United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1995
Waterways Restoration Act of 1995 - Amends the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to delete the requirement that each watershed improvement under such Act must contain benefits directly related to agriculture that account for at least 20 percent of the total project benefits. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and implement a Waterways Restoration Program which provides technical assistance and grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities for carrying out waterway restoration projects. Requires such projects to achieve ecological restoration or protection and one or more of the following objectives: (1) flood damage reduction; (2) erosion control; (3) stormwater management; or (4) water quality enhancement. Provides project descriptions and priorities, including the location of projects in low-income or economically depressed areas adversely affected by poor watershed management. Outlines other project requirements, including a cost-benefit analysis. Requires the Secretary to designate Program administrators for each participating State (including a State agency if approved by the Secretary). Requires program grants to be awarded on an annual basis. Provides project application and selection requirements, including the establishment in each participating State of an interdisciplinary team of specialists to assist in reviewing project applications under the Program. Outlines conditions for receiving assistance under the Program, with sponsor and cosponsor requirements. Requires a non-Federal share of 25 percent of project costs, with a waiver for economically depressed communities. Limits the administrative and technical assistance costs of the Program. Requires the Governor of each participating State to establish a citizens oversight committee to evaluate management of the Program in that State. Requires program administrators to issue annual reports summarizing the Program evaluations of the oversight committees. Requires the Secretary to give a priority to waterways restoration projects in making funding decisions under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1995
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the Kaliningrad-Konigsberg area should be made into a demilitarized zone and the Russian Federation should remove all its military forces from such area; (2) the administration of such area should be transferred from the Russian Federation to an international body; and (3) appropriate international and regional agencies should be requested to conduct and implement studies to restore the environmental integrity of the area.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 1995
Calls for: (1) the United States to use its influence with the Turkish Government and as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to suggest that the Turkish Government ensure the proper protection for the Patriarchate and all Orthodox faithful residing in Turkey, assure that positive steps are taken to reopen the Halki Patriarchal School of Theology, provide for the proper protection and safety of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Patriarchate personnel, establish conditions that would prevent the recurrence of past terrorist activities and vandalism and other personal threats against the Patriarchate, establish conditions to ensure that the Patriarchate is free to carry out its religious mission, and do everything possible to find and punish the perpetrators of any provocative and terrorist acts against the Patriarchate; and (2) the Administration to report to the Congress the status and progress of such concerns on an annual basis.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1995
Retired Worker Health Security Act of 1995 - Requires employers to notify workers at least 60 days before their health care benefits or retirement benefits are terminated. Defines employer as any business enterprise which has 100 or more employees or 500 or more employees who have retired and receive or will receive health and pension benefits from such enterprise.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 1995
Honors the memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide. Calls for the United States to encourage the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge and commemorate the atrocity committed against the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 1995
Corporate Welfare Reduction Act of 1995 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to determining the foreign tax credit, to replace the formula for reducing the amount of oil and gas extraction taxes taken into account. Disallows as creditable amounts: (1) any taxes paid or accrued to a foreign country with respect to foreign oil and gas income (including extraction income) which are not imposed under the country's generally applicable income tax law; and (2) any other taxes on such income to the extent that the country's law is structured or operates so that the tax amount imposed will generally be materially greater, over a reasonable period, than the amount generally imposed on other income. Separates such income, for purposes of certain limitations on the application of the credit, into foreign oil and gas extraction income and foreign oil related income. Removes the deferral, for purposes of taxation of controlled foreign corporations, of tax on extraction income or income from consumption in the foreign country. Provides that the Secretary of the Treasury's authority, in allocating income, deductions, credits, and allowances among taxpayers owned or controlled by the same interests, shall not be limited by any restriction on the ability of the entities to transfer or receive money or property. Terminates, effective with taxable years beginning January 1, 1996, the exclusion of foreign earned income and the housing cost amounts of U.S. citizens or residents living abroad. Treats the gain or loss of a nonresident alien individual or foreign corporation that is a ten-percent shareholder in a domestic corporation upon disposition of such a corporation's stock as if the taxpayer were engaged during the taxable year in a trade or business within the United States and such gain or loss attributable to a permanent U.S. trade or business establishment. Imposes a 26-percent minimum tax on nonresident alien individuals. Provides for the withholding of tax on such dispositions, except in the case of stock which is not regularly traded. Excepts such gain from the branch profits tax imposed on foreign corporations. Requires notice to the Secretary upon distributions by a U.S. person to a foreign person in redemption of stock or complete liquidation of a subsidiary. Removes the exemption of ten-percent shareholders from the tax on interest of nonresident alien individuals received from portfolio debt investments. Redefines portfolio interest as only interest paid on obligations issued by governmental entities. Provides special rules for determining the source of income from the sale of inventory property.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 1995
Reaffirms that the status quo on Cyprus is unacceptable and welcomes the appointment of a Special Presidential Emissary for Cyprus. Insists that all parties to the dispute regarding Cyprus agree to seek a solution based upon the relevant United Nations (UN) resolutions and reaffirms that all foreign troops should be withdrawn from the Republic of Cyprus. Encourages the UN Security Council and the U.S. Government to consider alternative approaches to promote a resolution of the dispute regarding Cyprus based upon relevant Security Council resolutions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Improving Aid to Families with Dependent Children Title II: Making Work Pay Title III: Improving Child Support Enforcement Title IV: Reauthorization of Child Care and Development Block Grant Title V: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code Title VI: Effective Date Family Stability and Work Act of 1995 - Title I: Improving Aid To Families With Dependent Children - Amends parts A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) and F (Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program) (JOBS) of title IV of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make various specified changes with regard to AFDC benefits, including changes: (1) increasing the standard earned income disregard under AFDC and State flexibility regarding recipient participation in the JOBS program; (2) eliminating the different treatment of two-parent families; (3) extending the transitional child care guarantee under AFDC; (4) increasing the Federal matching rates for child care under AFDC; (5) increasing JOBS program funding; (6) adding requirements for State JOBS program participation rates; (7) increasing JOBS and transitional child care matching rates for States whose recipients leave AFDC for paid employment; (8) increasing at-risk child care funding; and (9) establishing a jobs creation and work experience program under JOBS. Title II: Making Work Pay - Amends Medicaid and the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to provide for transitional Medicaid benefits and the continuation of food stamps in order to make work pay for former AFDC recipients. (Sec. 202) Provides for the temporary exclusion of earned income for purposes of determining rent paid for units in federally assisted housing. Title III: Improving Child Support Enforcement - Amends SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to make various specified changes with regard to: (1) State obligations to provide paternity establishment and child support enforcement services; (2) distribution of payments; (3) due process rights; (4) privacy safeguards; (5) program administration and funding, including funding for Secretarial assistance to State programs; (6) locate and case tracking, including providing for centralized collection and disbursement of support payments and an expanded Federal Parent Locator Service; and (7) State law requirements, including interstate enforcement of child support orders, expedited administrative and judicial procedures, and paternity establishment. (Sec. 351) Establishes a National Child Support Guidelines Commission to develop a national child support guideline for consideration by the Congress that is based on a study of various guideline models, the benefits and deficiencies of such models, and any needed improvements. (Sec. 361) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a change in the order of refund distributions and make other specified changes with regard to the enforcement of support orders, including providing for the Internal Revenue Service to collect child support arrears and revising the authority for support collection with respect to Federal employees. (Sec. 364) Provides for the enforcement of child support obligations of members of the armed forces through the establishment of a centralized personnel locator service. (Sec. 365) Makes other specified changes with regard to child support enforcement matters, including establishing State procedures for: (1) placing liens for arrears of child support on motor vehicle titles of individuals owing such arrears; (2) voiding fraudulent transfers in cases where a debtor transferred income or property to avoid payment of a child support creditor; (3) suspending driver's and other types of licenses in arrearage cases; and (4) charging for the collection of interest and penalties on arrearages. (Sec. 368) Modifies arrearage reporting to credit bureaus. (Sec. 389) Extends the statute of limitations for collection of arrearages. (Sec. 371) Provides for the denial of passports for nonpayment of child support. (Sec. 372) Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should ratify the United Nations Convention of 1956. Provides for the treatment of international child support cases as interstate cases. (Sec. 381) Makes a technical correction to the definition of medical child support order under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Title IV: Reauthorization of Child Care And Development Block Grant - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to reauthorize the child care and development block grant program. Title V: Amendments to the Internal Revenue Code - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 35 percent to 36.25 percent of a corporation's taxable income over $10 million the top marginal corporate tax rate. Title VI: Effective Date - Sets forth the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1995
Long-Term Care Insurance Consumer Protection Act of 1995 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the sale of long-term care insurance unless this Act is complied with. Imposes civil money penalties. Requires application of standards meeting the requirements of this Act, allowing State standards providing greater policyholder protection. Imposes a duty of good faith and fair dealing. Prohibits: (1) twisting, high pressure tactics, and cold lead advertising; (2) knowingly selling a policy to an individual eligible for assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; (3) selling a service-benefit policy duplicating existing coverage; and (4) selling a policy to an organization's member without disclosing a financial arrangement between the seller and the organization. Imposes civil money penalties and applies Social Security Act provisions regarding civil money penalties. Requires issuers to return premiums if a policy is denied or returned, explain denials, and use pre-issuance medical assessments of applicants 75 years old or older, and limit agent sales compensation. Imposes civil money penalties and applies Social Security Act provisions regarding civil money penalties. Prohibits cancellation or nonrenewal except for nonpayment of premium or material misrepresentation. Regulates continuation and conversion rights. Requires policies to use uniform language and format and contain certain disclosures. Prohibits conditioning or limiting benefits in specified ways or placing certain limits or requirements on home health care services, if covered. Mandates a minimum coverage period. Prohibits treating benefits differently for individuals with certain dementias or mental illness differently from individuals with other conditions. Restricts preexisting condition limits. Requires policies to determine benefits based on a functional assessment. Requires policies to provide for annual increases in payment levels and the maximum payment limit and limits on annual premium increases. Requires policies to provide that, if a policy lapses after being in effect for a minimum period, the policy will provide certain benefits without additional premiums. Prohibits policy cancellation or claim denial based on issuance fraud or misrepresentation unless notice is provided within six months of issuance. Allows applicants to return a policy within 30 days and have the premium refunded. (Sec. 3) Amends Medicaid provisions to require each State Medicaid plan to establish a regulatory program to enforce the standards issued under this Act. Prohibits Medicaid payments to a State for nursing facility services if the State fails to establish a regulatory program. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations for information, counseling, and assistance regarding the procurement of adequate and appropriate long-term care insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1995
Trade Adjustment Assistance Program Improvement Act of 1995 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to increase from 14 to 45 the number of days an adversely affected worker may have a scheduled break in a training program and still be treated as participating in the program for purposes of trade assistance adjustment eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 1995
Frequent Flier Reform Act - Restricts the use of any travel award that accrues by reason of official travel of a Member, officer, or employee of the House of Representatives to official travel only.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 1995
Captive Exotic Animal Protection Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for knowingly transferring, transporting, or possessing a confined exotic animal for purposes of allowing the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or the collection of a trophy.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1995
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Establishment of a State-Based American Health Security Program; Universal Entitlement; Enrollment Title II: Comprehensive Benefits, Including Preventive Benefits and Benefits for Long Term Care Title III: Provider Participation Title IV: Administration Subtitle A: General Administrative Provisions Subtitle B: Control Over Fraud and Abuse Title V: Quality Assessment Title VI: National Health Security Budget; Payments; Cost Containment Measures Subtitle A: Budgeting and Payments to States Subtitle B: Payments by States to Providers Subtitle C: Mandatory Assignment and Administrative Provisions Title VII: Promotion of Primary Health Care; Development of Health Service Capacity; Programs to Assist the Medically Underserved Subtitle A: Promotion and Expansion of Primary Care Professional Training Subtitle B: Direct Health Care Delivery Subtitle C: Primary Care and Outcomes Research Subtitle D: School-Related Health Services Title VIII: Financing Provisions; American Health Security Trust Fund Subtitle A: American Health Security Trust Fund Subtitle B: Taxes Based on Income and Wages Subtitle C: Increase in Excise Taxes on Tobacco Products Title IX: Conforming Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 American Health Security Act of 1995 - Title I: Establishment of a State-Based American Health Security Program; Universal Entitlement; Enrollment - Establishes in the United States an American Health Security Program (AHSP) to be administered by the States (including the District of Columbia and, if they so choose, U.S. territories) in accordance with Federal standards established under this Act. Requires a State to establish a State health security program (program) in accordance with this Act to receive Federal health care funding. (Sec. 102) Entitles every individual who is a resident of the United States and is a U.S. citizen or national or a lawful resident alien to benefits for health care services under this Act under the appropriate State program. Sets forth provisions regarding the treatment of nonimmigrants and other individuals. (Sec. 103) Requires each State program to: (1) provide a mechanism for the enrollment of individuals entitled or eligible for benefits (which includes a process for the automatic enrollment of individuals at the time of birth, immigration, or other acquisition of lawful resident status in the United States and provides for the enrollment of all individuals who are eligible to be enrolled as of January 1, 1995); and (2) issue a health security card to enrolled individuals. (Sec. 104) Makes benefits portable when enrollees move or travel between States. Prohibits imposition of a minimum residence or waiting period in excess of three months for program benefit eligibility. Allows reciprocal arrangements between programs in adjacent States for coverage for enrollees residing in the border region. (Sec. 105) Makes benefits available under this Act for items and services furnished on or after January 1, 1996. (Sec. 106) Supersedes Medicare, Medicaid, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, and CHAMPUS, which must pay for completion of services they covered before January 1, 1996. Specifies that nothing in this Act affects the eligibility of veterans for Veterans Administration health benefits and services, or of Indians for benefits and services of the Indian Health Service. Title II: Comprehensive Benefits, Including Preventive Benefits and Benefits for Long Term Care - Entitles all eligible individuals to have payment made (if medically necessary and appropriate for the maintenance of health or for the diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitation of a health condition) for inpatient and outpatient hospital services, professional services of State-authorized practitioners, community-based primary health services, preventive services, long-term, acute, and chronic care services, prescription drugs, biologicals, insulin, and medical foods, dental services, mental health services and substance abuse treatment services, diagnostic tests, and other specified items and services, including outpatient therapy, durable medical equipment, home dialysis, ambulance, prosthetic devices, and other items and services specified by the American Health Security Standards Board (Board) (established by title IV of this Act). Specifies that: (1) no deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments may be charged for acute care benefits, except for specified cost-sharing for long-term care services; (2) no provider may charge a patient for covered services; (3) no private insurance may duplicate program benefits; and (4) States and employers may provide additional benefits at their own expense. (Sec. 203) Covers home and community-based long-term care services for persons unable to perform at least two of five listed activities of daily living without assistance. Limits the cost of such services to 65 percent (or an alternative percentage determined by the Board) of the cost of nursing home care for an individual in the same area in which the services were provided. (Sec. 204) Sets forth special delivery requirements for mental health and substance abuse treatment services provided to at-risk children. Directs the Board to make national determinations on coverage of experimental services, with professional and public input. Specifies that where the Board has recognized practice guidelines, coverage is limited to services provided according to the guidelines or any established exception process. Allows the Board to limit quantities of eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and durable medical equipment that will be covered. Excludes from coverage cosmetic procedures, personal comfort items, and services furnished in non-participating facilities. (Sec. 205) Specifies that: (1) States may require providers to certify that covered services were provided according to program requirements; (2) quality review programs must meet Federal standards; and (3) States may require plans of care for coverage of certain services. Title III: Provider Participation - Requires providers, to receive payment, to agree: (1) not to discriminate based on race, national origin, income, religion, age, sex or sexual orientation, disability, handicapping condition, or (subject to the professional qualifications of the provider) illness; (2) not to charge patients for covered services; (3) to furnish necessary information to the Board or program; (4) not to employ other providers whose participation has been terminated for cause; and (5) to submit bills within a specified time frame. (Sec. 302) Considers a health care provider to be qualified if it is licensed or certified and meets State law requirements, applicable Federal requirements, and additional standards that the Board may specify. Requires: (1) the Board to establish, evaluate, and update national minimum standards to assure the quality of services provided and to monitor efforts by programs to assure such quality; (2) a reasonable transition period for any new standards; and (3) the Board to provide for an exchange of information among programs with respect to quality assurance and cost containment. (Sec. 303) Defines a "comprehensive health service organization" (CHSO) as a public or private organization which, in return for a capitated payment amount, furnishes or arranges a full range of health services and out-of-area coverage in the case of urgently needed services to an identified population in a specified service area which enrolls voluntarily in the organization. Sets forth various CHSO requirements regarding enrollment, withdrawal for cause, accessibility of services, continuity of care, consumer and provider representation on the board of directors, a patient grievance program, medical standards committees, premiums, utilization and bonus information, provision of services to enrollees at institutions operating under global budgets, marketing of services, and provision of emergency services to nonenrollees. (Sec. 304) Extends current Medicare prohibitions on physician self-referrals to other services and applies such prohibitions to AHSP. Title IV: Administration - Subtitle A: General Administrative Provisions - Establishes the American Health Security Standards Board to develop policies and procedures for enrollment, benefits, provider participation, national and State funding levels, assisting programs with planning for capital expenditures and service delivery, and other functions and to establish uniform reporting standards for health services and programs. Authorizes the Board to make statistical and other studies, test alternative payment methods, and develop and test information and budget systems. Provides for the appointment of an Executive Director of the Board and an Inspector General. (Sec. 402) Directs the Board to provide for an American Health Security Advisory Council to advise the Board on matters of general policy, in the formulation of regulations, and in the performance of the Board's duties and to study the operation of, and utilization of health services under, this Act. (Sec. 403) Directs the Board and the Secretary to consult with private entities. (Sec. 404) Requires: (1) each State to submit to the Board a plan for a program for providing health care services to residents of the State (but allows neighboring States to join in regional plans); (2) the Board to provide incentives for States to develop regional planning mechanisms to promote the rational distribution of, adequate access to, and efficient use of, tertiary care facilities, equipment, and services; (3) State programs to meet Federal standards, including single-agency administration, a State health security budget, provider payment and quality review methodologies consistent with Federal standards, freedom to choose providers, a consumer ombudsman, an annual report, and a fraud and abuse prevention and control unit; and (4) the Governor of each State to provide for appointment of a State Health Security Advisory Council to advise and make recommendations to the Governor and State regarding program implementation. Allows: (1) programs not meeting Federal requirements, after notice, to be placed in receivership under the Board's jurisdiction; and (2) States to use fiscal agents, after competitive bidding, to process claims. (Sec. 405) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to direct all activities of the Department of Health and Human Services toward contributions to health of the people in a manner complementary to this Act. Subtitle B: Control Over Fraud and Abuse - Authorizes the Board to exclude providers from participation, impose civil monetary penalties, and seek criminal prosecution for fraud or abuse, based on current Medicaid standards. Requires providers to disclose relevant information about their ownership interest in health facilities and services, based on current Medicaid standards. (Sec. 412) Requires the Board: (1) through the Inspector General, to establish a national health care fraud and abuse data base, including the identity of any provider who has been convicted, had a license revoked, has been excluded or suspended from participation, or has been subjected to a civil penalty with respect to a State program, Medicare, Medicaid, or any other federally funded health program; and (2) to establish rules to protect the confidentiality of information in the data base. Requires States to provide relevant information for this purpose and to periodically inquire of the data base to determine provider qualifications to participate in programs. Sets penalties for submitting false information. (Sec. 413) Requires each program to establish and maintain a health care fraud and abuse unit. (Sec. 414) Directs the Board to provide for the assignment of a unique identifier to each participating provider and to each individual eligible for services, which shall be used for claims and payment. Title V: Quality Assessment - Establishes the American Health Security Quality Council in order to: (1) review and evaluate each practice guideline developed under specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act; (2) review and evaluate each standard of quality, performance measure, and medical review criterion developed under specified provisions of the Public Health Service Act; (3) develop criteria for entities conducting quality reviews; (4) report to the Board annually; and (5) perform the functions of the Council described in sections 502 and 505. (Sec. 502) Directs the Council to: (1) adopt methods for profiling the patterns of practice of health care professionals and for identifying outliers; (2) develop guidelines for certain medical procedures to be performed only at tertiary centers; (3) develop standards for education and sanctions with respect to outliers; and (4) disseminate such methods, guidelines, and standards to the States. (Sec. 503) Requires each participating State to establish an entity to conduct quality reviews of persons providing covered services under its program which meet Federal standards for the adoption of practice guidelines, identification of outliers, development of remedial programs and monitoring for outliers, and the application of sanctions. Allows the State to adopt alternative methodologies to those adopted by the Quality Council provided that the State can demonstrate that the efficacy of such review and education programs meets Federal standards. Requires the quality review entity to meet the criteria for competence for such entities developed by the Council. (Sec. 504) Expresses the intent to replace random utilization controls with a systematic review of patterns of practice that compromise the quality of care by January 1, 1998. Supersedes all existing Federal utilization review programs, including random case-by-case reviews and programs requiring pre-certification of medical procedures on a case-by-case basis, with exceptions. Specifies that nothing in this section shall preclude case management of catastrophic, mental health, or substance abuse cases where necessary to achieve appropriate, cost-effective, and beneficial comprehensive medical care. (Sec. 505) Requires: (1) each State program to develop and use a uniform electronic data base in order to perform systematic quality review and support comparative outcomes research and analysis; (2) the Council to establish a set of clinical data derived from patient medical records to be transmitted to State electronic data bases to be used by State health security programs; (3) the Board to designate standards for software in order to assure compatibility; and (4) the Council to establish standards, as specified, for the use and disclosure by a State health security program of such data. Title VI: Health Security Budget; Payments; Cost Containment Measures - Subtitle A: Budgeting and Payments to States - Directs the Board to establish a national health security budget which specifies the total expenditures to be made by the Federal Government and the States for covered health care services, and allocates those expenditures among the States. Prohibits such budget from exceeding the budget for the preceding year increased by the percentage increase in gross domestic product. Divides the budget into quality assessment, professional education, administrative, and operating components. (Sec. 602) Provides for the allocation of funds in the budget by the Board to the States, based on the national average per capita costs of covered services adjusted for differences among the States in costs and the health status of populations. Permits the use of statistical models to estimate State capitation amounts. Sets forth State adjustment factors to reflect differences in relative needs for funds and directs that such factors be applied in a budget-neutral manner resulting in no change in total Federal expenditures from the national per capita average. (Sec. 603) Requires each program to submit to the Board a proposed and final annual budget broken into quality assessment, professional training, administrative, and operating components, with the operating component broken into facility-based services, individual practitioner payments, payments to CHSOs, and payments for other items and services. Sets forth provisions regarding proposed and final budget deadlines, adjustments in allocations, and expenditure limits. Permits programs to provide for a process for the approval of capital expenditures based on information derived from regional planning agencies. (Sec. 604) Provides for programs to receive Federal funds equal to a weighted average of 86 percent of their population-based share of the budget, which the Board may adjust between 81 and 91 percent based on State economic conditions. (Sec. 605) Requires each program to establish a separate budget account for health professional education expenditures and to distribute funds consistent with the achievement of specified national and program goals, including the receipt by the Board of reports to monitor compliance, and taking into account the potentially higher costs of placing health professional students in clinical education programs in health professional shortage areas. Subtitle B: Payments by States to Providers - Directs that: (1) payment for operating expenses for institutional and facility- based care under State programs be made directly to each institution or facility under an annual prospective global budget approved under the program; (2) such budgets take into account discharges by diagnosis-related group, prior expenditures, the extent to which debt service for capital expenditures has been included in the proposed operating budget, the extent to which capital expenditures are financed directly or indirectly through reductions in direct care to patients, change in the consumer price index and other price indices, compensation, occupancy levels, past financial and clinical performance, training, technological changes, and incentives to maintain costs without reducing care; and (3) facility budgets be adjusted to reflect payments made by CHSOs. Allows programs to permit institutions and facilities to raise funds from private sources to pay for newly constructed facilities, major renovations, and equipment. (Sec. 612) Requires: (1) State programs to pay individual practitioners on a fee-for-service basis, as negotiated between States and practitioner representatives; (2) the Board to establish models for such payment and for global fee payment methodologies to encourage payment for combinations of services; and (3) practitioners to bill State programs within 30 days of providing services. Permits States to require electronic billing. (Sec. 613) Authorizes programs to pay CHSOs based on annual budgets or risk-adjusted capitation payments, reduced by the costs of covered services not provided by the CHSO. (Sec. 614) Directs that programs pay for community-based primary health services based on global budgets, basic primary care capitation amounts for enrollees, or fee-for-service, taking into account costs of serving non-covered patients, providing case management, transportation, and translation, and providing health professional education programs. (Sec. 615) Requires: (1) the Board to establish a list of approved prescription drugs and to determine maximum prices; and (2) each program to pay for such drugs based on such maximum prices and to pay separate dispensing fees to pharmacies. (Sec. 616) Directs the Board to establish a list of approved durable medical equipment and therapeutic devices and equipment and programs to pay for such items based on maximum prices determined by the Board. (Sec. 617) Requires State programs to pay for other items and services based on methodologies to be adopted by the Board, consistent with the State health security budget. (Sec. 618) Directs the Board to establish model payment methodologies and other incentives to promote the provision of services in medically underserved areas. Permits programs to adjust payments amounts within their budgets to encourage provision of appropriate services in underserved areas. (Sec. 619) Authorizes programs to utilize alternative payment methodologies, provided that such methodologies do not affect the entitlement of individuals to coverage, the weighting of fee schedules to encourage an increase in the number of primary care providers, the ability of individuals to choose among qualified providers, the benefits covered under the Program, or compliance with the State health security budget. Requires States to report on the operation and effectiveness of alternative methodologies to enable the Board to evaluate the appropriateness of applying such methodologies to other States. Subtitle C: Mandatory Assignment and Administrative Provisions - Specifies that participating providers: (1) must accept payment from a program as full payment for covered services; and (2) may not impose additional charges on patients. Permits the Board to exclude from participation and subject to civil penalties violators of such provision. (Sec. 632) Requires programs to establish: (1) procedures for reimbursing providers within 60 days of bill submission; and (2) an appeals process to handle grievances pertaining to provider payments. Title VII: Promotion of Primary Health Care; Development of Health Service Capacity; Programs to Assist the Medically Underserved - Subtitle A: Promotion and Expansion of Primary Care Professional Training - Makes the Board responsible for: (1) coordinating health professional education policies and goals to achieve national goals; (2) overseeing program health professional education expenditures; (3) developing and maintaining a system to monitor the number and specialties of individuals through their health professional education, any postgraduate training, and professional practice; and (4) developing, coordinating, and promoting other policies that expand the number of primary care practitioners. Sets as national goals that: (1) at least 50 percent of graduate medical residencies be in primary care within five years of this Act's enactment; and (2) there be a certain number, specified by the Board, of midlevel primary care practitioners employed in the health care system as of January 1, 2001. Directs the Board to: (1) establish a method of applying such goals to program goals for each medical residency program or consortium of programs and reducing payments for residency programs failing to meet their goals; (2) advise the Public Health Service on allocations of funding under specified programs to increase the supply of midlevel primary care practitioners; and (3) commission a study of the potential benefits and disadvantages of expanding the scope of practice authorized under State laws for any class of midlevel primary care practitioners. (Sec. 702) Requires the Board to establish an Advisory Committee on Health Professional Education to advise the Board concerning graduate medical education policies under this title. (Sec. 703) Directs the Board to transfer specified revenues from the American Health Security Trust Fund (Trust Fund) for specified existing programs supporting health professional education and nursing education and for the National Health Service Corps. Subtitle B: Direct Health Care Delivery - Requires the Board to transfer specified Trust Fund revenues to the Public Health Service for: (1) maternal and child health block grants, prevention and treatment of tuberculosis, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, preventive health block grants, grants to States for community mental health services and prevention and treatment of substance abuse, grants for HIV health care services, and public health formula grants; and (2) primary care service expansion grants. (Sec. 713) Directs the Board to make primary service expansion grants to primary care centers (i.e., nonprofit community health centers, migrant health centers, and other federally qualified health centers) to serve medically underserved populations in urban and rural areas. Specifies that grant funds may be used to plan, develop, and deliver primary care in such areas. Subtitle C: Primary Care and Outcomes Research - Requires the Board to transfer specified Trust Fund revenues to the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research for health outcomes research. (Sec. 722) Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) an Office of Primary Care and Prevention Research to be headed by a Director who shall identify and coordinate research activities relating to primary care and prevention, including care provided by multidisciplinary teams. Requires the Director of NIH to establish a national data system and clearinghouse on primary care and prevention research. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle D: School-Related Health Services - Authorizes appropriations through FY 2002 for this subtitle. (Sec. 734) Directs the Secretary to make grants to State health agencies or to local community partnerships to develop and operate school health service sites. Requires preference in making grants to be given to those communities showing the most substantial level of need. Title VIII: Financing Provisions; American Health Security Trust Fund - Subtitle A: American Health Security Trust Fund - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create the American Health Security Trust Fund. Appropriates to the trust fund the increase in tax liabilities attributable to the application of amendments made by this title and receipts from the following programs: Medicare, Medicaid, Federal employees' health benefits program, and the CHAMPUS program, Maternal and Child Health program (under title V of the Social Security Act), vocational rehabilitation programs, drug abuse and mental health services programs under the Public Health Service Act, programs providing general hospital or medical assistance, and certain other Federal programs. Transfers to such trust fund amounts in the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund. Subtitle B: Taxes Based on Income and Wages - Creates a health care excise tax on every employer with respect to each employee equal to 8.7 percent of wages paid. Imposes the tax on the self-employed, railroad employers, and railroad employee representatives. Imposes an individual health care income tax equal to 2.2 percent of taxable income. Prohibits credits against the tax and any effect on the minimum tax in relation to the individual health care income tax. Subtitle C: Increase in Excise Taxes on Tobacco Products - Increases the excise taxes on tobacco products. Title IX: Conforming Amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 - Makes ERISA inapplicable to health coverage arrangements under State health security programs. Exempts State health security programs from ERISA preemption. Prohibits employee benefits duplicating State health security program benefits and requires that a liable workers' compensation carrier reimburse the State health security plan. Repeals continuation coverage requirements under ERISA.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1995
Bosnia and Herzegovina Self-Defense Act of 1995 - Directs the President to terminate the U.S. arms embargo of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the date of receipt of a request from such government for assistance in exercising its right of self-defense under the United Nations Charter or on May 1, 1995, whichever comes first.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1995
Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that if retaliation against a witness, victim, or informant occurred because of attendance at or testimony in a criminal case, the maximum term of imprisonment which may be imposed for the offense shall be the higher of that otherwise provided by law or the maximum term that could have been imposed for any offense charged in such case.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1995
Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that if an offense under provisions regarding influencing or injuring an officer or juror occurs in connection with a trial of a criminal case, the maximum term of imprisonment which may be imposed for the offense shall be the higher of that otherwise provided by law or the maximum term that could have been imposed for any offense charged in such case.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1995
Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that if an offense of tampering with a witness, victim, or informant occurs in connection with a trial of a criminal case, the maximum term of imprisonment which may be imposed for the offense shall be the higher of that otherwise provided by law or the maximum term that could have been imposed for any offense charged in such case.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1995
Federal Election Law Reform Commission Act - Establishes the Federal Election Law Reform Commission to recommend Federal election law reform. Requires a Federal election bill to be introduced in the House and the Senate within a specified time of the Commission's submittal of draft legislation. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1995
Amends part B (Supplemental Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to include within Medicare coverage the use of blood-testing strips for individuals with Type I or II diabetes. Requires such strips to be included within a payment methodology covering inexpensive and routinely purchased equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1995
Local Governments Flow Control Act of 1995 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize States and political subdivisions to exercise flow control authority if, before May 15, 1994, such States or political subdivisions adopted a flow control measure that: (1) required the delivery of flow controllable solid waste to a proposed or existing waste management facility; or (2) identified waste management methods necessary for the transportation, management, or disposal of such waste and committed to designate a facility for such methods. Authorizes States and political subdivisions to exercise such authority over voluntarily relinquished recyclable materials generated within their boundaries. Considers flow control measures that implement such authority and contracts that authorize the collection, transportation, or disposal of flow controllable solid waste (but do not involve such authority) to be a reasonable regulation of commerce. Permits such authority with respect to recyclable materials only if: (1) the generator or owner of the materials voluntarily made the materials available to the State or subdivision and relinquished any rights to, or ownership of, such materials; (2) the State or subdivision assumes such rights or ownership; and (3) the State or subdivision complies with requirements to separate or divert recyclable materials for recycling, reclamation, or reuse. Establishes additional conditions on the exercise of flow control authority, including requirements that such authority is necessary to meet current or anticipated waste management needs, such authority is limited to specified waste categories, and revenues derived from the exercise of such authority are devoted primarily to solid waste management services. Permits States and subdivisions to designate a waste management facility only if they implement a competitive designation process. Retains the applicability of certain existing laws and contracts and considers such laws and contracts to be a reasonable regulation of commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 1995
Multiple Sclerosis Home Treatment Act of 1995 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide coverage and payment for beta interferons approved by the Food and Drug Administration for self-administration by patients with multiple sclerosis.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1995
A Living Wage, Jobs for All Act - Declares that the Congress affirms the basic economic rights and responsibilities under the 1944 "Economic Bill of Rights," while updating and extending it to include that: (1) every adult American able and willing to earn a living through paid work has the right to a free choice among opportunities for useful and productive part- or full-time paid employment at decent real wages or for self-employment; (2) every adult American unable to work for pay or find employment has the right to an adequate standard of living that rises with increases in the wealth and productivity of the society; and (3) there are certain other rights relating to collective bargaining, a safe working environment, health services, information on trends in pollution sources and products and processes that impact on the well-being of workers throughout the world, voting and campaigning, and personal security. Recognizes specified personal responsibilities of persons benefitting from such rights. Makes it the responsibility of each Federal agency and commission, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to perform so as to help establish and maintain conditions under which all adult Americans may freely exercise the economic rights specified in 1944 and in this Act. Prohibits Federal agencies or commissions from directly or indirectly promoting recession, stagnation, or unemployment as a means of reducing wages and salaries or inflation. (Sec. 3) Directs the President to establish a program to implement such basic economic rights and responsibilities. Sets forth policies and projects to be included under such program. Includes such program in the annual submission of budget. (Sec. 4) Requires all budget messages transmitted from the President to the Congress to be based on policies and programs to reduce officially measured unemployment to the interim levels set forth in the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978 and to include specified impact analyses and other information. (Sec. 5) Provides for Joint Economic Committee oversight of, and annual reports on, actions taken or proposed to be taken under this Act. Requires the Joint Economic Committee to submit an annual Concurrent Resolution on Economic Policy setting forth both in aggregate terms and in detail its proposed goals for employment by type of employment, with special attention to hours, wages, and social benefits, and for reducing unemployment, underemployment, and poverty in urban, suburban and rural areas. Requires these goals to serve as the framework for any concurrent resolutions on the Federal budget. (Sec. 6) Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1995
Young American Workers' Bill of Rights - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to revise and increase requirements relating to child labor standards, including: (1) reporting, recordkeeping, and certification; (2) orders and regulations; (3) penalties; (4) coverage regardless of sales volume; (5) civil actions; and (6) migrant or seasonal agricultural labor. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) compile annual data relating to child labor (jointly with the Census Bureau); (2) provide for coordination among enforcement personnel for Federal and State labor standards, occupational health and safety laws, and Federal immigration laws; (3) establish an Advisory Committee for Child Labor; and (4) publicize violators of child labor laws. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1995
Save the Greenback Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to take action to ensure that the number of Federal reserve one-dollar notes in circulation does not decrease below the number in circulation as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1995
Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund Act of 1995 - Establishes in the U.S. Treasury the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund. Authorizes appropriations. Specifies that any individual who submits to the Attorney General written medical documentation that the individual has a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection shall receive $125,000 from amounts available in the Fund if the individual: (1) has a blood-clotting disorder and was treated with blood-clotting agents between January 1, 1980, and December 31, 1987; (2) is the lawful spouse of such individual or the former lawful spouse and was the lawful spouse of the individual at any time after a date within such period on which the individual was treated; or (3) acquired the HIV infection through perinatal transmission from a parent who is such an individual. Requires that a claim for payment be filed with the Attorney General by or on behalf of such individual and that the Attorney General determine that the claim meets the requirements of this Act. Specifies that a claim under this Act shall not be assignable or transferable. Sets limits regarding the number of claims per victim. Prohibits the Attorney General from paying claims filed under this Act unless filed within three years after this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1995
Amends part A (Aid to Families With Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require State procedures under which liens arise by operation of law and are imposed and executed against real and personal property for amounts of overdue child support owed by an absent parent who resides or owns property in the State. Requires State agencies to accord full faith and credit to such liens arising in other States.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1995
Blood Products Advisory Committee Act of 1995 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure that not fewer than one third of the voting members of the Blood Products Advisory Committee shall be: (1) individuals who have received blood products but not in connection with a professional or commercial activity; and (2) representatives of consumer organizations with expertise in blood products.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1995
Morris K. Udall Wilderness Act of 1995 - Designates specified lands in Alaska as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 1995
James P. Grant World Summit for Children Implementation Act of 1995 - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1996 and 1997 for contributions to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize appropriations for FY 1996 and 1997 for the Child Survival Fund. Earmarks funds for activities that have a direct measurable impact on reducing rates of child morbidity and mortality. Expresses the sense of the Congress that authority should be granted to the President to exercise specified debt forgiveness for least developed countries that are pursuing economic policy reforms to promote long-term development. Earmarks development assistance funds for FY 1996 and 1997 for the Vitamin A Deficiency Program. Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1996 and 1997 for: (1) iodine and iron fortification programs; (2) prevention, care, and control programs related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in developing countries; and (3) population assistance programs. Earmarks development and economic assistance funds for FY 1996 and 1997 for programs in support of basic education. Expresses the sense of the Congress that specified amounts should be appropriated for FY 1996 and 1997 for migration and refugee assistance. Requires the President to call upon other governments to provide their share of resources required to achieve the World Summit for Children goals by the year 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 1995
Missing Service Personnel Act of 1995 - Requires the military commander of the unit, facility, or area to which the following persons are assigned to conduct an investigation as to their whereabouts after receiving factual information that their status is uncertain: (1) military personnel who disappear during a period of war, national emergency, or hostilities; and (2) any civilian Federal employee (including an employee of a Federal contractor) who serves with or accompanies an armed force in the field during such a period. Requires such persons to be placed in a missing status and requires notification of such status to either the officer having general court-martial authority over the person (for military personnel) or the Secretary of the military department employing such person (for civilian and contractor employees). Requires such officials to be kept informed (specifies deadlines) as to all information and inquiries concerning efforts to locate such missing personnel. Requires such officials to appoint a board to conduct an inquiry into the whereabouts and status of such persons. Provides for: (1) board composition, activities, and access to information; (2) inquiry proceedings (requiring the appointment of counsel, with specified duties, to represent the missing person); (3) a board recommendation as to the official status of a person following such an inquiry; (4) board reports to the officials involved as to board conclusions (prohibiting public availability of such reports for a one-year period); (5) report review by the official; (6) a report from such official to interested persons; and (7) an additional investigation and inquiry by an additional board upon receipt of new information within one year after the date of the first official notice of a person's disappearance. Allows interested persons (family members, dependents, next of kin) to participate at the proceedings of the board during such additional inquiry. Provides for the availability of appropriate information to board personnel conducting investigations and inquiries. Provides similar procedures for the second board with respect to meetings (open to the public, with exceptions), recommendations, reports, review by the Secretary of the military department concerned, and reports to interested persons. Directs the Secretary concerned: (1) if information becomes available on the whereabouts or status of a missing person within three years after the first official notice of the person's disappearance, to appoint a board to conduct an inquiry into such information; and (2) to appoint a board to conduct an inquiry as to the status of any missing person on or about three years after the first official notice of the disappearance of such person and not later than every three years thereafter until a total of 12 years after the first official notice. Allows certain interested persons to request the Secretary to appoint a board to review the status of a person declared dead before five years after the enactment of this Act. Limits the review subjects to those whose deaths were declared to have occurred on or after December 7, 1941. Provides for the conditions under which an appointed board may recommend that a person be declared dead. Requires the Secretary concerned to ensure that the personnel file of each person covered contains all information in possession of the Government relating to the disappearance and whereabouts or status of such person. Provides for judicial review of a person's declared status under this Act. Requires a person in a missing status or previously declared dead who is subsequently found alive to be paid for the full time of their absence. Requires the Secretary concerned, upon the enlistment of a person in an armed force, to require such person to specify in writing the individual(s) to whom information on their whereabouts or status shall be provided in the event of an investigation under this Act. Allows for revision of such choice by the enlisting individual.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 1995
Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act - Prohibits funds for foreign assistance from being made available for any country whose government prohibits or restricts the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance. Waives such prohibition if the President notifies the Congress that providing such assistance is in the national security interest. Provides for a resumption of assistance when the President certifies to the Speaker of the House and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that such country is no longer prohibiting or restricting such transports or deliveries.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 1995
Federal Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act of 1995 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for knowingly circumcising, excising, or infibulating any part of the labia majora, labia minora, or clitoris of another person who has not attained age 18, except where: (1) necessary to the health of the person on whom it is performed by a person licensed as a medical practitioner; or (2) performed on a person in labor or who has just given birth if performed for medical purposes connected with such labor or birth by a person licensed as a medical practitioner, midwife, or person in training. Prohibits and sets penalties for knowingly denying or otherwise discriminating against a person in the provision of medical care or services because that person has: (1) undergone female circumcision, excision, or infibulation; or (2) requested that such procedure be performed on any person. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) compile data on the number of females living in the United States who have been subjected to female genital mutilation (whether in the United States or in their countries of origin), including a specification of the number of such females under age 18; (2) identify U.S. communities that practice female genital mutilation and design and carry out outreach activities to educate individuals in the communities on the physical and psychological health effects of such practice; and (3) develop recommendations for the education of students of schools of medicine and osteopathic medicine regarding female genital mutilation and complications.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 1995
Working Wage Increase Act of 1995 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the minimum wage per hour to: (1) $4.70 during the year beginning July 4, 1995; and (2) $5.15 after July 3, 1996.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1995
Volunteer Protection Act of 1995 - Prescribes circumstances under which volunteers working for nonprofit organizations or government entities shall be immune from personal financial liability for acts on behalf of the organization or entity. Sets forth exceptions and conditions that a State may impose on the granting of such immunity. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase by one percent the fiscal year allotment which would otherwise be made to a State to carry out the Social Services Block Grant Program under title XX of the Social Security Act if such State has, within two years, certified to the Secretary that it has enacted a State law which provides such immunity. Provides for the continuation of such increase based on an annual recertification.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1995
Directs the Secretary of State to establish guidelines which U.S. nationals should use in conducting business operations in any foreign country. Requires such guidelines to be based on principles contained in guidelines or standards of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Labor Organization, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as well as on the MacBride, Sullivan, Minnesota or Caux, and Slepak Principles. Directs U.S. nationals conducting business operations in any foreign country to submit a statement to the Secretary indicating whether they are complying with such guidelines and to register with the Secretary. Authorizes Federal agencies to intercede with foreign governments or nationals regarding export marketing activities on behalf of a U.S. national only if such national is in compliance with the guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1995
Colon Cancer Screening and Prevention Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prescribe frequency and payment limits under Medicare part B for screening fecal-occult blood tests, flexible sigmoidoscopies, and colonoscopy.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 1995
Expresses the sense of the Congress that a postage stamp should be issued to honor the 100th anniversary of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States and that the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service should make such recommendation to the Postmaster General.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1995
Department of Veterans Affairs Mammography Quality Standards Act - Prohibits a mammogram from being performed at a Department of Veterans Affairs facility unless the facility is accredited for such purpose by a private nonprofit organization designated by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Requires any such organization to meet the standards for accrediting bodies established under the Public Health Service Act (the Act). Directs the Secretary to prescribe quality assurance and control standards relating to performance and interpretation of mammograms and the use of Department mammogram equipment and facilities consistent with requirements of the Act. Requires the Secretary to provide for an annual inspection of Department mammogram equipment and facilities. Requires any Department mammograms contracted to a non-Department facility or provider to conform to the standards of the Act. Provides for: (1) a deadline for the prescribing of standards; (2) transition provisions covering mammograms performed prior to the enactment of this Act; and (3) an implementation report from the Secretary to specified congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 1995
Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make grants to State, interstate, regional, and local entities for projects that demonstrate innovative and cost-effective technologies and methods for reducing discharges from combined sewer overflows into navigable waters of interstate significance. Requires the Administrator, in awarding such grants, to give priority consideration to projects that provide for the transfer of technologies to other areas of the United States. Sets the maximum Federal share of project costs at: (1) 100 percent of the cost of a feasibility study; (2) 80 percent of the cost of engineering and design; and (3) 80 percent of the cost of construction. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1995
Firefighters Pay Fairness Act of 1995 - Amends Federal law to provide that, for Federal fire fighters, the annual rate of basic pay shall be calculated on the basis of 26 administrative biweekly work periods of up to 106 hours each. Prescribes a formula for computing the basic biweekly pay of Federal employees who are not fire fighters but perform fire fighting duties. Extends existing biweekly pay period and pay computation requirements to Federal fire fighters and employees in and under the judicial branch. Removes employees of the District of Columbia government from coverage by such requirements. Repeals the current exception from such requirements for employees on the Isthmus of Panama in the service of the Panama Canal Commission. Requires compensation at time-and-a-half per hour for any hours worked in excess of 106 during a biweekly pay period by fire fighters subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Prescribes basic rates of pay for fire fighters: (1) promoted to a supervisory position; and (2) selected and assigned for training. Adds certain pay retention rights for Federal firefighters subject to a reduction or termination of a rate of pay established under this Act. Authorizes a Federal agency to pay cash awards of up to five percent of basic pay to fire fighters or other employees performing fire fighting duties who make substantial use of: (1) special skills, such as handling hazardous materials; or (2) a certification or license, such as certification as an emergency medical technician. Requires the Office of Personnel Management to report to the Congress with respect to transition and funding increase plans and regulatory or legislative modifications necessary to prevent diminution in retirement benefits under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1995
Intrastate Tow Truck Transportation Technical Correction Act of 1995 - Amends Federal transportation law to declare that provisions relating to the prohibition against State regulation of price, route, or service of a motor carrier (other than a carrier affiliated with a direct air carrier) or a private motor carrier that provides for the transportation of property shall not apply to the transportation for hire of a motor vehicle by a tow truck, if it is performed: (1) at the request of a law enforcement officer; or (2) without the prior consent of the owner of the motor vehicle (nonconsent tows).
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 1995
Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to add providers of assistance to families or individuals with annual incomes below the poverty line to the list of organizations eligible to receive surplus personal property allocated by the Administrator of the General Services Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1995
Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 1995 - Designates the following lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System): (1) Greater Glacier-Continental Divide Ecosystem; (2) Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem; (3) Greater Salmon-Selway Ecosystem; (4) Greater Cabinet-Yaak-Selkirk Ecosystem; (5) Islands in the Sky Wilderness; (6) Rattlesnake Wilderness; and (7) Rattlesnake Wilderness Area. Adds specified lands to the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area. Designates: (1) specified wild land areas as Biological Connecting Corridors (Corridors) to protect the life flow of the Northern Rockies Bioregion; (2) the inventoried roadless areas identified as part of the Corridors as components of the System; and (3) certain biological connecting corridors as special corridor management areas. Exempts specified roads and highways from the provisions of this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to study the feasibility of: (1) creating a Hells Canyon-Chief Joseph National Park and Preserve; (2) creating a Flathead National Park and Preserve; and (3) designating such areas as units of the National Park System (NPS). Requires the national park and preserve study areas to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (NWSRS). Establishes the National Wildland Restoration and Recovery System. Specifies component recovery areas. Authorizes appropriations to establish the National Wildland Recovery Corps (a special unit of the U.S. Forest Service) to carry out land recovery responsibilities. Requires the Corps to develop a wildland recovery plan for each area of the Recovery System, requiring each plan to take into account the specific conditions of the area. Provides that when recovery is achieved for a component of the Recovery System, the Forest Service shall evaluate and make recommendations to the Congress on its suitability for inclusion within the System. Designates certain lands within the Lewis and Clark National Forest known as Badger-Two Medicine Area as the Blackfeet Wilderness Area. Declares that the Congress recognizes that the Blackfeet Nation retains treaty rights in this area as provided in the 1896 treaty with the Federal Government. Requires a review and other considerations with respect to such area. Withdraws the Badger-Two Medicine Wilderness Area from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the mining laws and disposition under the geothermal and mineral leasing laws. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to: (1) report to the Congress on implementation of this Act; (2) establish an interagency team to monitor, evaluate, and make recommendations to ensure long-term results required by this Act and to develop a geographic information system for monitoring the Northern Rockies Bioregion; and (3) establish a governmental review board to make recommendations to the Congress on legally restating and unifying the natural resource management mandates of Federal agencies. Requires the Secretaries to assure nonexclusive access to Wilderness areas, National Park and Preserve Study areas, Wildland Recovery areas, and Biological Corridors designated by this Act by Native Americans for traditional cultural and religious purposes. Requires the Forest Service to enter into cooperative management agreements with the appropriate Indian tribes to assure protection of religious, burial, and gathering sites, and to work cooperatively on the management of all uses in the protected areas that affect Indian lands and people. Requires the Secretaries to give particular emphasis to the preservation and protection of cultural resources located within the areas. Reserves, with respect to each wilderness area designated by this Act, a sufficient quantity of water to fulfill the area's designated purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1995
Lupus Research Amendments of 1995 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand and intensify research and related activities of the Institute with respect to lupus. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate such activities with similar activities conducted by other national research institutes and agencies of the National Institutes of Health; and (2) conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, lupus, including research to determine the reasons underlying the elevated prevalence of the disease among African-American and other women. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1995
Family Planning Amendments Act of 1995- Amends the Public Health Service Act to require family planning grant and contract recipients to provide nondirective counseling and referrals regarding: (1) prenatal care and delivery; (2) infant care, foster care, and adoption; and (3) termination of pregnancy. Allows a provider who objects, on religious or moral grounds, to providing such counseling and referrals to refer the woman to another provider. Requires recipients to: (1) comply with State parental notification or consent laws; and (2) distribute only those condoms meeting current quality and labeling requirements and provide information regarding condom use benefits and risks. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes appropriations for grants and contracts concerning: (1) training to provide family planning services; and (2) informational and educational materials regarding family planning and population growth.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1995
Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enter into cooperative research and development agreements with colleges and universities, State environmental protection agencies, and nonprofit organizations to participate in a cooperative research unit to develop research and training programs relating to environmental protection. Limits EPA's participation in the cooperative research unit to: (1) the assignment by the Administrator of EPA scientific personnel to serve at the unit; (2) the provision of assistance for the work of researchers on environmental protection projects; (3) the provision of equipment; and (4) the payment of incidental expenses of EPA personnel and employees of other entities assigned to the unit.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1995
Expresses the sense of the Congress that the current link should be maintained between: (1) the levels of earnings allowed for blind individuals entitled to disability insurance benefits; and (2) the exempt amounts allowed for purposes of the social security earnings test for individuals who have attained retirement age.
![Official portrait of Rep. Olver, John W. [D-MA-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/o000085_200.jpg)