage Department health care programs so as to promote cost-effective delivery of health care services in the most clinically appropriate setting. Authorizes the Secretary to contract out when Department medical facilities are not capable of economically furnishing such care and services. Requires the Department to maintain its capacity to provide for the specialized treatment and rehabilitative needs of disabled veterans, with at least the same capacity to provide such services as in existence on the date of enactment of this Act. (Sec. 5) Repeals a provision of the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 which terminates on October 1, 1996, the authority of the Secretary to enter into agreements with the Secretary of Defense for the sharing of medical facilities and resources. Empowers the United States to collect from primary health providers of covered beneficiaries the charges for care or services covered under the primary health-plan contract which are provided through the Department. (Sec. 6) Repeals a statement of congressional purpose with respect to entering into health care resources sharing agreements with medical schools, health-care facilities, and medical research centers. Makes eligible as additional parties to such agreements health-care plans and providers, insurers, and other entities or individuals. Repeals a requirement of reciprocal reimbursement under such agreements. Allows the provision of services under such agreements to non-veterans only if the Secretary determines that such an arrangement will not result in the denial of or delay in the provision of care to any veteran in that facility and either: (1) is necessary to maintain an acceptable level and quality of service to veterans at that facility; or (2) will result in the improvement of services to eligible veterans there. (Sec. 7) Exempts from inclusion under full-time equivalent position limitations in the Department the number of positions held by persons providing health-care resources under resource sharing agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1996
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in carrying out responsibilities with respect to the delivery of health care for veterans and their beneficiaries, to establish and operate managed health care plans through a Department of Veterans Affairs health care facility or group of such facilities or through arrangements with public or private entities. Directs the Secretary to prescribe the minimum health care benefits to be provided to veterans enrolled in the plan, which shall include at least those benefits covered under parts A and B of the Medicare Program (title XVIII of the Social Security Act). Authorizes the Secretary to establish cost-sharing requirements for veterans enrolled in such a plan, including premiums, copayments, and deductibles. Requires the director of a Department health care facility to certify, before the operation of a plan at such facility, that sufficient medical care funds have been allotted to such facility to provide the needed services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS Secretary) to make payments during a year to a Department managed health care plan on behalf of veterans who are Medicare-eligible individuals and are enrolled in the managed health care plan, under similar terms as the HHS Secretary makes payments under Medicare to other eligible managed health care plans. Directs the Secretary to certify to the HHS Secretary each year a list of all Department managed health care plans which conform to the standards required for such payments.
![Official portrait of Rep. Montgomery, G. V. (Sonny) [D-MS-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m000865_200.jpg)