United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1991
Pledge of Allegiance Commemorative Coin Act - Establishes the Pledge of Allegiance Commemorative Coin Advisory Board to: (1) consult with the Secretary of the Treasury (the Secretary) regarding coin design; (2) oversee the expenditure of funds provided to the U.S. Capitol Historical Society for assisting its educational programs and providing non-operating improvements to the Capitol; and (3) establish rules and operating procedures to implement this Act. Directs the Secretary to issue five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half dollar clad coins emblematic of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Declares a general waiver of public contract procurement regulations governing coin mintage under this Act. Mandates that surcharges be distributed equally between the Treasury and the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Provides for audits by the Comptroller General. Requires that: (1) all amounts received from the sale of coins be deposited in the coinage profit fund; and (2) the Secretary take actions to ensure that coin mintage and issuance under this Act will not result in any net cost to the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 1991
Establishes the Flint Hills Prairie National Monument in Kansas to: (1) preserve a part of the tallgrass prairie; (2) protect the area's unique environmental features; and (3) interpret specified characteristics of such area. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to publish a management plan for such monument. Makes units of local government in which lands acquired for purposes of the monument are located eligible for payments in lieu of taxes. Establishes the Flint Hills National Monument Advisory Commission to advise: (1) the Secretary on the development of a management plan; and (2) on the management and operation of the monument. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 1991
Designates the week beginning July 21, 1991, as Korean War Veterans Remembrance Week. Requires the President to urge that the American flag be flown at half staff on July 27, 1991, in honor of those Americans who died as a result of their service in Korea.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 1991
Domestic Violence Prevention Act of 1991 - Title I: Amendment of the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to add increasing public awareness as a purpose of State demonstration grants. Authorizes grants for public information campaigns regarding domestic violence. Requires a State grant recipient to establish a Commission on Domestic Violence. Limits law enforcement training grants to private nonprofit organizations that have certain experience. Mandates grants or contracts for the establishment of one national and five regional resource centers to provide training and other assistance concerning domestic violence. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Act. Requires grants to States to assist in becoming model demonstration States and in improving State leadership regarding certain domestic violence matters. Sets forth requirements for being designated as a model State. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Law Enforcement, Prosecution Grants, and Interstate Enforcement - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize competitive grants to States for use by States and local governments to assist in developing effective law enforcement and prosecution strategies to combat domestic violence and to reduce the rate of domestic violence. Authorizes appropriations. Amends Federal law to establish criminal penalties for interstate travel to commit spousal abuse or to violate protection orders. Allows temporary protection orders pending final adjudication of charges under these provisions. Mandates victim restitution. Requires a protection order by a court of one State to be accorded full faith and credit by the court of another State. Amends the FVPSA to prohibit a State or locality from being awarded a grant under the Act if, as a matter of law, policy, or practice, it discriminated against victims of family violence. Requires certification that this condition has been met. Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to require a similar certification. Amends the FVPSA to authorize grants to State and local government entities to encourage them, and Indian tribes, to take specified actions in order to treat spousal violence as a serious violation of criminal law. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to transfer a specified sum each fiscal year to the Attorney General for such grants.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1991
Expedited Consideration of Proposed Rescissions Act of 1991 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require a special message, in the case of budget authority proposed to be rescinded or reserved, to include language amending the law authorizing such programs to allow them to continue to function at the proposed new level of budget authority. Allows the President to transmit to both Houses of the Congress, for expedited consideration, one or more special messages proposing to rescind all or part of any item of budget authority provided in an appropriation bill. Requires that such special message be transmitted not later than three days after the President approves the appropriation bill and be accompanied by a draft bill or joint resolution that would, if enacted, rescind the budget authority proposed to be rescinded. Sets forth House and Senate procedures for the expedited consideration of such a proposal.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Establishes the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, Idaho. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to continue implementation of the comprehensive land use plan for the management and rehabilitation of public lands and resources within the conservation area. Requires the Secretrary to review such plan for the compatibility of the military use of such area with the protection and conservation of the area's raptor (birds of prey) habitat and resources. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a visitors center designed to interpret the history, research, management, geology, ecology, and biology of the raptors and their relationship to man. Declares that the management plan shall provide for the continued use of the conservation area's Orchard Training Area by the Idaho National Guard. Authorizes the grazing of domestic livestock within such area. Provides that private lands acquired within the boundaries of the conservation area shall become a part of such area. Directs the Secretary to appoint a steering committee to review long-range plans and research and management of the conservation area. Releases lands of the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area not designated as wilderness for multiple use and management and requires such lands to be managed as part of the conservation area. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 1991
Open Space Preservation Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the estate tax to exclude from the gross estate the value of land subject to a qualified conservation easement. Defers the reduction in estate tax rates from 1993 until 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1991
Civic and Character Values-In-Schools Act of 1991 - Title I: Commission on Values Education - Establishes the Commission on Values Education. Directs the Commission to report, with recommendations, to the Congress and the President within one year after enactment of this Act. Authorizes appropriations. Terminates the Commission 30 days after its final report to the Congress. Directs specified congressional committees, within 90 days after submission of the Commission's report, to conduct hearings on such report, and to report to their respective houses on results of such hearings within 30 days after their completion. Title II: Ethics and Values Demonstration Program - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to provide for an ethics and values demonstration program under the Secretary's Fund for Innovation in Education. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to State educational agencies, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, and other public and private organizations to conduct activities designed to stimulate understanding of ethics, civic and character values, and the principles of democracy as a means of enhancing and improving elementary and secondary education. Sets forth authorized uses of such grant funds. Sets forth application requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 1991
Emergency Supplemental Persian Gulf Refugee Assistance Act of 1991 - Authorizes supplemental appropriations for FY 1991 for: (1) emergency humanitarian assistance for Iraqi refugees and other persons displaced as a result of the Persian Gulf conflict; (2) peacekeeping activities in the Persian Gulf region; and (3) the reimbursement of appropriations accounts from which such assistance was provided before this Act's enactment. Raises the ceiling on the limitation on appropriations for the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for FY 1991. Provides that such assistance shall not be counted against certain ceiling limitations on international disaster assistance and the drawdown of defense articles and services and military education and training. Permits appropriations under this Act to be appropriated from the Defense Cooperation Account, the Persian Gulf Regional Defense Fund, or the General Fund of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Revere Beach Study Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study and report to the President and the Congress on the feasibility of establishing Revere Beach, Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park System. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 1991
Nuclear Facilities Occupational Safety Improvement Act of 1991 - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to apply it to certain Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities (including specified defense, production, utilization, and waste storage or disposal facilities). Directs the Secretary of Labor to promulgate specific regulations and standards to govern the application of OSHA to such facilities. Requires the Secretary of Energy and each contractor operating such a facility to: (1) cooperate with the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the conduct of an inspection or investigation under OSHA at such facility; (2) grant access to it to enable the conduct of such inspection or investigation; and (3) provide all information necessary for such inspection or investigation. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy, to protect the confidentiality of information, to deny access to any person who has not been granted a security clearance or access authorization. Provides for transfer and allocation of appropriations and personnel. Directs the Secretary of Labor, by specified deadlines, to promulgate interim regulations and propose and promulgate final regulations to provide for specified types of health and safety training of employees at such DOE nuclear facilities. Requires the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and its Director to: (1) perform functions authorized by OSHA at such facilities; and (2) conduct health hazard evaluations, including ionizing radiation evaluations, at such facilities. Requires medical examinations of employees at such DOE nuclear facilities. Requires all such employees to be given baseline medical examinations in accordance with guidelines developed by the Health Advisory Committee, and subsequent examinations, as recommended by the Committee, for their lifetime. Requires, where appropriate, such examinations for family members determined to be at high risk of disease because of an employee's exposure at the workplace. Requires that all former employees at such facilities and their families be offered participation in a medical surveillance program designed to focus on work-related exposure to toxic substances and radiation, including treatment for occupationally related illness. Requires all contractors with such facilities to maintain a full-time occupational health physician and supporting medical staff, in accordance with Committee guidelines. Establishes a Health Advisory Committee to: (1) review existing medical studies relating to the administration of such medical examination program; and (2) issue the aforementioned guidelines and standards for such program. Requires that all information from such medical examinations be available to individual employees and their representatives and that aggregate information from such examinations be available to the public. Requires that program costs be borne by DOE. Directs the Secretary of Labor, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to promulgate necessary regulations. Requires each such DOE nuclear facility to establish a labor-management health and safety committee in accordance with specified guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Designates May 15, 1991, as Joe DiMaggio Day, in honor of the 50th anniversary of his remarkable and lasting major league feat of hitting in 56 consecutive games.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Amends the Davis-Bacon Act (the Act) to apply it to any contract (relating to public buildings or public works of the United States or the District of Columbia or buildings or works financed in whole or part by Federal loans, grants, or loan guarantees, with specified exceptions) in excess of $100,000 for new construction (including painting and decorating) or in excess of $15,000 for alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction (including painting and decorating). Provides that State, local, or tribal government requirements for wages or fringe benefits applied to such contracts for federally-assisted construction or repair of buildings or works shall not be preempted by the Act unless there is a conflict in compliance with both. Provides that an individual shall be considered a laborer or mechanic if the contractor or subcontractor paid the individual, directly or through a subcontract, for such services performed to carry out the contract. Prohibits the use of multiple contracts to avoid application of the Act. Requires that any two or more contracts shall be treated as a single contract if they: (1) individually do not exceed the minimum amount necessary for the Act to apply; (2) in the aggregate do exceed such amount; and (3) all relate to the same work or related work at the same site. Permits any interested person to seek relief from violations of such provision in U.S. district court. Applies the Act also to contracts for the lease of a facility if construction, alteration, repair, renovation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction is required for a contract's fulfillment. Defines the terms "apprentice," "trainee," and "helper." Prescribes circumstances under which such persons may be paid less than the required wage rate under the Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to promulgate regulations defining such persons and prescribing the conditions under which they will not be subject to the required rate, the rate at which they will be employed, and other appropriate conditions. Requires the contractor or subcontractor to post the scale of wages required to be paid under such contract in a prominent and easily accessible place at the contract worksite. Provides that the wages required to be paid under the Act shall be the wages determined by the Secretary to be prevailing within three years of the date the contract was entered into. Provides that, if the Secretary has not made a prevailing wage determination within such three-year limitation, the prevailing wage shall be the highest wage prevailing in a comparable area in the State in which the contract is performed. Directs the Secretary, in making a prevailing wage determination, to consider the wages paid for all projects of the same character in the area under contracts for amounts not less than the minimum amounts necessary for the Act to apply. Provides that a contractor or subcontractor may only include contributions and costs relating to employee fringe benefits, as part of their prevailing wage payment, in an amount not exceeding the aggregate of such contributions and costs prevailing in the area. Authorizes the Secretary to investigate and secure compliance with requirements of the Act. Allows any interested person to petition the Secretary to review the determination of a Secretary of a department or an agency head that a contract entered into is not subject to the Act. Provides for judicial review of such coverage determinations. Permits any laborer, mechanic, or any interested person to petition the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor to review the wage payments received to determine if they have been made in accordance with the Secretary's prevailing wage determination. Sets forth procedures for such wage review. Provides that the determination of the Administrator, an administrative law judge, or the Secretary on a petition for review of the wage payments may include the award of damages to the petitioner in the amount of twice the amount of wages not paid in accordance with the prevailing wage determination, if it is found that the petitioner was willfully not paid the required wages. Requires the defendant in such cases to pay a reasonable attorney's fee and the cost of the action. Makes any employer who violates the required wage rate provisions of the Act liable to each affected employee in the amount of unpaid wages and, if the violation was willful, in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. Allows an action to recover such liability to be maintained against any employer in any Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction by any interested party, or by any employee on behalf of affected employees and other employees similarly situated. Prohibits any employee from being a party plaintiff to such an action unless the employee gives consent in writing to become a party and the consent is filed in the court in which the action is brought. Prohibits employees from bringing such a civil action with respect to their wages if they file a petition for review. Directs the court, in addition to any judgment awarded to the plaintiff or plaintiffs, to allow a reasonable attorney's fee and the cost of the action to be paid by the defendant. Requires the Comptroller General to pay directly to laborers and mechanics from any accrued payments withheld under the contract any wages found by the Secretary to be due. Directs the Secretary to distribute to all departments of the Government a list of the names of persons or firms who: (1) are found to have disregarded their obligations to employees and subcontractors; and (2) are debarred from Federal contracts for a specified time. (Removes the Comptroller General from such debarment process.) Declares that employees may bring an action against contractors and their sureties for the payment of unpaid wages. Specifies that the Secretary or the contracting officer may order accrued payments in amounts necessary to cover unpaid wages to be withheld from contractors found to have violated the Act. Requires that contracts subject to the Act contain a provision allowing the Government to terminate the contract if less than the required wage rate has been or is being paid. Makes the contractor and its sureties liable for any excess costs incurred by the Government because of such termination. Directs the Secretary to: (1) enforce the Act; and (2) promulgate standards and procedures to be observed by contracting officers. Amends the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act (which provides for the Secretary of Labor to make reasonable regulations for contractors and subcontractors in the construction or repair of public buildings or public works or buildings or works financed in whole or part by Federal loans or grants) to require such employers to report certain payroll information on a monthly (rather than a weekly) basis. Requires such information to include specified items (including rates of contributions or costs anticipated for bona fide fringe benefits). Requires such employers to maintain payroll and other related basic records for three years after completion of such work. Permits any interested person to obtain from any Federal department or agency a copy of any such payroll statement which has been filed by the contractor or subcontractor with the department or agency under such Act. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) study the feasibility of employers using electronic methods to comply with reporting requirements under such Act; and (2) report to the Congress within one year on actions taken by the Secretary and employers to facilitate electronic reporting of payroll information.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse a person for the cost of acquiring a non-Government headstone or grave marker for placement in a cemetery other than a national cemetery in connection with the burial of a veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 1991
Designates May 22, 1991, as National Desert Storm Reservists Day to commemorate the accomplishments of the men and women of the reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces who proudly served the United States during Operation Desert Storm.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1991
World War I Veterans' Service Pension Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly pension of $100 to each veteran of World War I who meets specified service requirements. Requires such a veteran, if entitled to another pension administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, to elect which pension to receive.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1991
First-Time Homebuyers Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth the conditions under which small builders will be allowed to compute on the installment sales method income from the sale of certain residential real property.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1991
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) applauds the Architect of the Capitol and the Committee on House Administration for developing an effective recycling program in the House office buildings; and (2) supports ongoing efforts to expand and update source separation and recycling during the 102d Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 1991
Older Americans Child Care Employment Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Older Americans Community Service Employment Act to require the Secretary of Labor to enter into agreements with public or private nonprofit agencies or organizations to conduct experimental projects employing individuals who are age 55 or older in providing day care to children of families with low incomes. Requires that such agencies or organizations: (1) charge families a day care fee which is proportional to their financial resources; and (2) be subject to the State licensing requirements or regulatory standards applicable to similar day care providers in the State. Prohibits the making of grants pursuant to this Act to more than two agencies or organizations in each State. Authorizes appropriations for such projects. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the income an individual earns in providing such child care from being applied against OASDI benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 1991
Pornography Victims Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code with respect to the prohibition against the sexual exploitation of children to add as a condition triggering Federal penalties that the person concerned knows that a minor was transported in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of producing pornography. Makes it a criminal offense for any person to coerce, intimidate, or fraudulently induce an individual 18 years or older to engage in any sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of producing any visual depiction of such conduct. Grants the U.S. district courts jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General or any person threatened with loss or damage by such conduct to institute a civil suit. Provides for treble damages for a victim who suffers physical injury, emotional distress, or property damage. Imposes civil penalties for violation of the prohibition against sexual exploitation of children.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Older Americans Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to expand the preventive health services program to include disease prevention and health promotion services and information provided at congregate meal sites and through home-delivered meals programs, as well as senior centers. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1992 through 1995 for the preventive health services program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Missing Service Personnel Act of 1991 - Requires the responsible armed forces commander, after receiving notice that a person under his command is missing, to conduct an informal investigation to determine such person's whereabouts and, if appropriate, to place such person in a missing status. Requires the commander, if a person has been placed in such status, to notify the officer holding general court-martial authority over such person (or, in the case of a missing civilian, the Secretary concerned), who shall convene a board of initial inquiry within 45 days. Requires such board to: (1) investigate evidence relating to the disappearance of such person; (2) recommend whether to continue such person in a missing status or make a finding that such person has deserted, is absent without leave, or is dead; and (3) report its recommendations and findings. Provides for the convening of a board of further inquiry, if a board of initial inquiry recommends that such person be continued in a missing status, within one year of such recommendation. Requires such board to analyze any information which has become available since the board of initial inquiry issued its report, to determine whether such person should be continued in a missing status or declared dead, and to report its findings. Directs the Secretary concerned, upon the written request of a member of the immediate family of a missing person who, before the date of the enactment of this Act, was determined by the Secretary to be dead, to: (1) convene a board of further inquiry to determine whether such finding of death should be upheld or such person should be placed in a missing status; and (2) report its findings. Requires the Secretary, within three years after a board of further inquiry recommends a missing status for any person, to reconvene such board to review such status. Specifies the composition of such boards. Directs the Secretary to invite each member of the immediate family of the missing person to the meetings of a board of initial inquiry unless attendance would place such member in danger. Requires the Secretary to: (1) invite family members of missing persons to meetings of boards of further inquiry; (2) schedule such meetings at convenient locations and times; (3) provide such family members with reasonable notice of such meetings; and (4) open such meetings to the general public. Authorizes each board to hold meetings, take testimony, receive evidence, and secure directly from any U.S. department or agency any information necessary to carry out its duties. Provides for the appointment of counsel by the officer or Secretary concerned to represent the missing person. Requires that, if a board determines that a missing person is dead, it shall include in its report a detailed description of the location and date of death, whether the body has been recovered, and whether a licensed practitioner of forensic medicine determined that the body recovered is that of the missing person. Prohibits any such board from declaring a missing person dead unless: (1) evidence other than the passage of a period of less than 50 years suggests that such person is dead; (2) no evidence which reasonably suggests that such person is alive is in the possession of the Government; (3) representatives of the Government have made a complete search of the area where such person was last seen (unless the United States is not granted access to such area); and (4) Government representatives have checked the records of the government or entity having control over the area where such person was last seen (unless the Government is not granted access to such records). Provides for judicial review of determinations of death upon the filing of a written petition by any member of the missing person's immediate family. Directs the Secretary concerned to make certain that such person's personnel file contains all information in the possession of Federal departments and agencies pertaining to the disappearance or whereabouts of such person. Requires the Secretary to make certain that, if classified information is withheld, such file contains: (1) a notice that the information exists; and (2) a notice of the date of the most recent review of the classification status of the information. Sets forth penalties for knowingly withholding information pertaining to the disappearance or whereabouts of a missing person from that person's personnel file. Requires the Secretary concerned to make the contents of such file available to a member of the immediate family of such person upon written request.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 1991
Declares that the Congress acknowledges and appreciates the commitment, devotion, and sacrifices of present and former military families. Designates November 25, 1991, as National Military Families Recognition Day.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1991
Omnibus Insular Areas Act of 1991 - Title I: Insular Areas Disaster Survival and Recovery Act of 1991 - Insular Areas Disaster Survival and Recovery Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior for the construction of facilities to protect public health and safety and to enhance the survivability of essential infrastructure in the event of disasters in insular areas. Requires the President to provide technical assistance to insular areas which lack specific capabilities in responding to disasters. Directs the Secretary to report to the Congress on the status of recovery efforts in insular areas declared to be disasters by the President. Title II: Insular Areas Water, Sewerage, and Power Needs - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to study how the long-term water, sewerage, and power needs of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands can be resolved. Authorizes appropriations for grants to insular areas governments to carry out projects to evaluate the feasibility of, develop options for, and encourage the adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures which reduce the dependency of such areas on imported fuels, and improve the quality of life in the area. Establishes guidelines to determine the amount to be provided.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1991
First-Time Home Buyer's Act of 1991 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to spread over a ten-year period the taxation of up to $5,000 of individual retirement plan distributions used by a first-time homebuyer within 90 days to purchase, construct, or reconstruct a dwelling that will be used as the taxpayer's principal residence for at least three years.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1991
Authorizes the Thomas Paine National Historical Association U.S.A. Memorial Foundation to construct in the District of Columbia or its environs an appropriate monument honoring the American patriot, Thomas Paine. Prohibits the use of Federal funds for the establishment of the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1991
Black Lung Benefits Restoration Act of 1991 - Amends the Black Lung Benefits Act to provide that, when black lung benefits are paid for at least two years after an initial determination of eligibility, repayment of such benefits will not be required even upon a final determination of ineligibility. Prohibits a party adverse to the black lung benefits claimant from submitting more than one: (1) opinion from an examining or consulting physician; and (2) X-ray reading to supplement such an opinion. Requires that reasonable weight be given to the evidence submitted by the physician who treated the person with respect to whom the claim is made. Requires award of black lung benefits to survivors or dependents of a deceased miner if any of the following conditions are met: (1) the miner worked 25 years or more in one or more coal mines; (2) the death as due in whole or part to pneumoconiosis; (3) the miner was receiving benefits for pneumoconiosis at the time of death; or (4) the miner had a pending claim at the time of death in which existing or additional medical evidence submitted by survivors or dependents, or lay evidence, qualifies under specified new eligibility standards. Requires, in administration of the Act, that a widow of a miner shall: (1) not be disqualified to receive benefits upon remarriage; and (2) be entitled to receive benefits without regard to the length of time of marriage to the miner. Provides for a rebuttable presumption of disability or death due to pneumoconiosis with respect to certain coal miners whose claims were filed during a specified period under the Black Lung Benefits Program. Establishes such presumption if a single piece of qualifying evidence is presented. Provides that other relevant medical evidence shall be considered only in connection with rebuttal of the presumption. Requires such presumption to be rebutted if the evidence establishes that: (1) the individual is doing, or is able to do, his or her usual coal mine work or comparable and gainful work; (2) the individual's total disability or death did not arise in whole or in part out of coal mine activity; or (3) the individual does not have, or did not have, pneumoconiosis. Directs the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to review any pending or denied black lung benefits claim filed under the Act either with the Department of Labor before April 1, 1980, or with the Social Security Administration at any time. Requires such review to follow certain guidelines established before and by the enactment of the Black Lung Benefits Reform Act of 1977, and to disregard amendments made after such enactment. Requires immediate payment of claims approved under such review. Requires, in the case of claims rejected under such review, the claimant to be given an opportunity to present additional medical or other evidence. Requires benefits granted under such review to be assessed against the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Permits claimants who have had more than one black lung claim denied to have their last claim considered de novo on the merits. Establishes under the Act a contingency fee arrangement system under which an attorney may be paid up to 25 percent of the black lung benefits paid to the claimant during specified periods of representation by such attorney. Provides that all benefits payable under any claim under the Black Lung Benefits Program shall be paid from the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund, which is financed by the coal industry (thus eliminating coal operators as defendants with legal counsel in black lung disability cases).
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1991
Directs the American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor World War II veterans and to commemorate U.S. participation in that conflict. Directs the Commission to plan, design, construct, and oversee the operation of the memorial. Specifies that such design shall provide for accessibility by, and accommodations for, the physically handicapped. Establishes the World War II Memorial Advisory Board to: (1) promote the establishment of the memorial and encourage the donation of private funds for construction and maintenance; (2) assist and cooperate with the Commission in the selection of the site and design for the memorial; and (3) transmit annual reports on its activities to the Congress. Authorizes the Commission to solicit private contributions for such memorial. Establishes a fund in the Treasury which shall be made available to the Commission to carry out this Act. Authorizes Federal funding, in addition to such private funds, for: (1) site preparation, design, planning, and associated administrative costs for establishment of the memorial; and (2) construction, maintenance, and operation of the memorial. Authorizes assistance from specified Federal departments and agencies, including the Library of Congress. Authorizes the transfer of Federal property to the Commission. Authorizes the Commission to purchase suitable property within the District of Columbia for the establishment of such memorial. Urges the Government to encourage 50th anniversary commemorations of the U.S. role in World War II. Urges the Smithsonian Institution and other Federal museums to develop commemorative exhibitions to be shared with academic institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1991
Microenterprise Development Act of 1991 - Authorizes the President, acting through the Administrator of the Agency for International Development (AID), to provide assistance for microenterprises in developing countries. Directs AID to establish specified criteria for determining the financial intermediaries that will receive such assistance. Requires a significant portion of such assistance to be used to support direct credit assistance by, and the institutional development of, financial intermediaries with a primary emphasis on assisting people living in absolute poverty, especially women. Outlines funding sources for such assistance. Permits the President, in order to generate local currencies for providing such assistance, to use development and economic support fund assistance to provide assistance to developing countries on a loan basis repayable in local currencies. Sets forth minimum levels of assistance to be provided under this Act. Requires the Administrator to develop a monitoring system to evaluate AID's microenterprise development activities.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1991
Operation Desert Storm Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue one dollar and ten dollar coins emblematic of the United States military's participation in Operation Desert Storm. Prescribes guidelines for the sale of such coins, including the solicitation by the Secretary of the Treasury and the President of the United Service Organizations of bids for proposals from marketing organizations to implement a coin marketing agreement. Mandates that such agreement not indicate in any manner that any portion of the sales price to the public constitutes a tax deductible contribution. Sets forth a surcharge distribution scheme. Mandates that: (1) all amounts received from the sale of such coins be deposited in the coinage profit fund; and (2) the minting and issuing of such coins not result in any net cost to the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1991
Economic Development Loan Assistance Demonstration Program Act of 1991 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a demonstration program to encourage economic development in five enterprise zones through grants to community development corporations for reducing interest rates on economic development loans. Authorizes specified appropriations to carry out such program in FY 1991 through 1993.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1991
Violence Against Women Act of 1991 - Title I: Safe Streets for Women - Safe Streets for Women Act of 1991 - Subtitle A: Mandatory Restitution, Treatment, and Rehabilitation for Sex Offenses - Requires that a court order restitution, treatment, and rehabilitation for violations of Federal sexual abuse laws, including participation in a psychotherapeutic treatment program by a licensed therapist for specified persons who committed sexual or sexual-related offenses. Specifies that: (1) the treatment program shall be designed to rehabilitate the affected person and to deter such person from committing a sexual offense after being released from the institution; and (2) treatment for a substance abuse-related condition shall be made available to such person in addition to, but not as a substitute for, counseling under such program. Sets forth provisions with respect to the period of treatment, the requirement of a complete forensic psychological assessment prior to the commencement of the treatment program, termination of treatment, supplemental chemical treatment (but the affected person may refuse to participate, or continue to participate, in supplementary chemical treatment), and the responsibilities of the Attorney General (such as contracting for treatment and documenting subsequent criminal sexual abuse). Directs the Attorney General to establish an advisory committee on therapeutic treatment for sex offenders. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Law Enforcement and Prosecution Grants to Reduce Violent Crime Against Women - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to areas of high intensity crime against women. Requires that the grants be used for personnel, training, technical assistance, data collection, and other equipment for the more widespread apprehension, prosecution, and adjudication of persons committing violent crimes against women. Authorizes the Director to make grants to States, for use by States and their subdivisions, to be used for the same purposes as the high intensity area grants and to reduce the rate of violent crimes against women. Authorizes the Director to make general grants to: (1) States to reduce violent crimes against women; and (2) Indian tribes to reduce violent crimes against women in Indian country. Authorizes the Director, in addition to the grants under this subtitle, to direct any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement, to use its authorities and resources in support of State and local assistance efforts. Authorizes appropriations. Bars any State or other grantee (recipient) from receiving funds under this title unless such recipient incurs the full cost of forensic medical exams for victims of sexual assault when such exams are required under this title. Specifies that a recipient does not incur the full medical cost of such exams if it chooses to reimburse the victim after the fact unless the reimbursement program waives any minimum loss or deductible requirement, provides victim reimbursement within a reasonable time (90 days), permits applications for reimbursement within one year from the date of the exam, and provides information to all subjects of such exams about how to obtain reimbursement. Subtitle C: Safety for Women in Public Transit and Public Parks - Directs the Secretary of Transportation, from funds authorized under existing provisions, to make capital grants for the prevention of crime and to increase security in existing and future public transportation systems. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans to States and local public bodies to increase the safety of public transportation through lighting, camera surveillance, security phones, or other projects. Sets the Federal share of each project at 90 percent of the net cost. Directs the Secretary to provide grants and loans to study ways to reduce violent crimes against women in public transit through better design or operation of public transit systems. Amends the National Park System Improvements in Administration Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to reduce violent crime in the National Park System (NPS). Provides for the compilation of a list of areas within the NPS with the highest rates of violent crime. Allows funds to be used, around public parks and recreation areas, for increasing lighting, providing emergency phone lines, increasing security or law enforcement personnel, and any other project to increase security and safety. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide grants for capital improvements and other measures to increase safety in public parks and recreation areas. Subtitle D: National Commission on Violent Crime Against Women - Establishes the National Commission on Violent Crime Against Women to promote a national policy on violent crime against women and to make recommendations on reducing such crime. Authorizes appropriations. Terminates the Commission after submission of its final report, subject to extension by the President for up to one more year. Subtitle E: New Evidentiary Rules - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to exclude, notwithstanding any other provision of law and in criminal cases other than a sex offense case, reputation or opinion evidence of the past sexual behavior of a victim from admission into evidence. Allows other types of evidence of a victim's past sexual behavior in accordance with specified procedures if its probative value outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice. Makes reputation or opinion evidence of the plaintiff's past sexual behavior, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, inadmissible in a civil action involving allegations of actionable sexual misconduct. Makes other types of evidence of a plaintiff's past sexual behavior admissible in accordance with specified procedures if its probative value outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice. Defines actionable sexual misconduct to include sex harassment or discrimination claims under title VII (Equal Employment Opportunity) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and gender bias claims under title III of this Act. Makes evidentiary rulings made under specified Federal Rules of Evidence relating to sex offense cases and the relevance of a victim's past behavior subject to interlocutory appeal by the Government or by the alleged victim. Allows the alleged victim to waive those rules if the prosecution seeks to offer evidence of prior sexual history. Makes evidence of an alleged victim's clothing, notwithstanding any other provision of law and in a criminal case under Federal laws relating to sexual abuse, inadmissible to show the victim incited or invited the offense. Subtitle F: Assistance to Victims of Sexual Assault - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to allow States to use amounts transferred by the State under block grant provisions for rape prevention and education programs conducted by rape crisis centers or similar nongovernmental nonprofit entities. Authorizes appropriations. Removes a requirement that a minimum amount from the block grants under the PHSA be allotted to States on the basis of population. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to make grants for research and service demonstration projects to develop and evaluate techniques for lowering the overall incidence of rape by 20 percent by the year 2000 and for reducing the trauma and long-term impact of rape. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Safe Homes for Women - Safe Homes for Women Act - Subtitle A: Interstate Enforcement - Provides for a Federal term of imprisonment or fine, in addition to any State penalties, for any person who travels or causes another (including the intended victim) to travel across State lines or in interstate commerce with intent to injure a spouse or intimate partner and who, during the travel or thereafter, injures his or her spouse or intimate partner in violation of a criminal law of the State where the injury occurs, or in violation of a State protection order. Provides for temporary protection orders while a case under these provisions is pending. Mandates that a court order restitution to the victim of an offense under this Act. Requires, provided certain conditions are met, that a protection order issued by the court of one State be accorded full faith and credit by the court of another State. Makes a protection order issued against a person who filed a written pleading for protection not entitled to full faith and credit if no cross or counter petition, complaint, or other written pleading was filed seeking such a protection order or, if a cross or counter petition was filed, the court did not specifically find each party entitled to such an order. Subtitle B: Arrest in Spousal Abuse Cases - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to authorize the Secretary to make grants, with regard to spousal abuse, to: (1) implement pro-arrest programs and policies in police departments and improve case tracking; (2) centralize and coordinate police enforcement, prosecution, or judicial responsibility for cases in one group of officers, prosecutors, or judges; and (3) educate judges to improve judicial handling of cases. Directs the Secretary to delegate to the Attorney General responsibility to carry out these provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Funding for Shelters - Amends the FVPSA to authorize appropriations to carry out that Act, earmarking at least 85 percent of funds appropriated for States, and at least ten percent for Indian tribes and tribal organizations, for grants (under current law, demonstration grants) to prevent family violence and provide immediate shelter and related assistance. Limits the percentage which may be used to provide training and technical assistance to State, Indian tribal, and local domestic violence programs and to other professionals who provide services to victims of domestic violence. Subtitle D: Family Violence Prevention and Services Act Amendments - Amends the FVPSA to: (1) specify that the purpose of such Act is to increase public awareness of, as well as to prevent, family violence, and to provide for training to the courts, and legal, social service, and health professionals (current law specifies only local public agencies, nonprofit private organizations, and others seeking such assistance); and (2) grant preference in the distribution of funds to States that give special emphasis to projects including counseling and self-help services to victims and their children (current law covers counseling, alcohol and drug abuse treatment, and self-help services to abusers and victims.) Directs the Secretary to provide for the funding of domestic violence coalitions that shall further the purposes of domestic violence intervention and prevention through activities such as: (1) working with judicial and law enforcement agencies to encourage appropriate response to domestic violence cases and specified issues, such as the use of mandatory arrest of accused offenders and the use of interstate extradition in cases of domestic violence crimes; (2) working with family law judges, Child Protective Services agencies, and children's advocates to develop appropriate responses to child custody and visitation issues in domestic violence cases, and where domestic violence and child abuse are both present; and (3) conducting public education campaigns regarding domestic violence through the use of public service announcements and informative materials designed for print and electronic broadcast media, billboards, and public transit advertising. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth provisions with respect to the allotment of funds. Requires: (1) that any State domestic violence coalition have standing to challenge whether a grantee is in compliance with the eligibility requirements, or to seek enforcement, of provisions of the FVPSA; and (2) that each such coalition submit a report to the Secretary detailing the coordination, training, technical assistance, and public education services performed, and evaluating the effectiveness of such services. Raises the limit on funding of grants in any fiscal year to any single entity (other than to a State) to $75,000 (currently, $50,000, and a $150,000 limit on the total amount of such grants to any such single entity). Modifies provisions with respect to grants to entities other than States to require that the local share as a proportion of the total amount of funds provided under such Act to the project involved be 35 percent for new programs for the first year of the program and 20 percent for each year therafter for existing programs. (Current law specifies 35 percent in the first year such project receives a grant under such Act, 55 percent in the second such year, and 65 percent in the third such year.) Repeals a provision requiring that a specified portion of State demonstration grant funds for preventing, and assisting victims of, family violence be distributed to provide shelter for victims. Includes shelter as "related assistance" that may be funded under grants for such purposes, as well as medical services, legal assistance, technical assistance with respect to obtaining financial assistance under Federal and State programs, employment training, and educational and preventive health services. Increases the minimum allotment to States for grants under the FVPSA. Requires the General Accounting Office, within 120 days, to complete a study of, and submit to the Congress a report and recommendations on, problems of recordkeeping of criminal complaints involving domestic violence. Directs the Secretary to: (1) award to not less than ten States model State leadership grants for domestic violence intervention; and (2) provide grants or contracts with public or private nonprofit organizations for the establishment and maintenance of a national resource center and six specialty resource centers focusing on one or more specified issues of concern to domestic violence victims. Sets forth eligibility requirements, funding provisions, and, with respect to the latter, reporting requirements. Subtitle E: Confidentiality for Abused Persons - Requires the Postmaster General to promulgate regulations to secure the confidentiality of abused persons' addresses. Title III: Civil Rights - Declares that all persons within the United States shall have the same rights, privileges, and immunities in every State as are enjoyed by all other persons to be free from crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender (defined as any crime of violence, including rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, or any other crime of violence committed because of or on the basis of gender). Makes any person, including a person who acts under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State, who deprives another of the rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the Constitution and laws as enumerated by this Act liable to the injured party in an action for compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, or other relief as the court deems appropriate. Amends the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976 to allow the awarding of attorney's fees in actions to enforce this title. Title IV: Safe Campuses for Women - Safe Campuses for Women Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to make, on a competitive basis, grants to and contracts with institutions of higher education for rape education and prevention programs. Requires that the grants be used to educate and provide support services to student victims of rape or sexual assault, with 25 percent of the funds available for model demonstration programs for rape prevention and education curricula and for local programs to provide services to student rape victims. Authorizes appropriations to carry out title X (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) of the Act. Amends the General Education Provisions Act to add sexual assault to the list of criminal offenses about which statistics must be disclosed by institutions participating in certain programs. Title V: Equal Justice for Women in the Courts - Equal Justice for Women in the Courts Act - Subtitle A: Education and Training for Judges and Court Personnel in State Courts - Authorizes the State Justice Institute to make grants for model programs to be used by States in training judges and court personnel in State laws on rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the State Justice Institute to expend at least: (1) 40 percent of appropriated funds on programs regarding domestic violence; and (2) 40 percent on programs regarding rape and assault. Subtitle B: Education and Training for Judges and Court Personnel in Federal Courts - Directs the Federal Judicial Center to study and report on the nature and extent of gender bias in the Federal courts. Requires the Center to develop and disseminate model programs to be used in training Federal judges and court personnel in the laws on rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender. Authorizes appropriations. Requires between 25 and 40 percent of such funds to be used for the study required by this subtitle.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1991
Telecommunications Equipment Research and Manufacturing Competition Act of 1991 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize any Bell Telephone Company (BTC), through an affiliate of such company, to manufacture and provide telecommunications equipment, except that no BTC may engage in such manufacturing with an unaffiliated BTC or affiliates thereof. Allows such manufacturing or provision to be conducted only through an affiliate that is separate from any BTC. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe regulations to ensure that: (1) such manufacturing affiliate maintains separate accounts and records from its affiliated BTC which identify all financial transactions with the BTC; (2) neither a BTC nor any of its non-manufacturing affiliates carry out sales, advertising, installation, production, or maintenance operations for a manufacturing affiliate, except under specified conditions, such manufacturing affiliate conducts all of its manufacturing activity within the United States and uses component parts manufactured in the United States unless specified requirements regarding good faith efforts to obtain such component parts in the United States and domestic content are met; (3) such affiliate incurs debt entirely separate from and without recourse against the affiliated BTC; (4) such affiliate shall not be required to operate separately from any other affiliates of its BTC; (5) if an affiliate of a BTC becomes affiliated with a manufacturing entity, it shall be treated as a manufacturing affiliate of the BTC; (6) such affiliate shall make available any telecommunications equipment manufactured by such affiliate to any purchasing carrier, so long as each such purchaser does not manufacture such equipment or agrees to make available to the BTC or any of its affiliates any telecommunications equipment manufactured by such purchasing carrier or any of its affiliates for use with the public telecommunications network by such carrier or any of its affiliates; and (7) such affiliate shall not discontinue or restrict sales to other local exchange telephone companies of any telecommunications equipment until arrangements are made to provide to them the specifications, plans, and tools to allow them to arrange for the manufacture of such equipment by another entity. Directs the FCC to require that each BTC maintain and file with the FCC complete information with respect to the protocols and technical requirements for connections with and use of its telephone exchange service facilities. Prohibits a BTC from disclosing any such information to its affiliates unless such information is immediately so filed. Requires any two or more carriers providing regulated telephone exchange service in the same area to notify each other of the deployment of telecommunications equipment. Requires the FCC to ensure that manufacturers in competition with a BTC's manufacturing affiliate have access to information with respect to the protocols and technical requirements for connection with and use of its telephone exchange service facilities required for such competition that such BTC makes available to its affiliate. Requires the FCC to prescribe regulations to require any BTC which has a manufacturing affiliate to: (1) provide to other manufacturers of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment that is functionally equivalent to equipment manufactured by BTC affiliates opportunities to sell such equipment to such BTC which are comparable to opportunities the BTC provides to its affiliates; (2) not subsidize its manufacturing affiliate with revenues from its regulated telecommunications service; and (3) only acquire equipment from its manufacturing affiliate at the open market price. Allows a BTC and its affiliates to engage in close collaboration with any manufacturer of customer premises or telecommunications equipment during the design and development of hardware and software relating to such equipment.
![Official portrait of Rep. Murphy, Austin J. [D-PA-20]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001088_200.jpg)