United States · United States Congress · 20 September 1994
Federal Integrated Spent Fuel and High-Level Waste Management Act of 1994 - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to instruct the Secretary of Energy to begin taking possession and providing for the removal from existing storage facilities of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel by a specified deadline. Transfers title to such waste or spent fuel to the Secretary at the time of its Federal removal or possession. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a Federal Integrated Spent Fuel and High-Level Waste Management Program to implement such directive; and (2) submit annual status reports to the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 20 August 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Retirement Savings Incentives Subtitle A: Restoration of IRA Deduction Subtitle B: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs Title II: Penalty-Free Distributions Title III: Aid to Families with Dependent Children Savings and Investment Incentive Act of 1994 - Title I: Retirement Savings Incentives - Subtitle A: Restoration of IRA Deduction - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove the limitation on the deductibility of contributions to individual retirement plans (IRAs) by active participants in employer-maintained plans, thereby restoring the IRA deduction. Provides an inflation adjustment after 1995. Allows certain spouses a full deduction for contributions to an IRA. Subtitle B: Nondeductible Tax-Free IRAs - Allows individuals to establish individual retirement plus (IRA Plus) accounts with tax treatment similar to that for individual retirement plans. Makes contributions to such accounts nondeductible. Title II: Penalty-Free Distributions - Allows distributions from certain retirement plans without penalty to purchase first homes, pay higher education expenses and financially devastating medical expenses, and assist certain unemployed individuals. Title III: Aid to Families with Dependent Children - Amends part A (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) (AFDC) of title IV of the Social Security Act to exclude from AFDC eligibility determinations certain income and resources that are to be used for education, training, and employability purposes. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to the Congress on a revision of the AFDC limit on automobiles in order to increase the employability of AFDC recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 11 August 1994
F.B.I. Volunteer Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to: (1) solicit, utilize, and administer personal property acquired in the name of the United States and obtained by gift or otherwise for use at FBI tour and training facilities; (2) recruit, train, and accept the services of individuals or entities, without compensation, as volunteers for or in aid of such facilities; and (3) provide for incidental expenses incurred from such gifts or volunteers.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 1994
Railroad Unemployment Insurance Amendments Act of 1994 - Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to revise the waiting period for unemployment benefits. Permits an employee to receive up to seven days of unemployment benefits during the first registration period during a time of continued unemployment, under specified conditions. Prohibits payment of benefits during a registration period if the employee had earnings during it of more than the monthly compensation base for the applicable base year. Makes similar revisions to the waiting period for sickness benefits. Revises the formula for calculating the maximum daily benefit rate. Provides extended benefits for up to 65 days of unemployment or 65 days of sickness during a benefit year after exhaustion of regular benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: National Authority Title II: Application of Convention Prohibitions to Natural and Legal Persons Title III: Declarations by Chemical Industry Title IV: Inspections Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1994 - Title I: National Authority - Directs the President to establish the United States National Authority to serve as the focal point for liaison with the Organization for the prohibition of Chemical Weapons and other States Parties to the convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction opened for signature on January 13, 1993. Title II: Application of Convention Prohibitions to Natural and Legal Persons - Amends the Federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly develops, acquires, stockpiles, transfers, uses, owns, or possesses any chemical weapon, assists any other person in doing so, or attempts to do so. Makes such provision inapplicable to the retention, ownership, or possession of any chemical weapon that is permitted by the Convention, pending the weapon's destruction, by any Federal agency. (Sec. 201) Sets forth provisions regarding seizures and forfeitures of chemical weapons. Imposes criminal penalties upon persons who knowingly use riot control agents as a method of warfare or assist another person in doing so. Subjects members of the armed forces who engage in such activity to military penalties. (Sec. 203) Makes it unlawful for any person or any U.S. national located outside the United States to produce, acquire, transfer, or use a chemical listed on Schedule 1 of the Annex on Chemicals of the Convention unless: (1) the chemicals are applied to research, medical, pharmaceutical, or protective purposes; (2) the types and quantities of chemical are strictly limited to those that can be justified for such purposes; and (3) the amount of such chemicals per person at any given time for such purposes does not exceed a limit to be determined by the United States National Authority or, in any case, one metric ton. Makes it unlawful for any person or U.S. national located outside the United States to: (1) produce, acquire, transfer, or use Schedule 1 chemicals outside the territories of the States Parties to the Convention or to transfer such chemicals to any person outside of the United States except as provided for in the Convention for transfers to persons located in other State Parties; and (2) transfer a chemical on Schedule 2 of the Annex to any person outside the territory of a State party or to receive such a chemical from any person outside a State Party. Title III: Declarations by Chemical Industry - Requires the Department of Commerce to establish recordkeeping and reporting requirements for persons who produce, process, consume, export, or import chemical substances subject to the Convention or who propose to engage in such activities. (Sec. 303) Makes it unlawful to fail to comply with recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Title IV: Inspections - Authorizes members of inspection teams of the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to inspect plants, plant sites, or other locations in the United States subject to inspection under the Convention. (Sec. 401) Sets forth additional provisions regarding notice, time frame, and scope of inspections. (Sec. 403) Makes it unlawful to fail or refuse to permit entry or inspection or to disrupt or impede an inspection. (Sec. 404) Provides for civil penalties for specified violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 1994
Expresses the sense of the Congress disapproving of the Japanese Food Agency's decision not to fulfill its commitment to purchase 75,000 metric tons of U.S. rice.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1994
FTC Order Review Procedure Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), each January, to publish in the Federal Register a list of all final FTC antitrust and consumer protection orders issued that are in effect and that have been final orders of the FTC for a period of ten years or more. Requires that any FTC order which has been final for more than ten years be set aside in response to an FTC petition for a proceeding for its termination unless the FTC determines, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that the continuation of the relevant market conditions or conduct following entry of the order require it to remain in effect. Makes exceptions where such order enjoins conduct subject to per se condemnation under the Sherman Act or is issued to protect the public from fraudulent conduct, or is based on an FTC finding based on a preponderance of the evidence that there is a high probability that the kind of conduct which resulted in the FTC issuing the order is likely to recur. Requires any FTC order issued after the date of enactment of this Act to include a provision which terminates the order ten years after it becomes final, unless it is an order which enjoins such conduct or is based on such a finding. Requires that, after the date of enactment, any court ruling that enforces, amends, or supplements an FTC order that has been terminated pursuant to this Act be vacated upon the filing of a petition in the relevant court which truthfully asserts that the related FTC order has been terminated and which requests that the court ruling be vacated.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 1994
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that for purposes of issuing final guidelines under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relating to unlawful harassment in employment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should exclude harassment based on religion.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 1994
Juvenile Criminal Act of 1994 - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to include among the Act's: (1) findings that emphasis should be placed on identifying hardcore youths who should be transferred from the juvenile justice system to the adult criminal justice system; and (2) purposes to assist State and local governments in improving the identification of hardcore juvenile offenders and the removal of such offenders from the juvenile justice system. Requires State plans under the Act to provide: (1) specified funding for the establishment and maintenance of an effective system that requires the prosecution of at least those juveniles who are 14 years of age and older as adults, rather than in juvenile proceedings, for listed offenses (murder or attempted murder; robbery, battery, or rape while armed with a firearm; any other crime the State deems appropriate; and the fourth or subsequent occasion on which such juveniles engage in an activity for which adults could be imprisoned for a term exceeding one year) unless, on a case-by-case basis, the transfer of such juveniles for disposition in the juvenile justice system is determined under State law to be in the interest of justice; and (2) that the State ensure that whenever a juvenile is adjudicated in a juvenile proceeding to have engaged in such offenses that a record be kept relating to that adjudication, the juvenile be fingerprinted and photographed (with such fingerprints and photograph sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), and the court in which the adjudication takes place transmit to the FBI information concerning the adjudication and disposition. Provides for a reduction of sums allotted to a State for a fiscal year by 16 2/3 percent for each of specified paragraphs of the Act with respect to which noncompliance occurs. (Current law provides for a reduction by 25 percent and doesn't include the requirements added by this Act in determining noncompliance.)
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 1994
Designates September 16, 1994, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Requires the display of the National League of Families POW/MIA flag at: (1) all national cemeteries and the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial on May 30, 1994 (Memorial Day), September 16, 1994 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day), and November 11, 1994 (Veterans Day); and (2) the White House and the buildings containing the primary offices of the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs and the Director of the Selective Service System on September 16, 1994 (National POW/MIA Recognition Day).
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1994
Provides that it shall constitute a reasonable suspicion, sufficient to support a constitutional stop and frisk by a law enforcement officer, that the officer knows or has reason to believe that the person who is subject to that stop and frisk: (1) actively participates in a criminal street gang; and (2) knows that such criminal street gang engages in a pattern of criminal gang activity.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 1994
Reinventing Government Act of 1994 - Establishes an independent Reinventing Government Commission to: (1) hold public hearings on recommendations by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with regard to disposals of surplus Government property, closure and consolidation of Federal offices, procurement of Government functions from the private sector, and termination of Federal statutes and regulations; and (2) formulate its own recommendations for the President and the congressional budget committees after analyzing the OMB Director's recommendations. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) assist the Commission in such review upon request; and (2) transmit an analysis of the Director's recommendations to the Commission and the congressional budget committees after the Commission has submitted its recommendations to the President and those committees. Sets forth procedures for: (1) formulation of the Director's recommendations; (2) consideration of Commission recommendations by the President and the Congress; and (3) implementation of final Commission recommendations. Establishes in the Treasury the Reinventing Government Account 1994 for use in closing and consolidating Federal offices and disposing of surplus Government property. Requires the Director to: (1) transmit reports on closure and consolidation operations to the congressional budget committees as part of the annual budget process; and (2) make annual downward adjustments in the discretionary spending limits of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 by the aggregate amount of reductions in discretionary spending for the fiscal year involved. Provides that: (1) none of the changes in direct spending resulting from this Act shall be reflected in OMB estimates under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act); and (2) all receipts resulting from this Act shall be used solely to reduce the public debt.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 1994
Requires the head of any Federal agency to differentiate between fats, oils, and greases of animal, marine, or vegetable origin, and other oils and greases in issuing certain regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 1994
Restricted Explosives Control Act of 1994 - Prohibits the distribution or receipt of restricted explosives without a Federal permit. Defines "restricted explosives" to mean high explosives, blasting agents, detonators, and more than 50 pounds of black powder. Requires applications for such permits to include the applicant's photograph and fingerprints, which shall be taken and transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury by the chief law enforcement officer of the applicant's place of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 1994
Requires the establishment of a budget reserve account for the funding for natural disasters and national security emergencies. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to include such funding in the budget process. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to repeal provisions relating to emergency appropriations. Requires annual reports to the Congress on expenditures from such account.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1994
United States Botanic Garden Commemorative Coin Act of 1995 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) issue one-dollar silver coins to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the founding of the United States Botanic Garden; and (2) pay all surcharges received from such coin sales to the National Fund for the United States Botanic Garden.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 1994
Social Security Disability and Rehabilitation Act of 1994 - Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require individuals on drugs or alcohol to: (1) undergo, or be scheduled for, appropriate treatment for substance abuse if it is reasonably available; (2) comply with the terms of such treatment; and (3) have a qualified governmental representative payee in order to receive disability benefits under the social security disability insurance (SSDI) and SSI programs. Sets up a monitoring and testing program under each such title for ensuring such compliance, with benefits terminated or suspended in cases of noncompliance, and with all disability benefits related to substance abuse terminated after three years. Requires the proceeds derived from criminal activities to support substance abuse to be considered substantial gainful activity. Revises penalty provisions, with changes providing for the exclusion of SSDI and SSI program defrauders from such programs and other Federal health and social services programs. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) assure that every individual on drugs or alcohol who is receiving SSDI or SSI disability benefits be given high priority for treatment through entities supported by State substance abuse block grants; and (2) provide for the establishment of referral and monitoring agencies for each State for carrying out treatment requirements under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 1994
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Golden Gate National Area Title II: Presidio Public Benefit Corporation Title I: Golden Gate National Recreation Area - Includes certain areas in Mateo County, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) utilize the resources of the Presidio unit of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California, to provide for and support programs and activities that foster research, education, and demonstration projects concerning the environment, international affairs, cultural understanding, health, and science; (2) negotiate and enter into leases, as appropriate, with any private or government entity for the use of any property within the Presidio, except such properties which the Secretary of Defense determines are essential for the continued use of the Presidio by the sixth Army in accordance with the Area's General Management Plan or the Act establishing the Area; (3) negotiate and enter into leases or other appropriate agreements with any Federal agency or organization to house that agency's or organization's employees who are engaged in activities or programs at the Presidio; and (4) enter into interagency permitting agreements or other appropriate agreements with the Secretary of Defense and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and leases with the Red Cross to house their activities and employees at the Presidio. Requires the Secretary to establish competitive bidding procedures to be used for the issuance of such leases. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements and permits for purposes of such Area. Title II: Presido Public Benefit Corporation - Authorizes the President to establish the Presidio Public Corporation only after San Francisco makes specified zoning decisions. Requires the Secretary to transfer all lands, facilities, and interest in certain Presidio properties to the Corporation. Transfers the Public Health Service Hospital and surrounding 36 acres to the administrative jurisdiciton of the Corporation. Directs the Corporation to sell: (1) the Public Health Service Hospital and adjacent golf course and allows it to use the proceeds of the sale for any function authorized by this Act; and (2) at fair market value, the Letterman Army Institute of Research, Letterman Army Medical Center, and such other buildings and lands in the Letterman complex necessary to conduct scientific research or education programs pertaining to human health to the University of California and authorizes it to use the proceeds from the sale for the same purposes. Allows the Secretary or other Cabinet officers to provide Federal personnel, facilities, and services to the Corporation on a reimbursement basis. Declares that the Corporation is devoted to an essential public and governmental function and purpose. Exempts it from all Federal taxes and special assessments. Applies all general penal statutes relating to the larceny, embezzlement, or conversion of public moneys or U.S. property to the moneys and property of the Corporation. Subjects the Corporation to provisions of Federal laws relating to administrative procedures and freedom of information.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 1994
Supplemental Appropriations Rescissions Act of 1994 - Rescinds FY 1994 funds made available to: (1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the automation of fingerprint identification services; (2) the Federal Railroad Administration for the conversion of a post office to a train station and commercial center; and (3) the Department of Housing and Urban Development for assistance to sugarcane mills on the Hilo-Hamakua Coast of Hawaii. Repeals the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to use specified funds to relocate, repair, and lay up the nuclear ship SAVANNAH.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1994
Retired Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent Self-Defense Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to authorize a qualified former agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to carry a concealed firearm if the former agent is carrying a document, issued to such individual by the FBI within the last three years, which certifies that the former agent is qualified to operate a firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 1994
Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to extend the compliance date for certain provisions of the worker protection standard relating to pesticide safety requirements to October 23, 1995. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) develop and distribute pesticide safety training materials that convey, at a minimum, specified information set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations; and (2) assist the appropriate State, Federal, and tribal agencies in implementing pesticide safety training programs. Extends the compliance date for meeting a requirement for worker protection labeling statements on certain pesticide products from April 21, 1994, to October 23, 1995.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 1994
Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to provide that, for purposes of determining whether an individual is under a disability, engagement in an illegal drug-related enterprise demonstrates ability to engage in substantial gainful activity.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 1994
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to make technical corrections to provisions added by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 in order to allow children and pregnant women to receive Medicaid services from osteopathic physicians.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 1994
Private Property Owners Bill of Rights - Requires Federal agency heads to: (1) comply with applicable State and tribal government laws in implementing and enforcing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) and the permitting program for dredged or filled material under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA); (2) administer and implement the Acts in a manner that least affects the private property owners' constitutional and other legal rights; (3) develop and implement rules and regulations for ensuring that such rights are protected when making any final decision that restricts the use of private property; (4) obtain the consent of the property owner and provide appropriate notice before entering privately-owned property in order to collect information on it; and (5) give the property owner an opportunity to review and dispute the data collected before using it to implement or enforce any of the Acts. Amends ESA and FWPCA to provide for administrative appeals of certain actions, including those related to the denial of permits and the imposition of administrative penalties. Entitles a private property owner deprived of 50 percent or more of the fair market value or the economically viable use of a portion of property as a consequence of a final qualified agency action to receive compensation upon request in accordance with specified guidelines. Amends ESA to require the Secretary of the Interior to notify all private property owners or lessees of property subject to a management agreement and provide an appropriate opportunity for their participation in such an agreement when the Secretary enters into it with any non-Federal person establishing restrictions on property use.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1994
Territorial Administrative Cessation Act - Transfers all responsibilities of the Office of Territorial and International Affairs of the Department of the Interior relating to: (1) the administration and termination of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and the implementation of the Compact of Free Association to the Office of Pacific Island Affairs of the Department of State; and (2) technical assistance and operations and management assistance to the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 1994
Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to temporarily extend the deadline for conservation plan compliance for certain highly erodible cropland that has suffered weather-related damage.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1993
Meat and Poultry Products Inspection Amendments of 1993 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to: (1) remove the intrastate distribution requirement for Federal-State cooperation; (2) authorize the use of State inspectors; and (3) expand State inspection authority.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1993
Voluntary Environmental Response Act of 1993 - Sets forth elements of qualified voluntary environmental response programs to be certified by States under this Act. Withdraws approval of programs that are not enforced in accordance with this Act. (Sec. 5) Applies this Act to, and requires qualified programs to provide for eligibility of, any site where there has been a release or threat of a release of a hazardous substance or constituent. Makes this Act inapplicable to any portion of a site: (1) included on the National Priorities List under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for which a Record of Decision has been issued by the President; (2) with respect to which a closure notification under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) has been submitted and closure requirements have been specified in a closure plan or permit; (3) with respect to which a corrective action permit condition or order has been issued or modified to require implementation of specific corrective measures pursuant to RCRA; (4) controlled by, or to be remediated by, a Federal agency; or (5) at which assistance for response activities may be obtained pursuant to RCRA from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund. (Sec. 6) Requires qualified programs to direct persons conducting response actions to submit response action plans. Authorizes approval of a response action based on performance of a site-specific risk assessment or demonstrated control measures that are cost-effective and practicable remedial actions at generic site types. Requires response action plans to include: (1) a site investigation assessing the factors necessary to determine the appropriateness of the response action; (2) a description of the plan; (3) supporting information for selection of the response action in accordance with the required methods; (4) a schedule for completion of the response action; and (5) recordkeeping and reporting requirements. (Sec. 7) Provides that any site for which a response action plan has been approved pursuant to a qualified program shall not be subject to further response actions under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, CERCLA, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), RCRA, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, or State and local laws concerning response actions. Absolves persons conducting such actions of liability for damages for response or restoration requirements under such Acts. (Sec. 8) Requires qualified programs to provide for the appointment of an environmental trustee who is authorized to acquire sites which are the subject of response actions on behalf of the State. (Sec. 9) Amends CERCLA to provide for assistance to States to establish programs under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 November 1993
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Telecommunications Infrastructure and Competition Title II: Communications Competitiveness National Communications Competition and Information Infrastructure Act of 1993 - Title I: Telecommunications Infrastructure and Competition - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 (the Act) to state that the duty of a common carrier to furnish communications services includes the duty to furnish that service in accordance with such regulations concerning openness and accessibility of common carrier networks as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may prescribe in the public interest. (Sec. 102) Requires local telephone exchange service carriers to provide equal access to and interconnection with the facilities of the carrier's networks to any other carrier or person providing telecommunications services reasonably requesting such equal access and interconnection, so that the networks are fully interoperable. Directs the FCC to: (1) establish and implement regulations for such equal access and interconnection; and (2) establish reasonable compensation rates to the carrier for such services. Requires the convening of a Federal-State Joint Board to determine equal access and interconnection standards. Preempts contrary State law. Requires local carriers to prepare and file tariffs with respect to services or elements offered to comply with such standards, along with supporting information. Requires the FCC to determine whether a telecommunications service or provider of such service is or will be subject to reasonable competition and to take appropriate action thereafter. Requires the establishment of a Federal-State Joint Board to recommend actions to the FCC and State commissions for the preservation of universal service. Directs the FCC, at least once every three years, to review standards and requirements concerning equal access, interconnection, and the preservation of universal service, and take appropriate action thereafter. Requires such review to include a study of rural phone service. Includes among the duties of a communications service provider the duty to furnish such service in accordance with regulations concerning functionality and reliability as established by the FCC. Directs the FCC to initiate an inquiry to consider rules and policies necessary to make open platform service (a switched, end-to-end digital telecommunications service) available to all subscribers at reasonable rates. Provides for regulations, oversight, and determination as to whether such requirements would result in adverse competitive impact. Directs the FCC to establish network reliability and quality performance measures to ensure the continued maintenance and evolution of common carrier facilities and service. Provides certain regulatory exemptions for rural areas. (Sec. 103) Directs the FCC to: (1) issue a final determination within 180 days after a complaint concerning an alleged discriminatory interconnection; and (2) provide for the expedited licensing of new technologies or services related to the furnishing of telecommunications services. (Sec. 105) Requires any application filed by a provider of telephone exchange service for authority to construct or extend a line to address the means by which such construction or extension will meet the network access needs of individuals with disabilities. Title II: Communications Competitiveness - Amends the Act to allow a common telecommunications services carrier to provide video programming (cable TV service) directly to subscribers in its telephone service area, as long as the video programming is provided through a video programming affiliate that is separate from such carrier (with separate books, records and accounts). Sets forth rules and regulations concerning interaction and business transactions between a common carrier and an affiliate with respect to the provision of video programming services. Requires the common carrier with a video programming affiliate to establish a video platform (a listing and description of video services offered) and to provide capacity (open channels) in its video programming for unaffiliated video program providers. Prohibits a common carrier from: (1) cross-subsidizing costs of telephone service with costs of video programming service among its customers; and (2) buying out a cable system located within its telephone exchange area and owned by an unaffiliated person. (Sec. 201) Directs the FCC to convene a Federal-State Joint Board to establish practices, classifications, and regulations necessary to ensure proper jurisdictional separation and cost allocation of establishing and providing a video platform and allocations of those costs between regulated and unregulated services, including affiliated video programming. Provides for: (1) the applicability of franchising and other requirements; and (2) rural area exemptions from certain provisions of this title.
![Official portrait of Rep. Oxley, Michael G. [R-OH-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/o000163_200.jpg)