United States · United States Congress · 1 October 1992
Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act of 1992 - Title I: Balanced Budget with Enforcement; Mandatory Consideration of President's Budget - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the Federal and congressional budget processes by establishing a two-year budgeting and appropriations cycle and timetable, beginning in the 103d Congress. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Title II: Biennial Budget - Devotes the first session of any Congress to the budget resolution and to appropriations decisions, retaining current deadlines in most cases. Changes relevant deadlines as follows to conform to the biennial scheme: (1) from April 1 to March 31 for the Senate Budget Committee's report on the concurrent resolution on the budget; (2) from June 15 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on reconciliation legislation; and (3) from June 30 to September 30 for completion of congressional action on appropriations bills. Adds the reporting dates for OMB to report on the surplus/deficit. Devotes each second session to authorization activity, subject to deadlines of: (1) May 15 for the submission of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report to the Budget Committees; (2) OMB surplus/deficit reporting dates; and (3) the last day of the session for completion of congressional action on bills and resolutions authorizing new budget authority for the next biennium. Changes from January 15 to February 15 of each year the date by which the CBO Director must submit to the Congress a report on authorizations. Requires the Director of the CBO to issue four-year projections of congressional budget action. (Current projections are on a five-year basis.) Amends provisions relating to the reconciliation process to: (1) increase from 20 to 100 hours the time of debate permitted in the Senate with respect to reconciliation measures; and (2) make it out of order in both the House and the Senate to consider any reconciliation legislation changing any provision of law other than one relating to new budget or spending authority, revenues, or the public debt limit. Revises the extent of projections to be included in CBO analyses of reported bills. Conforms provisions governing the President's budget to the biennial framework. Directs the heads of Federal executive agencies, the Comptroller General, and the Directors of the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Technology Assessment, and the Congressional Research Service to provide studies, analyses, reports, and other documentation concerning program administration to assist the standing committees of the House and the Senate having jurisdiction over the programs in question. Amends the Rules of the House of Representatives to conform to the biennial framework. Title III: Unified Operating and Capital Budget - Amends Federal law to require that the budget the President submits to the Congress be a unified budget comprising an operating budget and a capital budget, each presented separately for total funds, Federal funds, and trust funds. Restricts the capital budget to the major activities, projects, and programs supporting the acquisition, construction, alteration, and rehabilitation of capital assets. Includes all other items in the operating budget. Directs the Comptroller General to review and report to the Congress, as necessary, on the implementation of this Act. Requires the following reports to the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on capital activities and operating activities associated with: (1) roadways and bridges, airports and airway facilities, and mass transportation systems; (2) waste water treatment and related facilities; (3) water resource projects; and (4) public buildings. Requires OMB to promulgate regulations requiring: (1) each department and agency to establish standards to compare the advantages and disadvantages of leasing versus purchasing any proposed real estate or equipment with a cost in excess of $10 million; and (2) the completion of such analysis before any purchase or lease is made. Title IV: Sunset Authority - Subtitle A: Reauthorization of Government Programs - Requires each Government program to be reauthorized at least once during each sunset reauthorization cycle. (Sunset reauthorization cycle means the period of five Congresses beginning with the 103d Congress and with each sixth Congress following the 103d Congress.) Sets forth the procedure in the House of Representatives and the Senate for the consideration of any legislation which authorizes new budget authority. Exempts from the requirements of this Act specified items, such as interest on Federal debts, certain programs related to the administration of the Federal judiciary, and certain payments of refunds of internal revenue collections. Expresses the sense of the Congress that all programs should be considered and reauthorized in program categories which constitute major areas of legislative policy. Provides for such reauthorizations. Subtitle B: Program Inventory - Directs the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, in cooperation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service, to prepare an inventory of Federal programs. Declares that the purpose of such program inventory is to advise and assist the Congress in carrying out reauthorization and reexamination requirements and to link such reauthorization and review process with the budget process. Requires the Comptroller General to submit such program inventory to each House of Congress no late than January 1, 1993. Directs the congressional committees, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Congressional Research Service to review the program inventory and to suggest revisions. Requires that the program inventory be revised at the end of each session of the Congress and that such revisions be reported to each House. Subtitle C: Program Reexamination - Requires each committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives to reexamine selected programs or groups of programs over which it has jurisdiction. Sets forth procedures for such review and criteria for selection of program areas for evaluation. Subtitle D: Tax Expenditures - Requires the Director of the Congressional Budget Office, after consultation with the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Congress, to prepare an inventory of tax expenditure provisions and to submit a report on such inventory to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House and the Senate Finance Committee by July 1, 1993. Directs the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance to prepare a reauthorization schedule for all tax provisions similar to the schedule set out for Federal programs in title I of this Act. Requires the Congress to take final action on the reauthorization schedule for tax provisions before the end of the 103d Congress. Subtitle E: Miscellaneous - Sets forth miscellaneous provisions to carry out the purposes of this Act. Directs the President, with the cooperation of the head of each appropriate agency, to submit to the Congress a Regulatory Duplication and Conflicts Report for all programs scheduled for reauthorization in the next Congress. Requires specified congressional committees to report on a review of the procedures established under this Act by December 31, 1998, and every five years thereafter. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2002. Title V: Enhanced Rescission Authority - Amends the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to grant the President line item veto rescission authority if he determines, within ten days of the date of enactment of a law, that such a rescission: (1) would help balance the Federal budget, reduce the Federal budget deficit, or reduce the public debt; (2) will not impair essential Government functions; and (3) will not harm the national interest. Requires the President to notify the Congress of such rescission by a special line item veto message. Requires a message for each item of rescission of budget authority. Makes such rescission effective unless the Congress enacts a resolution of disapproval. Sets forth procedures for congressional review and disapproval of such messages. Title VI: Performance-Based Budgeting - Amends Federal law to include in the Federal budget a performance standards and goals plan for the overall budget. Directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue regulations requiring each Federal department and agency to establish such a plan for each major expenditure category of its budget. Requires OMB to review and adjust such plans and establish an overall performance standards and goals plan for the Federal Government. Requires OMB by December 31 of each odd-numbered year, to report to the President and the Congress on all tax expenditures that reduced revenues by at least $2 billion. Requires each bill or resolution which provides for the authorization of appropriations or for the appropriation of funds to specify performance standards and goals for such authorization or appropriation. Title VII: Incremental-Based Budgeting - Requires the head of each department or agency to submit to OMB at least one budget that sets forth spending at least ten percent lower than the prior biennium's budget. Requires the President, when OMB reports an estimated budget deficit, to recommend to the Congress specific changes in outlays or revenues to eliminate that deficit or recommend waiver of the requirement to eliminate such deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 1992
Small Business Recession Relief Act of 1992 - Amends the Small Business Act to increase the amounts for deferred participation loans and other financings authorized to be made by the Small Business Administration in FY 1992 through 1994.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Interstate Transportation of Municipal Waste Act of 1992 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize a State Governor, if requested by an affected local government or local solid waste planning unit, to prohibit the disposal of out-of-State municipal waste in the following landfills or incinerators subject to the jurisdiction of the Governor or the affected local government: (1) landfills that begin operations after this Act's enactment date; (2) existing landfills that did not receive out-of-State municipal waste in 1991 or are not in compliance with State laws relating to design and locational standards, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, and financial assurance for closure and post-closure and corrective action; and (3) existing incinerators that did not receive such waste during 1991, are not in compliance with standards and monitoring requirements under the Clean Air Act, or are not in compliance with State laws relating to facility design and operations. Authorizes State Governors, if requested by an affected local government or local solid waste planning unit, to limit the amount of out-of-State municipal waste received at landfills or incinerators that received shipments of such waste during 1991 or the first six months of 1992. Permits State Governors, effective in 1993, to limit the disposal of such waste at any landfill or incinerator that receives, on an annual basis, shipments totaling more than 100,000 tons of such waste (that represents more than 30 percent of all municipal waste received during such period) by prohibiting the disposal of out-of-State waste in an annual amount greater than 30 percent of all municipal waste received during the later of 1993 or the first year in which more than 100,000 tons of out-of-State waste was received. Authorizes Governors, if requested by an affected local government or local solid waste planning unit, to further limit the disposal of such waste by reducing the 30 percent annual volume limitation to 20 percent in 1998 and 1999 and to ten percent in succeeding years. Authorizes a State to impose a fee on the combustion or disposal of out-of-State waste. Prohibits Governors from exercising authority under this Act if such action would result in the violation of a legally binding contract, with exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 1992
Congratulates the Government and people of Oman, and declares the support of the Congress for continued friendly relations between the United States and Oman, on the 160th anniversary of the signing by such countries of a treaty of amity and commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Supplemental Security Income Reform Act of 1992 - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) increase the level of assets permitted under the SSI program; (2) eliminate the one-third reduction of benefits required for certain beneficiaries receiving in-kind support or maintenance from the persons with whom they are living; and (3) provide that eligibility for, and the amount of, SSI benefits be determined without regard to certain trust transactions and the value of donated clothing.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 1992
Authorizes the Coalition for a National Memorial to Mahatma Gandhi to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia or its environs to honor Mahatma Gandhi. Prohibits the United States from paying any expense of establishing the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Accountability in Congress Act of 1992 - Amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the National Labor Relations Act, the Privacy Act of 1974, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to make them applicable to the Congress and each instrumentality of the Congress, including the: (1) Architect of the Capitol; (2) Congressional Budget Office; (3) General Accounting Office; (4) Government Printing Office; (5) Library of Congress; (6) Office of Technology Assessment; and (7) U.S. Botanic Garden. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to make them applicable to the House of Representatives and to the instrumentalities of the Congress (excluding Senate employees of the Architect of the Capitol).
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Authorizes the President, on behalf of the Congress, to present a gold medal to John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie in recognition of his accomplishments as a musician. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to provide for the sale of bronze duplicates of the medal.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Chief Big Foot National Memorial Park and Wounded Knee National Memorial Establishment Act of 1992 - Establishes the Big Foot National Memorial Park in South Dakota to protect the historical significance of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre site and to protect and promote Sioux history and culture. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to acquire lands for the Park by: (1) accepting leasehold interests in tribal trust lands located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation offered by the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, under specified conditions; and (2) purchase, donation, or condemnation of all surface and subsurface rights to any tract of fee patented land which the Director of the National Park Service deems necessary to include in the Park. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to provide all assistance necessary (including financial assistance) to the Oglala Sioux Tribe in acquiring lands within the Wounded Knee Massacre site as defined in the 1990 boundaries studies authorized by the National Park Service. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to manage such leasehold lands as a unit of the National Park System. Exempts all enrolled members of specified tribes from admission fees into the Park. Directs the Secretary to collect such fees from all other persons entering the Park. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe to provide training to tribal members on the interpretation, management, protection, and preservation of historical properties and in the provision of public services on their respective Reservation. Directs the Secretary to give preference to employing qualified members of such Tribes in the development, interpretation and management of the Park and in related activities. Requires the Secretary to plan, design, and construct, within the boundaries of the Park, the Wounded Knee National Memorial (a suitable and appropriate memorial dedicated to the Indian victims of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre). Vests responsibility in the Secretary, acting through the National Park Service, for the operation, maintenance, upkeep, and repair of the memorial and the related structure located on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Authorizes and directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the feasibility of: (1) establishing and marking the route taken by Chief Big Foot and his band from the Cheyenne River Reservation to Wounded Knee as a national historic trail; (2) establishing an information/orientation center on Interstate 90 at Cactus Flats and a visitor center on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation; and (3) establishing the Crazy Horse Memorial Highway (a scenic two lane highway) from Interstate 90 to Wounded Knee and westward from Wounded Knee to Highway 79. Prohibits a Federal agency from issuing a license or permit to any persons to conduct any activity within the Park which could affect the resources or values of it unless the Secretary determines that such proposed activity will be conducted in a manner consistent with the standards and criteria established pursuant to the general management plan required by this Act and will not have a significant adverse effect on the resources or values of the Park. Makes these provisions applicable only with respect to activities commencing and licenses or permits issued after the enactment of this Act. Establishes the Chief Big Foot National Memorial Park Advisory Commission within the Department of the Interior to advise the Director of the National Park Service on the planning, management, and administration of the Park. Requires the Secretary, acting through the National Park Service, to develop and transmit to specified congressional committees a general management plan for the park describing the appropriate uses and development of it. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with tribal organizations or nonprofit corporations to raise funds from private sources to: (1) supplement Federal funds authorized by this Act; and (2) plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain specified projects. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 1992
Urges the President to assist the United Nations (UN) in intensifying measures to address the plight of refugees and displaced persons from the former Yugoslav republics, especially Bosnia-Herzegovina, including: (1) the expansion of existing efforts by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the former Yugoslav republics to expedite assistance to refugees and displaced persons for the duration of the crisis; (2) immediate provision of emergency shelter, foodstuffs, sanitation facilities, and medical care to refugees and displaced persons from Bosnia-Herzegovina; (3) expansion of the registration process for all refugees and displaced persons in order to determine the magnitude and nature of refugee flows, with reliance on the assistance of appropriate agencies of the Federal Government as necessary; (4) a general accounting of persons missing, captured, injured, or killed in hostilities, in coordination with concerned governments, the International Committee on Red Cross, and other groups which may have relevant information; and (5) a determination of the places of origin of each refugee and displaced person, and inventories of abandoned property, to assist in the eventual process of repatriation and compensation. Urges the President to seek international agreement on: (1) reaffirming the right of all refugees to return to their former residences and to receive appropriate compensation; (2) to the extent consistent with international law, authorizing the use of seized assets of the former Yugoslav Government to assist the international relief effort; and (3) declaring null and void any documents signed under duress which transfer property of members of one ethnic group to members or organizations of another ethnic group.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1992
Supports the President's statement of August 6, 1992, and commends him for taking decisive steps to put pressure on Serbia to stop the conflict in Bosnia-Hercegovina, including through: (1) the diplomatic and political isolation of Serbia; (2) the strict enforcement of sanctions provided for in United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 757; (3) the implementation of the Security Council-endorsed plan to place heavy weapons belonging to all factions in Bosnia-Hercegovina under UN supervision; (4) the resumption of peace talks among all parties to the conflict; and (5) urging the Security Council to authorize measures, including the use of military force, necessary to ensure the provision of humanitarian relief to the people of Bosnia-Hercegovina. Urges the Security Council to consider means by which: (1) UN and International Committee of the Red Cross personnel shall be granted immediate, unimpeded, and continuous access to all refugee camps, prisoners-of-war camps, internment camps, and other places of detention in all of the republics of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and (2) civilians in Bosnia-Hercegovina shall be protected from the use of force and violations of the laws of war. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that an international tribunal should be convened to: (1) investigate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed within the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; and (2) accumulate evidence against, charge, and otherwise prepare the basis for trying any individual whom the tribunal has probable cause to believe is responsible for or committed such a crime.
United States · United States Congress · 10 August 1992
Congratulates the citizens of Israel on concluding fair and open democratic elections. Welcomes Prime Minister Rabin to the United States. Applauds his statements and actions encouraging active participation in the search for peace. Calls upon all parties in the region to actively and seriously engage in the peace process.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 1992
Expresses the sense of the Congress that effective follow-up to achieve the goals of the agreements reached at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) will depend on the following actions by the President and the U.S. Government: (1) adoption of a national strategy for environmentally sustainable development, based on an extensive process of nationwide consultations with all interested organizations and individuals; (2) the Government encouraging and facilitating means for adopting individual Agenda 21 plans of action, including the establishment of local, county, State, business, and other boards and commissions for achieving sustainable development; (3) the President establishing an effective mechanism to plan, initiate, and coordinate U.S. policy for implementing Agenda 21; and (4) policies being formulated for foreign policy and assistance to help developing countries, and for domestic actions to assure appropriate action to implement Agenda 21. Supports: (1) pursuing the research and policy initiatives urged in Agenda 21, including research on sustainable consumption and production patterns, creation of a policy framework for sustainable consumption patterns, identification of a strategy to eliminate or reduce subsidies for unsustainable natural resource exploitation, and improving pricing policies; (2) the Congress adopting a plan to reallocate an appropriate amount of savings from reduced defense spending to achieve its goals of global environmental protection and sustainable development over the next decade; and (3) the effective establishment of a high-level United Nations (UN) Commission on Sustainable Development. Urges the United States to call for periodic international meetings to continue the process toward developing and advancing international agreement to facilitate sustainable economic development. Calls on the President to: (1) urge and actively participate in multilateral efforts aimed at creating a more favorable international economic climate for developing countries to practice sustainable development; (2) affirm strong U.S. commitment to the Commission by appointing a high-level representative to the Commission and by encouraging the UN Secretary General to appoint an Under Secretary General for Sustainable Development; (3) submit and encourage all UN members to submit a national report to the Commission on activities the United States has undertaken to implement Agenda 21 both domestically and internationally, on progress made toward fulfilling other commitments undertaken at UNCED, and on other relevant environmental and developmental issues; and (4) submit an annual report to the Congress on the steps taken by the United States to implement Agenda 21 and the recommendations made by this Act and make information regarding such steps available to Members of the Congress upon request.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 1992
Commends: (1) the many heroic individuals who acted at great risk to save Jews from death during the Holocaust; and (2) the Jewish Foundation for Christian Rescuers for its work in recognizing, honoring, and encouraging the people of the world to show the altruism and moral courage of such heroic individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 1992
Health Choices Freedom Act of 1992 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to define "dietary supplement." Declares that a supplement is not: (1) a drug solely because of its potency or because its labeling or advertising contains certain material; or (2) a food additive if certain requirements are met. Regulates supplement labeling and advertising.
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.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 1992
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a credit of $100 for each qualified older automobile of a taxpayer permanently removed from use pursuant to a program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Requires the Administrator of EPA to establish and implement such a program to encourage the permanent removal from use of automobiles older than model year 1980. Imposes an excise tax on chlorodifluoromethane (HCFC-22) as an ozone-depleting chemical.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 1992
Downed Animal Protection Act of 1992 - Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to make it unlawful for any stockyard owner, market agency, or dealer to market, transfer, or hold nonambulatory livestock that has not been humanely euthanized.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem a malt beverage, wine, or distilled spirit mislabeled unless it bears a label disclosing: (1) the alcoholic content; (2) the number of drinks (defining "drink" as .6 ounces of alcohol); (3) its ingredients and calories; (4) the common name of each ingredient, including additives; and (5) a toll-free number for help with a drinking problem. Authorizes appropriations for the toll-free number.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Superfund Equitable Liability and Improved Cleanup Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to revise liability provisions to make the following persons liable for costs and damages under such Act: (1) owners or operators of a site or facility if such persons should have known that disposal was likely to result in the release of a hazardous substance that would endanger public health or welfare or the environment; and (2) any person if the person violated any applicable environmental statute, plan, or order in effect at the time of disposal and the violation contributed to such endangerment or the person's action contributed to such endangerment and the person should have known that the disposal would cause such endangerment or would result in liability under common law. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to promulgate regulations establishing numerical standards for each hazardous substance, pollutant, and contaminant. Applies such standards to remedial actions at each site on the National Priorities List unless the Administrator: (1) determines that the standards are not sufficiently protective of human health or the environment; or (2) grants a waiver of the standards at the site in response to a petition from a party responsible for cleanup at the site. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations establishing deadlines for any person who is liable with respect to a site for the completion of remedial action investigation, design, and implementation. Prescribes civil penalties for violations of deadlines. Prohibits the President from selecting the capping of a site as a remedial action unless the President determines that compliance with the numerical cleanup standards is not technologically feasible. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the amount of excess minimum taxable income upon which environmental tax is imposed (thereby making an increased amount of corporate income subject to the tax).
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 1992
Supports the planting of 500 redwood trees from California on the northwest coast of Spain in commemoration of the quincentenary of the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World. Designates such trees as a gift to the people of Spain made in the name of the people of the United States.
![Official portrait of Rep. Owens, Wayne [D-UT-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/o000156_200.jpg)