Bill· HRH.R. 6196 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 1992
Tax Fairness Restoration and Economic Growth Act - Title I: Tax Reductions - Subtitle A: Capital Gains Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude capital gain from gross income and exempt capital gain from tax. Makes such exemption applicable to computing the alternative minimum tax. Subtitle B: Restoration of Income Averaging - Sets forth provisions to restore income averaging. Subtitle C: Elimination of Double Tax on Dividends - Allows a shareholder credit (for taxpayers other than corporations) for dividends from domestic corporations. Provides for determining such credit based on the corporation's post-1992 Federal income taxes and post-1992 undistributed earnings. Includes such credit in the determination of gross income. Allows corporations a 100 percent deduction for amounts received as dividends from domestic corporations. Revises computations on dividends received by corporations on the preferred stock of a public utility. Subtitle D: Permanent Extension of Research Credit - Makes permanent law the credit for increasing research activities. Subtitle E: Reduction of Individual Tax Rate - Reduces individual income tax rates by eliminating the highest tax bracket. Subtitle F: Retirement Savings Incentives - Part I Restoration of IRA Deduction - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove the limitations on deductions for individual retirement plans and provides a cost-of-living adjustment for deductible amounts. Part II: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs - Establishes special individual retirement accounts that are nondeductible. Makes such accounts nontaxable if earnings on contributions are held for at least five years. Applies the early withdrawal penalty to distributions made before the end of the five year-period. Part III: Penalty-Free Distributions - Provides exemptions from the ten-percent penalty on early withdrawals from individual retirement plans for: (1) first home purchases; (2) higher education expenses; and (3) financially devastating medical expenses. Subtitle G: Repeal of Excise Penalty Taxes on Autos - Repeals the excise tax on luxury items (passenger vehicles, boats, aircraft, jewelry, and furs). Subtitle H: Repeal of Limitation On Itemized Deductions - Repeals the overall limitation on itemized deductions. Subtitle I: Repeal of Passive Loss Limitations - Repeals passive loss limitations. Subtitle J: Restoration of 10-Percent Investment Credit - Restores the ten percent investment tax credit for property placed in service after enactment of this Act. Subtitle K: Restoration of Accelerated Cost Recovery System - Restores the accelerated cost recovery system as in effect on the day after the enactment of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981. Subtitle L: Credit for First-Time Homebuyer - Allows a credit for a first-time homebuyer of ten percent of the price of the principal residence. Limits such credit to $2,500. Requires the residence to be acquired on or after February 1, 1992, and before January 1, 1993. Title II: Taxpayer Bill of Rights - Subtitle A: Additional Safeguards to Protect Taxpayers' Rights - Part I: Taxpayers' Advocate - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the Office of Taxpayers' Advocate, headed by the Taxpayers' Advocate, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Office to: (1) assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS; (2) identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the IRS; (3) propose changes in the administrative practices of the IRS to mitigate such problems; and (4) identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems. Requires the Taxpayers' Advocate to annually report to specified congressional committees on Office activities. Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to establish procedures requiring a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the Commissioner by the Taxpayers' Advocate. Authorizes the terms of a Taxpayer Assistance Order to require the Secretary of the Treasury to take certain actions (currently, only to cease or refrain from taking such actions). Part II: Modifications to Installment Agreement Provisions - Requires prior notification to taxpayers under an installment agreement to pay tax liability before altering, modifying, or terminating such an agreement. Provides for administrative review of denials of requests for installment agreements. Suspends the failure to pay penalty during any period an installment agreement is in effect. Part III: Interest - Extends from ten days to 21 days the period for which interest will not be imposed after notice and demand for payment, if such payment is less than $100,000. Provides for the abatement of interest in the case of an assessment due to the error or delay of an IRS managerial act. Increases the interest rate for overpayment of tax from two percent to three percent (making such rate equal to the interest rate for underpayment of tax). Waives interest on all overpayments refunded within 45 days after a return is filed. Part IV: Joint Returns - Requires separate deficiency notices in the case of a joint income tax return if the most recent data available to the IRS shows that such spouses did not file a joint return with each other. Allows the disclosure of collection activities to an individual requesting such information in the case of a joint return where such individual is no longer married to or resides in the same household as the other joint filer. Removes limitations on filing a joint return after filing separate returns. Part V: Collection Activities - Authorizes the Secretary, if it is determined to be in the best interest of the taxpayer and the United States, to: (1) withdraw a notice of a lien; (2) return property that has been levied upon; and (3) offer compromises in civil or criminal cases. Requires the Secretary, at the request of the taxpayer, to make reasonable efforts to notify credit reporting agencies and financial institutions of such withdrawal notice. Part VI: Erroneous and Fraudulent Information Returns - Requires payee statements to provide the phone number of the person providing payment. Establishes civil damages for the fraudulent filing of information returns. Requires the Secretary to take reasonable steps to corroborate the accuracy of an information return when making a determination of a deficiency by a third party, when such return is disputed by the taxpayer. Part VII: Modifications to Penalty for Failure to Collect and Pay Over Tax - Declares that a person shall not be liable for any penalty for failure to collect and pay over tax if such person: (1) is not a significant owner, or highly compensated employee of the trade or business; (2) notifies the Secretary within ten days after such failure; and (3) such notification was before any notice by the Secretary with respect to such failure. Requires the Secretary to disclose certain information where more than one person is liable for a penalty. Part VIII: Awarding of Costs and Certain Fees - Repeals the "substantially justified" test for determining whether a taxpayer may recover costs and fees incurred as part of an administrative or court proceeding. Provides for the awarding of reasonable litigation or administrative costs to a prevailing party who represents himself in an administrative or court proceeding. Makes IRS employees personally liable in certain cases. Provides that any failure to agree to an extension of time for the assessment of any tax shall not be taken into account in determining whether a prevailing party has exhausted all administrative remedies. Part IX: Other Provisions - Revises provisions on the required content of tax due, deficiency, and other notices. Provides for the treatment of returns prepared for or executed by the Secretary for purposes of certain tax penalties. Provides protection for taxpayers who rely on certain guidance published by the IRS. Subtitle B: Form Modifications - Directs the Secretary to: (1) ensure that taxpayers are aware of permission to pay tax in installments, extensions of time for payment of tax, and compromises of tax liability; (2) improve procedures for taxpayers to notify the Secretary of changes in names and addresses; (3) include in a specified publication a section on the rights and responsibilities of divorced individuals; (4) ensure that employees are aware of their responsibilities under the Federal tax system and that the public is aware of penalties for failure to collect and pay over tax; and (5) notify taxpayers of any payments that cannot be associated with any outstanding tax liability. Subtitle C: Additional Improvements - Requires the Secretary to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a pilot program for appeals of certain enforcement actions (including lien, levy, and seizure actions); (2) a study on ways to assist the elderly, physically impaired, foreign-language speaking, and other taxpayers with special needs to comply with IRS laws; (3) the scope and content of the IRS taxpayer-rights education program for its officers and employees; and (4) cases involving complaints about misconduct of IRS employees and the disposition of such complaints. Requires the Comptroller General to report to the tax-writing committees on: (1) a study of notices of deficiency; (2) the accuracy and clarity of 25 of the most commonly used IRS forms, notices, and publications; and (3) a study of IRS employee-suggestion programs.
Bill· HRH.R. 5970 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 1992
American Health Care Access Improvements Act of 1992 - Title I: Health Care Access Improvements - Subtitle A: Health Insurance Deduction Fairness - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent and increase from 25 to 100 percent the health insurance tax deduction for the self-employed. Subtitle B: Extension of Special Treatment Rules for Medicare-Dependent, Small Rural Hospitals - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend for one year special treatment rules for Medicare-dependent small rural hospitals. Subtitle C: Benefits and Services Requirements for Exemption From Tax for Hospitals - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth requirements for hospitals to maintain tax-exempt status, including: (1) the provision of certain emergency medical care; (2) the acceptance of Medicaid and Medicare patients; and (3) the provision of community health centers and clinics in medically underserved areas. Title II: Insurance Availability - Requires eligible uninsured individuals to register with the Secretary of Health and Human Services for enrollment in a qualified Federal health plan. Provides for the collection of premiums through the income tax system. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: Health Care Cost Containment - Subtitle A: Paperwork and Administrative Expense Reduction - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to: (1) identify, inventory, and assess the Federal paperwork burden associated with health care services; and (2) establish a goal for reducing such burden in each of the fiscal years 1993 through 1998 by at least five percent of the preceding fiscal year's paperwork burden. Provides a bonus for providers who initiate the use of electronic claims under the Medicare program. Subtitle B: Medical Malpractice Liability Reform - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for the implementation and evaluation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems. Sets forth eligibility requirements for States seeking such grants. Directs the Secretary to award not less than ten such grants each fiscal year, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary to: (1) designate each State receiving such a grant as a model ADR State (making such State eligible for a two-year extension); and (2) disseminate information on the ADR systems implemented by such States to other States, health care professionals and providers, and other interested parties. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and promulgate standards and regulations necessary to carry out the grant program, including qualification standards that States must meet to receive grants and regulations establishing State data gathering requirements; (2) take into account, in developing qualification standards, specified factors such as the effectiveness of such systems in supporting access to health care, encouraging improvements in the quality of care, resolving claims promptly, and providing predictable outcomes; (3) provide States with technical assistance; and (4) report to the Congress, within four years of the first grant, describing and evaluating the ADR systems implemented. Specifies that, with respect to any health care liability action brought in a Federal or State court and any medical malpractice claim or medical product liability claim subject to an ADR system: (1) no person may be required to pay more than $100,000 in a single payment in damages (whether for economic or non-economic losses) for expenses to be incurred in the future, but shall be permitted to make periodic payments (as determined by the court); (2) the total amount of damages that may be awarded to an individual and the family members of such individual for non-economic losses may not exceed $250,000; (3) the total amount of damages received by an individual shall be reduced by any other payment that has been or will be made to the individual to compensate such individual for the injury that was the subject of the action or claim; (4) a claimant's attorney's fees may not exceed 25 percent of the first $150,000 of any award or settlement, or 15 percent of any additional amounts, paid to the claimant; (5) the total amount of punitive damages that may be assessed may not exceed twice the total amount of the damages awarded to compensate the claimant for losses resulting from the injury; and (6) the liability of each defendant for non-economic losses shall be several only and not joint, and each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of non-economic losses allocated to the defendant in direct proportion to the defendant's percentage of responsibility. Establishes a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice and product liability claims, beginning on the earlier of the date on which the injury that is the subject of the action was discovered or the date it should reasonably have been discovered. Specifies that, in the case of a medical malpractice or product liability claim relating to services provided during labor or the delivery of a baby, if the claimant was not previously treated for the pregnancy by the defendant health care professional or provider a court may not find that the defendant committed malpractice and assess damages against the defendant unless the malpractice is proven by clear and convincing evidence. Bars a defendant from being found to have committed malpractice unless the defendant's conduct at the time of providing the health care services was not reasonable, except where the claimant asserts that the defendant is liable under a strict liability theory. Bars the award of punitive damages with respect to any medical product liability claim alleged against a medical product producer if the drug or device that is the subject of the claim: (1) was subject to approval or premarket approval under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with respect to the safety or performance of the drug or device or the adequacy of the packaging or labeling; (2) was approved by FDA; or (3) is generally recognized as safe and effective pursuant to conditions established by FDA and applicable regulations. Makes an exception in the case of withheld information, misrepresentation, or illegal payment to an FDA official for purposes of securing approval of the drug or device. Provides for a separate proceeding to determine punitive damages. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the admissibility of evidence; and (2) criteria for determining the amount of punitive damages. Provides that the U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over health care liability actions based on Federal questions or based on specified provisions concerning commerce and antitrust regulations. Specifies that this title preempts State law only to the extent that State law: (1) permits the recovery by a claimant or the assessment against a defendant of a greater amount of damages; (2) permits the awarding of a greater amount of attorney's fees; (3) establishes a longer period during which medical malpractice or product liability claims may be initiated; or (4) establishes a less strict standard of proof for determining whether a defendant has committed malpractice. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to encourage the establishment of a nationwide risk retention group (RRG) for community and migrant health centers receiving assistance under such Act. Defines an RRG for purposes of this title as an entity defined in the Liability Risk Retention Act of 1986 that: (1) provides professional liability insurance and other types of profitable insurance approved for issuance by the Secretary to community and migrant health centers; (2) provides insurance that applies to all claims filed against a community or migrant health center after the entity initiates insurance coverage and to claims arising from acts that occurred prior to the initiation of coverage if the claims are not covered by other insurance; and (3) meets such other requirements as the Secretary may establish. Subtitle C: Medical Savings Accounts - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individuals a tax deduction for contributions made to a medical care savings account established for the benefit of an eligible individual. Defines an eligible individual as: (1) one who is not covered by an employer-provided group health plan; or (2) one who is covered by such a plan which is a qualified catastrophic coverage health plan and is not covered by any other health plan. Allows penalty-free withdrawals from such accounts to the extent that amounts in such accounts exceed $15,000. Allows such deduction in arriving at adjusted gross income. Establishes an excise tax for excess contributions to medical care savings accounts and makes such accounts subject to the tax on prohibited transactions. Allows the transfer of unused amounts in flexible spending accounts of cafeteria plans to medical savings accounts. Subtitle D: Estimates of Expenses Prior to Treatment - Requires providers of health care items or services to disclose to individuals prior to their treatment the price to be charged for such items or services, except in cases of emergencies. Subtitle E: Limitation on Exclusion for Employer Provided Health Coverage - Limits the amount excludable from the gross income of an employee for employer-provided health care coverage. Subjects such amount to an inflation adjustment.
Bill· HRH.R. 5960 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1992
Sexual Assault Prevention Act of 1992 - Title I: Sexual Violence - Subtitle A: Penalties and Remedies - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for pretrial detention in sex offense cases. Makes murder a Class A felony, mandating the death sentence, when done in the course of certain sex offenses, sexual assault, or child molestation, or when the defendant has previously been convicted of sexual assault or child molestation, subject to specified mitigating factors. Requires instructing the jury not to: (1) be influenced by prejudice or bias relating to the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of the defendant or any victim; and (2) recommend a death sentence unless it concludes that it would recommend such sentence regardless of such factors. Requires each juror to sign a certification to that effect. Prohibits: (1) carrying out a death sentence on a woman while she is pregnant; and (2) requiring any employee of, or any person under contract to provide services to, a State corrections department, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or the U.S. Marshals Service, to attend or participate in any execution. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the appointment of counsel for indigent capital defendants; (2) representation after finality of judgment; (3) standards for competence of counsel; (4) claims of ineffectiveness of counsel in collateral proceedings; (5) time limits for collateral attack on a death sentence; (6) stays of execution; and (7) finality of the decision on review. Increases penalties for: (1) recidivist sex offenders; and (2) sex offenses against victims under age 16. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission: (1) to amend the sentencing guidelines to increase by at least four levels the base level for offenses relating to sexual, and aggravated sexual, abuse; (2) to consider whether any other changes applicable to such offenses are warranted; (3) in amending the guidelines in conformity with this provision, to review the appropriateness and adequacy of existing offense characteristics and adjustments applicable to such offenses; and (4) in any subsequent amendment to the guidelines, to maintain minimum guideline sentences for such offenses which are at least equal to those required by this provision. Amends the Federal criminal code to require that a person charged with an offense under provisions relating to sexual abuse be tested for the human immunodeficiency virus: (1) before release pending trial; and (2) six months and twelve months after the initial test. Requires results to be provided to the judicial officer or court and disclosed only to the victim, the attorney for the Government, and the person tested. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend the sentencing guidelines to enhance the sentence of an offender who had reason to know that he was infected, except where the offender did not engage or attempt to engage in conduct creating a risk of transmission. Amends: (1) the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 to require a governmental department or agency to pay for up to two tests for a sexual assault victim in the twelve months following the assault and a counseling session regarding the tests and the risk of transmission as the result of the assault; and (2) the Controlled Substances Act to provide for increased penalties for distribution of a controlled substance to a woman while she is pregnant. Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize the restitution of victims of sex offenses, including reimbursement for lost income and necessary child care, transportation, and other expenses related to participation in the investigation or prosecution of, or attendance at proceedings related to, the offense. Requires the court to issue an order requiring restitution of the full amount of the victims's losses and expenses for which restitution is authorized in imposing sentence, unless the Government and the victim do not request such restitution. Provides for the enforcement of restitution orders through the suspension of Federal benefits. Provides that whoever, in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, engages in sexual violence against another, shall be liable to the injured party in a civil action. Includes among the relief available compensatory and punitive damages and any appropriate equitable or declaratory relief. Amends the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976 to include such provision with respect to payment of attorney fees. Subtitle B: Rules of Evidence, Practice, and Procedure - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to allow evidence of similar offenses in criminal or civil sexual assault and child molestation cases. Revises Federal Rule of Evidence 412 (rape victim shield law), including: (1) making inadmissible reputation or opinion evidence of the past sexual behavior of an alleged victim of a sex offense, and evidence of a victim's past sexual behavior other than reputation or opinion evidence (with exceptions), in a civil case (current law applies only to criminal cases); and (2) requiring any order admitting such evidence to explain the reasoning leading to the finding of relevance and the basis of the finding that its probative value outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice notwithstanding the potential of the evidence to humiliate and embarass the alleged victim and to result in unfair or biased inferences. Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that an appeal by the United States before trial shall lie to a court of appeals from an order of a district court admitting evidence of an alleged victim's past sexual behavior in a criminal case in which the defendant is charged with a sex offense, whether or not the conduct occurred in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a Federal prison. Adds a Federal Rule of evidence that, in a criminal case in which a person is accused of a sex offense, evidence is not admissible to show that the alleged victim invited or provoked the commission of the offense. Enacts rules to be known as the Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers in Federal Practice and includes them as an appendix to provisions of the U.S. Code relating to the judiciary and judicial procedure. Applies the rules to proceedings before a U.S. court or a Federal agency that carries out adjudicatory or quasi-adjudicatory functions. Includes rules relating to: (1) litigation abuse (including conduct to increase litigation expenses or with no substantial purpose other than to distress another person); (2) a duty of enquiry in relation to the client (including attempting to elicit from the client a materially complete account of the alleged criminal activity or civil wrong if the client acknowledges involvement in such activity or wrong), and to elicit the material facts relevant to a defense of alibi if the client denies such involvement; (3) a duty to expedite litigation (including not attempting to delay or prolong proceedings for specified reasons); and (4) a duty to prevent the commission of a crime (including allowing or requiring disclosure of information). Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to provide that: (1) if the offense charged is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, each side is entitled to six peremptory challenges (currently, six for the Government and ten for the defendant or defendants jointly); and (2) if sentence is to be imposed for a crime of violence or sexual abuse, the court shall (before imposing sentence) address the victim personally if the victim is present at the sentencing hearing, and determine if the victim wishes to make a statement and present any information in relation to the sentence (which statement may be made in camera under specified circumstances). Expresses the sense of the Congress that news media, law enforcement personnel, and other persons should exercise restraint and respect a rape victim's privacy by not disclosing the victim's identity to the general public or facilitating such disclosure without the victim's consent. Subtitle C: Safe Campuses - Requires the Attorney General to: (1) provide for a national baseline study to examine the scope of the problem of campus sexual assaults and the effectiveness of institutional and legal policies in addressing such crimes and protecting victims; and (2) submit a report to the Congress by September 1, 1995. Authorizes appropriations. Amends: (1) the General Education Provisions Act to provide for the disclosure of arrest records by campus police; and (2) the Higher Education Act of 1965 to add sexual assault to the list of offenses regarding which certain institutions are required to collect and disclose statistics. Subtitle D: Assistance to States and Localities - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to support projects and programs relating to sexual violence. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) formula and discretionary grant allotments; (2) application requirements for formula grants; (3) conditions on grants; (4) program evaluation (by the National Institute of Justice); (5) coordination of grant administration; and (6) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Attorney General to make supplementary grants to States adopting laws that exceed or are reasonably comparable to Federal provisions relating to sexual violence in certain respects. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Domestic Violence and Offenses Against the Family - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties (including mandatory penalties if the offense involves the infliction of bodily injury on, or the commission of sexual abuse against, the victim) for interstate travel to commit spouse abuse or to violate a protective order, subject to specified requirements. Provides for mandatory restitution and pretrial detention for victims of such offense. Includes as an aggravating factor, for purposes of death penalty provisions under this Act, that a killing occurred in the course of such offense. Establishes penalties (including restitution) for noncompliance with child support obligations in interstate cases. Makes compliance with any court or administrative order under State law requiring payments for the support of a child, or of a child and the parent with whom the child is living, a condition of probation. Provides for full faith and credit of protective orders among the States. Expresses the sense of the Congress that, for purposes of determining child custody, evidence establishing that a parent engages in physical abuse of a spouse should create a statutory presumption that it is detrimental to the child to be placed in the custody of the abusive spouse. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) prepare a report on the status of battered women's syndrome as a medical and psychological condition and on its effect in criminal trials; (2) conduct a study of the means by which abusive spouses may obtain information concerning the addresses or locations of estranged or former spouses; (3) complete a study of problems of recordkeeping of criminal complaints involving domestic violence; and (4) evaluate, develop, prepare and disseminate to State authorities, and make recommendations concerning anti-stalking legislation. Sets forth reporting requirements. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to support projects and programs relating to domestic violence and other criminal and unlawful acts that particularly affect women. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) formula and discretionary grant allotments; (2) application requirements for formula grants; (3) conditions on grants; (4) program evaluation; (5) coordination of grant administration; and (6) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title III: National Task Force on Violence Against Women - Establishes the National Task Force on Violence Against Women to develop a uniform Federal, State, and local law enforcement strategy aimed at protecting women against violent crimes, punishing persons who commit such crimes, and enhancing the rights of the victims. Sets forth administrative and reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 551 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 1992
Designates October 4 through 10, 1992, as National Bone Marrow Donor Awareness Week.
Bill· HRH.R. 5864 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Persian Gulf War Veterans Registry Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a Persian Gulf War Veterans Registry for maintaining information concerning the health status of veterans who served in the Persian Gulf area during the Persian Gulf War (War). Describes information to be included in the Registry, including the circumstances of each veteran's service during the War. Directs the Secretary, in establishing such Registry, to: (1) provide each War veteran with a complete mental and physical examination, as well as a follow-up consultation to explain examination results; and (2) obtain from the Secretary of Defense any information relevant to such service. Authorizes the Secretary to undertake outreach efforts to further Registry purposes.
Bill· HRH.R. 5745 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1992
Repeals specified portions of the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992 (Public Law 102-318) which: (1) provide for optional trustee-to-trustee transfers of eligible rollover distributions; and (2) impose a withholding tax on distributions not so transferred. Requires the Internal Revenue Code to be applied and administered as if such provisions (and the amendments made by such provisions) had not been enacted.
Law· HJRESH.J.Res. 520 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 1992
Designates October 1992 as Country Music Month.
Bill· HRH.R. 5462 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 1992
Urban Entrepreneurial Opportunities Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for equity contributions made by a corporation to an urban entrepreneurial opportunity financing subsidiary of such corporation. Requires the subsidiary to use such contribution in making qualified enterprise zone business loans to qualified small business concerns. Establishes an overall program limitation among the contributing corporations to be allocated by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Law· HRH.R. 5432 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Designates the Federal building and U.S. courthouse located at the corner of College Avenue and Mountain Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as the John Paul Hammerschmidt Federal Building and United States Courthouse.
Law· HRH.R. 5431 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 1992
Designates the Federal building located at 200 Federal Plaza in Paterson, New Jersey, as the Robert A. Roe Federal Building.
Law· HJRESH.J.Res. 492 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Designates September 1992 as Childhood Cancer Month.
Bill· HRH.R. 5250 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Medical Cost Containment Act of 1992 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income medical care savings benefits. Describes such benefits as a health plan which provides that all or part of the premium differential realized by instituting a qualified higher deductible health plan is credited to participating employees to pay for medical care for a plan year. Requires amounts remaining at the end of such plan year to be deposited into a tax-exempt medical care savings account (subject to rules similar to those for retirement plans) for use by the participant for medical expenses.
Bill· HRH.R. 5229 (102nd)open
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 1992
Fundamental Competitiveness Act of 1992 - Title I: Public Debt Reduction - Allows individual taxpayers to designate a portion of tax liability (not to exceed ten percent) on their tax returns to reduce the public debt. Establishes the Public Debt Reduction Trust Fund consisting of amounts so designated. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to provide for a sequestration of revenues equivalent to the estimated aggregate amount so designated. Specifies accounts exempted from such sequestration and establishes reporting requirements with respect to budget procedures. Title II: Capital Formation - Establishes a method of computing the credit for increasing research activities based on aggregate research expenses, as an alternative to the method based on qualified research expenses. Establishes a variable capital gains deduction whose formulas on a sliding scale range from ten percent for assets held for one year up to 100 percent for assets held for ten years. Allows a deduction of 50 percent of the capital gain from stock investments by non-corporate taxpayers in start-up companies where initial stock offerings are held for two years. Requires indexing, based on the gross national product deflator, of the adjusted basis of certain assets (corporate stock and tangle property that is a capital asset of property used in a trade or business) that have been held for more than one year at the time of sale or other disposition, solely for the purpose of determining gain or loss. Permits an income tax deduction in the amount of dividends paid by domestic corporations, except S corporations, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, and personal holding companies. Repeals the income tax deductions currently permitted in connection with: (1) dividends received by a corporation; (2) dividends received by a corporation on the preferred stock of a public utility; and (3) dividends paid by a public utility on its preferred stock. Increases the deductible percentage of amounts received by a corporation from a qualified ten-percent owned foreign corporation. Allows a charitable deduction for corporate contributions of employee volunteer services to an educational organization. Establishes an investment tax credit for manufacturing and other productive equipment. Provides for determining the applicable percentage of such credit, which includes an efficiency improvement percentage. Increases the limitation based on the amount of tax for purposes of the general business credit. Provides for the treatment of losses on stock in manufacturing companies as ordinary (as opposed to capital) losses. Allows a partial exclusion of dividends or interest received by an individual. Provides for ordinary-loss treatment for losses on investments in a qualified startup company. Describes such company as one which: (1) manufacture tangible personal property in the United States; (2) does not involve a business acquired from another person; and (3) has not been in existence for more than one taxable year at the time it issued stock. Title III: Antitrust - Amends the Clayton Act to bar the acquisition by one corporation of stock of another, subject to specified conditions, where there is a significant probability that such acquisition will substantially increase the ability to exercise market power (currently, where the effect of such acquisition may be to substantially lessen competition or to tend to create a monopoly). Defines the ability to exercise market power for purposes of such provision as the ability of one or more firms profitably to maintain prices above competitive levels for a significant period of time. Directs the court, in determining whether there is a significant probability that any acquisition will substantially increase the ability to exercise market power, to consider all economic factors relevant to the effect of the acquisition in the affected markets, including: (1) the number and size distribution of firms and the effect of the acquisition thereon; (2) the ease or difficulty of entry by foreign or domestic firms; (3) the ability of smaller firms in the market to increase production in response to an attempt to exercise market power; (4) the nature of the product and terms of sale; (5) conduct of firms in the market; (6) efficiencies deriving from the acquisition; and (7) any other evidence indicating whether the acquisition will or will not substantially increase the ability, unilaterally or collectively, to exercise market power. Amends the National Cooperative Research Act of 1984 to include a joint production venture within the scope of such Act as an activity that shall not be deemed illegal per se under the antitrust laws. Changes the short title of such Act to the National Cooperative Research, Development, and Production Act. Title IV: Business Liability - Subtitle A: Findings - Makes findings with respect to the increasing amount of litigation in our society and the desirability of encouraging alternative dispute mechanisms and providing uniform legal standards in the areas of professional and product liability. Subtitle B: Professionals' Liability Reform - Professionals' Liability Reform Act of 1992 - Establishes certain limitations and procedures regarding professional liability actions. Preempts certain State laws. Provides that nothing in this Act shall prohibit any State from developing or implementing alternative procedures for: (1) expediting the adjudication of professional liability claims; (2) resolving professional liability disputes; or (3) compensating for harm caused by professional services. Requires professional liability actions to be brought within three years after the claimant discovered, or should have discovered, the harm. Requires the claimant, in any professional liability action, to establish: (1) that the professional negligently rendered professional services and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the harm; or (2) in a claim for economic injury, that the professional negligently rendered professional services to and for the direct and intended benefit of the claimant, and such services were the proximate cause of the harm. Requires the claimant to establish that, at the time such services were provided, knowledge of the circumstances that caused the harm and a practical means to eliminate such circumstances were reasonably available. States that a professional shall not be liable in a professional liability action in which: (1) the professional's services were rendered to an agency of the Federal or State government; (2) Federal or State contract specifications existed which were material to the claim; and (3) the services rendered conformed to such specifications. Permits future damage awards exceeding $100,000 to be made by periodic payments. Requires that damage awards be offset by any amount received as compensation for the same injury. Establishes a contingency fee schedule for plaintiffs' attorneys. States that the principles of comparative liability shall apply unless persons engaged in concerted action which proximately caused the harm. Permits the awarding of punitive damages only where the conduct of the defendant: (1) manifested a malicious and reckless disregard for safety; and (2) constituted an extreme departure from accepted standards of safety. States that punitive damages may not be awarded in the absence of a compensatory award, or for the negligent provision of professional services. Requires the trier of fact, at the request of the professional, to consider in a separate proceeding whether punitive damages are to be awarded. Limits the claimant's actual recovery of punitive damages to three times the amount of compensatory damages. States that excess punitive damages shall be paid to the State or Federal government. Makes any attorney who files a frivolous claim subject to pecuniary sanctions by the court. Requires each State to encourage professional organizations to form risk management programs. Subtitle C: Product Liability Fairness - Part I: General Provisions - Product Liability Fairness Act - Declares that this Act governs any product liability action brought against a manufacturer or product seller, on any theory, for harm caused by a product. States that a civil action brought against a manufacturer or product seller for loss or damage to a product itself or commercial loss shall be governed by applicable commercial or contract law. Supersedes any inconsistent State law regarding recovery in such actions. Lists specific laws not superseded, including: (1) defense of sovereign immunity asserted by any State or by the United States; (2) any Federal law (except the Federal Employees Compensation Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act); (3) the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976; (4) State choice-of-law rules; (5) the right of any court to transfer venue or to apply the law of a foreign nation or to dismiss a claim of a foreign nation or citizen on the ground of inconvenient forum; and (6) any statutory or common law cause of action, including an action to abate a nuisance, that authorizes a State or person to institute an action for civil damages or civil penalties, clean up costs, injunctions, restitution, cost recovery, punitive damages, or any other form of relief from contamination or pollution of the environment or the threat of it. Declares that U.S. district courts shall not have jurisdiction over any civil action under this Act, based on specified provisions of Federal law relating to district court jurisdiction. Declares that, if any provision of this Act would shorten the period during which a manufacturer or seller would otherwise be exposed to liability, the claimant may, notwithstanding that period, bring any civil action under this Act within one year after the effective date of this Act. Part II: Out of Court Procedures - Allows any claimant to bring a civil action for damages against a person for harm caused by a product under applicable State law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this title. Sets forth expedited settlement measures, including: (1) an option to include an offer of settlement, for a specific dollar amount, by the plaintiff in the complaint and by the defendant in a responsive pleading; and (2) awarding attorney's fees and costs, in certain circumstances, to the prevailing party if the other party does not accept the settlement offer. Sets forth alternative dispute resolution procedures, including: (1) an option, in lieu of or in addition to a settlement offer, for a claimant or a defendant to offer to proceed under any voluntary alternative dispute resolution procedure established or recognized under the law of the State in which the action is brought or maintained; and (2) awarding of attorney's fees and costs to the offering party if the court determines that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable or not in good faith. Creates a rebuttable presumption that a refusal to so proceed was unreasonable, or not in good faith, if a verdict is rendered in favor of the offeror. Part III: Court Procedures - Allows a person seeking to recover for harm caused by a product to bring a civil action against the manufacturer or seller under applicable State or Federal law, except to the extent such law is superseded by this Act. Establishes a standard of product seller liability for proximate causes of harm, established by a preponderance of the evidence, which fall under the categories of negligence or express warranty. Allows the trier of fact, in a negligence action, to consider the conduct of the seller with respect to: (1) the construction, inspection, or condition of the product; and (2) failure to pass on warnings or instructions from the manufacturer. Deems the seller not liable for failure to provide warnings or instructions unless the claimant establishes that the seller failed to: (1) provide warnings or instructions received while the product was in the seller's possession and control; or (2) make reasonable efforts to provide users with warnings and instructions which it received after the product left its possession and control. Deems a seller not liable except for breach of warranty where there was no opportunity to inspect the product in a manner which would or should, in the exercise of reasonable care, have revealed the aspect which allegedly caused the harm. Declares that the seller shall be treated as the manufacturer and be liable for harm caused by a product as if it were the manufacturer if: (1) the manufacturer is not subject to service of process in any State in which the action might have been brought; or (2) the court determines that the claimant would be unable to enforce a judgment against the manufacturer. Allows punitive damages, if otherwise permitted by applicable law, to be awarded in any civil action under this title to any claimant who establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the harm suffered was the result of conduct manifesting a manufacturer's or product seller's conscious, flagrant indifference to the safety of those persons who might be harmed by a product. Declares that a failure to exercise reasonable care in choosing among alternative product designs, formulations, instructions, or warnings is not of itself such conduct. Prohibits awarding punitive damages in the absence of a compensatory award, subject to exception. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer or seller of a drug or medical device where: (1) the drug or device was subject to pre-market approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); or (2) the drug is generally recognized as safe and effective under conditions established by the FDA. Prohibits punitive damages against a manufacturer of an aircraft where: (1) the aircraft was subject to pre-market certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); and (2) the manufacturer complied, after delivery, with FAA requirements and obligations with respect to continuing airworthiness. Provides for separate proceedings, if requested by the manufacturer or seller, with regard to punitive damages. Lists factors the trier of fact is allowed to consider in determining the amount of punitive damages. Bars any civil action under this title: (1) unless filed within two years after the claimant discovered or should have discovered the harm and its cause, subject to exception; and (2) if the product involved is a capital good that is alleged to have caused harm which is not a toxic harm unless filed within twenty-five years after delivery of the product, provided the claimant has received or would be eligible for State or Federal workers' compensation. Excludes a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or railroad used primarily to transport passengers for hire from these time limitations. States that nothing in these provisions affects the right of any person who is subject to liability under this Act to obtain contribution or indemnity from any other person who is responsible for the harm. Requires reduction in the damages awarded by the sum of all State or Federal workers' compensation benefits to which the employee is or would be entitled. Requires a claimant in a civil action under this title who is or may be eligible to receive State or Federal workers' compensation to notify the claimant's employer of the civil action. Requires an action to be stayed, at the sole discretion of the claimant, until a final determination is made on the amount payable as workers' compensation benefits. Declares that, unless the manufacturer or seller has expressly agreed to indemnify or hold an employer harmless, neither the employer nor the workers' compensation insurance carrier shall have a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery, except if the claimant's harm was not in any way caused by the fault of the claimant's employer or co-employees. Allows the employer or workers' compensation insurer to intervene in the action to prove that fact. Prohibits a third party tortfeasor, where workers' compensation is involved, from maintaining any action for implied indemnity or contribution against the employer, any coemployee, or the exclusive representative of the injured person. Prohibits, for a person who is or would have been entitled to receive workers' compensation, any other action, unless a State or Federal workers' compensation law permits recovery based on a claim of an intentional tort. Makes these provisions inapplicable and declares that applicable State law shall control if the employer or the workers' compensation insurer asserts a right of subrogation, contribution, or implied indemnity against the manufacturer or seller or a lien against the claimant's recovery. Declares that, in any product liability action, the liability of each defendant for noneconomic damages shall be several and not joint. Requires the trier of fact to determine the proportion of responsibility of each party for the claimant's harm. Establishes a complete defense, in any civil action under this Act in which all defendants are manufacturers or sellers, that the claimant was under the influence of alcohol or any drug and that, as a result, the claimant was more than 50 percent responsible for the event which resulted in the harm. Defines "drug" to mean any non-over-the-counter drug which has not been prescribed by a physician. Title V: Long-Term Investment - Long-Term Investment Promotion Act of 1992 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to eliminate the requirement that publicly-held corporations report their financial status on a quarterly basis. Title VI: Competitiveness Risk Assessment - Declares that no agency shall propose or promulgate a regulation without first analyzing its direct and indirect effects on the health and safety of consumers and workers, including effects due to wage and job losses, price increases, product restrictions, technological delays, and substitution effects. Title VII: Department of Manufacturing And Commerce - Department of Manufacturing and Commerce Act of 1992 - Renames the Department of Commerce as the Department of Manufacturing and Commerce. Requires the President to establish a Manufacturing Advisory Commission to examine Federal agencies, programs, and offices responsible for manufacturing-related research and development, technology transfer, education, and trade in order to prepare a report for the Congress on the feasibility of consolidating such agencies, programs, and offices into a single Office of Manufacturing within the Department of Manufacturing and Commerce. Title VIII: Amendments to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to change from discretionary to mandatory a Federal agency's authority to permit the director of any of its laboratories to enter into cooperative research and development agreements on its behalf. Authorizes each Federal agency to copyright on behalf of the United States any computer software prepared in whole or in part by Government employees involved in cooperative research and development agreements. Includes software royalties in the current distribution format (agency, laboratory, author, and Treasury) under such Act.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 479 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 1992
Designates November 13, 1992, as Vietnam Veterans Memorial 10th Anniversary Day.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 474 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 1992
Designates October 4 through 10, 1992, as National Customer Service Week.
Law· HJRESH.J.Res. 471 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 1992
Designates September 16, 1992, as National Occupational Therapy Day.
Resolution· HCONRESH.Con.Res. 307 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should extend for one year the 90-day moratorium on new unnecessary Federal regulations ordered in the President's Memorandum on Reducing the Burden of Government Regulations, dated January 28, 1992.
Law· HJRESH.J.Res. 466 (102nd)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 1992
Designates April 26 through May 2, 1992, as National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
Bill· HRH.R. 4724 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a first-time homebuyer who purchases a principal residence a tax credit of ten percent of the purchase price of such residence. Limits the credit to $5,000. Requires married individuals filing jointly to both be first-time homebuyers. Allows the use of 50 percent of the credit in the first taxable year in which the residence is purchased and the remaining 50 percent in the succeeding taxable year. Makes this credit applicable to residences acquired after February 1, 1992, and before January 1, 1993, or for which a binding contract is entered into during such period.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 452 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 1992
Designates September 14 through 20, 1992, as National Small Independent Telephone Company Week.
Bill· HRH.R. 4565 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 1992
Repeals specified tax increases contained in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
Bill· HRH.R. 4555 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1992
Limits the service of an employee of the House of Representatives to 12 years.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 451 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1992
Constitutional Amendment - Limits the term of a Member of the House of Representatives to 12 years.
Bill· HJRESH.J.Res. 444 (102nd)referred
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 1992
Designates the week beginning May 17, 1992, as National Senior Nutrition Week.
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